Removing Soviet monuments from public spaces? The debate in Estonia is heated

The Estonian government has passed a bill facilitating the removal ofSoviet-era installations, signs or other objects from public spaces. The publicly visible part of a building, as well as a publicly displayed monument, sculpture, statue or other similar structure, must not incite hatred and must not be support or justification for the commission of a regime of occupation, an act of aggression, genocide, crime against humanity or war crime. The government can then intervene by sanctioning or removing the object in question, if necessary, and also provides for the establishment of a committee for any disputes.

Justice Minister Lea Danilson-Järg said that "it is not possible to establish completely objective criteria for assessing the conformity of symbols on monuments or buildings.“ ”The government commission will evaluate each object separately,“ she specified, adding that ”this will not affect objects under cultural protection."

Fourteen Estoniancreative associations from the fields of architecture, theater, music, and other cultural areas have signed a joint appeal regarding the bill to emphasize that public space is for the public, while discussions on the issue should be as broad as possible, taking into account the fact that many objects that could be affected by the change in the law are not protected. In addition, the associations want more representation on the committee for people working in the field of culture.

“I understand that the idea of the creative associations is that only those who work in the field of art should be involved in the decision-making process, but we cannot allow this, as it does not only concern artistic issues, but here the topic is still very clearly related to the security of Estonia,” the justice minister commented. Indeed, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought attention to the issue of monuments of the Soviet occupation of Estonia.

Culture Minister Piret Hartman responded to the call of cultural associations by stating, "The government’s position is that Soviet monuments that incite hatred must be removed from public space, and this is my position as well," adding further that it is important to give experts more say on these issues, to avoid the adoption of overly politically charged decisions. “We need to distinguish monuments that incite or romanticize war from symbols or buildings that experts believe have significant historical or cultural value,” he said. “Substantial and professional analysis is needed regarding objects of significant cultural value.”

It is not yet known when parliament will vote on the bill.

Pictured is Minister Piret Hartmann. Credit Jürgen Randma

Removing Soviet monuments from public spaces? The debate in Estonia is heated

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