Global InformationBronze Night information
| Bronze Night | |
|---|---|
 Protests in downtown Tallinn after police cordoned off the streets around the memorial, driving protesters toward the city centre. | |
| Date | April 26 – April 29, 2007 |
| Location | Tallinn, Estonia |
| Caused by | Soviet war memorial relocation |
| Goals | Stop relocation of war memorial |
| Methods | Widespread rioting, looting, assault, arson, protests, property damage |
| Resulted in | War memorial relocated to Defence Forces Cemetery of Tallinn |
| Casualties | |
| Death(s) | 1 |
| Injuries | 171 |
| Arrested | 1,000+ |
The Bronze Night (Estonian: pronksiöö), also known as the April Unrest (aprillirahutused) and April Events (aprillisündmused), was a number of riots in Estonia surrounding the controversial 2007 relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn, a Soviet World War II memorial in Tallinn.[1]
Many ethnic Estonians considered the Bronze Soldier in the city centre a symbol of Soviet occupation and repression.[2] At the same time, the monument has significant symbolic value to Estonia's large ethnic Russian community, symbolising not only Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, but also their claim to equal rights in Estonia.[3]
Amid political controversy, in April 2007 the Government of Estonia started final preparations for the relocation of the statue and reburial of the associated remains, according to the political mandate received from the previous elections (held in March 2007).[4] Disagreement over the appropriateness of the action led to mass protests and riots (accompanied by looting), lasting for two nights,[5][6] the worst in Estonia since the Soviet reoccupation in 1944. During the riots, one ethnic Russian protestor was fatally stabbed. In the early morning hours of April 27, 2007, after the first night's rioting, the Government of Estonia decided, at an emergency meeting, to relocate the monument immediately, referring to security concerns. By the following afternoon, the stone structure had been dismantled as well. As of the afternoon of April 30, the statue without the stone structure had been placed at the Defence Forces Cemetery of Tallinn.[7] An opening ceremony for the relocated statue was held on May 8, VE Day.[8][9] (Soviet Army veterans celebrate Victory Day a day later, on May 9.) During June 2007, the stone structure was rebuilt. Relatives have made claims to bodies of four of the war dead. Unclaimed remains were reburied at the military cemetery, next to the relocated monument, on July 3, 2007.[10][11][12][13]
- ^ "The 'Bronze Night' cost Estonia over 4mn euro". REGNUM. July 27, 2007. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
- ^ Johnston, Anthony. "The Memory Remains". Russia Profile. Archived from the original on August 12, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
- ^ Daniel, Alexander (May 4, 2007). "Russian Historian: The problem is how to live together if the two peoples have such a different memory" (in Russian). REGNUM. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
- ^ "The parliamentary elections in Estonia, March 2007". Electoral Studies. 27 (3). ScienceDirect. September 2008. doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2008.01.004. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
The new government faced its first test a month after the elections when, on 26 April, Ansip carried out his promise to have the Bronze Soldier removed
- ^ "Tallinn tense after deadly riots". BBC News. April 28, 2007. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
- ^ Aug, Tuuli; Masing, Kadri; Aivar Pau (April 27, 2007). "Olukord tänavatel on rahulik" (in Estonian). Eesti Päevaleht. Archived from the original on April 29, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
- ^ "Pronkssõdur avati taas rahvale vaatamiseks". Postimees (in Estonian). April 30, 2007. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
- ^ Björklund, Marianne (May 8, 2007). "Oron lurar bakom lugn statyinvigning". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on May 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
- ^ Masing, Kadri (May 8, 2007). "Valitsus asetas vaikuses pronksõdurile pärja" (in Estonian). Eesti Päevaleht. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
- ^ "Reburial service set for 3rd July". Estonian Ministry of Defence. June 29, 2007. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
- ^ "Tõnismäelt välja kaevatud punaväelased maeti kaitseväe kalmistule". Postimees (in Estonian). July 3, 2007. Archived from the original on July 5, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2007.
- ^ "Estland begravde sovjetsoldater på nytt". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). TT-AFP. July 3, 2007. Archived from the original on July 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- ^ Koppel, Nataly (July 3, 2007). "Sõjamehed maeti kaitseväe kalmistule". SL Õhtuleht (in Estonian). Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-24.