The New York Times has now weighed in on the Bronze Soldier controversy.
It's an insightful piece as it speaks of Russia today and their revisionist view of history, and of little Estonia and their continued struggle to be a free nation, some 16 years after the Soviet occupation.
When reading the Times' piece, there were two paragraphs that shot out at me.
The first was from director of the International Center for Defense Studies in Estonia, Kadri Liik.
“They (Russia) feel so offended by anyone who challenges their view of history,” she said, referring to Russians’ refusal to recognize Soviet rule in Estonia as an occupation. “They should be discussing the other side of the coin.”
And this quote , spoken by Andrei A. Zarenkov, who is an ethnic Russian and chairman of the Constitution Party in Estonia:
"Estonia’s government was fighting to remove the monument because 'Estonia never had its own heroes.' "
And so I'm left wondering on three fronts...
- How truely free is Estonia today?
- What power does Russia think it still has on Estonia?
- If today's Russia refuses to recognize the Soviet occupation of Estonia, what else does it fail to recognize?
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