Narva T-34 tank arrives at the Estonian War Museum in Viimsi. (Photo: Siim Lõvi)
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Soviet monuments in Estonia were no longer just a local issue, Estonia's prime minister Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday. “No one wants to see our militant and hostile neighbour foment tensions in our home,” Kallas said.
Work on removing the T-34 tank and two other Soviet monuments in the city began under police protection after dawn on Tuesday and was completed by mid-morning. The tank will be displayed at the Estonian national war museum in Viimsi, near Tallinn.
Estonia’s interior minister, Lauri Läänemets, said public order considerations were paramount. “Many locals care about the removal of the monuments,” he said, but the war must be commemorated “without conflicts and threat of provocations”.
Workers remove a Soviet T-34 tank installed as a monument in Narva, Estonia. Photograph: Sergei Stepanov/AP