Perhaps no other political ideology was as wrapped up in memorials, monuments as expressed in the Soviet Union. Never mind the cult of the personality that saw busts and paintings of Lenin and Stalin everywhere indoors - it was nigh impossible to go outside anywhere on Soviet occupied territory without encountering a plaque on the side of a house where a minor Party official had lived, or a war memorial commemorating the valiant struggle of the brave Red Army defending the ideals of totalitarianism.

On my first visit to the fatherland, such encounters were, at first, odious. Turning a corner and seeing yet another monument to those who brought terror and cruelty to our land was physically repulsive, emotionally trying. I soon picked up on the nonchalance of my hosts, and was able to see the majority of those plaques, statues as the window dressing that they were.

This visit took place in 1989, when Estonians were fervently restoring and rebuilding, reopening memorials to the war dead, the heroes of the War of Independence. The unveiling of a memorial to Konstantin Päts in Tahkuranna was an unforgettable event - thousands upon thousands of people participated. It was a patriotic moment, made more so by the feeling of being united with those thousands. I recall asking a local journalist then, whether the Russians ever expressed similar sentiment. His answer was telling - the Russians, he suggested, are culturally conditioned to memorialize the past, for they live in it - unable to conceive a future of promise.

Estonians regained their future by demanding back their past and the nation is moving steadily forward. Although vestiges of the communist occupation still remain, not only mentally but physically - consider the Tõnismäe Bronze man guarding the eternal flame in the heart of Tallinn - the shackles of thinking have long been shaken off.

In 1990 I had the courage to break the law, travelling without a visa, permit, paperwork to the Soviet Union. Granted, this was just a hop onto the other side of Lake Peipsi; still, there was a frisson of fear, thanks to ideological conditioning as I set foot in Samolva (also known in Estonian as Samblaküla, or Moss village). I had taken advantage of an offer to join a group of German tourists visiting Piirisaare - a rare delight, highly recommended as a destination - and the captain of the Emajõe river boat out of Tartu felt that no trip on Peipsi would be complete without seeing how the neighbours lived.

What a contrast. The village was straight out of the 19th century. Aptly named Moss village - compared to Estonian rural settlements it was the Third World - where time stood still. Hovels that last saw a paintbrush under tsarist rule, an old draw well in the center of the village square surrounded by filthy dogs and old men sitting around with nothing to do. The stunner was - you guessed it - the war memorial. Far too large, ornate and grandiose for the village it graced, brave bronze riflemen stood on guard, weapons pointed towards the West, the plaque on the base commemorated all the brave Samolvans (three, if I recall) who died guarding the Rodina against the fascist menace. The nearby cemetery provided further cognitive dissonance: listing wooden crosses with peeling paint were barely visible through high weeds - evidence of how the locals treated their dearly departed.

A delightfully ironic moment took place. I'd been recalling and using the high school German of years gone by in my conversation with the tourists. There we were, standing in front of a Soviet war memorial, conversing in German, when an old babushka walked by on her way to the communal well. Faschisti, she mumbled - but did not seem to surprised to see us there, nor did she call in the militia.

I suspect that the village has changed little, and the monument still stands, as similar ones do in countless villages across the vast Russian landscape. Have they changed the thinking of the people? I fear not.

A different mentality is found in the West. Americans are often accused of being jingoistic, going overboard with their tie-a-yellow-ribbon-around-the-old-oak-tree mentality. However, the two systems are like night and day. Though the means are often questionable (Hiroshima), and war brings out the worst in people (My Lai) no one can possibly deny that the world is a better place thanks to US efforts. Would you like to trade your comfortable existence, all the freedoms that we take for granted, for a shack on the wrong side of Peipsi?

These days it is almost impossible to achieve consensus on any foreign policy issue. Never mind then the issue of memorials. Elsewhere in this issue is an article about the efforts to have a Memorial erected in Washington commemorating the Victims of Communism. As so many American lives were lost in Vietnam and Korea it should be a cause embraced by all.

This Sunday is Memorial Day in the US, a day set aside by the nation to honour the dead of any American war - not like the Soviets idealizing only the "Great War". This Memorial Day will be special in Washington, some 800,000 people are expected to celebrate the dedication of the National World War II Memorial placed prominently on the Mall. This huge new memorial is opening six decades after the end of the war it remembers.

The passage of time can complicate memory, as well all know. Fortunately, the designers of this monument are avoiding the various controversial aspects of WW II. Thankfully, they have not created a Stephen Ambrose style, Hollywood themed Saving Private Ryan type memorial. The memorial is all about the defeat of fascism, and the heroism, sacrifice and achievement of enlisted men and women the world over. By honoring the half million US military personnel killed in the effort, a step is being taken to ensure that the past will not be forgotten.

Granted, the powerful anti-fascist lobby ensured that this memorial was belatedly built. The same effort should be put into supporting the Victims of Communism memorial. A walk in Samolva should convince any one that there are memorials, and then there are empty postures.

Memorials matter most to people who participated, lived through the events being memorialized. The time is now, to publicly remember the victims of communism, just as we remember those who fought against fascism.

Arvamus

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