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The Bronze Soldier (Template:Lang-et, Template:Lang-ru), originally Monument to the Liberators of Tallinn (Template:Lang-et, Template:Lang-ru), sometimes called the Tõnismäe Monument or Alyosha, is a Soviet World War II war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia. The memorial was unveiled on September 22, 1947, three years after the Red Army entered Tallinn in 1944 during WWII.

The monument consists of a stonewall structure made of dolomite and a two meter (6.5 ft) bronze statue of a soldier in a WWII-era Red Army military uniform. It was originally located in a small park (during the Soviet years called the Liberators' Square) on Tõnismägi in central Tallinn, above a small burial site of Soviet soldiers' remains reburied in April 1945.

In April 2007, the Estonian government relocated the Bronze Soldier and, after exhumation and identification, the remains of the Soviet soldiers, to the Defence Forces Cemetery of Tallinn. Differences between Russophone and ethnic Estonian communities, as well as between the Russian Federation and Estonia, over the interpretation of events in the war had already led to a controversy. The disputes surrounding the relocation peaked with two nights of riots in Tallinn and besieging of the Estonian embassy in Moscow for a week. The events caught international attention and caused a multitude of political reactions.

Preceding monument

The Bronze Soldier monument replaced a preceding wooden memorial — a meter high wooden pyramid, which was about 20 centimetres in diameter, of a plain blue colour and its top decorated by a red star — that had been blown up in the night of May 8, 1946 by two Estonian school girls, 14 year old Aili Jürgenson and 15 year old Ageeda Paavel who had done this, in their own words, as a revenge for the Soviet destruction of war memorials to the Estonian War of Independence. Both were later arrested by the NKVD and sent to the Gulag.

Building and design

The Bronze Soldier monument, with its figure of a soldier against a stone background, was created in 1947 by the Estonian sculptor Enn Roos and supervising architect Arnold Alas. It was unveiled on September 22, 1947, on the third anniversary of the Soviet Red Army entering Tallinn in 1944. Originally intended as an official war memorial to Soviet soldiers who died fighting in World War II, an eternal flame was added in front of the monument in 1964. The Soviet liberation theme was changed when Estonia re-established independence in 1991, now stating "For those fallen in World War II"; at the same time the eternal flame was put out.

Prototype

The prototype for the face and figure of the statue is not known. It has been suggested to have been the Estonian 1936 Olympic gold medal wrestler Kristjan Palusalu, as there is a resemblance. The sculptor Enn Roos denied this and instead suggested that he used "a young worker who lived nearby", and there have been claims the worker he is referring to was a carpenter named Albert Johannes Adamson. On the other hand, Palusalu's daughter, Helle Palusalu, has confirmed that her father served as a model for the statue. Roos's denial could have been motivated by Palusalu's having defected from Soviet military and thus having fallen into disfavour by the Communist Party.

Burial site

On September 25, 1944, the remains of two Soviet soldiers were buried in the center of the Tõnismägi hill, with additional remains of Soviet soldiers reburied there in April 1945. After the burial of the Red Army soldiers on Tõnismägi, the square was named Liberators’ Square on June 12, 1945 with the Bronze Soldier Monument added two years later. The exact number and names of the persons buried in the burial grounds under the monument had not been established with certainty before the excavations of 2007, although the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had ordered a comprehensive historical investigation in 2006. According to official records of the Military Commissariat of the Baltic Military District, however, the following 13 soldiers who fell during World War II were reburied in the grounds in April 1945:

• Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Kulikov (Михаил Петрович Куликов) — commander of the 657th regiment, born in 1909 in Morshansk, Tambov Oblast. Killed on 22 September, 1944.
• Captain Ivan Sysoyev (Иван Михайлович Сысоев) — political commissar of the 657th regiment, born in 1909 in village Topsa, Arkhangelsk Oblast. Killed on 22 September, 1944.
• Gefreiter (Senior Private) Dmitri Belov — 125th division (killed in a battle 45 km from Tallinn in September 1944)
• Colonel Konstantin Kolesnikov (Константин Павлович Колесников) — second commander of 125th division (killed on 21 September, 1944 in a battle 45 km from Tallinn). Born in 1897 in Zhilaya Kosa, Stalingrad Oblast.
• Captain Ivan Serkov (Иван Степанович Серков) — chief of intelligence, 79th light artillery brigade (killed on 21 September, 1944, in a battle 45 km from Tallinn). Born in 1922, Ryazan Oblast.
• Major Vasili Kuznetsov (Василий Иванович Кузнецов) — commander of 1222nd artillery regiment. Born in 1908 in Ivanovo Oblast. Killed on 22 September 1944.
• Lieutenant Vasili Volkov (Василий Егорович Волков) — commander of mortar platoon (125th division). Born in 1923 in Kalinin Oblast. Killed on 22 September 1944.
• Captain Aleksei Bryantsev (Алексей Матвеевич Брянцев) — 125th division. Born in 1917 in Altai Krai. Killed on 22 September 1944.
• Sergeant Stepan Hapikalo (Степан Илларионович Хапикало) — tank commander of the 26th tank regiment (according to official military sources died of a disease). Born in 1920 in Poltava Oblast. Died on 28 September 1944.
• First Sergeant, medic Jelena Varshavskaya (Елена Михайловна Варшавская) — division medical assistant of 40th Guard Mortars regiment (died 22 or 23 September 1944 in Tallinn). Born in 1925 in Poltava Oblast.
• Sergeant Aleksandr Grigorov — died 7 March 1945
• Lieutenant Colonel Kotelnikov — no information available
• Lieutenant I. Lukanov — no information available

According to the Estonian Ministry of Defence, remains of 12 persons had been exhumed by May 2 2007 and would be reburied by the end of June 2007 at the same cemetery where to the statue had been relocated. Furthermore, the archaeologists performing the digs have confirmed that no more burials have taken place on the grounds of the monument. The Russian embassy and other former USSR states were asked to provide DNA samples for the identification of the buried bodies. Those persons who can be identified will be turned over to their relatives for reburial. The initial DNA analysis revealed 11 male and 1 female among those 12 found at the site. DNA profiles of all 12 were turned over to the embassy of the Russian Federation in Tallinn.

Relocation

The Bronze Soldier has significant symbolic value to Estonia's community of mostly ethnic Russian post-World War II immigrants, symbolising not only Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War, but also their claim to rights in Estonia. Many Estonians considered the Bronze Soldier a symbol of Soviet occupation and repression.

Amid political controversy, in April 2007 the Government of Estonia started final preparations for the reburial of the remains and relocation of the statue, according to the political mandate received from the last elections (held in March 2007). Disagreement over the appropriateness of the action led to mass protests and riots (accompanied by looting) lasting 2 nights, the worst Estonia has seen. 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 dismantle 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 Cemetery of the Estonian Defence Forces in Tallinn. An opening ceremony for the relocated statue was held on May 8, VE Day. (Significantly, Red 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.

Gallery

• The Bronze Soldier on the cemetery to which it was moved in April 2007. This picture from 27 May 2007 shows the statue at a temporary location, near the new permanent one. The statue was moved to the temporary location on 23 May 2007 to facilitate construction of the statue's accompanying stone structure. The Bronze Soldier on the cemetery to which it was moved in April 2007. This picture from 27 May 2007 shows the statue at a temporary location, near the new permanent one. The statue was moved to the temporary location on 23 May 2007 to facilitate construction of the statue's accompanying stone structure.
• Flowers and Police at the old location of the monument May 9 2007
• Flowers at the old location of the monument May 9 2007 on the background there is a tent of the excavation site
• First Victory Day at the new location, May 9 2007
• Poster by the cemetery's entrance, stating that a monument will be opened here in June 2007. (Picture taken 27 May 2007.) Poster by the cemetery's entrance, stating that a monument will be opened here in June 2007. (Picture taken 27 May 2007.)
• The Bronze Soldier monument, with the stone structure reconstructed, at its new permanent location. (Picture taken 25 June 2007.)
• Close up of the Bronze Soldier at its new location. (Picture taken 29 September 2007.) Close up of the Bronze Soldier at its new location. (Picture taken 29 September 2007.)
• Second Victory Day at the new location, May 9 2008
• Second Victory Day at the new location, May 9 2008
• Flowers on the old site of the monument May 9 2008

See also

• History of Estonia
• Kopli cemetery
• Kalamaja cemetery

References

1. ^ Common grave for and a memorial to Red Army soldiers on Tõnismägi, Tallinn (PDF file) (Word file) Historical statement, compiled by Peeter Kaasik, for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, 2006. (Estonian language version: Tallinnas Tõnismäel asuv punaarmeelaste ühishaud ja mälestusmärk)
   p. 5: Burial in April 1945
   p. 12: Ageeda Paavel and Aili Jürgenson
   p. 15: Arnold Alas and Enn Roos
   p. 17-18: Albert Adamson
2. Björklund, Marianne (2007-05-12). "Hon sprängde bronsstatyns föregångare". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2007-05-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Sv icon
3. Ammas, Anneli (2004-09-16). "Kes on see mees, kes seisab Tõnismäel?". Eesti Päevaleht. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Et icon
4. "Estonian wrestler confirmed as model for controversial Soviet statue". Helsingin Sanomat. 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Lundberg, Stefan (2007-05-02). "Brottaren bakom bronssoldaten". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Sv icon
6. "MOD releases overview of archaeological excavations at Tõnismägi". Estonian Ministry of Defence. 2007-05-02. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. "Tõnismäele oli maetud üks naine ja 11 meest". Delfi.ee. 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Et icon
8. ^ Russian Historian: The problem is how to live together if the two peoples have such a different memory, Alexander Daniel, REGNUM News Agency May 4 2007 Template:Ru icon
9. "Tallinn tense after deadly riots". BBC News. 2007-04-28. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. "Olukord tänavatel on rahulik". Eesti Päevaleht. 2007-04-27. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Template:Et icon
11. Picture of statue in new place
12. "Pronkssõdur avati taas rahvale vaatamiseks". Postimees. 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Et icon
13. Björklund, Marianne (2007-05-08). "Oron lurar bakom lugn statyinvigning". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Sv icon
14. Masing, Kadri (2007-05-08). "Valitsus asetas vaikuses pronksõdurile pärja". Eesti Päevaleht. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Et icon
15. "Reburial service set for 3rd July". Estonian Ministry of Defence. 2007-06-29. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. "Tõnismäelt välja kaevatud punaväelased maeti kaitseväe kalmistule". Postimees. 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Et icon
17. TT-AFP (2007-07-03). "Estland begravde sovjetsoldater på nytt". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 2007-07-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Sv icon
18. Koppel, Nataly (2007-07-03). "Sõjamehed maeti kaitseväe kalmistule". SL Õhtuleht. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Template:Et icon
19. Pronkssõduri juures algas müüriehitus Template:Et icon

External links

Photos and videos

• 360º QTVR fullscreen panoramas near Bronze Soldier Monument (May 9, 2005; May 9, 2007)

59°25′17.99″N 24°45′55.67″E / 59.4216639°N 24.7654639°E / 59.4216639; 24.7654639

• Tallinn
• Monuments and memorials in Estonia
• 1947 architecture
• History of Estonia
• Soviet military memorials and cemeteries