State budget sets aside €600,000 for War of Independence memorial repairs
The state budget approved by the government this week includes €600,000 to be spent on renovating the War of Independence Victory Column in Vabaduse väljak (Freedom Square) in Tallinn.
The monument, opened in 2009, features lighting installations and it is these which will need replacing, as they reach their expiry date next year.
The state budget bill's explanatory memorandum in fact stated €6 million was earmarked for the task, but, the defense ministry says, this was an error, and the correct figure is €600,000.
The monument's renovation, both the lighting and other aspects of the pillar and its environs, is entered under the budgetary area of the War Museum (Sõjamuuseum) located in Viimsi.
Opened in 2009 after Freedom Square itself was renovated and restyled, the War of Independence Victory Column (Vabadussõja võidusammas) is 23.5 m high and contains over 140 glass plates. It commemorates the fallen in the 1918-1920 Estonian War of Independence.
The state budget has to pass the Riigikogu before it is implemented, and will see three readings between October and year-end.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
