The Government Office's monuments working group had previously issued a recommendation that all plaques bearing the symbols of the Red Army be removed from public space.

Victims of various wars have been buried on the state-owned sections of land in the vicinity of the Maarjamäe Memorial complex over the years, with the markers and objects associated with those war graves to remain in place.

On Wednesday, during an appearance on "Esimene stuudio," Minister of Culture Piret Hartman said, that removing the plaques glorifying the Red Army from the Maarjamäe Memorial site was the right step. However, Hartman is not in favor of demolishing the entire memorial. "I agree with the experts in saying that the Maarjamäe Memorial is an important architectural object. And I would stand by that view," Hartman said.

As things stand, there is no agreement in the government about what will happen to the Maarjamäe Memorial. "The only thing that has been agreed is that the land around the memorial will be nationalized. My personal view is, that the memorial could be housed in a history museum. It could be one of the exhibits in a history museum, with a clear description of the context in which it is located. However, at the moment, no decision has been taken to that end, nor has it been said that the memorial will be taken down," Hartman explained.

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