ERR has previously reported on a peculiar dispute over the name of Benito Agirre tänav in Mustvee. Regional Minister Madis Kallas ordered the street renamed "Silla" after Mustvee Municipality failed to rename the street, named after Basque Benito Agirre who fought for the Soviets in World War II, in time.

Mustvee Municipality Mayor Indrek Kullam said that the proposed name of "Silla" (Bridge) has raised questions among the locals, namely because the bridge in question has historically been referred to as the "punane sild" (red bridge) which bothers people and creates more controversial connections than the name of Benito Agirre.

"We find that in a multicultural and singular environment, all options for changing street names should be weighed, meaning that even if the old name is not retained, regional peculiarities need to be kept in mind when choosing a replacement," Kullam remarked.

The municipality mayor pointed out the minutes of a January meeting of the Estonian Place Names Council where the Spanish Embassy proposed renaming the street "Hispaania lenduri tänav" (Spanish airman street). Kullam said that the proposal follows Spanish pilots helping guard the Estonian airspace (as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission – ed.).

He said that representatives of the municipality government have not met with people from the embassy to discuss options because Mustvee was not aware of the embassy's interest in maintaining the connection.

"Because the street name directly concerns Mustvee Municipality and the people who live here, we believe the municipality government absolutely needs to be included in talks," Kullam found.

He proposed a meeting between the local government, Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture and the Spanish Embassy in Estonia to "discuss potential name options in order to retain the historical link between Spain and the small Estonian city."

Benito Agirre tänav in Mustvee

Inazio Agirregoikoa (or Ignacio Agirregoicoa Benito), born in Spain in 1923, was a Basque pilot who fought on the side of the Soviet Union in WWII and was killed in a firefight in Estonia.

Agirre, after taking off from Gdov (Oudova) Air Force Base on March 9, 1944, was hit by German anti-aircraft fire and was forced to land his damaged plane on Lake Peipus near Mustvee. He got into a firefight with members of the Omakaitse (Home Guard) militia. To avoid being captured, Agirre shot himself.

Local residents buried him at the Mustvee Cemetery. His remains were reinterred when the Mustvee vennaskalmistu (type of cemetery for the remains of soldiers who died in the country where they are buried) was opened in 1973.

Historian Kaupo Deemant said that it is possible Agirre participated in the bombing of Tallinn or flew intelligence missions to scout out Mustvee Port, while these are not historical facts. Deemant guessed that Agirre being shot down may have been the reason Mustvee was not bombed. The historian believes having a street named after Agirre is therefore inappropriate.

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