The Bronze Soldier monument stands in a quiet corner of the Estonian Defense Forces Cemetery on Filtri tee, but every year on May 9 sees heightened security, fencing and media attention as crowds come to lay flowers at the site.

May 9 is celebrated in Russia itself as marking the end of World War Two. That country's predecessor state, the Soviet Union, closely cooperated with Nazi Germany in military exercises right up to the eve of the Nazi invasion, nearly two years after World War Two had started.

The two totalitarian regimes also did a deal with each other in carving up central and eastern Europe into "spheres of influence," with the Soviets taking practically all in the end, via the Warsaw Pact.

In Estonia, as one of the countries which suffered as a result of Soviet/Russian chauvinism, the public display of symbols associated with "Victory Day," be they of Soviet, Tsarist or modern-day origin, is prohibited.

In the democratic civilized world, the end of World War Two is marked on May 8 as VE day, focusing more on peace in Europe and the generation who fought in that conflict, rather than a recurring "victory" trope for those born many years later.

The Bronze Soldier originally stood on Tõnismägi, in central Tallinn. When it was removed and relocated to the cemetery, in April 2007, Kremlin-orchestrated riots led to widespread looting and one fatality.

May 9 is also Europe Day and as such is being marked in Vabaduse väljak and environs, throughout the day.

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