Future of Tehumardi 'broken sword' monument revisited on battle's 80th anniversary
Debates about the legacy of a Soviet-era monument on the island of Saaremaa continue, with some local residents calling for its removal, while some art experts say it could be contextualized, but left in situ.
Fights around the Tehumardi site near Salme in the south of the island, may have ended, the mass graves re-interred, but a question mark remains about the fate of its so-called Broken Sword monument (see cover image).
This remains under heritage protection, despite being an eyesore in the sense that it has been significant symbol of Soviet propaganda on Saaremaa for over half-a-century now.
Saaremaa's municipality has yet to form a clear stance on the latter monument, though says it plans to cover over its inscription, written in typically hyperbolic Soviet-style language, by the end of this year.
Saaremaa municipal mayor Mikk Tuisk told "Aktuaalne kaamera": "If it is the case today this monument must remain standing, then I would reinterpret it in some way."
"And another thing which needs to be done is to tell the whole Soviet-era story underpinning it," he continued, speaking after a town hall meeting in Salme, which happened to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the battle the monument commemorates.
"And very concretely to explain why it was built, why it stands here, and to very clearly state that it is a symbol of propaganda and should be treated as such; it was, is, and will remain a symbol of propaganda.
"And, all joking aside, I have even referenced an idea where we could turn the tip of the sword into a bird-watching tower, or a viewing platform, as there is no shortage of nature to see there," Tuisk added.
The Heritage Protection Board (Muinsuskaitseamet) has now given its permission at least for something which Saaremaa municipality has long awaited, in allowing the propaganda text on the monument to finally be covered.
Art heritage adviser with the board Jüri-Martin Lepp said: "It is under protection as a modernist monument. At present, the board permits, for instance, those inscriptions to be covered over, if there is the will to do so."
The area in Tehumardi, where just three months ago a Soviet soldiers' cemetery with propagandist elements was still present, now seems peaceful after August's excavations. The remains were reburied at a nearby cemetery.
The site has now been delisted from heritage protection, and Saaremaa municipality has converted it into a grassy lawn.
Intense discussions about its future have been held in nearby Salme.
"And take it down and be done with it. That's my opinion. That's that," said one man taking part in a town hall discussion.
Architectural and art communities, however, view the modernist monument from the 20th century as having some important inherent artistic value, in the context of its era.
Kirke Kangro, dean at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), was also at the meeting, and said: "I think that if history has already moved on and the graves are gone, then there are multiple ways to move forward. Certainly, it is viable to simply present information about the story behind this monument. As an artist, I still believe that the opportunity should be given to curators and artists to frame or create a context for it."
The Battle of Tehumardi's 80th anniversary was Tuesday. Mostly fought at night, it formed a part of the Soviet Moonsund Operation which had begun in late September 1944, and aimed to push out the occupying German forces and replace them with occupying Soviet forces, and indeed it succeeded in doing this.
The monument in question was built in the mid-1960s while the remains which until August were buried there date to the World War Two engagement.
That the issue is a pressing one now is the result of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, which according to an amendment in its own constitution, is a continuation of the Soviet state.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov