Saaremaa Mayor Mikk Tuisk requested funding from the National Heritage Board and the Ministry of Culture.

In a letter to the state institutions, Tuisk noted that he has spent the past two years working with the Heritage Board and the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) to find a solution to the Soviet symbols at Tehumardi.

"At this point, the burial section of the memorial has been dismantled and the remains reinterred in a cemetery. We've now reached a stage where implementing a potential solution would cost approximately €22,000. The EKA is prepared to contribute €12,000, leaving a €10,000 obligation for Saaremaa Municipality," Tuisk said.

According to Tuisk, the municipality can realistically afford to pay only €5,000, and he suggested the remaining €5,000 be covered by the Ministry of Culture and the Heritage Board.

Municipality moving forward with EKA project

Funding for the Saaremaa municipal government has not yet been discussed, said Mari Rebane, spokesperson for the National Heritage Board.

However, since the municipality did not apply for permission from the board to temporarily cover the texts and symbols on the Tehumardi Monument, the Heritage Board launched a supervisory procedure to clarify the circumstances.

"During the course of the review, the board assessed the circumstances, the nature and quality of the work carried out and whether the temporary solution needs to be altered. Despite the fact that the temporary measure was not carried out in accordance with regulations, the board considers the work suitable as a temporary solution and neutral in terms of the monument's overall appearance," Rebane said.

The board also welcomed the municipality's decision to move forward with the proposed design competition project — titled "Words" — and its efforts to find funding for implementation. Under the "Words" concept, the monument would be engraved with the alphabet to convey the idea that words are just words.

"We remain ready to continue working with the Saaremaa municipal government, as we have so far, to find the best permanent solution for covering the propagandistic symbols and inscriptions on the Tehumardi Memorial," Rebane said.

Last year, the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Heritage Board organized a competition to artistically reinterpret the Tehumardi sword. Among the three submissions, the winning concept featured a Virginia creeper growing up the monument. However, a recent setback came from the Environmental Board, which did not allow the planting of Virginia creeper, classified as a non-native species, nor the local alternative, Saaremaa ivy.

The plan now is to move forward with the design focused on language. The new concept would cost over €20,000 to implement. Funding was initially hoped to come from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, but a rejection was received earlier this March.

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