Gallery: Flowers laid at Bronze Soldier memorial in Tallinn on May 9
Banks of red carnations were laid at the foot of the Bronze Soldier monument in Tallinn on Friday (May 9) by the Russian-speaking community to commemorate Soviet soldiers on "Victory Day."
As in previous years, metal barriers were put up to direct the crowd, which usually grows throughout the day, in the Defense Forces Cemetery on Filtri tee. A security company will also monitor activities at the site.
The statue was originally designed to commemorate the Soviet soldiers who died liberating Tallinn from the Nazis and are seen as "liberators" by Russia.
Estonians do not view the soldiers as liberators, as the Soviets then started the second occupation of Estonia, which lasted until 1991.
The end of WWII marked the beginning of a long Soviet occupation for Estonia.
— Estonian MFA | #StandWithUkraine (@MFAestonia) May 8, 2025
During this time, Estonians were deported to Siberia, our human rights, language, culture, economy, & freedom of speech were brutally violated.
The Soviet Union was not a liberator; it was an occupier. pic.twitter.com/C4hoSWIRQV
"The Soviet Union was not a liberator; it was an occupier," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on May 8.
Russia celebrates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, accompanied by the usual propaganda. The public holiday is also widely celebrated in other parts of the former Soviet Union and elsewhere with large Russian communities.
In Estonia, the public display of so-called Victory Day symbols is prohibited.
European countries, including Estonia, mark the end of the Second World War on May 8. May 9 is celebrated as "Europe Day" and the start of the development of the European Union.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Helen Wright
