RUSSIAN PROVOCATIONS FALL FLAT IN ESTONIA

UNCLAS TALLINN 001085 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV RS EN SUBJECT: RUSSIAN PROVOCATIONS FALL FLAT IN ESTONIA REF: MOSCOW 12612 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In recent weeks, several Russian attempts to provoke Estonia with Soviet-style propaganda have fallen flat. A Duma resolution on the Soviet soldiers' memorial in downtown Tallinn (the so-called "Bronze Soldier"),a well-timed declassification of documents "proving" U.S. and British complicity in the Soviet occupation of the Baltics, and GOR complaints about draft legislation that would ban public displays of both Nazi and Communist symbols in Estonia have merited little reaction from GOE officials or the Estonian media. End Summary. ¶2. (U) On November 15, the Russian Duma adopted a statement (reftel) protesting the Estonian Parliament's discussion of legislation which, if approved, would allow the GOE to relocate war monuments away from the center of Tallinn. The Duma statement accused the Estonian Parliament of "glorifying fascism" by considering this legislation, which has passed the first of three readings in the Parliament. In a November 16 BNS story, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said Estonia should not justify Russian accusations by reacting to them. He pointed to the lack of reaction by Italy and Spain after a recent EU-Russia summit during which Russia equated those countries with mafia and corruption. ¶3. (SBU) On November 23, Estonian media outlets published excerpts from a Russian foreign intelligence service (SVR) press release on the declassification of 400-pages of documents from World War II. The SVR, which released the documents just subsequent to Queen Elizabeth II's Baltic tour and only days before President Bush's visit to Tallinn and the Riga NATO summit, claims the documents prove Britain and the United States tacitly approved of the Soviet occupation of the Baltics after the War. Official Estonian reaction to SVR comments and the release of the documents was extremely muted. In conversations with us, MFA officials dismissed the information as a "non- issue." Foreign Minister Urmas Paet publicly stated that the GOE has no plans to look into Russian claims. Prominent parliamentarians Mart Laar and Marko Mihkelson noted in Postimees that the release of the documents and the corresponding Russian media campaign was perfectly timed to coincide with President Bush's travel to the region. Laar also said that Estonians will not be tricked by "new revelations" and concluded that he believes Russia hopes to spread fear and dissension among the Baltic States and give the impression that the United States and United Kingdom betrayed them. (Note. Embassy Tallinn obtained an electronic copy of the Russian documents and forwarded them to EUR/NB. End Note.) ¶4. (U) Subsequently, on December 1, BNS published an article on the Russian reaction to draft Estonian legislation banning public displays of Nazi and Communist symbols. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the bill "immoral" and complained that it equates Nazi crimes with Soviet achievements and detracts attention from "real problems" including those faced by Russian speaking minorities in Estonia and Latvia. Again, Estonian media largely ignored the Russian reaction to the bill. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Even a few years ago, these types of provocative actions and remarks by the Russians would have elicited a much stronger response from Estonia, but these days neither the GOE nor the press is taking the bait. However, it is likely that nationalist parties in Estonia will try to mobilize their base by inciting anti-Russian sentiment in the run up to spring Parliamentary elections. This will certainly put the GOE's pragmatic approach to the test. End comment. WOS