TALLINN, Estonia – Estonia's Defense Ministry said Monday that it had re-erected a statue of a Red Army soldier at a military cemetery, three days after the monument's removal from the capital provoked rioting by ethnic Russians.
The statue was open for public viewing, ministry spokeswoman Aet Kukk said.
Police clashed in Tallinn with Russian-speaking Estonians protesting the removal of the statue, as well as a grave believed to hold the remains of Russian soldiers. One man was stabbed to death, more than 150 people were injured and some 1,000 were detained in three nights of rioting — the worst violence since Estonia won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The two countries have traded harsh words, with Russian officials speaking of "blasphemous" acts against the memory of Red Army soldiers, and Estonia accusing Russian media of spreading lies about the situation.
A delegation of Russian lawmakers arrived in Estonia on Monday in a bid to defuse escalating tensions.
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