The Silicon Soldiers

The Bronze Soldier in Tallinn, Estonia is a Soviet memorial for those who perished in the Second World War. For most Russians, it is a symbol of victory over Nazi Germany. Soviet-era history associated this victory with the "liberation" of many areas that were, in fact, occupied - Estonian officials facing an attack by a Red Army force 100000 strong in 1940 had no choice but to accept a Soviet ultimatum. After a sneak-attack on the Soviet Union, Germany took Estonia in 1941 and it was re-occupied by the Soviets in 1944. This last event was taught in the USSR as "liberation", but carries a negative meaning for Estonians who perceive it as going from the jaws of one wolf to another.

In 1941 and 1949 tens of thousands of Estonians were deported overnight to Siberia, where many of them perished, and 75000 were repressed in the Red Terror campaign from 1945 to 1959. During the same period, nearly two hundred thousand mostly Russian-speaking immigrants changed the demographics of a 800000-member nation that in 1945 had still consisted of 97% Estonians. The Soviet occupation, with widespread censorship and propaganda, lasted until 1991 when Estonia regained independence. However, a dichotomy remained between the Estonian and Russian communities in the country. Many Russians apparently still believe Estonia voluntarily joined the Soviet Union and thus do not understand why war veterans waving Soviet flags in the center of our capital could be taken as a disrespectful and offensive sign.

The Bronze Soldier, incidentally, was the site of such flag-wavings. It was and is also the site of many a decent show of respect, to be sure. Tensions around the statue, featuring mostly Estonian and Russian radicals, had escalated considerably in the past two years and the vast majority of Estonians were of the opinion that the statue should be removed, which is exactly what the government recently did in response to a mass looting of the city center by hundreds of Russian vandals protesting archaeological digs at the memorial site. Originally, plans called for moving the statue only after the thorough archaeological studies. The Soldier was taken to a military cemetery (see photo at top by Rasmus Puksmann) with honorable reburial of the twelve people found under it expected to follow. Russians who wish to honor the Soviet victory in World War II can still do so with full respect and Soviet Union symbols are seen in the center of our capital no more.

This however, is not the end of the story. Among other things, a six-day blockade of our embassy in Moscow ensued, carried out by pro-Kremlin youth activists who claim Estonians are fascists. A Russian delegation to Estonia recommended our government step down and export of many of our goods to Russia was boycotted. Perhaps the most significant response has been a three-week long cyber war waged against Estonian government, news agency and bank servers. As a result, many of the mentioned online services have been inaccessible from abroad in recent days. The Bronze Soldier is now giving center stage to the Silicon Soldiers, whose on-line attacks have attracted considerable attention from NATO.

Endnote: Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, please be advised the current post is a minimal outline. With help from friends, I've been working on a post on the Bronze Soldier issue that will give a fuller overview of all the relevant details and viewpoints. Comments are welcome.

Addendum: while writing the above, I was not aware that the term Silicon Soldiers had already been used in various contexts, e.g. in an article entitled "Bush and the Silicon Soldiers" at the New America Foundation. Original memes are impossible to coin these days...

References:
The Bronze Soldier of Tallinn - Wikipedia, a rather detailed description of the monument and recent controversy
"Russia accused of unleashing cyberwar to disable Estonia", The Guardian, 2007.05.17