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Russia and Estonia in Soviet spat
 From the BBC:Russia has protested about plans by Estonia to criminalise displays of Soviet symbols. A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said it was "blasphemous" to equate the hammer and sickle with Nazi emblems. 'Blasphemous': what an odd word to use about communist symbols. The Estonian government has put a bill before parliament calling for fines or jail terms of up to three years for those who display such symbols. Estonia was occupied by the Nazis in World War II and then ruled by Moscow for five decades. Russia denies the Soviet years amounted to an "occupation" of Estonia. Nope, nope, never happened No, no, certainly not. It wudn't an occupation. It wuz... ummm... something else. War veterans in the large Russian minority in Estonia often wave red Soviet flags when marking Soviet-era anniversaries. Tallinn, in particular, is starting to see a number of skinheads wearing KKK and Nazi symbols, and a rise in racist violence The Baltic republic Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said on Thursday that "recently the Estonian side has been obstinately taking provocative steps aimed at seriously aggravating our relations". "The Estonian authorities are continuing their blasphemous ... 'Blasphemy, I tell you! Of the worst kind!' ... attempts to rewrite the history, bracketing Nazi crimes with the feat of the Soviet people, who made a decisive contribution to the liberation of Europe from fascism," Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying. Yea, that's how Estonians remember it, too Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2006-12-03 |
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