The Estonian authorities’ attempts to legalize the dismantling of monuments to Soviet soldiers are insulting and could have an impact on Russian-Estonian relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry website said on Thursday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Soviet war memorials in Estonia should remain where they are.

“We must insist that the monuments remain in place,” he said, adding that the move was a disgrace, and had nothing to do with preserving historical accuracy.

“The task is to prevent a repetition of the lessons of World War II,” he said. “We hope common sense will prevail and an understanding will be reached in order to avert the desecration of monuments to liberators.”

The Russian leadership has repeatedly called the European Union’s attention to attempts by Estonia, which declared its independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and joined NATO and the EU in 2004, to glorify Nazi Germany, including with parades by former Nazi SS fighters.

Moscow has also harshly criticized Estonia’s discriminatory policies with respect to ethnic Russians who moved to the republic following its annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940 and their descendents.

Many members of Estonia’s Russian community are denied citizenship and employment rights, and cannot receive an education in their native language. Amnesty International has condemned the situation in the Baltic country, and called on its leadership to respect the rights of ethnic Russians.

Popularity: 4% [?]