"Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) presented the government with a draft proposal to establish a knowledge center for the crimes of communism and imperialism on the grounds of Patarei Prison, which the government approved," the government said in a statement.

According to the statement, the creation of the knowledge center is part of the coalition agreement. The Ministry of Justice will allocate €2 million from its budget for the next phase of the project's development.

"We must not forget where we come from, nor allow our national memory to be erased," said Tsahkna. "The creation of this knowledge center is a historically and nationally significant investment in strengthening our resilience and will to defend ourselves."

"Russia's aggression in Ukraine clearly shows us that the aggressor is not limited to physical destruction. There is a systematic effort to destroy national identity, culture and historical memory. The same happened in Estonia during 50 years of communist occupation," the foreign minister said. "National memory is part of our will to defend. Without understanding the past, there can be no strong future. Establishing the knowledge center at Patarei is more necessary and timely than ever before."

Construction is already underway on a museum commemorating the victims of communism, being developed by Urmas Sõõrumaa, within the former Patarei Prison complex. The museum is planned to cover approximately 5,000 square meters in the eastern section of the complex, where original prison cells, an execution chamber, corridors, the prison yard with inmate exercise areas and many other preserved features remain.

Sõõrumaa's company secures lucrative rental agreement

The announcement from the government, led by the Reform Party, came on the same day businessman Urmas Sõõrumaa declined to become mayor of Tallinn following the collapse of the city government. He had been the Reform Party's candidate for the role. However, he confirmed that he will run in the local elections this October and will once again be the party's mayoral candidate after that.

Sõõrumaa told Postimees that drawing a connection between these events is arbitrary.

"I have premises that are vacant and I'm being paid rent for them," he told the newspaper.

The government's statement gave the impression that the state owns the premises being allocated to the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory: "The establishment of the knowledge center is part of the coalition agreement, and to carry it out, the Patarei building will be granted to the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory for free use."

In reality, State Real Estate Ltd. (RKAS) will lease the relevant building — which has been completed to shell condition — from Sõõrumaa's company.

According to Postimees, the cost of leasing the museum premises for victims of communism over 10 years will total €9 million. In addition, RKAS is obligated to invest €2 million in finishing the building, with that funding coming from the Ministry of Justice's budget.

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