MP once again flies Soviet Estonian flag from Old Town building
Two men installed the flag of occupied Soviet Estonia on the wall of the writer's house in Tallinn on Tuesday afternoon for a second time. Riigikogu member Jaak Valge (ERK) said that he and poet Andres Aule were responsible. Police have initiated criminal proceedings.
The pair carried out a similar act two summers ago to protest writer Juhan Smuul (1922–1971), whose bas-relief is on the building, after it was revealed that he had been involved in the 1949 deportations of Estonians to Siberia.
At around 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday, the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) were notified that the flag of the Estonian SSR was hanging on the side of the Tallinn Writers' Union (Tallinna kirjanike maja) building, located at the intersection of Harju and Kuninga streets in Tallinn's Old Town, Delfi reported.
Inna Toater, Ida-Harju PPA station commander, said: "The police identified that the flag belonged to a 70-year-old man, while a 52-year-old man was with him, helping to place the flag."
She said that the PPA confiscated the flag and will decide whether to initiate proceedings after the circumstances are clarified.
Valge confirmed to Delfi that he and Aule hung the flag. The MP explained that July 22 is marked as Collaboration Day. "And if we think about which collaborator and deporter has the most prominently displayed monument in Estonia, then the answer is Juhan Smuul," he said.
Valge added: "We would have taken it down, but the police got there first." He confirmed that the PPA had taken the flag into custody, and that he expects to get it back on August 21.
The pair first hung the ESSR flag on the Writers' House wall on July 22, 2023. The pair were fined €160 by the PPA over that act, but the first-tier Harju County Court subsequently annulled the fine.
On Thursday, the police said it initiated proceedings under the public order violation section against Valge and Aule. The agency confirmed that it will not base the ongoing proceedings on the county court's decision.
Juhan Smuul (1922-1971) was one of the most recognized Estonian writers during the Soviet era and was a Communist Party member and a deputy of both the Estonian Supreme Soviet and the Supreme Soviet in Moscow.
In 2023, new information came to light that he had been involved in the 1949 deportations, which saw tens of thousands of Estonians sent to Siberia.
There were calls to remove Smuul's statue but after much discussion, the Writers' Union decided to leave it up and add additional context.
This article has been updated to add that police have opened proceedings.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook, Bluesky and X and never miss an update!
Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi Andrew Whyte, Helen Wright
