Estonian War Museum director Hellar Lill said 25 Soviet-era monuments remain in public spaces across the country because local governments or private owners oppose their removal. One of them sits on municipal land in the middle of Sillamäe.

City officials there have argued they lack the legal grounds to take it down. The Center Party has long maintained one-party rule in Sillamäe — a reality likely to continue after the ongoing local elections.

Center Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart said that as long as the state doesn't view the Soviet monument as a problem, the city shouldn't intervene. He added that local governments should be free to decide how to handle such issues.

"I think what's important is that the symbols have been removed, and we should all agree that no monument ought to stir up negative feelings or tensions in society," he said.

The Soviet monument removal law has been on hold since spring 2023, when President Alar Karis refused to sign it into law. It has since sat idle in the Riigikogu.

MP Marek Reinaas (Eesti 200), who chairs the Riigikogu's Economic Affairs Committee, said the government had proposed making the removal of Soviet symbols from buildings voluntary for owners and easing rules for heritage-protected sites. He said the committee last discussed the bill on March 10.

Reinaas noted that lawmakers were given extra time to review proposed wording changes, including one clarifying the definition of the occupation regime. "Since then, the bill hasn't been back on the [committee's] agenda," he said, adding that the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs hasn't considered it a priority either.

"Likely because the issue probably seems less urgent now, since only a few of the structures the bill once addressed remain," he added.

Eesti 200 questions Reform Party's hesitation

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said the main holdup has been the Ministry of Culture, led by Reform Party minister Heidy Purga.

Pakosta argued that the current version of the bill is both vague and overly bureaucratic. "The real solution would be for us to not protect the symbols of another, hostile state as nationally significant cultural monuments," she said. Doing so, she added, would immediately settle the issue, but her ministry has yet to reach agreement with the Culture Ministry.

The justice minister noted that Eesti 200 took the same stance last year, when the president returned the bill to lawmakers.

"As a liberal party, we believe the state shouldn't protect such sites," she said. "Many in the Reform Party agreed, but it's up to the Culture Ministry to decide."

The Ministry of Culture declined to comment further, offering only a terse, formal reply that it had no disagreements with the Ministry of Justice.  

In Sillamäe, city council education and cultural committee chair Vladimir Võssotski said the local monument has already been made as neutral as possible.

"There is a small star on the plaque," he acknowledged, "but overall you can't really tell which side the soldier represents." He added that handling the monument should involve dialogue among all sides.

The monument, which depicts soldiers from three branches of the Red Army, was erected in 1975 to mark the 30th anniversary of the Soviet Union's World War II victory. When "Immortal Regiment" marches were still allowed in Estonia, it served as their endpoint.

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