The ceiling mural in center's main hall features Soviet military imagery and even depicts the flag of the Estonian SSR flying atop Tallinn's Tall Hermann tower, while surrounding stuccowork throughout includes recurring five-pointed stars.
 
Tallinn Creative Hub, the city foundation that manages the venue, said its ideologically charged interior has hampered the center's use for events and rentals.

Last month, the National Heritage Board greenlit  plans to cover up the ceiling mural and stucco with reversible solutions, and now that the center's event season has ended, work at the venue can finally begin.

Communications and marketing chief Kaisa-Liis Kalda said the goal is to make the Central Tallinn center more inclusive and attractive to a wider range of users.

"We want Mere Cultural Center to be open and welcoming to everyone," she said, noting that this includes Estonians, minority groups including ethnic Russians and international visitors. She said the space should be "as neutral, modern and unifying as possible."

A 'Soviet spectacle'

The National Heritage Board, she added, permits them to either cover up or remove and preserve various symbols from the space, and the building's historical value will remain even after these changes.

Calling the ceiling mural a "spectacle of Soviet imperial imagery," Kaarel Truu, a heritage protection official at the Tallinn Urban Planning Department, acknowledged Mere Cultural Center's interior has made it difficult to attract renters.

"It's even downright unpleasant for some," Truu said. "Staff at the center said they can't use the hall because renters and audiences aren't willing to come in there."

The same symbolism, he added, is also present around the stage and on the balcony railings.

Building's protected status to remain

The city official confirmed the ceiling covering will be installed on a removable frame that hides the artwork without damaging it, while stucco elements with Soviet symbols will be concealed using neutral decorative panels.

"The story of the Cold War and the Soviet occupation can still be told very effectively even after the imagery is covered up," Truu said.

He added that traces of the era will remain visible throughout the rest of the building, alongside earlier structures from Estonia's first period of independence preserved under Soviet-era layers.

National Heritage Board officials also said the redesign does not affect the building's protected status.

Renamed the Mere Cultural Center last summer, the building on Mere puiestee once served as a naval officers' club during the Soviet occupation and was later renovated and reopened as the Russian Cultural Center.

The city removed a Soviet-era emblem from its facade last year.

Work in the center's main hall is scheduled for July 1–14.

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