TALLINN, Estonia (AP) – A plurality of Estonians opposes plans to remove a disputed Soviet war monument in Tallinn, according to a poll released on Monday.
The survey commissioned by newspaper Eesti Paevaleht found 44 percent wanted the so-called Bronze Soldier to remain where it is, while 38 percent supported the government’s plans to remove it. The remaining 18 percent was undecided.
The March 6-8 survey by pollster Faktum & Ariko had an error margin of five percentage points.
Plans to dismantle the 2-meter (6-foot) memorial have infuriated officials in Moscow and Estonia’s Russian-speaking minority, which accounts for about one-third of the 1.3 million population.
The survey found only 10 percent of Russian-speakers favored dismantling the monument, while nearly half of ethnic Estonians said it should be removed.
Russians see the Bronze Soldier as a tribute to Red Army soldiers who died fighting Nazi Germany, but many Estonians consider it a bitter reminder of the hardships they endured under Soviet occupation.
In February, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves vetoed a bill calling for the removal of the statue. Ilves said the measure violated the constitution, but made clear his move should not be seen as yielding to Russian pressure.
