The Russian news agency Regnum stated in a headline that, “The attempt to draw parallels between Nazism and communism has failed in the Baltic states” in reference to a Tallinn conference marking the August 23, 1939 signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. It said: “A joint decision on the necessity of investigating the crimes of communism was reached by European justice ministers convened in Tallinn. Although the conference was labeled as pan-European, Greece boycotted the event openly. Correspondence from the Greek minister of Justice Stavros Kontonis to his Estonian counterpart, Urmas Reinsalu, stated that the Greek government and people cannot accept an invitation that calls on participants to equate fascism with communism.” At the same time Estonian parliamentarian Loone (Oudekki Loone, member of Estonian parliament known as Kremlin-friendly. Ed.) thanked the Greek minister publically and said that ”Estonia is not a Nazi country and Nazis are in the minority here as they are elsewhere”.
The information agency Regnum uses aggressive terminology in reference to the same alleged events in the Baltic states: “The Baltics is not Northern Europe or even Europe, because their antisocial, xenophobic and nationalistic development has no commonality with Europe.”
Yaan Toom, meber of the EU parliament from Estonia appeared once again on Russian TV channel Rossija 1. She called Vladimir Putin an “excellent president”, hyperbole that even surprised the program's host. She also stated that 41% of Russians and Estonians believe that NATO forces that are present in Estonia increase the possibility of armed conflict. Ultra-nationalist Russain politician, Vladimir Zirinovski, in an emotional outburst, claimed that Russians in Estonians who think otherwise are traitors, ready to sell themselves to anybody. Toom (who, apparently did not hear Zirinovsky's accusation correctly) agreed.
The media, in Russia, even the news agencies and websites that aren't deliberately fabricating and twisting historical fact and current events, still portray a “holier-than-thou-the-Baltics-are–the-root-cause-of-all-evil” stance. The unabashed, often outrageous, accusations are consumed by Russian-speakers in Estonia, whose daily source of information originates from Russia, not Estonia, irrespective of the language of the broadcast. This is a major problem, for which no one has offered a feasible solution.
Laas Leivat
