Home » Estonia : The Bronze Soldier Riots and Cyber Wars

Russia has been throwing its weight around of late. It has been pressuring smaller countries in the region, using energy resources to blackmail and coerce, and has generally been behaving like a regional bully.

The suspicion directed toward Moscow by countries such as Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Estonia has deep roots. Russian ambassador in Brussels, Vladimir Chizhov, recently complained that smaller regional players such as Estonia suffer from "phantom pains of the past, historic grievances against the Soviet union and the Russian empire of the 19th century." He didn't add "with very good reason" - reasons that are once again in evidence as Moscow tightens the screws by resorting to a variety of intimidation tactics.

The tough guy attitude comes across also in Vladimir Putin's approach to the Americans. He is no longer even pretending to be Bush's east bloc pal. In a recent speech attacking Estonia for its errant ways, he also managed to make a veiled comparison between the Bush administration and the Hitler regime - and not for the first time either. Ironical coming from a man who has managed to thwart Russian democracy and is in the business of clamping down on opposition parties and freedom of the press.

The problem with this new attitude on the part of the Kremlin is that it has resulted in activity that flies in the face of international standards and includes what can only be described as an undeclared policy involving dirty tricks, back door assassinations and a diplomacy of covert coercion.

The latest victim of Russian bullying, Estonia, has been subjected to what can only be described as a cyber invasion. Officials in Tallinn made the astounding claim that a million 'hostile' computers were involved in the attack that all but crippled Estonian government websites. This attack was particularly damaging for Estonia, because it is well known as a pioneer of "e-government" and is one of the most wired societies in Europe. The attackers targeted the Estonian presidency, government ministries, political parties, news organizations, banks and communication companies. Even though Estonia has raised the matter with NATO, there is not a lot that can be done since Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty relating to collective self-defence doesn't apply in the case of a cyber attack of this sort.

The tactics used involved DDoS - Distributed Denial of Service. Sites were literally swamped with tens of thousands of visits, overwhelming bandwidths and resulting in a lock down. Internet addresses revealed that many of the attacks came from Russia, some of them associated with Russian state institutions.

The hostilities went beyond cyberworld and targeted Marina Kalijurand, the Estonian Ambassador to Russia. The Estonian embassy was besieged by protesters, including groups from pro-Kremlin youth organizations such as Nashi and Molodaya Gvardiya. Also present were protesters from other pro-Putin factions and Communist parties, some of whom carried signs describing the Estonians as "fascists". The situation could easily have become dangerous, and even a threat to the physical safety of Estonian embassy personnel. The lack of security was frankly a disgrace and a serious breach of Vienna Convention rules governing diplomatic relations. Not that Putin cares one way or the other. It's become increasingly evident that his policies are determined by how much he can get away with, rather than any standards of diplomatic conduct.

Russian denials of any culpability in the cyber attack simply follow the old "who us?" routine that has become the standard Kremlin response. Merit Kopli, editor of a major Estonian newspaper, Postimees, claims the attacks were "political" and has no doubt they came from Russia. A NATO official made the polite observation that the attack clearly wasn't the work of a few individuals. In other words it was state sponsored and given the recent tensions between Russia and Estonia it doesn't require a lot of guess work to spot-the-perp. It would be far fetched to describe the attack as solely Kremlin related, but you can be sure they had more than a few irons in the fire.

So what is Russia's beef exactly? Well for one thing there is a sizable population of ethnic Russians living in Estonia and a long history of Russian influence, that includes an invasion by Stalin. The simmering tensions that have been on a steady boil over the past few years erupted recently when the Estonians' moved the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet war memorial unveiled in Tallinn back on September 22 1947. Riots broke out and one person was killed, 100 injured and some 1,300 arrested - most of these ethnic Russians. Cars were overturned, businesses looted and there were reports of pro-Russian rioters using molotov cocktails.

This was no spontaneous outbreak of violence. A lot of the opposition had been actively orchestrated. Some even claim that Russian agents were active in helping to foment the conflict. A group named the Army of Russian Resistance showed up on internet forums, issuing calls for ethnic Russians of Estonia to take up arms.

The bronze statue has great symbolic significance, particularly for the Russian residents of Estonia. They view it not only as a symbol of the Soviet victories over the Nazis, but also as a symbol that gives moral legitimacy to Russia's claims in Estonia. This viewpoint is disputed by the Estonian government, also the by the EU and the United States, who take the view that 'Soviet Estonia' amounted to an illegal occupation. As a consequence the Russian immigrants who moved into Estonia during this period are regarded by many native Estonians as illegal occupiers and even colonists.

What is clear about Vladimir Putin's strategies in handling regional conflicts, is that he has brought to government the same skills he honed in the KGB. The fact that he has also imported many of his former associates must make it all seem like second nature. At one time the KGB was viewed as the concealed threat during the cold war, but now it seems this culture is out in the open and running Russia.

Aidan Maconachy is a freelance writer and artist based in Ontario. You can visit his blog at http://aidanmaconachyblog.blogspot.com/