THE SHADOW OF THE MONUMENT

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In the early morning of 27 April 2007 the Estonian authorities relocated a monument from World War II, "The Bronze Soldier", from its original place in the centre of Tallinn to a military cemetery nearby. This politically sensitive action caused two days of riots, protests and social unrest, - a situation Estonia has not experienced since the country became independent from the Soviet Union in August 1991. The underlying conflict is obviously not about the monument itself. It reveals deeper problems in the Estonian society, mainly between the ethnic Estonians on the one side and the Russian minority on the other. 

However, important questions remain: Is this conflict about integration problems or discrimination of Russians in Estonia? Or is it a conflict resulting from a different understanding of historical events? The documentary "The Shadow of a Monument" provides the answers by giving an extensive account of what happened in Tallinn at the end of April 2007 and the consequences. Since the relocation "The Bronze Soldier" has found a quieter place on a military graveyard, where everybody can remember the past in peace. But did the conflict end there or will the monument in the future again throw its shadow over Estonia?

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Production: Bernt Middelthon, Johan Zielstra, Kim Taminiau

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The documentary was shown by IDFA docs for sale