TALLINN, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - Estonian authorities annulled a visa for a Russian woman who protested against the recent dismantling of a Soviet-era memorial in the Estonian capital, and are considering deportation of another two protesters.
Alexandra Bondarenko, apprehended earlier Monday, has already had her visa annulled, and is to be deported shortly. The other two detainees, identified only by their first names - Alexandra and Nadezhda - could also face expulsion. All the three detainees are 21 years old, and entered Estonia on tourist visas.
The young women affiliated with the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi were detained in central Tallinn at the former site of the Bronze Soldier monument, which was moved to the city's outskirts in late April. The protestors were standing motionless in an attempt to impersonate the statue, erected to commemorate Soldiers who had died fighting Nazi Germany during World War II.
The Bronze Soldier's relocation sparked a wave of angry protests both in Russia and Estonia, where ethnic Russians constitute about one-third of the population, further souring relations between the two ex-Soviet neighbors.
The Nashi leadership issued a statement urging Estonian authorities to release its activists, which it believes were detained illegally. It insisted that the protest action, dubbed "A Living Monument," was their tribute to Soviets killed while liberating Estonia from Nazi invaders during WWII. The removed monument is seen by many in Estonia as a symbol of Soviet occupation.
