Estonian authorities exhumed 12 Soviet soldiers April 26 and moved the Bronze Soldier monument to a military cemetery on Tallinn's outskirts. The move provoked mass protests in Tallinn and other Estonian cities, during which over 1,000 people were detained, dozens injured and a Russian killed.
Estonia transferred DNA samples of all 12 bodies to Russia and Ukraine.
The remains of three Soviet soldiers were also transferred for reburial to Russia and Israel. One of them, nurse Yelena Varshavskaya, who was killed in a battle near Tallinn September 22, 1944, will be reburied at the world's oldest Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem Wednesday.
Two relatives of the 12th soldier, Stepan Khapikalo, were found in Ukraine, so his remains were not reburied in Estonia.
Russian Ambassador to Estonia Nikolai Uspensky did not attend the reburial in Estonia.
Commenting on the Russian Embassy's position, Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the international affairs committee at the lower house of Russia's parliament, said ahead of the ceremony: "This is both the stance of our ambassador and the reaction on the part of the Estonian population. Nor will the official ceremony be attended by WWII veterans residing in Estonia or the Russian Orthodox Church."
A separate ceremony was due to be held for those who cherish the memory of the War and its heroes several hours after the official one, Kosachyov said.
