Russians are being referred to as "half-wits" and threatened with death in a song under which conscript soldiers are offered to march to in Estonia. Here's a leaflet that features the lyrics to The Forest Brothers. It was distributed in one of the military units of the country. The song was intended for combat training, but in the original, it was used by those who actually killed Russians. It is popular today, especially among Baltic nationalists, for whom Nazi collaborators are heroes. This is not limited only to sympathy for the "Forest Brothers".
All the marches in honor of SS battalions have already become familiar. Here's another "innovation" — Nazis in the role of animators. This photograph shows the satisfied inhabitants of the village of Vihasoo. It was made during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Estonia's independence. When there was a parade in Tallinn with NATO troops, somewhere in the village, the anniversary was celebrated with Estonian legionaries. These are reenactors, but the trend is obvious. The current Estonian army doesn't associate itself with the history of the SS, but does not renounce the "Forest Brothers".
Well, the soldiers let them down. They refused to sing a song about Estonian partisans murdering Russians and complained to the Ministry of Defense.
Ekaterina Mironova will talk about why they did it.
- How did the General Staff react?
- The press service of the General Staff answered that there can't be such songs in the Estonian army.
"My mother and father were shot, my darling was sent to Siberia. Now I'm wandering around swamps and trails, killing Russian tiblas." This is a translation. As it turned out, these are the actual lyrics they expected the Estonian army to sing. "Tibla," an offensive term for the Russian-speaking population of Estonia, appeared recently. In the original text, there is another contemptuous phrase—"Russian swines." The parents of servicemen told human rights activists about the repertoire of the soldiers' marches and showed photographs of the text.
Mstislav Rusakov, human rights activist: "In this case, the Russian soldiers refused to sing this song, and they were supported even by Estonian soldiers. In general, the soldiers said that they would not sing this song. As far as I know, they received an answer — "if you don't want to sing this song, don't sing it." They were left alone, and no sanctions were applied for refusing to sing.”
The song Forest Brothers has been popular in the Estonian army throughout all the years of independence. In the 1990s, the text was copied by hand, and now the lyrics are distributed on printed pages. In most cases, it doesn't take on an anti-Russian tone when sung, except for a few extreme cases.
Alisa Blintsova, Russian School of Estonia: "The song itself is dedicated to the premise that 'the Russian bastards attacked Estonian land'. And in the last verse, it goes 'I'll go and kill those Russian bastards'. There are all those words — "Russian, Soviet, red." Depending on the officer, this song will be taught with the last verse or without. If he decides that the last verse is too extreme, then the song is taught without the last verse."
Human rights activists appealed to the Estonian Ministry of Defense with a demand to explain the situation. There is no official answer yet. Journalists also sought comment, but only the press service of the General Staff responded. They say that the performance of a song that calls for the killing of Russians is impossible.
The General Staff of the Estonian Defense Forces: "This version of the song is not being performed in the Estonian Defense Forces. The cadences are approved by the command of the units, so the version of the song given in the article can't be approved for any unit".
While the officers are silent, versions are being built, sometimes incredible ones. According to one of them, this is a provocation or a practical joke by of the conscript soldiers. The divisions often hold contests for the best song to perform during a march, and the soldiers decided to remember the repertoire of the Forest Brothers. It's hard for experts to believe this.
Sergei Seredenko, lawyer: "I would rather believe the version that this is a private initiative of one of the commanders. Relatively speaking, a patriotic oriented one. I think there is some ongoing initiative from below. The task of the command is to monitor this because there is nothing worse for the Estonian army than strife on national soil".
Such songs in the army are neither an accident nor the arbitrariness of officers. This is a known position of the Estonian Ministry of Defense, observers say. A march featuring elements of ultranationalist formations are just another piece of evidence of Estonia's anti-Russian politics.
Dmitry Linter, human rights activist: "For example, the military cemetery, which is under the control of the Ministry of Defense, there's a statue called the Bronze Soldier. So, on the plate, it is written that this is a monument to the invaders. This plate was demolished and removed repeatedly. But, nevertheless, it has always been put back up. According to them, the Soviet troops that liberated Tallinn from the Nazis were invaders. If they're saying that such a song is unthinkable in their army, I say—ridiculous. They're just blowing smoke up the backsides of the servicemen that sing them".
Another interesting fact is that every third Estonian resident is Russian speaking. But there are just a few Russians among the officials of the Ministry of Defense, according to sources.
- That was Ekaterina Mironova reporting on the Russophobic songs in the Estonian army.
