Delusional Paranoia

Failing to understand that any thoughts or feelings of appreciation were lost around 1948 - and certainly in 1968 - the Soviets Russians have told the Czech Republic that removal of a Soviet Russian Great Patriotic War memorial in Brno, South Moravia, would be viewed as a hostile act.

Russia would consider the removal of a memorial above a tomb of Red Army soldiers in Brno as a breach of the interstate treaty and a hostile step, the Russian general consulate in Brno told CTK in a written statement today. It was reacting to a debate about the memorial's future started by deputy mayor of a Brno district who labelled the structure a "monster" in the town hall's bulletin and called for the space to be cultivated.

The monument in Kralovo Pole is situated next to the Holy Trinity Church. It is shaped as a stone pyramid with a Cyrillic script inscription saying that 326 Red Army soldiers who fell during Brno's liberation fighting are buried there. A flowerbed symbolises a grave.

Pelan proposed to remove the memorial and to replace it with an "erratic stone with an inscription reading To the memory of all victims of World War Two."

The Russian consulate said that the World War Two victory was attained at the cost of huge sacrifices. "That is why attempts in a number of countries (and we believe that this does not concern the Czech Republic) to rewrite the history of the war and to distort the importance of the victory are absolutely inadmissible for us," the press release says.

In April, the Soviets Russians were highly offended when the government of Estonia announced that a Soviet Russian monument known as the Bronze Soldier was to be moved to a cemetery. The Soviets Russians became indignant and demanded that the European Union punish Estonia.

In a letter of complaint to member countries of the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed indignation at solidarity within the European Union (EU) and demanded Estonia's punishment, it appears from the letter published in the daily Eesti Paevaleht. The minister expressed indignation because many Western countries supported Estonia and tolerated activity of the government at relocation of the monument. "The Western countries give their tacit approval to the fact that by equaling the heroism of soldier-liberators and the crimes of Nazis and their henchmen, Estonian authorities were attempting to rewrite history and reinterpret the role of the anti-Hitler coalition in the victory over fascism in World War Two,” the letter said.

In response, the European Union - and NATO - told the Soviets Russians to pound sand.

The West showed on Thursday it will not leave Tallinn alone in its current conflict with Moscow. The U.S., NATO, and the EU chairing state -- Germany -- stood up for Estonia, demanding that Russia stop “the inadmissible acts of violence near that country’s embassy”. Thus, Moscow was told it will have to deal with the united bloc of western states if the conflict with Estonia escalates. In response, Russia said the events in Estonia cannot help affecting its relations with the EU and NATO.

Now their jaws are tight because in Poland, a Soviet Russian monument to Feliks Dzierzynski, the first head of the Soviet political police, will be removed from the center of Warsaw.

There's a big row on between Estonia and Russia over the removal of a Soviet era monument from the centre of the capital Tallinn. The Kremlin is furious that the statue of a Red Army Soldier has been moved. And with that dispute simmering away there's another one looming between Warsaw and Moscow as Poland develops a new law on national monuments. That law goes to Parliament in a couple of weeks and it's generating lots of controversy - in Poland and Russia.

The dismantling in the Warsaw city centre of the monument to Feliks Dzierzynski, the first head of the Soviet political police, was one of the first decisions of the city authorities after the collapse of communism in 1989. The law currently being drafted is to provide for the removal of all the remaining symbols from both the Nazi and Soviet eras. The use of the names of communist leaders for streets, schools, ships and trains is to be banned. But what sparked the controversy, especially in the wake of the recent events in Estonia, are plans to remove monuments to Soviet soldiers.

In an obvious reference to Poland, the Russian Foreign Minister said that 'attempts to neglect history are unfortunately becoming today an element of foreign policy of certain states.'

Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski says that his government is determined to go ahead with its plans. "No-one has the right to interfere in the question of Polish street names and the monuments of Polish squares." The minister for culture and national heritage Kazimierz Ujazdowski stresses that the graveyards of Soviet soldiers on Polish soil would not be affected. "The graves and cemeteries are under protection and are treated with due respect. No amendments are planned to existing legislation on these sites."

Sympathy for the Soviet Russian cause was on display following the EU/Russian summit two weeks ago.

The summit between the European Union and Russia ended in acrimonious disaster yesterday with no new deals signed and a stark warning to Russia that it should not try to divide the EU bloc. The European commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, told the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that any action against an individual EU state would be considered action against the entire EU. His unambiguous comments came amid a bitter dispute between Russia and Estonia - and claims Russia had waged an unprecedented cyber-attack on its small Baltic neighbour. "We had occasion to say to our Russian partners that a difficulty for a member state is a difficulty for the whole European Union," Mr Barroso said. "It is very important if you want to have close cooperation to understand that the EU is based on principles of solidarity."

Hey, Putie! Just because they're out to get you doesn't mean you're paranoid.