Activists call for Russian autonomy in Estonia

Leaflets have been distributed in Estonia calling on the Russian ethnic minority to hold a referendum and create a territorial autonomy in the Baltic state. That’s according to ‘Vesti Dnya’ newspaper.

Authors of the leaflets, an organisation called “The Union of South Westerners of New Generation” suggest Russians who live in Estonia should be registered and given IDs. Then a referendum on creating a Russian autonomy should be held. They believe these actions should be combined with European parliamentary election campaign.

The organisation has already found a place for the autonomy and published it on the leaflet with the Estonian map. The South Westerners marked the borders of the suggested autonomy at the North of the country which includes several districts and a large part of Lake Chudskoye.

In 2007, when the union was created, it had 30 members. However, that number has decreased since then.

'Citizens' of the newly-created Soviet republic (imge from www.kplo.ru)

Earlier, two farms in south-eastern Estonia declared the creation of a Soviet republic. They’ve already got support from a regional Communist organisation based in Russia’s northern capital, St. Petersburg. A delegation of activists from the party has already visited the newly-created ‘Soviet state’.

Now the collection of signatures under documents is underway. Later activists are planning to apply to Russia for the recognition of the Estonian Soviet Republic.

According to the official website of “Communists of Petersburg”, initially the decision to breakaway from the ‘bourgeois Estonia’ was made by an ‘ordinary peasant’ Andres Tamm. Later he was joined by a woman from a neighbouring farm – Aine Saar.

“We- ordinary peasants – were against the relocation of the monument to a Soviet soldier [Bronze Soldier in the Estonian capital]. But who is listening to us in Tallin? Big money and advisors from Brussels run the show there,” she is quoted as saying.

“The EU doesn’t care about what is happening here – fascist parades, militarization of the country. No, my farm and Tallinn are going different ways! I want to live in socialism and be in friendship with Russia,” Aine added.

The rival villagers have formed a government and a militia in order to protect the borders of their ‘state’ where boundary posts have already been set.