Estonia re-erects Soviet statue at military cemetery

A statue of a Red Army Soldier, which has been at the heart of deadly riots in Estonia, gazed somberly over dozens of Russian war graves yesterday in its new location at a military cemetery in Tallinn.

Authorities re-erected the Bronze Soldier at the Defense Forces burial ground -- which also holds remains of British, Estonian and German troops - three days after removing it from a downtown square, provoking protests by ethnic Russians.

In the next step of its contentious plan, the government plans to move the remains of Soviet soldiers believed to be buried near the statue's original site. Archeologists excavating the grave said they had found nine coffins, but had not yet opened them.

[The AP reported: A delegation of Russian MPs arrived in Estonia yesterday to try to defuse tensions between the two countries, which have traded harsh words, including Russian officials speaking of"blasphemous" acts, and Estonia accusing Russian media of spreading lies."The main purpose of the visit is to create dialogue," said an Estonian foreign ministry official.]