Estonia votes to prohibit Soviet monuments

The Estonian parliament has voted to prohibit monuments in the country which exalt the years of Soviet rule, according to the BBC.

A statue in the capital Tallinn, depicting a Soviet soldier from World War II, has been at the centre of the legislation, with Estonia's ethnic Russian community backing the maintenance of the monument.

However, those who follow a more nationalist view believe that the monument glorifies five decades of Soviet hegemony.

Ethnic Russians make up around one third of Estonia's population and consider any monuments related to the war-torn era as depicting a heroic struggle against Nazism.

The Russian deputy foreign minister, Vladimir Titov, noted that the passing of the law would have consequences for the relations between the two nations.

However, after clashes between the ethnic Russian community and Estonian protesters, the government has decided that it would be better to relocate the monument to another location.