the statue riots
26/4/07, 11:00 p.m.: I just got a report from my husband (yes, he’s working at 11pm) about the not-so-peaceful protest taking place on Parnu Mnt and in the vicinity around the Soviet monument. There are thousands of protesters (according to my husband) and every few minutes they start chanting “Russia” over and over. His office is overlooking Parnu Mnt. and he said people just smashed their way into the liqueur store and looted the store. The rioters are smashing car and tram windows (one driver just knocked two people to the ground with his car to get through the street). They just smashed the window of an office (how wonderfully pointless) and broke into a grocery store. He can smell tear gas, but can’t see any police. Ambulances have been streaming in and out of the hospital near my apartment building, and the crowd is letting the ambulances through. I’ve been watching the police helicopter circling Tallinn for several hours. The grocery store has been looted, so there’s toilet paper and glass bottles flying. Looters are comparing their ill-gotten gains.
My husband is contemplating his exit strategy.
11:30: There is no exit strategy. The rioting has only elevated, with the mob breaking into all of the buildings in the area of my husband’s office building. He’s safe on an upper floor of a high-security building, but because of the violence and looting (and, as of a few minutes ago, more tear gas), he’s decided to spend the night on the office sofa. His memories of this night will last far longer than the crick in his neck.
27/4/07, 12:00 a.m.: The police are firing more tear gas plus rubber bullets. A building across Parnu Mnt. has a small fire going. A car intentionally slammed into another. The police are focusing on putting out the fire. My husband says he can see Russians trying to prevent more violence, and there’s a small group of around 20 Estonians with bats and sticks trying to protect Tatari Street. The Estonians are saying (in Russian), “Be peaceful. Please go.” An Estonian woman was just attacked by a Russian man. The group of Estonians are moving in to protect her. Some Russians are trying to reason with other Russians, with little success.
1:00: The rioters flipped a car, so the police have moved in to secure the area more firmly. Tatari, the street behind my husband’s building, is completely secured by the police. My husband’s thinking about coming home now. The cab companies are so far refusing to send anyone, so he may be stuck at the office after all.
2:00: He’s decided to stay and sleep at the office. It’s probably okay to walk home now, but better safe than sorry. A few photos here and then of the mess left behind here.
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