The Minister of Justice of Estonia proposed to exclude buildings with Soviet symbols from the list of protected monuments

Estonian Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta suggested that the government not take historical buildings under state protection if they contain Soviet symbols, the ERR television and radio company reports.

“Minister of Justice and Digital Technologies Liisa Pakosta proposed that the government amend the law on the protection of ancient monuments so that buildings built from June 16, 1940 to August 20, 1991 and bearing occupation symbols are not taken under state protection, and at the request of the owner, such buildings could be deprived of the status of state-protected objects,” the statement says.

The minister justified her proposal by saying that objects of cultural value should represent “the most valuable part of Estonia’s cultural heritage,” and buildings erected during the Soviet period do not belong to this category.

According to Pakosta, if a monument does not meet the conditions of state protection and the Council for the Protection of Ancient Monuments gives an appropriate conclusion, this or that building, by order of the minister, can be deprived of its protected status. “After this, the owner of the building would have the opportunity to independently decide its future fate, for example, to remove or close the occupation symbols,” ERR quotes the minister as saying.

The Estonian government has already tried to amend a number of laws and codes related to real estate. The purpose of these changes was to establish rules for the removal of Soviet symbols from public space. In the fall of 2022, a similar bill was initiated and approved by the Estonian parliament, but never came into force.