Estonia expulsion. Why did Estonia expel Russian diplomats from the country? Learning is darkness: fears of Tallinn
The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered Consul General of the Russian Federation in Narva Dmitry Kazennov and Consul Andrei Surgaev leave Estonia. Russian Ambassador to Estonia Alexander Petrov reported that by the end of May. The plenipotentiary also noted that both diplomats are regular employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry, who during their work in Narva "have done a lot to improve bilateral relations."
What is the reason for this decision?
Press Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sandra Kamilova told Russian media: "We confirm this, but do not comment." The Russian Embassy in Estonia also declined to comment on this topic.
Alexander Petrov explained that it is not accepted in diplomatic practice to explain the motives for such a decision. “Therefore, we can only regret this and consider this step as an openly unfriendly act that will have negative consequences for bilateral relations,” the plenipotentiary said.
However, a version appeared in the Estonian media that diplomats were being expelled because of their alleged participation in intelligence activities. This information was denied by the Estonian TV channel ETV+. Referring to his sources, he told viewers that this situation was connected with a recent conversation between diplomats and Mayor of the city of Kiviõli Nikolay Voekin. It concerned the incident with the Soviet monument. On the night of May 16-17, an inscription appeared on the monument to the dead crew of the Soviet Pe-2 bomber, which was shot down over Estonia in 1944: “These killers bombed my grandmother. Let them burn in hell." The TV channel reported that the conversation was conducted in an inappropriate manner. “The attitude towards the municipal employee was inappropriate. The conversation was recorded, and this could be the main reason for their expulsion from the country,” ETV+ said in a statement.
How did they react in Russia?
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the expulsion of Russian diplomats would not go unanswered. “This is another unfriendly and unjustified act that will not go unanswered,” the Russian diplomatic department said.
The Estonian authorities once again went to the aggravation of relations with Russia.
According to the Delfi portal, Consul General of Russia in Narva Dmitry Kazennov and Consul Andrey Surgaev delivered a note. Now they must leave Estonia.
"According to Press Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sandra Kamilova, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms this information, but does not comment, ”the portal says.
The Russian Embassy in Estonia has not yet commented on the information about the expulsion of diplomats.
“This is another unfriendly and unjustified act that will not go unanswered,” RIA Novosti quotes a comment given to the agency in the Russian Foreign Ministry.
As follows from the official information posted on the website of the Russian Consulate General in Narva, Dmitry Kazennov has been working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1980, after graduating from MGIMO. The diplomat speaks Persian and English. Has a diplomatic rank of the adviser of 1 class. He worked in various positions in the central office and abroad: in 1989-1992. - Second, First Secretary of the USSR Embassy in Afghanistan, 1999-2002. — Consul General of Russia in Bombay (Mumbai), India. Since 2004 — Head of Section at the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kazennov was appointed to the post of Consul General in Narva in October 2015.
The Consulate General in Narva actively supported the Russian language and Russian culture
Under the leadership of Dmitry Kazennov, the Russian Consulate General in Narva carried out active cultural and educational work.
In particular, at the beginning of 2017, Consul General Kazennov and Consul Surgaev participated in the awarding of primary school students from Narva schools who won the first city poetry recitation competition “Poems for and about children”. Children recited poems of Russian poets in Russian.
The Sputnik Estonia agency notes that Dmitry Kazennov noted at the ceremony: Narvitians speak good Russian, such a pure speech is not easy to meet even in Russia. He also expressed hope that the contest will become regular.
Consul General of the Russian Federation in Narva Dmitry Kazennov (left) and Consul of the Russian Federation in Narva Andrei Surgayev (right) at the ceremony of handing over the remains of the pilots of the crew of the Pe-2 dive bomber Pavel Kuznetsov, Afonasii Fadeev and Konstantin Rogov in Narva. The plane was shot down on March 26, 1944 during the Great Patriotic War and was found in 2014 in a swampy area near the village of Sirgala. Photo: RIA Novosti / Evgeny Ashikhmin
Also, with the support of Russian diplomats in Narva and Johvi, in early April 2017, an international educational campaign was held to test knowledge of the Russian language "Total Dictation".
The last event with the participation of Consul General Kazennov was the celebrations in honor of the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, which took place on May 24.
At the event, organized by the authorities of Narva and the Board of Trustees of the Church of the Narva Icon of the Mother of God, teachers of the Russian language and literature were honored. Dmitry Kazennov participated in the presentation of memorable gifts to teachers.
Narva and Ida-Viru County: the territory of Russian Estonia
Official Tallinn is extremely sensitive to any activity of Russian diplomats in the Ida-Virumaa county, the largest city of which is Narva.
According to official statistics, over 70 percent of the county's population are ethnic Russians. In Narva, this figure is even higher: over 82 percent. Despite the steady decline in the total population of the region, the ratio does not change. The main language spoken by the locals is Russian, which is extremely annoying for Estonian politicians, who see this region bordering Russia as potentially "separatist".
These fears are not without foundation. During the collapse of the USSR, the idea of creating the Prynarovskaya Republic by analogy with Transnistria was popular here. In July 1991, the city councils of Narva, Kohtla-Järve and Sillamäe made such a proposal. However, after Russia recognized the independence of Estonia, the representatives of Tallinn dispersed the local councils, accusing them of separatism.
In 1993, a referendum on the creation of Russian territorial autonomy was held in Narva, and this initiative was supported by a majority of votes. However, Tallinn did not recognize the results of the referendum, and the activists did not receive support for their demands from Russia either. As a result, the Russian majority of the region never received an instrument to protect their rights.
Residents of Narva wanted respect and waited for American tanks
But in February 2017, the population of Narva saw American soldiers. More than 200 soldiers of the Estonian Defense Forces Scout Battalion and US Army airborne troops crossed to the Russian border as part of NATO exercises. The American military with weapons in their hands and the US flag were photographed against the backdrop of the Russian Ivangorod, which directly borders Narva.
Then the residents of Narva could also watch the parade of American armored vehicles.
From the point of view of the Estonian authorities, American tanks on the border with Russia act as a guarantee of the country's sovereignty.
Russian-speaking residents of Narva object: they do not put forward demands for secession from Estonia, they want decent living conditions, respect for their own culture and the right to speak their native language. How this right can be guaranteed by the US military is not clear.
Wait for an answer
Former Director General of Kapo (Security Police) of Estonia Raivo Aeg commented in an interview with the Postimees portal about the possible reason for the expulsion of Russian diplomats: “If a diplomat starts working against the country in which he is accredited, then usually there is nothing left but to declare him persona non grata and expel him from the country.”
The response to the expulsion of diplomats, according to generally accepted practice, may be the return expulsion of diplomatic workers of the same rank.
A note instructing Russian diplomats to leave the country. This was reported by the local news portal Delfi, citing two unnamed sources, as well as Estonia.
Information about the expulsion of Kazennov and Surgaev from the Republic of Estonia was confirmed by the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Sandra Kamilova.
“The Estonian Foreign Ministry can confirm that Kazennov and Surgaev will be expelled from Estonia,” Kamilova said, answering a correspondent's question about the handing over to the Russian consuls of a note of expulsion.
However, the representative of the Estonian diplomatic mission refused to comment on the situation in any way or name the specific reasons for the decision to expel the two consuls of the Russian Federation from Estonia. The period during which Kazennov and Surgaev must leave the country was not named either.
Representatives of the Russian Embassy in Estonia also said that they would not comment on this situation for the time being. The adviser of the Russian diplomatic mission in the Republic of Estonia told this to a correspondent.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to the information about the expulsion from Estonia of the Russian consuls in Narva, Dmitry Kazennov and Andrey Surgaev. The decision of the Estonian authorities in the Russian diplomatic department was described as another unreasonable and unfriendly act of Tallinn towards Moscow.
“This is another unfriendly and unjustified act that will not go unanswered,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, commenting on the situation.
Nevertheless, representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry did not provide any additional details on this matter.
Learning is darkness: fears of Tallinn
This is not the first diplomatic scandal in bilateral relations between Moscow and Tallinn. So, in September 2015, Russia and Estonia exchanged intelligence officers convicted of espionage. Then Moscow extradited Eston Kohver, who was sentenced to 15 years, and Tallinn, Aleksey Dressen, who was sentenced to 16 years. These steps caused a wide resonance, since the Estonian authorities then accused the Russian special services of having kidnapped Kohver.
Earlier, the Estonian Ministry of Defense expressed concerns about the joint strategic exercises of the Russian Federation and Belarus "West", which are scheduled for September 2017. This statement was made on April 27 by the head of Estonia, Margus Tsahkna.
According to Tsahkna, Estonia and a number of member states have information that Moscow wants to use the upcoming military exercises in September to deploy its troops in Belarus in response to the increased activity of the North Atlantic Alliance along the borders of the Union State.
The head of the Estonian military department also said that the Russian side allegedly plans to send 4,000 wagons of soldiers and military equipment to conduct the exercises. Back in January, Russia emphasized that the upcoming exercises were of a planned nature, and the Russian Defense Minister said that the scenario of the exercises "will take into account the situation related to the intensification of NATO activities on the borders of the Union State."
In this regard, Tsakhkna expressed concern that the military contingent of the Russian Federation might not leave the territory of Moscow's closest military ally after the end of the September exercises.
“For the Russian troops that will be sent to Belarus, this is a one-way ticket,” the head of the Estonian Ministry of Defense told a correspondent.
“This is not my personal opinion – we are very carefully analyzing how Russia is preparing for these exercises,” Tsakhkna added.
It is assumed that the exercises "West-2017" will be held at Russian and Belarusian training grounds in two stages. Among the main goals of the exercises, Russia and Belarus call the improvement of mechanisms for joint planning and tactics of commanding troops.
It is worth noting that earlier the President of Belarus invited the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens, to attend the exercises as an observer. In addition to Stoltenberg, such an invitation was also received by representatives of the CIS, CSTO and.
He called the expulsion of diplomats from Estonia at the end of last week a "provocative act" and promised not to leave it unanswered. The diplomat recalled that the principle of reciprocity always operates in relations between states. However, a "mirror" response from the Russian side will not cause adequate damage to the activities of the Estonian representative office in Russia.
Standing right on the border with Russia, Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. More than 30% of its inhabitants are Russian citizens, officially having the status of "living abroad". For them, as well as for many other residents of the Russian-speaking east of Estonia, the Russian Consulate General is the most important structure. Residents of the eastern regions of Estonia with Russian citizenship can easily obtain new Russian documents only in the place where they are registered with the consular authorities.
The Consulate General of Estonia in St. Petersburg does not play such a key role for Estonians. Basically, its functions are the promotion of Estonian culture and competition with the Finns in issuing Schengen visas to the population of the North-West of Russia. Therefore, even if two Estonian consular workers are sent from St. Petersburg as a response, this will not create any special problems for either the Estonian people or the citizens of Estonia in the Russian North-West.
Old conflict as a new reason
The tasks facing the employees of Russian diplomatic missions abroad include ensuring the protection of monuments related to Russian culture and history. For the Baltic States, these are, first of all, monuments to Soviet soldiers, whom official Tallinn considers to be occupiers. Representatives of the Consulate General in Narva participate in most commemorative events near such monuments and assist in their upkeep.
In addition, they demand an investigation in case of desecration of monuments, and sometimes they try by legal means to prevent their removal or destruction by the official authorities.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry actually has no tools for the latter, except for official protests ignored by the Estonian side.
The Baltic online edition DELFI reports that it was the situation with one of the monuments that became the reason for the expulsion of Russian diplomats. On the night of May 16, in the city of Kivioli, a monument to Soviet pilots was desecrated, installed on a private plot owned by the head of the local veterans' organization. A day later, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially expressed the indignation of the Russian side in connection with the indicated fact of vandalism.
Some time later, a meeting of Russian consular officials with Kiviõli Mayor Nikolai Voeikin took place. He allegedly refused to acknowledge any responsibility for the monument, and recorded the conversation itself on a dictaphone. He was outraged that the conversation was conducted in high tones, but the transcript of this recording was never made public.
The fact of the conversation, confirmed to Gazeta.Ru by one of its witnesses, a Russian-speaking activist involved in the protection of monuments to Soviet soldiers, turned out to be a reason for accusing the employees of the Consulate General of treating a municipal employee inappropriately for diplomats. The result was the expulsion of Kazennov and Surgaev.
What's left behind the scenes
Even if we assume that in a personal conversation, experienced Russian diplomats (Kazennov, for example, began his career back in Soviet times) allowed themselves to put some pressure on the Estonian official, expulsion from the country looks clearly an excessive measure. In such cases, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs usually submits a note of protest to the leadership of diplomats, hoping that they will recall their employees.
Such correspondence contains specific facts of rudeness, actions incompatible with the consular position, and other evidence of a violation of diplomatic protocol. People suspected of involvement in espionage are usually expelled without explanation.
This is not the first time that the Estonian Foreign Ministry has expelled Russian diplomats from the country. Such cases have been going on since the beginning of the 2000s. Usually, the Estonian special service - the Security Police - publishes a press release in which it indicates that the Russians who left the country were associated with Russian intelligence. With regard to Kazennov and Surgaev, the Estonian counterintelligence officers did not do this.
Interlocutors of Gazeta.Ru in the Russian community of Estonia suggest that official Tallinn is seeking to weaken the Russian diplomatic corps in order to limit Moscow's influence on the Russian-speaking residents of the country.
There are forces in Estonia that are trying to draw a parallel between the Donbass and the Prynarovskaya People's Republic, which allegedly is about to be created by Russian compatriots at the behest of diplomats from Moscow.
Indeed, many Russian official structures formally work with compatriots in the Baltic States. But the Russian-speaking residents of Estonia are divided, they, in fact, do not have their own party. The “Centrists” (Estonian Center Party), for which Russian Tallinners traditionally vote, have not made any serious progress in protecting Russian schools and kindergartens, in simplifying the acquisition of Estonian citizenship, and in reducing nationalist rhetoric in the media.
Part of the Russian-speaking youth even supports the Estonian nationalists, advocates the speedy integration of Russians into Estonian society and the rejection of any ties with Russia.
According to DELFI, Nikolai Voeikin himself, the conflict with which probably became the reason for the expulsion of Russian diplomats, is a former party official who supervised the law enforcement agencies of Soviet Estonia. But later he unconditionally supported the independence course taken in the former Soviet republic. Mayor Kiviõli participated in the introduction of the visa regime in 1992, created the migration department, led the self-defense team. As the Estonian human rights activist Sergei Seredenko commented on the situation to Gazeta.Ru, “he is a real Estonian and is very far from Russians.”
Two Russian diplomats expelled from Estonia have left the country. The day before, Andrey Surgaev, consul-adviser in Narva, left, on Wednesday, May 31, Dmitry Kazennov, consul general in Narva, reports RIA Novosti with reference to Denis Mosyukov, press attache of the Russian embassy in Tallinn.
On May 26, the country's authorities ordered Kazennov and Surgaev to leave the country before the end of the month, that is, the deadline expires today. As Russian Ambassador to Estonia Alexander Petrov said earlier, both diplomats are career employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry, "who have done a lot to improve bilateral relations during their work in Narva."
The Russian Foreign Ministry called the expulsion of diplomats another unfriendly and unjustified act that will not go unanswered.
The reason for the expulsion is called a "disrespectful" conversation with the mayor of Kiviõli about the monument to Soviet pilots
The Foreign Ministry did not name the reasons for the expulsion. Andrey Surgaev himself admitted before his departure that the announcement of his persona non grata was a complete surprise for him, but he categorically refused to comment on the reason, writes the Ida-Virumaa newspaper Viru Prospekt.
Russian Ambassador to Estonia Alexander Petrov said that it is not customary in diplomatic practice to name the reasons for such demarches.
The press secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sandra Kamilova, also refused to tell the press the reason for the expulsion of the diplomats. Meanwhile, local media are speculating about the reasons. The Eesti Rahvusringhääling portal reports that they could have been expelled because of a tough conversation with Kiviõli Mayor Nikolai Voeikin: a few days before the expulsion, diplomats discussed with him the issue of moving the monument to Soviet pilots from a private site in Kiviõli, a city in the northeast parts of Estonia in Ida-Viru County - to the city cemetery.
Several sources of the Delfi portal reported that the conversation between diplomats and the mayor was recorded and the diplomatic note is the reaction of the Estonian Foreign Ministry to the rhetoric of the Consul General and the Consul when discussing the fate of the monument.
Voeikin, in an interview with the Estonian Radio 4, confirmed that he had a long conversation with Kazennov and Surgaev about the refusal to move the monument to Soviet pilots, but declined to comment on a possible connection between this conversation and the expulsion of diplomats, Eesti Rahvusringhääling reports.
According to him, the conversation took place on May 18 and lasted 72 minutes, it was about the monument to the fallen Soviet pilots, which Sarkis Tatevosyan, the chairman of the Union of War, Labor Veterans and Russian Compatriots of the city of Kivioli, erected on his land in Kivioli on Vabaduse Boulevard.
The monument was repeatedly desecrated, and it was proposed to be moved to a mass grave in Kytteiyu, where it would be better protected. The city authorities refused to transfer, referring to the fact that the monument is not connected with Kiviõli, but with the Luganuse parish, on the territory of which the downed bomber fell, after which the employees of the Russian consulate decided to talk with the mayor.
Two days after another case of vandalism on May 16, when the monument was doused with tar, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, made a tough statement about this and said that the Russian embassy had already appealed to the Estonian authorities with a demand to take measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
Voeikin confirmed that part of his conversation with Russian diplomats concerned this monument, and the diplomats emphasized that they were not satisfied with the decision of the city council. "They persistently turned to me so that I would pass the result of our conversation to the city meeting. They constantly emphasized that this is very important for them. They understand that the issue has been legally resolved at the level of city government, and they emphasize good will, humanity, humanity towards them people, to their history, so that this monument is still transferred to Kytteiyu for a mass grave," he added.
At the same time, Voeikin refused to comment on a possible connection between this conversation and the expulsion of diplomats. "Of course, I will not comment on this. They were my guests, they were diplomats, they know that they are representatives of another state, they are responsible for their words, so I will not comment on this," Mayor Kivioli said.
Dmitry Kazennov has served as Consul General of Russia in Narva since October 2015. Prior to this appointment, he worked in various positions in the central office of the Russian Foreign Ministry and abroad: in 1989-1992 - the second, and then the first secretary of the USSR Embassy in Afghanistan, in 1999-2002 - Consul General of Russia in Bombay (Mumbai), India.