US Tanks Paraded 300 Yards from Russia’s Borders

Under the Star-Spangled Banner

Here’s an area of inquiry for political journalists, it would seem: A column of American tanks with American flags crawls through the center of Estonia’s Narva, 90 percent of the population of which is ethnically Russian … Occupation? War? Apparently not; the soldiers of Estonia’s small army are briskly marching right behind and for some reason aren’t turning out the “new invaders” by the scruff of the neck.

Evidently, you have to look for hidden meaning here. This time, they decided to hold the parade in honor of Estonia’s Independence Day, Feb. 24, in Narva, 300 yards from the Russian border, seemingly in the hope that it would be seen from the Kremlin’s towers. For lack of tanks of their own, American tanks with star-spangled banners were sent out, so that everyone would understand: Stop, be afraid! If anything happens, America will arrive and defend the Estonians all in one breath.

Under this guise, it’s really possible to do anything you like …

“Peaceful” Nazi March

For example, hold a torchlight procession in the center of Tallinn on the very same Independence Day. An analogy with Nazi Germany springs to mind in vain — this is exclusively a “folk tradition of Baltic peoples.”

At the last moment, the word “Estonians” was cut from the march’s original slogan (“For Estonians’ Estonia”). An almost pastoral image resulted, 200 people strolling through the medieval streets, the lights in their hands festively reflected in the windows like Christmas candles. It was so beautiful that some TV channels even called the procession “peace-loving” in comparison with the marches of Ukraine’s Banderovites.

But the number one “Nazi hunter” on the planet and director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Jerusalem office Efraim Zuroff, who flew to Tallinn expressly for this purpose and watched the procession from the crowd, later commented by telephone: “What was most shocking was not the analogy with Germany but the fact that a third of the event’s participants were children!”* The horror lies in the fact that someone got these children involved in adult games. It’s now the norm that this is a “game” for them.

Russian? Only with Tourists

As it is for their parents. Otherwise Estonian state television wouldn’t have released on the day before Independence Day a video that is surprising in its stupidity. The gist of it is this: A smart and well-mannered Russian boy from Murmansk approaches a rude little Estonian girl to ask her where the nearest store is. The girl, brought up in the best local traditions, squawks at him, waving her hands, “Wha-at? Learn Estonian! You live here and aren’t even able to learn the basics! You live in the country of Estonia, where there’s only the Estonian language! If you don’t want to learn Estonian, leave for Russia if it’s better there. But it isn’t better there because it’s good to live in the EU! What, don’t you understand what I’m saying at all? I’m not going to speak with you in Russian here!” Then the girl finds out that the boy is a tourist and her tone changes. She explains in Russian how to get to the store.

“Thank you! You’re a very nice person!” says the boy without any mockery. He adds, “And in Russia they say that only fascists live in Estonia.”

“That’s Crimean propaganda. It’s nonsense! Don’t believe it!” protests the girl, whose parents are apparently tutoring her for exams by making her watch local news.

The children depart on different sides of civilization.

Everyone who still plans on going to Tallinn on vacation should watch the video.