Since I visited in December 2017, they have built a memorial to Estonian people who suffered the terror of the Soviet regime. The memorial consists of two parts – 'Journey', with name plaques of the victims, and a 'Home Garden' symbolised by bees. Estonia lost a fifth of its population of just over one million to Soviet terrorism, many of whom still rest in unmarked graves. People now have somewhere to remember lost family members and friends.
The other prominent feature is the Soviet-era monument consisting of an elegant bowed obelisk set amid a large crumbling concrete plaza. The obelisk was erected in 1960 to commemorate the Soviet troops killed in 1918. The remainder of the complex was built in 1975 as a memorial to Red Army soldiers killed fighting the Nazis and includes the bronze “Perishing Seagulls” representing the struggle between the two powers.
The whole complex was built partly over a war cemetery housing 2300 German dead, dating from 1941 and serves as a lasting symbol of the futility of war and the fragility of human life.
Our final visit of the day was to the TV Tower built in the Soviet era for the 1980s Olympics to give better communications. It is 314 metres high with a viewing platform and café at the 170 metre level. It was renovated in 2012 and includes some interesting displays about hi-tech Estonia reinforcing the observations of the high level of technical sophistication everywhere in Tallin (120 percent mobile phone ownership!!).
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