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Empty Spaces and the Value of Symbols: Estonia's ‘War of Monuments’ from Another Angle

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  • Stuart Burch
  • David Smith

Abstract

Taking as its point of departure the recent heightened discussion surrounding publicly sited monuments in Estonia, this article investigates the issue from the perspective of the country's eastern border city of Narva, focusing especially upon the restoration in 2000 of a ‘Swedish Lion’ monument to mark the 300th anniversary of Sweden's victory over Russia at the first Battle of Narva. This commemoration is characterised here as a successful local negotiation of a potentially divisive past, as are subsequent commemorations of the Russian conquest of Narva in 1704. A recent proposal to erect a statue of Peter the Great in the city, however, briefly threatened to open a new front in Estonia's ongoing ‘war of monuments’. Through a discussion of these episodes, the article seeks to link the Narva case to broader conceptual issues of identity politics, nationalism and post-communist transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Stuart Burch & David Smith, 2007. "Empty Spaces and the Value of Symbols: Estonia's ‘War of Monuments’ from Another Angle," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(6), pages 913-936.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ceasxx:v:59:y:2007:i:6:p:913-936
    DOI: 10.1080/09668130701489139
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    Cited by:

    1. Mircea-Cristian Ghenghea, 2014. "A Geopolitical Stake: Republic Of Moldova Between The European Union And The Eurasian Union," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 6(2a), pages 86-93, August.
    2. Anna Gromilova, 2014. "Changing Identities Of The Baltic States: Three Memories In Stone," CES Working Papers, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 6(2a), pages 94-110, August.

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