I read this around a week ago, but forgot to link to the excellent article.
If you’ve not caught any of this on the news (or only heard a 30 second segment on it), please do click the link, read through and then leave a comment at his site, if you feel like giving some thought on the matter.
Estonia: Battle by Bronze Proxy
Why is it that a WW II-monument repeatedly sparks bilateral crises between Estonia and Russia? This question has, in recent days, gained new relevance after strong Russian reactions against the Estonian parliament’s decision to remove the so called Bronze Soldier (Pronkssõdur) soviet war monument from central Tallinn. The reason is simple: The Bronze Soldier has become a proxy for the conflict between Estonian and Russian interests in Estonia before the 4 March parliamentary elections.
To read the rest, please click here
BTW, all of the above is Vilhelm’s text not mine, I’m just hoping to whet your appetite enough to make you check his blog out, if you haven’t already done so.
Also, I’ve checked out the details of Vilhelm’s Creative Commons License here, and think it means I’m OK to quote his work, as long as I state it is his, and where to get the full text from, sure someone will correct me if not…
Finally, I know this doesn’t really belong under the category of Kazakhstan, but it isn’t really Personal, nor am I too likely to be posting about Estonia again.
February 23rd, 2007 4:00 am
Dear Chris,
You are so welcome to quote me. I am more than happy that you found my text interesting. One so seldom gets credit or appreciation for the subjects one blogs about.
The creative commons license is – as you know – the blog equivalent to copyright. As long as one is properly referred to and not grossly misrepresented it is, as I see it, generally quite OK. The problem is when people put commercial use to one’s text or publish them under their own name. I am sorry to say that all of the above has been known to happen. A friend of mine e.g. recently discovered that something he wrote had been published in another person’s name, and in academia this is simply far too common. I come across it every once in a while, and it is always such a fuzzy business. Thus, I want to save myself the trouble of any ambiguities concerning who is the author of what I write, even if it in most cases would not be fit to print or commercially and scientifically viable.
In any way, I am more than happy that you found my text on Estonia interesting, and you were more than welcome to quote it as you did.
Yours,
Vilhelm