For the Police Authorities of Estonia
REQUEST
We kindly ask the Estonian police to investigate a crime defined in the article 151 of the criminal code, “Incitement of hatred”, which has taken place in a way presented in the following.
It has come to our knowledge that activities which publicly incite to hatred and discrimination on the basis of nationality, language, origin and political opinion were carried out in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, August 23th 2009, in the premises of Estonian History Museum, address Pirita tee 56, from 2:40 p.m. until approximately 6:00 p.m. local time.
These activities of criminal nature included the screening of criminal hate propaganda film material titled “The Soviet Story”, allegedly a documentary film, and a speech by the Estonian politician Mart Laar, clearly insulting Russians by inciting political and ethnic hatred against Russians.
The individual responsible for the crime, in addition to Mr. Laar, is the organiser of the event, the leader of the Estonian organization called “Avatud Vabariik” Mr. Evgeny Krishtafovich.
The entrance to the event at the museum was free of charge. Approximately 30 (thirty) individuals participated in the event.
The film “The Soviet Story” was shown in its entirety as part of the event. The duration of the film is 86 minutes. The film was followed by discussion, during which the incitement to ethnic hatred was continued.
Incitement to ethnic hatred was carried out during the event in the following two ways (see chapters A and B):
A. The contents of the film material “The Soviet Story” as evidence of incitement to ethnic hatred
The film “The Soviet Story” includes the following eight (8) sections which include incitement to ethnic, racial and political hatred against Russians:
1) From the 00 hours 52 minutes [00:52] from the beginning of the film “The Soviet Story”, the narrator says, that Russians and their leaders are guilty for the mass murder of Jews, and that Russians and their leaders (“The Kremlin”) in general deny the Holocaust, and consider the Holocaust as “noble action”, and Russians in general call Jews as “fascists”; The narrator also says the following (direct quote from the film): “Kremlin’s denial [i.e. denial of the Holocaust] is supported by one Western historian David Irving, more famous for his denial of the Holocaust. In today’s Russia these actions of Stalin [i.e. murdering of Jews] are justified at the highest level. The former defence minister – – Rodionov is just one of many in Russia today who believe, that helping Hitler to fight Jews in the 1930s was actually a noble fight against fascism, Jewish fascism, as it is now called in Russia.”
2) [01:00] The film shows images of the Victory Day parade in Moscow, into which other images of executions, piles of corpses and mass graves are added by montage. The Victory Day parade is the most respected national event in Russia. The idea of the film is to say that Russia and Russians admire mass murder. This is actually said in the film.
3) [01:01] The film claims, that famous Russian war veteran Mr. Serov would have received the highest badge of honour for the mass murder of innocent people. In general the film labels all Russian war veterans as mass murderers and blames Russians for admiring mass murder and murderers.
4) [01:07] The film shows images of piles of corpses and executions together with the official Hymn of Russia, which is played as background music. The idea is to associate the Russian statehood with mass murder.
5) [01:07] The film shows Nazi concentration camps and claims, that after the war, the Russians took them into operation again. The film claims, that Nazis would have been “less” guilty and that Russians used the Nazi concentration camps for mass murder. In addition the film claims, that Russians deny mass murder and even continue mass murder.
6) [01:11] Two males speaking in Russian are presenting Nazi salute for the camera while a picture of the Russian State Duma is added into the background by montage. The narrator says: “Nazi salute in the parliament of Russia.” This gives an impression that there would be plenty of Nazis in the Russian parliament and that the Nazi salute would be used there, or that Nazi ideas would be popular in the Russian parliament. Right after this, a video with an alleged beheading and an execution in a forest is shown. In the video, the other victim says in Russian before his execution: “Russian national socialists have arrested us” and the executioner says in Russian “Glory to Russia”. In this way, racist murders are connected with the alleged Nazi-sympathies of Russians and the Russian parliament. The film gives the impression that Russians are blood-thirsty Nazis and that their political institutions support such ideas.
7) [01:14] A person interviewed in the film says that the forefathers of Russians are brutal criminals and that modern Russians deny this. A direct quotation from the interview goes: “Nobody wants to admit that [Russians’] forefathers are brutal criminals.”
8) [01:19] The narrator says that Russians in general deny the Holocaust and that this is a norm, that Russians consider murderers as heroes and give them decorations, and that Russians are thought, that mass murderers are heroes. In addition the narrator says, that Russians still repeat the crimes they adore, i.e. are still practising genocide. A direct quotation: “Turning human tragedy into a farce has become a norm in Russia. Ridiculing the Ukrainian famine or the Jewish Holocaust is the norm. – – The killers become heroes, mass murderers are decorated veterans. People are taught the crimes these people committed against humanity are heroic deeds. It is no surprise that these crimes are replicated.”
It is clear that the aim of the film titled “The Soviet Story” is to incite ethnic hatred towards Russians by presenting them as immoral mass murderers or worshippers of mass murder and mass murderers.
After the screening of the film, during the event in question on August 23th 2009, the incitement to ethnic hatred was continued in the following way:
B. Statements inciting ethnic hatred presented by Mr. Mart Laar and reported by Mr. Evgeny Krishtafovich in his blog “The Blog of Evgeniy Krishtafovich” http://krishtafovitsh.lifejournal.com/198900.html) on August 23th 2009 at 11:18 pm titled “About occupiers and scoundrels”
After the film, Mr. Mart Laar gave a public speech to the audience, the intention of which was to prolong incitement of ethnic hatred towards Russians. In his speech, according to the report written by Mr. Evgeny Krishtafovich in his blog the same day, Mr. Laar called Russians with derogatory terms “scoundrel”, “bastard” and “occupier”, who should be “ashamed” of themselves, if they do not admit the contents of the film to be true. These words were used by Mr. Laar when replying to the commentary by Mr. Maksim Reva, who said the film is insulting Russians.
Knowing that Mr. Reva is known to be a Russian and also an activist protecting the cultural and political rights of Russians in Estonia, it is clear, that the words “scoundrel”, “bastards” and “occupier”, said by Mr. Laar, were targeted at Russians in Estonia in general, since obviously Mr. Reva and most or all Russians in Estonia would not agree with the extremely insulting contents of the film.
Later, at 11:10 pm, Mr. Krishtafovich wrote a report about the seminar to his blog and titled it as “About scoundrels and occupiers”, showing below the title a large image of Maksim Reva. This communicates the idea that according to Mr. Krishtafovich, Mr. Reva, a well-known activist protecting Russians’ rights in Estonia, would be representing “scoundrels” or “occupiers”. Since Mr. Krishtafovich was using plural form, his writings refer to all Russians.
In addition, Mr. Krishtafovich claimed the paper including the list of participants was stolen from him after the event, and he hinted to Mr. Reva as the perpetrator of the crime. In addition, Mr. Krishtafovich wrote, that the list is probably already at the Russian embassy.
This was also clearly insulting statement, which in this context was of course supposed to insult the whole Russian community.
In the event Mr. Reva presented a publication written by Russian historian Aleksandr Dyukov, which criticises the film “The Soviet Story” as forgery and hate propaganda against Russians.
In the comments section of his blog, Mr. Krishtafovich added on August 26th 2009 at 7.58 am, that the Russian historian Aleksandr Dyukov is “worthless” person who “steals”; here Mr. Krishtafovich referred also to alleged upbringing of Mr. Dyukov by saying that “according to Soviet upbringing one should steal”.
One should keep in mind that delivering insulting statements during the screening of the film was not enough for Mr. Kristafovich, but he invited Mr. Laar to deliver his commentaries, and afterwards, Mr. Krishtafovich added a report on the event together with insulting statements to the Internet.
It is clear that the above mentioned activities of Mr. Krishtafovich and Mr. Laar are public incitement to hatred, violence and discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, language, origin and political opinion.
The statements presented in the film “The Soviet Story”, and the commentaries given by Mr. Laar and published by Mr. Krishtafovich in his blog, are clear evidence of aggressive propaganda inciting strong hatred towards all Russians by saying they admire mass murderers and are mass murderers themselves. This is extremely dangerous activity in Estonia, where the relations between Russians and Estonians are tense. Both Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich are aware of this, as they are both experienced politicians.
In addition, it is clear that this incitement to hatred results in a danger to the life of Russians living in Estonia, where well-known and popular politicians, such as Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich, are organising events for the purpose of spreading extremely aggressive racist hate propaganda against Russians, claiming they are worshippers of mass murderers and mass murderers themselves, or – quoting the vocabulary of Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich – "occupiers", "scoundrels" and "bastards", as well as "worthless" and "thieves".
The widely propagated idea, presented in the film, seminar and the report in the Internet, that a Russians would adore mass murdering and be mass murderers themselves, is of course causing this group a direct danger of counteraction of criminal or other nature, thus causing their lives, property and health a direct danger.
One should keep in mind the death of Dmitri Ganin, a young Russian citizen, who was murdered during a riot between Russians and Estonians in 2007. The Ganin murder was politically motivated and reflected clearly the anti-Russian sentiments inside the country during the so-called “Bronze Night”, which was a reaction to the actions of certain Estonian political figures. These actions against the “Bronze Soldier” monument were considered as hostile by several members of the Russian community.
However, in this case, there is no doubt that the actions of Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich are hostile provocations towards Russians and as such, a possible cause for escalation of violence, thus causing a direct danger to Russians in Estonia.
One should take into consideration the fact that the film "The Soviet Story" was presented as documentary film consisting of facts. Also the fact that two famous politicians participated in the screening, makes the event even more reliable. Therefore, many people indeed can take as truth the claims of Russians being blood-thirsty mass murderers and worshippers of mass murderers and of genocide. This causes even more danger for the life and health of Russians in Estonia.
Regarding the reputation of Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich, we should be aware of the fact that both individuals have been declared by Russian state authorities as “persona non grata”, i.e. unwelcome persons, who do not have entry permit to Russia. This has been reported in the Estonian press. The fact that both are declared unwelcome, refers to the possibility that their presence in Russia would cause danger to the society or individuals and that one of the goals of their political activity is to spread hate propaganda against Russian people.
In addition, according to press materials available for all, it is well-known that Mr. Laar has acted as a political adviser to the president of Georgia, being therefore directly involved in preparations of a genocide against Russian people during August 2008, as the activities of Georgia are considered by majority of Russians. Without handling this controversial issue of war in detail, it is clear, that in this context (a recent war), the statements of Mr. Laar on August 23th 2009 were clearly a provocation aiming at incitement of ethnic hatred and increasing the tension in Estonia towards ethnic conflict, therefore causing a direct danger for the life and health of the Russian population in Estonia.
One should also keep in mind that, according to information obtained from the Estonian press, a book written by Mr. Laar about the so-called Estonian SS-legion, was last year investigated as criminal Nazi propaganda by the German police.
The fact, that Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich were showing the insulting film “The Soviet Story” on August 23th 2009, which is the day of signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact – an extremely controversial event for the Russian audience – is a clear evidence of the fact, that their intention was spread incitement of ethnic and political hatred against the Russian population through a provocation.
The fact that Mr. Maksim Reva, through whom the incitement of hatred was partly targeted, is a relatively young person, who by no means is responsible of any actions of Russians or any other individuals during the 1940s. The idea that insulting statements were targeted through him, is a clear sign of the fact that the statements about “occupiers”, “scoundrels” and “bastards” are supposed to spread hatred against all Russians in Estonia. The fact that a young person such as Mr. Reva, is labelled as “occupier” in this context, is a prime example on how the film “The Soviet Story” is being used for incitement of ethnic hatred towards a minority.
In addition, it should be mentioned, that a screening of the film “The Soviet Story” is currently investigated by the Finnish police on suspicion of incitement to ethnic or racial hatred, as defined by the Finnish criminal code (it should also be mentioned, that the organiser of screenings of the film in Finland lives in Estonia).
Therefore there are grounds to suspect that Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich are guilty of the crime defined in the article 151 of the Estonian criminal code, and therefore, in accordance to the legislation of Estonia, the police authorities of Estonia should take legal action and launch criminal proceedings against Mr. Laar and Mr. Krishtafovich.
Espoo, 30.8.2009
With Respect
Dr. Johan Bäckman
Adjunct Professor in Sociology of Law
University of Helsinki
Adjunct Professor in Criminology
University of Turku
For the Police Authorities of Estonia
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
With respect I would like to add to my request sent on August 31th the following information.
After the information of my request to the Estonian police appeared in the Internet, the other person to whom I demanded punishment for incitement of hatred according to the article 151 of the criminal code of Estonia, Mr. Evgeny Krishtafovich, replied in his blog in the following way.
On August 31th 2009 at 3:51 pm Mr. Kristafovich posted a comment on his blog about the request regarding article 151, and replied, that he can add this request with clear conscience to his curriculum vitae. Mr. Krishtafovich by no means denied his guilt to the crime defined in article 151. On the opposite, according to his blog, Mr. Krishtafvich considered incitement of ethnic hatred against Russians as a merit, not crime. This should be taken into consideration when evaluating his possible guilt to the crime defined in article 151.
Mr. Krishtafovich falsely claimed I would have reported him to the police in Finland twice. That is not true. I have not reported Mr. Krishtafovich to the Finnish police nor heard anything about such reporting.
In addition, in the same blog comment, Mr. Krishtafovich calls me with the derogatory words "scum" and "stupid" and claims that all universities with whom I previously worked, have allegedly refused of my services. In addition, he calls me "false scholar". I would like to point out to the Estonian police, that I consider such false and insulting claims, published in the Internet, as libel and ask police to take necessary legal measures.
Mr. Krishtafovich continued incitement to hatred against Russians on August 31th in his blog comment, posted at 6.25 pm, where he described Mr. Maksim Reva, the political activist protecting the rights of Russians in Estonia, as "shoplifter", and continued to blaim the historian Aleksandr Dyukov about "theft of intellectual property". In addition, in a commentary posted by Mr. Krishtafovich on August 26th at 7.38 pm, Mr. Krishtafovich claims that Mr. Reva would have stolen on years 2004 and 2007. Mr. Krishtafovich also added a link to a racist video (www.reporter.ee/2008/01/21/aprilliool-maratsenute-varasem-paturegister-on-nagu-kelmiromaan) claiming that most Russian political activists, protecting the rights of Russians, would be convicted criminals (mostly thieves). This material, produced or referred to by Mr. Krishtavocih, is clearly racist and xenophobic and without doubt a clear example of incitement of hatred.
In addition, on a commentary posted on August 31th at 4.46 pm, Mr. Krishtafovich admits that he indeed is persona non grata in Russia. Moreover, as a reason for declaring him persona non grata in Russia, Mr. Krishtafovich explains his participation in a conference in so-called Museum of occupations. The fact that Russian authorities have considered his participation as a hostile act, gives of course grounds to consider, that he has continued this hostility (incitement of hatred) also in the other museum conference on August 23th.
In my opinion, all this is further evidence of the fact that Mr. Krishtafovich should be prosecuted of the crime defined in the article 151 of Estonian criminal code.
Espoo, 1.9.2009
With Respect
Dr. Johan Bäckman
Adjunct Professor in Sociology of Law
University of Helsinki
Adjunct Professor in Criminology
University of Turku





