Sergey Ivanov
The relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn and exhumation of the bodies buried from a square in the center of Tallinn to a military cemetery in April 2007 provoked a harsh Russian reaction. The Federation Council, on 27 April, approved a statement concerning the monument, which urges the Russian authorities to take the "toughest possible measures" against Estonia. First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov said that adequate measures, primarily, economic ones, should be taken against Estonia. Belittling the World War II heroes' feats and desecrating monuments erected in their memory leads to discord and mistrust between countries and peoples, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Victory Day 2007. In the days following the relocation, the Embassy of Estonia in Moscow was besieged by protesters, including pro-Kremlin youth organisations "Nashi" and the Young Guard of United Russia. Estonia's president Toomas Hendrik Ilves expressed his astonishment that Russia has — despite the promises of foreign minister Lavrov — not taken actions to protect the diplomatic personnel. On 2 May, a small group of protesters attempted to disrupt a press conference the Estonian ambassador to Russia, Marina Kaljurand was holding at the offices of the Moscow newspaper, Argumenty i Fakty, but were held back by security guards. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the Ambassador confirmed to them that her bodyguard used pepper spray against the protesters. Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet suggested to consider calling off the upcoming EU-Russia Summit that was due to take place on 18 May.