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Here’s something typical from Russian language blogs back in April.

It rather gives the lie to the claim that Estonia was surprised by Russian reaction. Or that the plan to dig up the grave was not a deliberately provocative act. Or that protest was confined to drunks or criminals.

Feelings were already running very high both in Russia and in the local community.

The headline here, ‘Who’s Next’ raises a good point. Poland has also introduced a bill to eradicate Soviet era monuments. This hasn’t caused a murmur. After all, Russia has pretty much eradicated its own collection. You’ll be very hard put to find a statue of Stalin anywhere in Russia, just as you won’t find a town called Stalingrad or Leningrad anymore. The difference is that the Polish bill draws the line at war graves.

In Germany, Berlin’s collection of war memorials are carefully maintained tourist attractions. Meanwhile, in Britain, France, Belgium, the International War Graves Commission is still tending graves of all nationalities from the First World War.

Deliberate provocation has knock-on consequences. So, let’s see. Estonia bullies its Russian-speaking minority. When Russia protests, it screams that poor little Estonia is being bullied by Russia. After which NATO Estonia calls in an even bigger bully and escalates the row to Washington. This has led Pat Buchanan to ask Americans whether Estonia is worth dying for? He writes:

‘Settling these quarrels is essential to peace in Europe. But the notion that Russian intervention in a Baltic Republic should be met by a U.S. declaration of war, or any attack upon a nation with thousands of atomic weapons, is the definition of insanity’.

But clearly, Estonia doesn’t think it’s insane. Moreover, Pat Buchanan is an anti-war campaigner and many Americans aren’t. Could deliberate provocation by one small nation plunge the whole of Europe into conflict? Oh dear, it’s happened before . . .