Russian First Deputy Prime Sergei Ivanov on Tuesday urged a boycott of Estonian goods, Interfax news agency reported, escalating a row over Estonia's plans to remove a monument to Soviet soldiers.
Ex-Soviet Estonia wants to remove the statue of a Red Army soldier from the capital because many Estonians see it as a reminder of what they view as four decades of Soviet occupation and Red Army ruthlessness.
Russia says plans to remove the bronze memorial from its central Tallinn position would desecrate the memory of those soldiers who died driving the German army out of Estonia at the end of World War Two.
"These actions will not pass unnoticed for Russian-Estonian relations," Ivanov widely seen as a potential successor to President Vladimir Putin who steps down next year told a meeting of war veterans, according to Interfax.
"Don't buy Estonian goods," he said. "Don't go to Estonia on vacation." Estonia connected Ivanov's call to parliamentary elections this year and presidential elections in 2008. "It is regrettable the election campaign causes inconveniences to citizens and influences their consumption habits," Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said in a statement.
Estonia regained its independence with the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, and tensions have remained as Estonia increasingly aligned itself with the West.
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