War graves
In the Republic of Estonia, the legal protection, maintenance, public access, marking procedures, burial conditions and other matters related to war graves in Estonia are regulated by the War Graves Protection Act.
The Minister of Defence has entrusted the activities related to war graves to the Estonian War Museum, which is an institution under the administration of the Ministry.
The War Museum keeps records of war graves, organises the search for, marking and maintenance of war graves and, where necessary, the reburial of remains. In addition to war graves on Estonian territory, the War Museum also collects information on Estonian war graves outside Estonia.
War graves registered in Estonia are listed in the War Graves Register. The register contains mainly the graves of the Estonian War of Independence and the World War II soldiers, which are listed as common graves. The compilation of the list is ongoing, as a large number of war graves have not yet been listed. Once the remains in a war grave have been reburied, the information on the former war grave will not be removed from the list. In this case, the information will be added to the list.
The list of war graves is maintained on the basis of the Order No 23 of the Minister of Defence of 02.08.2007.
For clarification, comments and feedback, please send an e-mail to the following address info@esm.ee.
Registries
War graves registry
The list of war graves includes war graves registered in Estonia. The list mainly includes the graves of the soldier fallen in the Estonian War of Independence and World War II soldiers buried in communal graves.
The compilation of the list is ongoing, as a large number of war graves are still to be found, identified and listed. Please inform the Estonian War Museum about a grave not found in the Registry, by phone 621 7410 or by e-mail info@esm.ee.
Soviet war monuments
The database is based on the materials compiled by the Task Force for the Mapping of Soviet Occupation Memorials, which was working at the Governmrnt Office in 2022. It contains information on 365 Soviet war memorials that were or are located on Estonian territory, most of which were erected to commemorate the fallen in the common graves of the Red Army.
Defence Forces Cemetery
The Defense Forces Cemetery on Tehnika Street in Tallinn is also a part of the War Museum. Guided tours on the historical cemetery, which is under heritage protection, are available.
Vaata lähemalt