While African American NATO troops protect Estonia’s capital, local racists shout 'Go back to your grandparents in Nigeria!' February 24 will be a big day in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, when the small Baltic country of 1.3 million celebrates the 98th anniversary of its first independence—complete with a military parade.
The best of the country’s military might—nine infantry companies, four artillery batteries, nine platoons and two military orchestras—will march past the president, dignitaries and honorable guests, presenting all types of weaponry at Estonia’s arsenal, both U.S. and Soviet-made. According to the Headquarters of the Defense Forces of Estonia, the parade will feature armored troop carriers Sisu XA-1188 and Stryker, 122- and 155-milimeter howitzers, the battery of 120- millimeter mortars, Soviet-made anti-aircraft auto cannon ZU-23-2 “Sergey,” anti- aircraft complex Mistral, anti-tank systems Milan and Javelin, mobile radar Ground Master 403 and auxiliary combat vehicles.
This can hardly be called a show of force—aimed to impress Estonia’s neighbor Russia—given that the Estonian army is only about 5,500 troops strong with a little more than 30,000 in reserves.
The combined military might of all three Baltic countries—Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia—receive nothing but open mockery and contempt from its mighty neighbor. Last November, when the leaders of the three states made a final decision not to partake in the anti-ISIL coalition in Syria, based on the fact that at one point in time Russia might be a member of the coalition (a partnership they consider unacceptable), Russian Vice Premier Dmitry Rogozin tweeted sarcastically, “No, they wanted to, but their armies got stuck in the elevator.”
According to the latest report by the think tank RAND Corp, even with NATO’s support (in the best-case scenario) it would take Russia no more than 36 to 60 hours to march over all three Baltic capitals—more specifically, 36 hours was allocated for Russians to take Tallinn.
Although it is next to impossible to impress Russia with Estonia’s military might, this week’s parade will be very important as a show of solidarity with NATO. (All Baltic countries have been NATO members since March 2004.)
In 2014, in his speech in Tallinn, U.S. President Obama bravely stated that “the defense of Tallinn and Riga and Vilnius is just as important as the defense of Berlin and Paris and London…You lost your independence once before,” added the first American black president. “With NATO, you will never lose it again.”
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