The decision of the Estonian government to remove the memorial and the remnants of the 13 Soviet soldiers to a military cemetery on the outskirts of Tallinn sparked off protest by the Russian-speaking population in Estonia at the end of April 2007.

The Russian parliament threatened Estonia with trade sanctions and with breaking off diplomatic relations and pro-Putin activists picketed the Estonian embassy in Moscow.

[1] The Estonian daily Postimees quoted Toomas Vitsut on 4 July 2006 as follows: "The current situation, when the police constantly guards part of the city centre of Tallinn, is not normal.

As Vitsut lately remembered, this assembly was very quarrelsome: "The old veterans of both sides were calm and wanted to resolve this case quietly, trying together to find a new place for the statue.

In February 2011 it was stated in Estonian TV program Pealtnägija (Spectator) that a ship Balkan Star, which belonged to Vitsut exported explosives to Mediterranean countries, including Libya.