The embassy has been under siege by pro-Kremlin youth activists of the Nashi (Ours) movement since last week, when Estonian authorities moved a Soviet-era monument in central Tallinn to a military cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
"Today we will end the siege at the Estonian Embassy," said Vasily Yakemenko, the leader of the Nashi (Ours) pro-Kremlin youth movement. "The Estonian ambassador's cowardly retreat is our victory."
The press service of the Estonian Foreign Ministry reported that Ambassador Marina Kaljurand had left on a vacation last Friday.
Yakemenko said his movement would start collecting signatures to "move the [Estonian] embassy to the outskirts of Moscow," adding that "150,000 signatures have already been collected, and we plan to collect up to a million."
The activist said Nashi "will continue to obstruct Estonian vans and hold pickets in various cities." He said a march by a few thousand students will be staged at 4:00 p.m. Moscow time Friday from Bolotnaya Square to the EU office in Moscow. The marchers will be demanding the release of student Mark Siryk, an activist with the Siin youth movement, "who was arrested on accusations of plotting a coup d'etat" in Tallinn.
