The "Soldier-Liberator" monument in Tallinn, put up in 1947, has had a round-the-clock police cordon since May 25, when local authorities rejected demands by radical nationalists, who see it as a symbol of Soviet occupation, to pull it down. The monument has twice been attacked by vandals.
Police said that following protests in front of the city legislature against the decision to leave the monument in place, one of the protesters, Silver Laus, 26, broke through the police cordon and tried to wrap an Estonian flag around the statue.
Police returned Laus to beyond the cordon, but he tried to break through again. He now faces a fine of about 800 euros.
Relations between Russia and Estonia have been poor in the last few years, as Estonia seeks official recognition of what it calls Soviet occupation from Russia - the Soviet Union's successor state under international law - while Russia accuses the Baltic state of discriminating against ethnic Russians living there.
