The GRU sent precise coordinates and even hand-drawn sketches of how the monuments were to be desecrated. The instructions indicate drawing a black swastika on the monuments and crossing it out with a red line.
Similar to the vandalism of the Estonian Minister of the Interior Lauri Lènemets’ car at the end of 2023, which was also done on the orders of the GRU, a chain of executors was involved in the vandalism of monuments, in which those working for the Russian intelligence service hired others to carry out the vandalism.
The intelligence service of the Russian army instructed Russian citizens living in Estonia, who then recruited a 37-year-old Russian citizen living in Tallinn, Anton Patrakov, who in turn hired a dual citizen of Estonia and Russia, Andrej Pirime, to desecrate the monuments. Patrakov offered a compensation of 750 euros to Pirimė, a resident of Tallinn in financial difficulties.
On the evening of January 22, Petrakovs and Pirimė left Tallinn for East Vir County. At the time of the attack, the Audi A6 car also had red paint provided by Petrakov, which was disguised in tomato juice packets and red and black canisters. After midnight, the two vandals reached the 1944 battle memorial in the Blue Mountains, where they blew a black swastika on three monuments, crossing it with red paint. Then they doused the monuments with red paint from juice packs.
They did the same to another World War II monument between the Tallinn-Narva highway and the village of Sinime. Petrakov filmed the vandalism on his Huawei smartphone and took pictures of the desecrated monuments.
After completing the task, the men returned to Tallinn and burned the paint packets in a stove, although this was not included in the GRU instructions, but they wanted to destroy the evidence.
Estonian Attorney General Trinu Oleva-Åsa admitted that the vandalism was filmed to be used for Russian propaganda, but the vandals were caught before the video went online.
“The filming of the vandalism against the monuments was most likely part of an influence operation. Russia tries to portray such events as internal tensions in Estonia, suggesting a divided society. Such videos are a preferred tool for Russian propaganda,” Oleva-Åsa explained.
At the end of January, Patrakov paid Pirime the promised 750 euros.
The GRU then demanded the desecration of another monument, threatening not to pay for what they had done. Therefore, on January 31, Petrakovs went alone to Mustla in Wieland county, where he covered with black and red paint the commemorative plaque of Alfons Rebane, who fought on the side of Germany in the Second World War. Although he went to Mustla alone in the hope of earning more, he was not paid for the vandalism.
During the investigation, Pirime denied that he knew about the involvement of the GRU. During the investigation, he expressed regret for what he had done. His motivation was the money offered by an acquaintance.
Initially, the vandalism in Eastern Viru County was investigated together with the case of damage to Lenemets’ car, but Pirime agreed to plead with the prosecutor’s office, so his case was separated from the case in which Kremlin supporter Alan Khantsom and his accomplices were convicted of damaging the interior minister’s car.
The court in Pirime confiscated the 750 euros received, and also imposed a fine of 1,230 euros, as well as a suspended four-month prison sentence with a probationary period of one year and three months.
Patrakov was sentenced to three years in prison, of which he actually had to spend five months and 15 days in prison, and the rest is a conditional sentence with a four-year probationary period. Also, the 750 euros received for vandalism in Eastern Viru County were confiscated from Petrakov and a fine of 2,050 euros was imposed, and he must pay court costs in the amount of 695 euros.