Estonia to unveil sculpture of Russia's Boris Yeltsin

Estonia will formally unveil a sculpture of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin this month, project organizers said. The bas-relief commemorating Yeltsin's role in the relatively bloodless separation of Estonia and the Soviet Union will be formally dedicated Aug. 22 in a ceremony in Tallinn which Yeltsin's widow, Naina, is expected to attend. "A monument to be installed by civic initiative is the greatest tribute that Estonian citizens can posthumously pay to the president of a neighboring country who, while controversial, played such an important role in our liberation," organizers told Estonian public broadcaster ERR. The other two Baltic countries, Lithuania and Latvia, previously presented Yeltsin with medals honoring his role in their independence.