An article in the August 1, 2001 issue of Estonia-a Russian language newspaper published in Estonia-criticizes the government for passivity towards extremist youth groups, antisemitic publishing and antisemitic graffiti (including swastikas and calls to murder Jews). As in most post-Soviet countries, the incitement of ethnic or religious hatred is illegal in Estonia.

The article begins with the statement: "Swastikas, which periodically appear on the walls of apartment buildings in North-Eastern Estonia should not be seen as just harmless children's pranks." The author attributes the graffiti to neo-Nazi skinheads, who are:

"…far from harmless. It is known from very well informed sources that such organizations of so-called skinheads are based on a strict conspiracy: They are broken up into groups of five and members of one group of five don't know who is in the other groups. An older person from Narva is their leader. 'Mein Kampf' is a coffee table book for them. The study of the German language is part of the training for members of the organization. Antisemitism is one of the main parts of the ideology which the young Sillamjae Nazis espouse."

The author quotes the mayor of Sillamjae saying that he has a negative attitude towards neo-Nazi activities, but adding that, "These kids don't have any significant support and their ideas don't spread very far."

The author criticizes local authorities who refused to take responsibility for cleaning up such graffiti, claiming it is outside of their jurisdiction. He compares them to storks hiding their heads in the sand, mentions that an antisemitic newspaper is being published in Narva, and adds that more neo-Nazi activity is expected soon because of coming elections.

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