Russian war journalist detained for throwing eggs at Russian embassy in Tallinn

Journalist Arkady Babchenko is threatened with a fine for laying eggs in the embassy building at night, but he is undeterred. Photo: Скриншот с видео Аркадия Бабченко

On the night between Saturday and Sunday, a police patrol in the Old City of Tallinn detained a man who had been throwing eggs at the building of the Russian embassy before their eyes.

It has now been revealed that the detained man is Arkady Babchenko, a 46-year-old Russian war journalist, who has since been released and who faces a fine for his action, Postimees reported.

Babchenko told Rus.Postimees that he threw four chicken eggs in the direction of the embassy building, and that the motive should be obvious.

Babchenko says he did not expect any result from the action and did not think about what the reaction of society would be. He described the egg-throwing as just a political action.

«Definitely a political act. I don`t understand why on earth there should be an embassy of a terrorist state in the democratic and free Estonia and why maintain international relations with that terrorist state. On what can we continue a dialogue with Russia?» Babchenko told Rus.Postimehees in an interview.

Police spokespeople in Tallinn said that on the night between Saturday and Sunday, a man born in 1977 threw eggs against the wall of the building of the embassy of the Russian Federation.

«A patrol on the scene detained the man and proceedings were opened,» they said.

Writer and journalist Arkady Babchenko. Photo: Eero Vabamägi / Postimees

Babchenko said the protest was unplanned, and he considers the motive for the spontaneous act to be obvious. According to Babchenko, he occurred on the street near the embassy by chance: «I walked past the Russian embassy, carrying shopping bags, and there were eggs in the bag. In my opinion, such a reaction to Russian aggression is natural.»

«Russia is killing Ukrainians and has occupied Ukraine. For a year and a half, Russia has been destroying that country, wiping out cities from the face of the earth, destroying tens of thousands of people, killing children and the elderly every day,» he said.

Police guard the Russian embassy. Photo: Konstantin Sednev / Postimees

On social networks, the idea of paying fines in advance for those who repeat Babchenko`s protest is gaining popularity. According to Babchenko, such a reaction was not his goal.

«Every person has the right to express their opinion. As for my fine, I don`t know what the amount will be. The handling of the case in court will take place in almost a month, on August 29. I don`t know how the case will end,» the journalist said.

Rosfinmonitoring, Russia`s main body for financial intelligence, has declared Babchenko an international fugitive, and the Ministry of Justice of Russia has declared him a foreign agent.

An Estonian translation of Babchenko`s 2006 book «One Soldier's War» about his experiences in the wars in Chechnya was published in 2011.