What happened
In the night before 30 December the symbol "Z" was painted on one of the columns of the Riigikogu building in Tallinn. This was reported by the Estonian media outlet Delfi. At about 02:00 a parliamentary security officer detained the suspected perpetrator — a 32‑year‑old Estonian citizen.
Police response and legal qualification
The Põhja Prefecture opened proceedings under an article concerning the support and justification of an international crime. According to the prefecture's operational head, the suspect was already known to the police and had previously been held accountable for similar actions. The painted symbol has been temporarily covered.
"The police have started proceedings and are trying to establish all the circumstances of the incident; the man is well known to our patrols,"
— Kadri Ann Salla, operational head of the Põhja Prefecture
Checks and broader security context
After the incident patrols checked the buildings of other state institutions and several embassies; no similar symbols were found. This comes against the background of recent public statements by Estonian officials: in November the foreign minister noted a change in the situation at the borders, and on 24 December in an interview the head of the foreign ministry spoke of the military's readiness to use force if forces posing a threat crossed the border.
Why it matters
The "Z" symbol has already become a marker of support for Russian aggression — in the Baltic context any public display of this nature carries not only emotional but also security implications. The swift reaction of parliamentary security and the opening of proceedings demonstrate that Estonian institutions view such acts as part of information‑subversive activity that needs to be neutralized by legal and preventive means.
What next
The investigation must establish the motives and any possible connections of the detainee. For the public the key point is not to fall for provocations and to trust the work of law enforcement. Security analysts note that such incidents are checked not only as vandalism but as elements of a broader hybrid threat.
Conclusion: the episode with the "Z" symbol in the city center is a reminder that demonstrative acts of support for an aggressor can have real legal and political consequences. It is now up to the investigation to determine whether this was an isolated incident or part of a wider campaign of provocations.
