Ruuben Kaalep
Ruuben Kaalep (born on 21 September 1993 in Tallinn) is an Estonian politician and poet. He has been member of XIV Riigikogu.[1] He is a founder of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia's youth organization Sinine Äratus ('Blue Awakening').[1] Since 2012, he is a member of Estonian Conservative People's Party.[1]
Accusations of Nazism, anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism
In April 2019, journalist Mikk Salu published an article in Eesti Ekspress describing incidents from Kaalep's past, which were just a few examples from a long documented history, on the basis of which Salu considered it justified to claim that Ruuben Kaalep is a Nazi and an anti-Semite.[2][3]
In high school, Kaalep had allegedly directed a play questioning the Holocaust. Between 2009 and 2014, Kaalep was actively involved in the editing of the Estonian section of the anti-Semitic and Nazi online encyclopaedia Metapedia. In 2014, Kaalep, as a representative of the EKRE youth, went to the British neo-Nazi radio station Renegade Broadcasting to talk about Estonian history.[2] According to Kaalep, he did not know the owner of the radio station, was not aware of the background of the terrorist organisation "National Action" created by the presenter and has not subsequently interacted with this group.[2] Kaalep was involved in the active role of the radio station's owner and was not aware of the background of the terrorist organisation "National Action".
In 2016, Kaalep posted a photo of himself with US far-right activist Paul Ramsey on his Instagram page, captioning the photo "fashy goyim", which, according to journalist Mikk Salu, means "fascist non-Jews" in neo-Nazi parlance. Kaalep has commented on Salu's allegation: "This is an internet meme, and such an interpretation of the meme rather shows the journalist's inaccuracy."[2]
In March, Kaalep shared a photo of himself and his companions standing behind Simon Wiesenthal Centre director Efraim Zuroff, holding their noses and, in Mikk Salu's opinion, mocking the man. According to Kaalep, this disrespect was not directed at people of Jewish ethnicity, but at Efraim Zuroff alone, who "has for decades made statements that are hostile to Estonia and slanderous of our freedom struggle."[2] The Mikk Salenthal memorial in Mikk Salenthal's statement was not intended to be a disrespectful gesture to people of Jewish ethnicity.
In the same year, Kaalep also shared a photo on Twitter in which he poses with American neo-Nazi Richard B. Spencer.[2][3] According to Kaalep's explanation, Spencer wanted to take a picture with him and he "disagrees with very many of his views, including the glorification of imperialism and Russophilia."[2]
In February 2019, Kaalep organised antisemitic Greg Johnson and Olena Semenyaka to perform for the Young Relievers. Greg Johnson has considered the resolution of the "Jewish question" to be a very important issue, while not wishing to massacre Jews, but to carry out "humane ethnic cleansing". Kaalep is already acquainted with him, having interviewed him in the past. According to Kaalep, Johnson has always insisted that genocide and imperialism are out of the question for today's nationalists, and has advocated a nation state for all peoples, including Jews.[2] Olena Semenyaka has cited Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists, as one of her most important influences, and has posed with a Nazi banner and a swastika.[2][3] The reason given by Kaalep for inviting Semenyaka was that he was the foreign secretary of the Ukrainian parliamentary party, the People's Corps, which had represented Ukrainian nationalists at meetings and conferences in many European countries, and that the People's Corps was based at the Azov Polka, whose soldiers were also legally assisted by the Estonian state.[2][3] Semenyaka was one of the most influential figures in the Ukrainian nationalist movement.
In May 2019, when Marine Le Pen was visiting Estonia for discussions with EKRE, MP Kaalep and Le Pen took a selfie together with both flashing the "OK" hand gesture.[4]
Kaalep is a Facebook friend and he appeared at the same conference together with Alexander Markovic, one of the founders of the Austrian Identitarian Movement IBÖ. This Austrian movement has received donations from the Australian racist and anti-Semitic terrorist Brenton Tarrant. The event, organised by Blue Dawn to promote Australian culture, was promoted with a meme common among anti-Semites and Nazis in Australia, which was also Brenton Tarrant's Twitter avatar. According to Kaalep, this is a pure coincidence and the meme has been used to depict Australians in online circles since at least 2013.[2] In the video clip of the Riigikogu election ad, Kaalep is seen with the book "My awakening" by Ku Klux Klan racist and anti-Semitic leader David Duke prominently displayed on a bookshelf behind him.
Earlier, in 2015, Ruuben Kaalep's manifestations of far-right extremism had been discussed by historian Aro Velmet, who at the time pointed out that Kaalep had posed with the insignia of the 20th Estonian SS Volunteer Division on the EKRE website and given an interview to the white supremacist activist radio station Renegade Broadcasting.[5] Velmet accuses Kaalep of using the same symbol as the War of Independence Victory Monument in Tallinn.
Poetry
In 2020, Kaalep published his first poetry book, Litoriinamere loits & teisi luuletusi. It includes poems written from his high school time up to his parliamentary work.[6]
Kaalep's poetry is considered diverse: there is doggerel, love poetry, nature meditations and ethnofuturism.[7] According to Karl Martin Sinijärv, Kaalep is able to use his novel imagery and cool substance to create an entirely enjoyable poetic picture out of even old and supposedly boring metre.[8] Rauno Alliksaar, however, has been critical of Kaalep's "dripping and sometimes thinly metaphored patriotism"[9] and Aare Pilv of his "patriotic-militaristic eroticism".[10] Siim Lill, on the other hand, describes Kaalep's poems as "sustained by a thorough self-irony", adding: "The author is aware of the addressees and impact of his words – that his texts irritate even beforehand, that nationalism automatically creates polemics. Thus, for the reader who supports Kaalep's position the texts are amusing, but for the reader who bounces off they become a grain of sand, scratching even when one understands that the words are consciously directed to irritate him."[7]
Kaalep himself has described his poetic credo as follows: "Art is to express what cannot be expressed in words, while poetry is even more complicated, as it returns to express in words what cannot be expressed in words."[11]
In 2022, Kaalep won a special prize at Otepää Parish Rhymed Chronicle awards for his poem "Hexameter of Päidla".[12]
Personal life
His father was poet, playwright, literary critic and translator Ain Kaalep. From 2012 until 2017 he studied history at University of Tartu.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "101_biographies_2019" (PDF). riigikogu.ee. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Riigikogusse valitud Ruuben Kaalepi natslik ja antisemiitlik jäljerada on lai nagu Lasnamäe kanal. Eesti Ekspress, 03.04.2019
- ^ a b c d Kõik on üks suur juhus! Ehk kuidas Ruuben Kaalep jätkab antisemitismi õigustamist. Eesti Ekspress, 04.04.2019
- ^ "Marine Le Pen asks EKRE MP to delete 'selfie' from social media page". ERR. 15 May 2019.
- ^ Aro Velmet: EKRE tõelisest loomusest on mööda vaadanud nii ajakirjandus, analüütikud kui ka Taavi Rõivas. ERR, 06.03.2015
- ^ Ruuben Kaalep avaldab oma esimese luulekogu. Apollo Raamatuportaal, elu24
- ^ a b Siim Lill. Sisemise orava taltsutamine. Looming, nr 8, 2021.
- ^ Karl Martin Sinijärv. Jätku lugemis(t)ele! 2020.
- ^ Rauno Alliksaar. Kes tasub trükitöölise vaeva? Värske Rõhk, nr 70. 2021.
- ^ Aare Pilv. Eestikeelne luule 2020. Looming, nr 4, 2021.
- ^ VÕETUD MEES? ⟩ Skandaalne poliitik Ruuben Kaalep avaldas luulekogu, kus tuleb juttu ka «isamaalisest pruudist». elu24
- ^ Otepää riimkroonika konkursile laekus tosina autori looming. Lõunaleht