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The President of the Republic laid a wreath to commemorate the Battle of Paju31.01.2004
 President Rüütel today in the County of Valgamaa attended the ceremony to mark the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Paju and laid a wreath at the battle monument. Thereafter, the President of the Republic at the monument gave the starting signal for the Battle of Paju Anniversary Race. In front of the Manor of Paju where the historic battle had taken place, President Rüütel laid a wreath at the Pohjan Pojat Memorial Stone.
Also the Commander of the Defence Forces, the Minister of Defence and representatives of the Riigikogu took part in the ceremony. The memorial meeting including the wreath-laying ceremony was one of the commemorative events on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Paju taking place at Paju and in the Town of Valga from January 30 to February 1.
The Battle of Paju took place on 30-31 January 1919. Estonian rangers and the Finnish volunteers Regiment Pohjan Pojat (Northern Boys), outnumbered by the units of the Red Army they were fighting against, captured the Estate of Paju. The battle opened the way to Valga and was one of the battles that decided the fate of Estonia's War of Independence. In this bloodiest battle of the War of Independence, 104 Estonians and Finns were wounded and 46 killed, among them the commander of the Estonian rangers detachment, Lieutenant Julius Kuperjanov, who was wounded to death.
Public Relations Unit of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, January 31, 2004
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