Websites in Estonian cyberspace have been placed on high alert since the past weekend following recent street clashes in the capital Tallinn between government forces and demonstrators over a Soviet-era monument to an unknown soldier. Following two nights of disturbances in which one man was confirmed dead, more than 150 injured and some 800 arrested the confrontation spilled over into the cyberdomain, where many attacks on Estonian websites were registered since last Friday.

According to reports in Russian and Estonian media the situation was so bad that access to the official government portal of the Estonian Republic has been restricted for users from external IP numbers. Other sites including that of the President, Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Parliament were also partially blocked over the weekend.

On Saturday the Internet portal of the ruling Estonian Reform Party was also infiltrated by hackers, who published a supposed apology and promise to return the soldier's statue to its original place from Estonia's Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. Mr Ansip is widely seen in Russia to be the person responsible for the removal of the Soviet-era monument from its former site in the centre of the capital. The party's website was still down on Monday morning, and Estonian citizens were also warned to check any information they received from government Internet portals, as these could also be compromised by external attacks.