The initiator of the dismantling of the monument to Soviet Marshal Konev, the headman (head) of the Prague-6 district Ondřej Kolář, may become the new head of the Czech Foreign Ministry.
I believe that the political views of this character are obvious and there is no reason to hope for an improvement in relations with this country in the near future.
Our diplomats have no reason and nothing to talk to him about.
Let me remind you that after the delusional accusations that Petrov and Boshirov allegedly blew up an arms depot in the Czech Republic, this country became one of the two officially recognized as unfriendly towards Russia.
The second is the United States.
Czechs are very fond of appealing to a collective sense of guilt - they say that the Russians are to blame for the events of 1968 and must forever repent.
But, firstly, even before its collapse, the USSR apologized to Prague, which for some reason the Czechs do not really like to remember.
Back in 1989, a statement by the Soviet government was adopted, which, in particular, said that the introduction of troops in 1968 was "an unlawful act of interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, an act that interrupted the process of democratic renewal of Czechoslovakia and had long-term negative consequences."
And secondly, if we really remember, then we also remember - and the participation of the Czechoslovak corps in the Civil War, and the Czechoslovak weapons that the Nazis fought with during World War II.
European history is a double-edged thing, you can always find a lot of interesting things that some would like to forget about.
Now, most European countries, and the Czech Republic too, face an extremely simple choice.
More precisely, the eternal choice between freedom and non-freedom.
And it is obvious that those who choose Russophobia choose slavery.
After all, this means absolute submission to the American and Brussels agenda, in which there is only a confrontation with Russia and China, and the Eastern European countries in it are assigned the role of cannon fodder and a bargaining chip in the big game.
It certainly looks amazing.
The question arises, why was it necessary to fight so stubbornly for freedom so as to voluntarily, without any military pressure, abandon it and choose to submit to alien interests and alien values?
Apparently, as in the case of Poland, the point is learned helplessness, the lack of the political elite's ability to make really important government decisions. After all, Bohemia and Moravia, which now make up the Czech Republic, were parts of the Austrian Empire for a very long time. Formed after the First World War, Czechoslovakia, in fact, was just learning to be independent, as Ukraine is now studying (studying very badly). And the stake on the Western powers in the confrontation with Hitler led Czechoslovakia to collapse.
Post-war socialist Czechoslovakia was one of the most prosperous states of the Eastern bloc, but again, the wrong rate in 1968 led to a forced military operation, in which, I recall, not only the Soviet Union participated, but also Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic and Poland.
And this participation of the Eastern European countries was completely voluntary, because Romania, for example, refused.
It is very strange that some Czech politicians are still in all seriousness afraid of the "Russian" invasion, while Russia, unlike Austria, Hungary, Poland or Germany, has no even hypothetical territorial claims to Prague.
In 1968, the entire Eastern Bloc was under threat, this was what caused the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia.
It is impossible to imagine why Russia would suddenly need to send troops to the Czech Republic in the current situation, even when this country is declared hostile.
But the Czech Republic, for some reason, is sinking deeper and deeper into the anti-Russian bloc that is being formed by the United States, not understanding or not wanting to understand that the geopolitical chessboard now looks very simple: there are those who, even as NATO members, are able to defend their own interests, like Turkey or Hungary, but there are limitrophes who have no right to their own position, Washington's puppets.
These are primarily the Baltic countries.
And in such a position, the further, the tougher the Czech Republic becomes.
Further development of events for the Czech Republic may follow an unambiguously negative scenario: a refusal from economic and political cooperation with Russia, accompanied by an increasingly serious renunciation of sovereignty.
But there is an opportunity to change your mind, not to appoint an obvious Russophobe and a person toxic to Russia to the main diplomatic post, to withdraw the delusional accusations of explosions in warehouses and continue to build relationships on a mutually beneficial basis - as we have generally done well in previous decades.
It is high time for Czechs to understand that Russophobia is a very dangerous disease, the consequences of which can be extremely threatening for their statehood.
And it is by no means Russia that threatens the Czech Republic.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.