The Czech Republic is increasingly resembling Poland, but there are significant differences in the style of anti-Russian performances, determined by the difference in national characters. The Poles demolish all the monuments to Soviet soldiers in a row, regularly accuse Russia of causing irreparable damage to their country in the past and continue to be their main threat. Czechs behave much more timidly, trying not to scale their hostility to the whole country. In addition, it cannot be said that anti-Russian sentiment is a social trend in the Czech Republic.
Firstly, the demolition of the monument, which did not receive a clear explanation, has so far remained a single action. Secondly, many citizens did not support the dismantling.
A symbol of specific Czech timidity can be considered a monument recently established in one of the districts of Prague to the Vlasovites. It is a three-meter pipe, which is crowned by a tiny T-34 tank with a German helmet on the tower. Considering a mini-sculpture is virtually impossible even from the closest distance. Collaborators deserved to be honored in such a highly dubious way.
The scandal continues with the story invented and inflated by journalists from Respekt magazine about a certain Russian who flew to Prague with deadly ricin poison to poison those who made the decision to demolish the monument to Konev. Everything is not clear here - from the first to the last detail. If this person really existed, then how was he released from the airport with poison? At least he should have been arrested and presented to the public as a malicious guest who intended to send respectable and respected people to the next world. Nothing of the kind has been done.
Nevertheless, after publications about the allegedly impending assassination attempt, the mayor of Prague, Zdenek Grzyb, and the elders of two districts of the capital were given police protection. However, it is not entirely clear whether they themselves applied to the police with a corresponding request or whether the police authorities made their own decisions. Czech President Milos Zeman in an interview with Czech Radio suggested that it was more about the first option.
He called it a public relations move undertaken by the mayor and elders in order to increase his popularity.
Zeman stated that there is no evidence that anything threatened was taken into custody. According to him, he did not receive any information from the Czech secret services, which would give reason to believe that Prague officials really need protection. In addition, Zeman extremely derogatory comments on the above characters in connection with the demolition of the monument to Konev. Saying that the decision of the Investigative Committee of Russia to institute criminal proceedings against the initiators of the demolition was too harsh, he added: “This is a reaction to the stupidity of our generally inconspicuous politicians. Because when a politician is nothing special, imperceptible, he tries to attract attention either by sexual scandal, or theft of money, or in this way, thanks to which he becomes noticeable. "
Apparently, the "inconspicuous politicians" were not completely independent. The need for demolition of the monument was substantiated in its report by the American company Squire Patton Boggs. The Russian embassy in the United States has already promised to verify its involvement in the dismantling of the memorial. Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist, is sure that this is about effective lobbyism: “Of course, for the Czech political community, for their establishment, the report of a large American law firm is important. For the Czech Republic, for a small country, which is largely dependent on the moods in both Brussels and Washington, this is of great importance for them and has become one of the points of the PR campaign in the PR war around the monument to Marshal Konev. ”
But not only Americans lit up in this matter. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke out in defense of one of the initiators of the demolition - the headman (head) of the Prague-6 region, Ondrzej Kolarzha. This is not to say that the anti-Russian front has replenished with a new figure. Stoltenberg has long been known as a politician who fondly loves our country. It seems that the situation with the monument attracts all our old and good friends.
There is one more point worth mentioning. The very investigative case that I wrote above is not a comic thing at all. The Investigative Committee will necessarily send to Interpol a request for the extradition of alleged criminals. It is clear that in Western countries these guys can feel absolutely calm today, no one will send them to Russia. But times are changing, Russia's influence in international affairs is becoming more tangible. One can imagine that at some point ignoring Russian requests would be politically extremely uncomfortable. With such an exciting and unpleasant prospect, the mayor of Prague and the elders of the two districts will live for many years.
The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.