On April 3, a monument to the liberator of Auschwitz and Czechoslovakia to Soviet Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev was dismantled in Prague. After this event, Ondřej Kolář - the head of the metropolitan municipality of Praha 6, where the monument was located, posted an insulting post on Facebook. In particular, Kolarge wrote that the statue of the Marshal was removed from the pedestal due to the fact that during the quarantine period she did not have a medical mask.
The Russian Embassy in Prague condemned the dismantling, accusing Ondrej Koláž of mocking the memory of the commander who led the liberation of Czechoslovakia from the Nazi occupiers.
“What happened causes deep indignation. Of particular note is the cynicism of the massacre of the monument on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism. There is no doubt about the provocative actions of the fighter against the monument, the headman of Praha 6 O. Kolarzha, ”the message says on the website of the embassy.
The diplomatic mission emphasized that the actions of the authorities of the municipality contradict the provisions of the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Czech Republic, which oblige Prague to protect historical and cultural monuments.
A spokesman for the Czech president, Jiri Ovčáček, also condemned the dismantling of the Konevu monument. On his Twitter page, he said that in a difficult time fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the Praha 6 authorities “decided to shame the country.” According to Ovchachek, the initiators of the demolition of the monument are politicians who are opposed to the central authorities of the Czech Republic.
According to the leadership of the municipality, the monument to Konev will be moved to the territory of one of the commercial companies specializing in the storage of historical sculptures. Then the statue of the Soviet Marshal will be transferred to the “Museum of the 20th Century Memory”, the opening date of which has not yet been determined. At the site of the monument to the Soviet commander, the Praha 6 authorities are going to erect a memorial reminiscent of the liberation of the capital of Czechoslovakia in May 1945. However, the ideological concept of the new monument has not yet been revealed.
"Unverified speculation"
The administration of Praha 6 officially justified the decision to dismantle the monument to Konev with regular vandal attacks. Most often, unknown persons doused the monument with red paint.
Commenting earlier on another act of vandalism against the monument to the Soviet commander that occurred on the night of August 22, 2019, Kolarge wrote on Facebook that the authorities would not rush to clean it off, because over the past few years hundreds of thousands of crowns had been spent from the municipal budget for repair and restoration of the monument.
- Monument to Ivan Konev before dismantling
- Reuters
- © David W Cerny
“We will talk again with the Russians and offer them to move the monument to the territory of their embassy. Until they take a constructive position ... the statue will remain uncleaned, ”wrote Kolarge.
The head of Praha 6 proposed to transfer the Konevu monument to the territory of the Russian Embassy back in 2017. In case of refusal, Kolarge promised to place an explanatory plate “with all the pros and cons of Konev” on the monument.
A similar booth appeared in 2018. It posted information on the contribution of the Soviet marshal to the liberation of Northern, Central and Eastern Bohemia, as well as Konev’s participation in the suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising, the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, and support for "information intelligence before the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia."
“We welcome the installation of an additional plate. We do not question the role of the Red Army in the liberation of Czechoslovakia. However, Smersh counterintelligence forces came along with her and immediately arrested many residents of Prague, especially Russian and Ukrainian migrants, ”commented Petr Pysha, local municipal deputy, on the appearance of the tablet.
The Embassy of the Russian Federation condemned the installation of an information stand with "pluses and minuses of Konev." According to diplomats, Russia has repeatedly emphasized that information about Konev’s involvement in the operation of the police department is not true. Back in May 2018, the Russian embassy announced that the Soviet marshal could not in any way participate in the events of 1968.
"I.S. Konev in April 1963, taking into account age, left the leadership in the USSR Armed Forces and was enrolled in the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. The only thing that connects I.S. Koneva and Czechoslovakia is the command of the Prague Liberation Operation in May 1945, ”the Russian Embassy explained on its Twitter page, citing documents from the Central Archive of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The monument to Konev was erected on the Interbrigade Square in Prague on May 9, 1980. The authors of the memorial were Czech sculptors Zdenek Krybus and Vratislav Ruzicka. The opening of the monument symbolized the gratitude of Prague to the Soviet troops who came to the aid of the rebel inhabitants of the Czech capital in early May 1945.
The anti-Hitler riot in the capital of Czechoslovakia began on May 5, and the next day the Red Army launched the Prague offensive operation, which continued until May 11.
The key role in the liquidation of the German group in the capital of Czechoslovakia and its environs was played by units of the 1st Ukrainian Front commanded by Ivan Konev.
According to the materials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Wehrmacht tried to brutally suppress the Prague uprising by using artillery, tanks and aircraft. In order to help the underground, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front launched an offensive a day ahead of schedule.
The first Soviet unit to break into Prague was the 10th Guards Tank Corps of the 4th Guards Tank Army. Tankers appeared on the streets of the Czechoslovak capital on May 9 at 04:00. Following in came the 9th Mechanized Corps of the 3rd Guards Tank Army, the advanced units of the 13th and 3rd Guards Armies. By 10:00, Soviet troops, with the support of the local population, had completely captured all of Prague.
“This is our shame”
In an interview with RT, RISI expert Oksana Petrovskaya, a doctor of historical sciences, noted that in the Czech Republic after the events of 1968 and the collapse of the socialist regime, an ambiguous attitude towards the actions of the Red Army in 1944-1945 was formed.
According to the analyst, more liberal residents of large cities of the republic support the elimination of Soviet monuments. At the same time, the population of small settlements, on the contrary, advocates the preservation of monuments to the Red Army.
- Soviet troops in Prague
- © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
A similar split exists in the political elite of the country, says Petrovskaya. For example, the president of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, is an opponent of the dismantling of memorials of the Red Army and Ivan Konev.
“This is our shame, because no matter what Konev, the monument was a symbol of the Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of Prague, there were about 13 thousand of them. But it was also a symbol of all the Red Army soldiers who fell during the liberation of Czechoslovakia, and their was about 150 thousand, ”Zeman said last September, speaking on TV Barrandov.
Petrovskaya emphasized that the Czech Republic, unlike Poland, recognizes the liberation of its territory by the Red Army. However, the attitude to the historical heritage of the USSR is also formed taking into account the events of 1968, which the Czechs perceive as armed intervention under the leadership of Moscow.
“In general, in the Czech Republic, the socialist period is not very well treated. But at the moment, the problem also lies in the fact that the left-wing forces of the country are losing their former positions. Pro-Western parties are being strengthened. Such a situation allows demolition of monuments without serious political resonance, ”Petrovskaya stated.
- The process of dismantling the monument to Konev in Prague
- © Ondřej Kolář, starosta Prahy 6
A similar point of view is shared by Yulia Shcherbakova, Senior Researcher, Eastern Europe Department, INION RAS. In a conversation with RT, the expert noted that the situation with the monument to Konev testifies to the growth of Russophobian sentiments in the Czech Republic and the unwillingness of the authorities to provide adequate protection for memorials to the Red Army.
“The situation in the Czech Republic is developing in line with a certain Russophobic policy, the tone of which is set by pro-Western forces. Of course, one cannot say that this is an absolute trend in the country: in Czech society, polar views on the mission of the Red Army are a request for friendly relations with Russia. Another thing is that the Czechs are split in half on these issues, ”summed up Shcherbakova.