The situation in relations between Russia and the Czech Republic in connection with accusations made by the Czech media against the Russian side does not require such radical steps as the expulsion of the Russian ambassador from the republic. This was stated to reporters by the head of the Czech government Andrei Babis.

According to the politician, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petršicek is currently dealing with actual disputes with Moscow. According to Babish, the authorities of the republic will not allow interference of foreign states in its affairs.

“We are a sovereign state and we will not allow any major world power to influence our political affairs in any way,” Babis said, speaking to media representatives after his talks with President Milos Zeman.

  • Andrey Babish
  • Reuters
  • © Yves Herman

“It is unacceptable if it’s true that any foreign state should carry out actions against our citizens in our country,” Babis quoted Radio Prague as saying.

The politician added that Czech diplomats also intend to talk with Moscow about the "unfriendly manifestations" that Czech diplomatic missions in Moscow and St. Petersburg allegedly had to face in recent weeks.

Man with a suitcase

Recall that earlier the Czech publication Respekt, citing unnamed sources, reported the arrival in Prague of “a man with a Russian diplomatic passport” who allegedly “traveled with a suitcase in which there was deadly poison ricin.”

At the same time, according to journalists, the Czech security services were aware of the arrival of this person in the country, who posed a “direct threat” to Czech politicians. Allegedly, the risk of assassination threatens the head of the metropolitan area of ​​Praha 6, Ondrej Kolář, who had previously decided to dismantle the monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev, as well as the mayor of Prague, Zdenek Grzyb, whose administration gave the square in front of the Russian Embassy a new name - the name of Boris Nemtsov, the Russian opposition politician.

  • Milos Zeman
  • Reuters
  • © David W Cerny

Now these politicians are protected by Czech law enforcement agencies.

“I can only say that they took me under police protection. There were certain reasons for this ... There is a Russian here who is entrusted with the task of eliminating me, ”quoted Ondrzej Kolář as quoted by Reuters earlier on Prima.

As Vadim Trukhachev, a lecturer at the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy of the Historical Archive Institute of the Russian State Humanitarian University, noted in this conversation with RT, this publication is a deliberate throw-in by radical Russophobic circles, not so numerous, but very active and enjoying American support.

“Their goal is the complete destruction of Russian-Czech relations, and this story is part of these efforts,” the expert is sure.

The expert drew attention to the fact that the Czech Prime Minister did not confirm the reliability of the version about the allegedly impending assassination of Czech politicians by Russia.

“To begin with, the air traffic between Russia and the EU is interrupted. It is unlikely that anyone could fly from Russia to Prague even physically. Not to mention the fact that the version of bringing the Prague elder as a “sacred sacrifice” by the Russian special services is nonsense. Babish is not a pro-Russian politician, but he probably understands the importance of Russia for the Czech Republic as a trading partner, ”the expert noted.

Earlier, the Czech Foreign Ministry said that the return of a “duly accredited Russian diplomat” from a business trip to Prague about three weeks ago was a “fact”.

The Russian embassy in the Czech Republic denied this information. According to the statement of the diplomatic mission, since mid-March 2020, "not a single diplomatic officer of the Russian embassy in the Czech Republic has arrived at the Prague airport."

Prior to this, the embassy also commented on the publication of the publication Respekt, in which Russia is actually accused of preparing an attempt on Czech politicians.

“The speculations contained in the publication have absolutely no basis whatsoever,” the Russian diplomatic agency said in a comment.

According to Russian diplomats, this publication was a continuation of the information campaign aimed at discrediting Russia.

“Such primitive provocative propaganda tricks that contradict elementary journalistic ethics can cause nothing but disgust,” the Russian embassy said.

Speaking at a briefing on April 29, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the accusations against the Russian side "painful fantasies."

“Here it is already impossible to criticize, describe or give any characteristic. This is a provocation bordering on painful delirium on the part of those forces in the Czech Republic who want to damage Russian-Czech relations at any cost. As we understand, in order to achieve this goal, they are ready for anything, ”Zakharova emphasized.

Historical schism

Recall that the monument to Soviet Marshal Konev was installed in Prague on May 9, 1980 in gratitude to the Red Army, which liberated the city from Nazi troops in 1945. In the spring of 1945, the resistance movement to fascist forces intensified in Czechoslovakia, and Soviet troops came to the aid of the Czechs. The forces of the 1st Ukrainian Front, commanded by Ivan Konev, played the most important role in the liberation of the present capital of the Czech Republic. 

In early April 2020, the monument to Marshal Konev was dismantled by decision of the municipality of the Praha 6 district. According to an official explanation given by local authorities, this decision was made due to regular attacks by vandals who doused the monument with paint.

As previously stated by the district head, in recent years hundreds of thousands of crowns have been spent on caring for the monument. The politician also proposed moving the monument to the territory of the Russian embassy.

  • Residents of Prague welcomed the Soviet troops. May 9, 1945
  • RIA News
  • © Leonid Dorensky

It should be noted that not only Moscow condemned the actions of the Prague municipality. Czech President Milos Zeman does not approve of them either. As the press secretary of the head of the republic, Jiri Ovchacek, wrote on his Twitter page, in the difficult period of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the authorities of the metropolitan area Praha 6 “decided to cover the country with shame.” At the same time, Ovchachek added that politicians opposed to the current authorities of the republic were behind the decision to demolish the monument. 

Milos Zeman also spoke directly on this issue, condemning the initiators of the demolition.

“Marshal Konev not only liberated Prague, he also liberated Auschwitz, while those who remove this monument have not yet done anything worthwhile in their lives. This is a feature of “fighters with monuments,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. 

As political analyst Boris Mezhuyev noted in an interview with RT, there is a serious split in the Czech society regarding the attitude to Russia and the communist past.

“Many are grateful to Moscow, and they perceive the monument to Konev as part of their own history. After the war, there were no more pro-Soviet people than the Czechs, it was an absolute love for the Soviet liberator. After 1968, the attitude began to change. And after the collapse of the USSR, it changed completely, but a significant part of society still retained a good attitude towards the past. Today, a protest against the communist past is used by many politicians to demonstrate a certain position, ”said the expert.

A similar point of view is shared by Vadim Trukhachev. As the expert explained, now the attitude towards Russia is a "bargaining chip" for Czech politicians.

“There is a wide range of opinions in the Czech Republic. Warden Ondřej Kolář belongs to the party “TOP 09”, which is in the deepest opposition to both Prime Minister Babysh and President Zeman. This is an extremely Russophobian flank of Czech politics. The level of Russophobia in the Czech Republic should not be exaggerated, but it is also impossible not to take it into account. We can say that in Prague, most residents either approve of the dismantling of the monument, or simply do not mind. Moreover, the majority of citizens in the country as a whole are more likely against demolition, ”the expert noted.

As Trukhachev explained, the monument could not be demolished for a long time because there were many opponents of such a move in Czech society. And the local authorities managed to dismantle the monument only thanks to quarantine, because no one could go out and oppose it. The fact is that since mid-March, the country introduced a ban on the free movement of citizens, as well as a ban on gathering in groups of more than two people. Restrictions were eased on April 24, but during this time the Prague municipality managed to demolish the monument. 

“Czech society is sufficiently divided in relation to Russia. About 15-20% of Russophiles are in the camp, the same number of Russophobes, and the rest adhere to a neutral position, ”the expert noted.

Attacks on Russia

The authorities in Prague say they could not influence the decision of the municipal authorities. This was announced by the mayor of Prague Zdenek Grzyb, commenting on the news of the initiation of a criminal case by the RF IC regarding the dismantling of the monument to the Soviet Marshal. The fact is that in the Czech Republic, as in many other European countries, the municipal authority has very great powers.

As recalled earlier in the Russian Foreign Ministry, the dismantling of the monument to the Soviet Marshal clearly violates the 1993 Agreement on Friendly Relations and Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Czech Republic. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, speaking earlier at a briefing. She noted that the terms of the contract oblige the parties to ensure the safety and maintenance of military monuments, as well as provide access to them.

  • The building of the Russian Embassy in Prague
  • AFP
  • © Michal Cizek

“References to the provisions of domestic law, as well as to decisions of local authorities, as an excuse for not fulfilling the contract are unacceptable ... The question of who owns the monument does not matter in this context,” Zakharova emphasized.

As for the publication about the alleged attempt by the Russian side to assassinate Czech politicians, the Russian Foreign Ministry assesses them as "the next stage in the unscrupulous work launched in the West to defame Russia."

Interestingly, the father of the head of the municipality of Praha 6 Kolářá previously worked in the Czech Foreign Ministry, was an ambassador to the United States and Russia. Now he is an adviser to an American consulting company, which was preparing a conclusion for the Prague municipality justifying the demolition of the monument to Marshal Konev. This was reminded earlier by the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov in an interview with Russian and foreign media.

According to Trukhachev, the dismantling of the monument to Konev cannot but affect Russian-Czech relations, but now everything depends on the authorities of the republic.

“The best option would be to reinstall the monument in some other area of ​​Prague. If the Czech leadership is puzzled by this issue, then the relationship can be brought back to normal, ”the expert summed up.