“It has nothing to do with law”: the Russian Foreign Ministry answered the words of the head of the Prague-6 district about the Konevu monument

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized statements by the Czech side on the demolition of the monument to Marshal Konev in Prague. In an interview with RIA Novosti, Zakharova pointed to the legal side of this issue.

“The finding of the monument was regulated by legal acts. All this dirty fuss has nothing to do with the right, ”the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry concluded.

Earlier, the head of the Prague-6 district, Ondřej Kolář, said that Russia was “to blame for the demolition of the monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev.”

According to the Czech official, the refusal of the Russian Embassy in the Czech Republic to place the monument on its territory allegedly led to this outcome.

“When we first told the Russians that we would give them the monument, let's say that he stood at the embassy, ​​where he would be protected, then they answered several times that it was our responsibility to protect the monument,” said a Czech official in an interview with Info. cz.

He expressed the opinion that “the monument could calmly stand in its place” if Russia “did not start what it started.”

Recall that the monument to the Soviet military commander Ivan Konev was installed in the Czech capital on May 9, 1980 in gratitude to the Red Army, which liberated the city from the Nazis in 1945. It was the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of Ivan Konev that played a key role in this operation. In early April 2020, the monument was dismantled by decision of local authorities.

The Russian embassy in Prague then called the actions of the district administration “reprisal”. The diplomatic mission indicated that the monument was removed on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism.

“It is obvious that with their provocative actions, the initiators of the war with monuments, with the connivance of the Czech republican authorities, are seeking to worsen the entire range of Russian-Czech relations,” diplomats said. 

Soon, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the fact of these events. Later, the decision of the Prague authorities was condemned by the president of the country, Milos Zeman.

“This is the stupidity that our unremarkable (municipal. - RT ) politicians did ,” TASS quoted him as saying.

According to Zeman, by dismantling the monument, local authorities wanted to attract public attention.

Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed out strangeness in the behavior of the Czech side and spoke out in favor of restoring the monument. In an interview with RBC, the minister explained that until recently, the Czech side confirmed that the monument to Konev was in the register of the Czech Defense Ministry.

“And suddenly, when it was demolished, we are bashfully told: you know, this is not our property, this is the property of this elder,” he said, emphasizing that “the obligation has not gone away and the monument must be restored.”

“Negative from a significant part of the Czech community”

Commenting on the new statements of the head of the Prague-6 district, a member of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, Sergei Tsekov, noted that the Czech official decided to "join the ranks of fighters against everything Russian."

“The negative that he received after his decisions and actions, and the negative, both from Russia and from, I am sure, a significant part of the Czech community, forces him to make excuses. The monument was erected to the liberator of Prague. Konev did not allow the destruction of the city, ”said the senator in an interview with RT.

He recalled that the decision to erect the monument to the authorities was made at a time when they objectively assessed the role of Marshal Konev and the role of the Soviet troops in the victory over the Nazi invaders.

“It is necessary to respect not only the interests of the Russian Federation, but the interests of their compatriots must be respected. In general, the war with monuments is a very unworthy thing. A person who does not respect his story, who does not respect the deeds of his predecessors, does not deserve respect as such, ”the senator summed up.

State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek believes that the Prague elder who opposed the Konev monument turned out to be "one of the symbols of ingratitude towards Soviet soldiers who liberated Prague without destroying historic buildings and architectural monuments."

“Therefore, any decent person or leader should have protected the monument to Marshal Konev and looked after him in every way. And now, as they say, he decided to arrange dances on the bones, ”the deputy concluded.