PRAGUE, December 28. /TASS/. Unknown perpetrators have vandalized a monument to Soviet marshal Ivan Konev located in the Prague-6 municipal district. The district officials decided to relocate the monument in September of this year, which has been met with protest by Russian representatives.
The vandals slung a chain of sausages with memorial ribbons attached to them over the marshal’s arm. The ribbons were taken off the wreaths placed in front of the monument on December 16 in honor of the Konev’s 122nd birthday. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Russian Embassy in the Czech Republic, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, local public organizations and civil activists, as well as the marshal’s granddaughter Yelena Koneva.
The local police have begun the investigation of the incident. The monument is now back to its original state, no material damage has been caused, a representative of the Russian Defense Ministry in the Czech Republic informed TASS.
Earlier, the district officials allowed holding a rally in front of the monument in support of its removal. Before the rally, members of the public will gather in front of Konev’s monument to express support for preserving the statue of the marshal whose troops liberated Prague from Nazi rule in 1945.
The council of the Prague-6 municipal district voted in mid-September to relocate the monument to Konev and to build a Prague Liberation Memorial instead. The municipality is still deciding on a site where the monument to Marshal Konev may be relocated to. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed indignation over the decision to relocate the monument and warned that such a step would not remain without retaliation.
The monument was unveiled in Prague in 1980 on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the city’s liberation by the Red Army’s forces under Marshal Konev’s command. The monument is the property of the municipal authorities.
The district’s head Ondrej Kolar said in late August that Konev’s monument falls victim to vandals at least two times a year, which, according to him, points to the local residents’ negative view of the Soviet military commander.