PRAGUE, December 29. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in Prague condemned the act of vandalism committed against the monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev in Prague, which the municipal authorities earlier decided to remove from public territory.
"A yet another cynical act of vandalism against the monument to Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev in Prague’s District 6 looks particularly cynical and clearly demonstrates the cultural level of those who are fighting with monuments to liberators and simultaneously attempt to glorify Nazi collaborators," Russian embassy spokesman Nikolay Bryakin told TASS.
"Once again, we call upon the Czech authorities to ensure proper security of the Konev memorial - a monument of our common history - and not to leave barbaric crimes unanswered," the spokesman added.
Earlier, unknown perpetrators vandalized a monument to Soviet marshal Ivan Konev located in the Prague-6 municipal district. 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, during a ceremony to mark Konev’s 122nd birthday. The event 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.
Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev accused the unknown perpetrators of whitewashing Nazism.
The scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society (RMHS), Mikhail Myagkov, described the act as "sacrilegious."
"We sacrificed the lives of 11,000 soldiers in the operation [to liberate Prague] alone. And today, they are trying to hide the historic truth about the real and decisive contribution of the Red Army into the liberation of Czechoslovakia by taking those sacrilegious actions, those acts of vandalism and by desecrating the late marshal’s memory," he said.
Myagkov said attempts by certain countries to rewrite the history of World War II were inadmissible.
"History cannot be rewritten, because it undermines the basis of the entire modern world, established after the end of World War II. Certain politicians are resorting to provocations in an attempt to take the situation to a point when the memory of our soldiers in Prague and in the Czech Republic in general will be completely lost. I would advise them to look at real historic facts and documents more often and I think that today residents of Prague, citizens of Czech Republic should clearly articulate their stance, to determine once and for all whether they favor historic truth or politicians of dubious achievements, with a certain neo-Nazi flavor," the Russian scientist added.
Relocation controversy
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 moved to. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed indignation over the decision and warned that such a step would not remain without retaliation.
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.
The local population has expressed its dissatisfaction with the decision on several occasions. For example, a local resident chained himself to the pedestal of the monument in protest in September.
Czech President Milos Zeman spoke in favor of preserving the monument in its original location on Saturday. "I would recommend to leave the monument where it currently is," he said.
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.