A district in the Czech capital, Prague, went on Friday ahead with a plan to remove the statue of a Soviet World War II commander.
The plan had drawn angry protests from Russia and from pro-Russian Czech President Milos Zeman.
Marshall Ivan Stepanovic Konev led the Red Army forces that liberated Prague and large parts of Czechoslovakia from the Nazi occupation in 1945. His monument, unveiled in the Prague 6 district in 1980 when the country was occupied by Soviet troops, has been a source of controversy.
A worker removes sign from the pedestal of the statue of a Soviet World War II commander Marshall Ivan Stepanovic Konev after its been removed from its site in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, April 3, 2020. Marshall Konev led the Red Army forces that liberated Prague and large parts of Czechoslovakia from the Nazi occupation in 1945. His monument, unveiled in the Prague 6 district in 1980 when the country was occupied by Soviet troops, has been a source of controversy. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek)
Russia vehemently protested when an explanatory text about Konev’s role in crushing the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising in Hungary and preparing the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia was attached to his monument two years ago.
Prague 6 mayor Ondrej Kolar said the authorities wanted to give people “full information that would not conceal what happened.”
After the site was targeted by vandals, Prague 6 representatives agreed last year with Kolar’s proposal to remove the statue.
The statue of a Soviet World War II commander Marshall Ivan Stepanovic Konev is being removed from its site in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, April 3, 2020. Marshall Konev led the Red Army forces that liberated Prague and large parts of Czechoslovakia from the Nazi occupation in 1945. His monument, unveiled in the Prague 6 district in 1980 when the country was occupied by Soviet troops, has been a source of controversy. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek)
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and the Russian embassy in Prague condemned it but a crane at the site lifted the statue from its place on Friday morning.
Prague 6 officials said the Konev site will get a new monument to honor the liberators at the end of WWII, and his statue will be transferred to a museum.