DISINFO: The purpose of removing the monument to Marshall Konev is to induce hatred towards Russia
SUMMARY
The destruction of war memorials and graves violates the 1993 treaty between Russia and the Czech Republic. It is especially shameful such things to occur on the basis of a political whim that has nothing whatsoever to do with the past. The aim of the situation with the statue of Marshall Konev is to induce hatred against Russia as part of a war psychosis aimed at provoking aggression against Russia.
RESPONSE
This is a false claim and one of several disinformation cases about the statue of Marshall Konev in Prague. It is also consistent with common pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Russophobia and the supposedly hostile anti-Russian intentions of the West, based on which Russia can cast itself as the victim. The monument to Marshall Konev was erected in 1980 during the "normalisation" period in communist Czechoslovakia. The leadership of Prague's Municipal District 6, which retains legal ownership of the statue, has voted to move the monument to a museum and replace it with a memorial commemorating Soviet sacrifices in the fight against Hitler in general, and the liberation of Prague in particular. More information available here. The Kremlin has a longstanding track record of smearing and misrepresenting efforts by post-communist countries to address the legacy of Soviet memorials. For similar cases, see here.