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Disinfo: The US is behind the removal of Konev’s monument in Prague

Summary

The decision to remove the monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev in Prague was not made by the Czech leadership, it was a vile decision of people going against the national interests of the Czech Republic.

The conclusion to justify the liquidation of the monument was prepared by an American company.

Disproof

This is part of the recurring disinformation campaign about the statue of Marshall Konev in Prague. It also capitalises on the common pro-Kremlin narrative about the US standing behind all hostile anti-Russian intentions.

The democratically elected municipal council of Prague 6 voted for the removal of the statue. Using the protocol of the Politbureau's assembly, Czech historians established that on 8-14 May 1968 Konev chaired the Soviet military delegation sent to Prague to prepare the military invasion of Czechoslovakia. Konev was also chief of the Soviet troops in East Germany during the Berlin wall crisis in 1961. In other words, the Red Army brought not only liberation but also the terror to Czechia, as the mayor of Prague 6, Ondřej Kolář, reminded.

Kolář said that he respects the role of Konev-led forces in liberating Prague and the sacrifice of Soviet armies liberating Europe from Nazism. "We will strive for an art competition for a memorial to the liberators of Prague at the end of World War Two instead of the Marshal Konev statue," he said before the vote. "At the same time, we will secure a dignified - and let me stress 'dignified' - placement of this art piece (Konev) in a memorial institution. I think this is a consensual solution we have called for a number of years."

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.

See earlier disinformation cases concerning the Konev's statue which alleged that the purpose of removing the monuments is to provoke aggression towards Russia, that the removal is immoral and illegal, and that Prague committed a crime by removing the Konev monument.

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publication/media

RIAFAN - Russian (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 195
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16/04/2020
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: Czech Republic, US
  • Keywords: USSR, Monuments, WWII, US presence in Europe

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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Disproof

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Disproof

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