Czech communists and other progressive, anti-fascist sections of society have expressed their outrage at the municipal authority of Prague-6 division which plans to relocate the memorial statue of the World War II-era Soviet Marshal Ivan Stěpanoviče Konev, from the Interbrigade Square of the city. Mayor Ondřej Kolář’s decision to shift the statue is being viewed as a move to appease the right-wing neo-nazi sections in the country.
CT24 reported that communist deputies have challenged Kolar’s statement in the council meeting, in which he claimed that Koněv’s statue is not covered by the Czech-Russian treaty on the protection of military graves and monuments.
The Prague Committee of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) has also condemned the efforts to remove the monument of Marshal Konev. “The Red Army had a decisive share in the liberation of Czechoslovakia from German Nazism. This is an attempt to rewrite our history under the instigation of some politicians and we perceive this as an insult to those who have sacrificed their lives for our peace. We call for protests against falsifying history and against attacks on our liberators,” KSCM added.
Ivan Stepanovich Konev was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, who led the forces of the Red Army on the Eastern Front during World War II. He is credited with liberating most of eastern Europe from Nazi occupation. Monuments have been dedicated to him in Prague, Svidník, Kharkov, Patriot Park (Moscow region), Kirov, Belgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, and Vologda.
