Soviet commander’s statue in Prague removed despite Russian protests
Pro-Russian Czech President Milos Zeman also complained about the removal.
A statue of a Soviet Second World War commander has been removed from a district in Prague despite protests from Russia and 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.
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 Mr Kolar’s proposal to remove the statue.
Prague 6 officials said the Konev site will get a new monument to honour the liberators at the end of the Second World War, and his statue will be transferred to a museum.
