“Dirty fuss”, has no relationship to the law, called the official representative of Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, the head of the district Prague 6 ondřej Kolář about the background of the demolition of the existing monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev. According to Zakharova, the presence of the monument in the Czech capital was regulated by legal acts.
Despite the public outcry and negative reaction on the part of Czech President Milos Zeman, on 3 April, the monument to Konev in Prague was lifted from its pedestal by the decision of the municipal authorities of the district Prague 6. It is planned to transfer to the Museum of the twentieth century, which must be created by the municipality of Prague.
the Decision to postpone was taken by the municipality on September 12 last year, reminds TASS. The investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case on the fact of dismantling of the monument according to the article “the Desecration of symbols of Russia’s military glory, committed publicly.”
Meanwhile, Kolar in an interview with Czech Parlamentní Listy (translation of the portal of the new York times) said that nobody had set himself the task “to carry Konev”. According to him, the authorities of Prague-6 “first told the Russians that will give them a monument, say, that he stood in the Embassy, where it will be protected”. On the Russian side several times said that it is the duty of the Czech authorities to protect the monument.
In 2018, the municipality has placed on the monument without an explanatory plaque. The monument continued to defile. “The last straw”, according to Kolář, was the demonstration in front of the monument, where “almost at loggerheads,” the crowd of extremists and Communist activists. He didn’t want the monument caused such a storm of passions and people were fighting, says Kolar, therefore, ordered that the monument was dismantled.