Prague 6 removes statue of Soviet Marshal Konev, will lend it to a museum of totalitarianism

The controversial statue of Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev has been removed from náměstí Interbrigády in Prague 6. The statue will be stored until it can be moved to the planned Museum of 20th Century Memory.

Prague 6 Mayor Ondřej Kolář (TOP 09), who has been an opponent of the statue, posted a photo on Facebook of its removal by a crane. “He had no face mask. The rules apply equally to everyone. Outside only with just a mask or other covering of mouth and nose,” he said jokingly, referring the state of emergency requirements related to coronavirus.

He took a more serious tone in a Prague 6 press release. “Let me take a little paraphrase. Konev is down, let Konev stand! But in a museum. Today’s removal of the bronze statue of Marshal Konev from the pedestal on the náměstí Interbrigády is the imaginary last note in the etude that took place in 1980 in Bubenec,” Kolář said.

He is not the only one that wants to draw a curtain on the past. “I would consider that, at least in our Bubeneč, a certain chapter of history as closed. It is time to talk about the future and the challenges of tomorrow. Let’s be self-confident, let’s keep our heads up and now only address the everyday needs and problems of [Prague] Six citizens, which the town hall must take care of first of all,” Prague 6 Deputy Mayor Jakub Stárek (ODS) said.

For the time being, the statue, valued at 13 million CZK, will be moved to the premises of the company specializing in storing art objects.

“For the last six months I devoted myself to intensive communication with many institutions and was looking for the most suitable solution for the task assigned to us by the Prague 6 Assembly in September. We finally agreed that the Museum of 20th Century Memory is the most suitable institution and the ideal recipient. The bronze statue of Marshal Koněv, including the famous supplemental plates, will be their first exhibit. It seems symbolic to me,” Prague 6 Deputy Mayor Jan Lacina (STAN), responsible for culture, said.

The sculpture and plates will be lent to the Museum of 20th Century Memory free of charge. “I confirm for our museum the conclusion of an agreement with the City District of Prague 6 on the long-term loan of the statue of Marshal Konev,” Prague City Councilor Hana Kordová Marvanová (United Force for Prague), who is also chairwoman of the board of directors of the planned Museum of 20th Century Memory, said.

“This statue will become a part of the upcoming exhibition at the museum, which will focus on the period of two totalitarian regimes and important historical events in the territory of Czechoslovakia in the last century,” she added.

Czech President Miloš Zeman’s spokesman Jiří Ovčáček condemned the removal. “You can tear down a statue. However, you do not erase the memory,” he said on Twitter. In a second Tweet, he said, “Extremists who … dishonor the heroes and victims of war are not part of Czech politics.”

He told new server Lidovky.cz that Zeman strongly condemns the removal of the statue. “The President considers the abuse of the crisis situation to be morally unjustifiable,” he said.

Marshal Konev has become a divisive figure in modern times. He played a key role in liberating Prague from German occupation at the end of World War II, which made him a hero during the communist era.

His later involvement in suppressing the 1956 uprising in Budapest, the building of the Berlin Wall, and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia have called his legacy into question.

Even his role in Prague right after World War II is not without controversy, as some people say he was responsible for the arrest and deportation of Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian opponents to the Stalinist regime who had sought refuge in Prague, many of whom had become Czechoslovak citizens.

He died in 1973 and is still considered a hero in Russia.

In 2018, the Prague 6 Town Hall had explanatory plaques installed on the monument to remind people of Konev’s role in events after World War II.

The Russian Foreign Ministry objected, saying Czech politicians were initiating a war with the symbols of the victory over fascism.