Prague to Move Soviet Marshal Statue, Vexing Russia

Prague will move the consistently vandalized statue of Ivan Konev from its prominent location. (Radio Prague)

Prague will remove the statue of World War II Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev, replacing it with a more generic memorial. The decision, announced September 12, has provoked Russia’s ire and raised important questions of memorialization and remembrance. 

Konev famously led the Red Army across Eastern Europe to drive out the Germans near the end of World War II. Konev often has received favorable recognition for this historical contribution.  

However, his role in post-war East Germany has earned him condemnation. In 1956, he used violence to quell Hungarian protests. In 1961, he led Soviet forces in East Germany during the construction of the Berlin Wall. In 1968, he commanded Soviet forces during the invasion of Czechoslovakia, breaking the Warsaw Pact. 

The statue was installed in 1980 to commemorate Konev’s liberation of Prague from the Nazis in 1945, although some historians claim that Konev arrived once the Nazis had already left. 

The decision to remove the statue completely follows the 2018 decision to add a plaque next to the statue to explain Konev’s history, which severely perturbed Russia. 

“The unmistakable change in the appearance of a monument important to preserving the memory of our nation’s heroic struggle against Nazism creates a dangerous precedent,” said Nikolay Bryakin, a spokesman from the Russian embassy in Czechia.

The recent decision to remove the statue has created even more tension between Czechia and Russia. The Russian Embassy in Prague claimed the decision “offends the memory of Red Army soldiers, and the Czechs and Slovaks who were fighting to liberate Czechoslovakia and its capital from Nazism.” Additionally, the Russian government called the decision “egregious” and is considering sanctions against Czechia

The Russian government highlights Konev’s actions during the war—his heroic liberation of many Eastern European countries and cities, including Prague. Russia also claims that Konev’s violent post-war history is mere myth. 

It is unlikely that the statue will be destroyed. Instead, it probably will move to a nondescript location in the city, in order to mitigate the constant vandalism of the statue. 

Governments must weigh the positive and negative actions of memorialized historical figures. Prague’s decision to remove the statue of Konev implies Czechia’s response to that difficult question.