the Minister of defence of the Czech Republic lubomír METAR reported inability to give the monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev, previously dismantled in Prague, Russia. He told this in a letter to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, reports RIA Novosti.
METAR explained that the monument is not the property of the Czech Ministry of defence and is not in its territory. In this case military burial it also can not be called. In addition, the Agency may not enter into the rights of ownership of the urban part of the district Prague 6, which the authorities decided to demolish the monument. So the decision on the extradition of Russian Ministry of defense to also can not.
the Czech Minister noted that the problem with the monument is Konev could help consultations between depodesta Czech Republic and Russia according to the Treaty on friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries in 1993.
on April 3 in Prague demolished the monument to Konev. In this regard, on April 10, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under part three of article 354.1 criminal code (“the Desecration of symbols of Russia’s military glory, committed publicly”). The Czech foreign Ministry stated that the prosecution of its officials of a foreign government invalid.
In 2017, the Czech Republic revised the role Konev in history. In addition to the information on the role of commander in the liberation of Prague from the Nazis in 1945, on the plate of the monument there was a mention of the suppression of the Hungarian uprising of 1956 and the preparation of the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
