The Public Council at the Russian Ministry of Defense proposed renaming the Prazhskaya metro station to Marshal Konev station.

A letter requesting support for this initiative was sent to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. According to members of the Public Council, it would be the right response to the dismantling of Marshal Konev monument in Prague.

On April 3, the Soviet general’s statue in Prague was removed by a local council, prompting protest from Moscow. Ivan Konev led the liberation of the Czech capital in 1945, but many Czechs criticize his crackdowns after World War II.

Czech President Milos Zeman slammed the statute’s removal, accusing Kolar’s council of abusing the current coronavirus crisis, according to a presidential spokesperson.

Moscow has vehemently protested the removal of the statue.

The local council’s removal decision prompted an expression of indignation from the Russian Foreign Ministry, which on Friday spoke of an “unfriendly” act of “vandalism by unhinged municipal representatives.”

On April 9, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu asked his Czech counterpart, Lubomir Metnar, to hand over the statue to Russia. Metnar refused, saying it belonged to the city of Prague.

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