Iniciativa v Pardubicích žádá odstranění rudoarmějce, chce aby rozhodli politici

Pardubice - The decision about relocating the statue of the Red Army soldier in Pardubice should be made by politicians and they should not shift the responsibility onto the residents. An initiative from people, which has about a hundred signatures, seeks to remove the monument from Republic Square, as it considers it a symbol of communism. It does not view a referendum as an appropriate solution. Adolf Vondrka, one of the authors of an open letter to the city hall, stated this to ČTK.

Mayor Jan Nadrchal reiterated last week that the statue from 1957 is not an issue for him; he does not mind that it stands there, nor would he mind if it were relocated. However, he allowed for the possibility of a referendum if someone proposed it. However, no one did so at Monday's city council meeting. Vondrka believes that a referendum is not a good path.

"There are always problems with how the question will be posed, who would define it. The council can show its strength by expressing its opinion. It can decide on its own. We believe that a referendum weakens the position of the council and elected representatives transfer responsibility onto the citizens," said Vondrka.

The Liberation Monument is not a sculpture of the end of the war; it was built for the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, Vondrka said. "It has the symbolism of the collectivization of agriculture, the symbolism of pioneers; it is a tool for the propaganda of the Communist Party, love for the Soviet Union, and it has no connection to liberation, apart from the name and the fact that instead of Stalin, they eventually placed an unnamed soldier there," Vondrka believes.

The monument in the center of the ninety-thousand-strong city is not a cultural heritage site; it was removed from the list by conservationists in the 1990s due to the lack of artistic quality. The sculpture from 1957 depicts a Red Army soldier with a weapon in hand. Below him stands a girl with outstretched arms, holding a wreath. On the sides, there are pioneers standing guard. The sculpture was created by Josef Malejovský.

According to the initiative, a suitable place for the monument would be a memorial organization. The East Bohemian Museum in Pardubice is an institution capable of taking care of the monument. In Ohrazenice, it has a storage facility where the statue could stand outside. Alternatively, it could also be covered, said the museum director Tomáš Libánek to ČTK.

"Relocating monuments is a legitimate expression of society. Monuments are installed in public space by political power and should be removed by political power as well," stated Libánek.

Monuments and memorials are carriers of cultural and historical memory for historians. According to Libánek, the Red Army soldier expresses various symbolism. For some, it represents gratitude to the liberators of Czechoslovakia from Nazi occupation; they see it as a tribute to the fallen. Others view it as an ideological tool for reinforcing the power of the Soviet Union.

"The iconography of monuments was subordinated to these needs. Moreover, we are increasingly encountering the use of similar historical symbols to expand the influence of contemporary Russia," added Libánek. He wrote a press release on the topic, which he published on the museum's website.