The Prague council postponed the decision on the Moscow-Prague plastic in the B Anděl metro

Prague - Prague city councillors today postponed the decision on the future of the bronze sculpture with the inscription Moscow-Prague, which is located in the foyer of the metro station B Anděl at the exit Na Knížecí. The reason was the absence of Deputy Mayor Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09), who had to leave the session. In the future, they want to add an information panel to the sculpture and will announce an art competition for its final form. This was stated by Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) in response to ČTK's inquiry. The document was supposed to be presented by both politicians to their colleagues together. Last weekend, Hřib mentioned that, given the behavior of the Russian regime towards then Czechoslovakia and now Ukraine, he would suggest that Prague alter the work or place it in new contexts.

The station on line B was opened under the name Moskevská on November 2, 1985, with significant contributions from Soviet engineers.

"Unfortunately, the meeting of the city council was prolonged and co-sponsor Jiří Pospíšil was no longer present during the discussion on this item due to his previously announced participation in a memorial event. For these organizational reasons, the vote on the information panel was therefore postponed, and we will vote on this proposal next week," stated Hřib.

The current name Anděl was given to the station shortly after the fall of the communist regime, in February 1990, but the sculpture has remained even after several renovations of the station. Until now, the prevailing opinion has been that the work is part of history and recalls the involvement of Soviet specialists in the construction of the Prague metro.

The magistrate, along with the transport company (DPP) and the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague (GHMP), will prepare an art competition that will determine a new form for the area with the relief. "I expect a wide range of proposals, from more radical ones for complete removal to some more moderate ones. The final form will depend on the decision of the expert jury, which will evaluate all the proposals," stated Hřib.

Hřib stated that the sculpture is misleading and will temporarily be supplemented with an explanatory plaque, the text of which will be discussed and approved by the councillors. "The friendship between Moscow and Prague, suggested by this inscription, was merely a fabricated propaganda. In 1985, when the Anděl station (formerly Moskevská) was put into operation, Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Soviet Union. And we can probably agree that an occupier is not a friend. Unfortunately, history repeats itself and Russia is once again occupying a large part of Ukraine today," wrote Hřib over the weekend on the platform X.