55 years ago, Stalin's monument was ceremoniously unveiled at Letná

Prague - 55 years ago, on May 1, 1955, a monumental monument to the Soviet leader Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was ceremoniously unveiled in Letná, Prague, on Labor Day. It was, so to speak, "a cross after the funfair." The era of idolizing the dictator, who had died back in 1953, was inexorably coming to an end. In February 1956, Stalin's successor Nikita Khrushchev condemned the cult of Stalin's personality at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
    The monument, which had long been disputed concerning its design and location, soon became a burden for both the state and Prague a few months after its inception. Ultimately, the granite giant was demolished in October and November 1962. However, its pedestal remains in place, and to this day, a satisfactory solution for it has not been found.
    The idea of erecting a monument to Stalin emerged soon after the end of World War II. However, it was not clear for a long time how it should look and where it should stand. Ultimately, a competition for the construction of the monument was announced only in 1949. Of the 54 proposals, the winning concept was created by architect Jiří Štursa, his wife Vlasta, and sculptor Otakar Švec. The enormous 15.5-meter high sculpture on an almost equally high pedestal depicted Stalin with an eight-member entourage. The monument, which cost an incredible 140 million at that time’s crowns and weighed a total of 17,000 tons, did not endear itself to the common people. Unflatteringly but aptly, it was referred to as the "meat queue."