Monument to the Russian Liberation Army in Řeporyje, War memorial in Řeporyje district, Czech Republic
The Monument to the Russian Liberation Army in Řeporyje consists of a stainless-steel plaque set in the northern part of Řeporyjské náměstí and a three-metre metal mast beside it. At the mast's top sits a palm-sized sculpture of a Soviet tank chassis with a long gun barrel, covered by a German military helmet.
The memorial commemorates around 300 soldiers of the Russian Liberation Army who fought during the Prague Uprising in May 1945 against Nazi forces. These troops supported Czech forces during the final days of the conflict in the region.
The stainless-steel plaque carries a quotation from Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago": "Did all Czechs then understand which Russians saved their city?" The same plaque names Solzhenitsyn and the Sosnovy Gulag, and states that the historical role of the ROA is assessed ambiguously.
The memorial stands on the northern side of Řeporyjské náměstí, where the plaque and the three-metre mast are visible from the square. The site is linked to the town's camera system, so it is monitored. The metal surfaces reflect daylight, making the engraved text easier to read in the morning.
The memorial was unveiled on 30 April 2020, the 75th anniversary of the Prague Uprising. The district council approved it unanimously on 10 December 2019 after historian Pavel Žáček proposed the idea to mayor Pavel Novotný. The stainless-steel plaque cost 153,000 crowns, and the whole memorial under 200,000.
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