Prague to strip Red Army commander Konev of honorary citizenship

The Prague authorities plan to strip the late Soviet military commander Ivan Konev of his honorary citizenship of the city, the Czech News Agency reported. A document Mayor Zdeněk Hřib is due to submit to councillors on Monday says the reasons for the move include the Soviets’ bombardment of Mladá Boleslav a day after the end of the war and Konev’s leading role in the crackdown on the 1956 uprising in Hungary.

Konev, who led the Red Army’s liberation of Prague, became an honorary citizen of the city in June 1945. A street in the Žižkov district is named after him and there have been calls to rename it in recent years.

Author: Ian Willoughby