Exactly 62 years ago, on May 9 at 8 o’clock in the morning, the last Nazi soldiers left Prague through Wenceslas Square towards the Smichov district. On the same day at 4 o'clock in the morning, tanks of the Soviet Army drove up to the city borders.
At 8 am, tanks penetrated into the city center and ended up on Wenceslas Square, while fragments of the troops of the collapsed Third Reich were hurrying from the territory that they had to leave. Exactly two days after this, Boris Polevoy wrote his first report from the liberated capital of Czechoslovakia to Moskovskaya Pravda: “Near the overturned truck lay the body of a girl with a beautiful face, which, it seemed, even death had not changed. She was lying here, with her hand behind her back, in which was clutched a grenade made from a tin can. Next to her, with his arms outstretched on the ground, lay on his back a heroic tankman from the Red Army, who was killed by a dashing bullet that hit him in the forehead just at the moment when the Red Army man probably wanted to rush to the aid of the girl. They lay here head to head, surrounded by a silent crowd as a symbol of the brotherhood of the Czechoslovak and Soviet people. Brotherhood, sealed with blood."
In memory of this event, not far from Wenceslas Square near the Main Station building there is a monument, a monument symbolizing brotherhood. Today, few people pay attention to it, and we do not see the wreaths that are usually laid at various monuments on Prague Liberation Day. The monument is quite strange. Olya, what do you think?
I think that there are already a lot of different interpretations on this topic, where even the gender interpretation of this plot is considered. The female role is played by a Czechoslovak partisan. Few people know the history of this monument. In particular, the fact that it was created from a sketch based on a photograph by the famous Czech portrait photographer Karel Ludwig, who took a number of photographs during the liberation of Prague by Soviet soldiers. This monument was created by the Czech sculptor Karel Pokorny. Now many believe that such monuments in Prague rather symbolize and illustrate a historical fact and in no way Russian-Czech friendship. It's just a historical event that people need to remember so they remember their history. The mayor of Prague 6, Tomas Chalupa, believes that “those who do not know their past can hardly expect anything from the future.” Therefore, every year in the Prague 6 region wreaths are laid at the monuments to Soviet soldiers and their memory is honored.
And now, dear friends, you and I are going to the Olsany cemetery, where today the ceremony of laying wreaths will take place on the graves of Soviet soldiers who fell for Prague. This cemetery contains numerous graves of Red Army soldiers; 429 Soviet soldiers who died during the liberation of Prague are buried there. Also there are the graves of soldiers of the Russian Liberation Army, the so-called “Vlasovites”, who also played significant role in the Prague Uprising.
Many Russians came to the cemetery to honor the memory of their ancestors. According to tradition, they come here annually on May 9, the day of the liberation of the Soviet Union from fascist invaders. Lit Eternal Flame in memory of the fact that no one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten. Carnations are red on the graves of ordinary Russian soldiers. This suggests that people honor the memory of their heroes.
“For the last five years I have come every time on the 9th. When I arrive, I immediately start crying. Firstly, because I am the daughter of a military man and I know this life, and how patriotic they really are. I believe that history can never be changed, that is, history remains history, the memory of the liberators remains a memory. And, in general, rewriting history is immoral,” shares Tatyana, who came on this day to honor the memory of the fallen.
There is a unique object on Kinsky Square contemporary art– fountain “Hatch of Time” (Propadliště času). The fountain carries the idea of reconciling today's Czech Republic with its past, with the Soviet period of history. The architectural composition is a massive slab of Liberec granite, which is split in two, creating a relief fault. Around the slab there are 64 columns of water. The fountain is framed by a circle of polished black slabs, which give it a shape similar to a hatch in the ground. The fountain's jets create a programmable wall of water, the maximum height of which reaches 8 meters. In the evening, the jets of the “time hatch” illuminate 40 light fixtures.
The fountain project was developed by architects Jan Lauda and Petr Levi. The main symbolic idea that the authors wanted to convey is that time is fleeting, like water, it washes away the grievances and conflicts of the past, which are too lightweight compared to the eternal human values. The artistic goal is not achieved by the volume of the composition (it has practically flat shape, and almost does not rise above the surrounding asphalt), but by the contrast of the lightness of the water jets with the rough monumentality of the natural materials from which the fountain is built.
The purpose of installing the “Hatch of Time” here, in front of the Palace of Justice, was not only artistic, but also partly political. Previously there was another one in this place cultural site, which almost caused a major international scandal.
Conflict washed away
At the end of World War II, in memory of the liberation of Czechoslovakia from the German occupiers and the feat of Soviet tank crews, a monument was erected in Prague - an IS-2 tank raised on a pedestal. The monument stood on Kinsky Square (which at that time was called “Friendship Square”) from 1945 to 1991. It is not surprising that after the Velvet Revolution and the introduction of tanks into Czechoslovakia, the monument to Soviet tank crews was perceived ambiguously by the residents of Prague. Sooner or later he was bound to become the object of anti-Soviet protest. In April 1991, a group of creative youth repainted the tank pink. Soon after this, the monument was dismantled.
For a long time after the removal of the monument to Soviet tank crews, there was a debate about what kind of object should be erected on Kinsky Square. The Communist Party and the USSR Embassy advocated for the return of the traditionally painted tank to the pedestal, and the creative community proposed burying the pink tank in the ground as a symbol of the collapsed regime. The tense situation around the defeated monument became threatening, so it was decided to install a fountain in this place, which was to become the new architectural dominant of Kinsky Square, without causing any political associations.
Thus, "Hatch of Time" was originally intended to reconcile the past and the present, to mark the end Soviet era, and forever close the issue of Soviet tanks in the Czech capital. The opening of the fountain took place on October 17, 2002.
| Monument | |
| Monument to Soviet tank crews | |
|---|---|
| Památník sovětských tankistů | |
| Soviet tank IS-2, which stood in Prague in 1948-1991 as a monument to the T-34 tank I. G. Goncharenko |
|
| 50°04′43″ n. w. 14°24′16″ E. d. HGIOL | |
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Location | Stefanik Square (now Kinski Square (Czech) Russian), Prague |
| Date of construction | year |
| Status | tank dismantled |
| State | the monument was destroyed |
| Media files on Wikimedia Commons | |
However, instead of the “thirty-four” of the guard of Lieutenant I. G. Goncharenko, a heavy IS-2 tank, built in 1943 at the Kirov plant in Chelyabinsk, was installed on a quadrangular pedestal made by captured Germans. According to legend, the decision to replace the T-34 with the IS-2 was made by General D. D. Lelyushenko, who spoke critically of the damaged T-34-85 tank by I. G. Goncharenko, saying: “We won’t give the Czechs such junk.” In addition, the IS-2 was marked with the number 23 (instead of the real number 24) and a red star, which was not on I. G. Goncharenko’s tank. Until the end of the 1980s, the official version claimed that the very “first” tank was actually exhibited in Prague. Brass plates with the inscription were installed on the pedestal: “Eternal glory to the heroes of the guard tankmen of General Lelyushenko, who fell in the fight for the freedom and independence of our great Soviet Motherland. May 9, 1945”, and the square with the monument was renamed the Square of Soviet Tankmen.
"Pink Tank"
The tank remained in this form until the final liquidation of the monument on June 13, 1991. The tank monument was deprived of the status of a cultural monument and was first transferred to the Museum of Military History in Kbele (Czech) Russian, and then to the military-technical museum in Leshany, where it is still located, still painted pink.
The proposals of representatives of the Communist Party to restore the monument, as well as David Cerny’s proposals to install a pink tank in Prague as a permanent monument, were not successful (under pressure from Prime Minister Milos Zeman and the Russian Embassy, the Prague City Hall rejected his project). In June 2002, a fountain called “Hatch of Time” was opened on the site of the former monument.
On the initiative of David Cerny, the pink tank was exhibited for some time in the resort town of Lazne Bogdanec, where barracks were located until the 1990s Soviet troops. In the summer of 2004, during the cultural event “Cow Parade”, a cow with a star and the number 23 was installed on Kinski Square, parodying the monument Soviet tank. Then on August 21, 2008, as a protest against the 1968 occupation and the Russian-Georgian War, an installation was installed on Kinski Square - a pink-painted part of a T-34 tank base with two white stripes. On June 18, 2011, as part of Freedom Week in honor of the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia, the pink coating of the tank was updated and the phallic symbol was restored. The tank was delivered from the museum to the Smichov pier in Prague, and then it was hoisted onto a pontoon in the middle of the Vltava River, where it remained until July 1.
| External images | |
|---|---|
| Photo of the monument. August 1947. | |
| Honor guard at the memorial plaque. 1948. | |
| Plate on the monument with the names of fallen soldiers | |
Modern Czechs have very different reactions to the use of the “pink tank” as a symbol of Soviet-Czech relations. Many of those who lived through or are well aware of World War II do not accept the repainting of the tank, but others see it as a symbol of the tank becoming “something completely safe,” believing that this pink tank is “a beautiful end to the occupation of the Czech Republic.” Also, some Russian political and veteran organizations approached the Czech authorities with a request to restore the original coloring of the tank.
According to the director of the Military Historical Institute in Prague, Ales Knizek, “we do not intend to change this symbol of the pink tank. In the museum we have many other tanks that directly took part in the battles of World War II. The pink tank for us still remains both a symbol of the end of the war and a symbol of the arrival of freedom in Czechoslovakia after 1989.”
The image of the pink tank spread and was embodied in other cities of the Czech Republic and countries.
Notes
- Victorious operation of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps (undefined) . Ural State Military History Museum. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- Yerzhan Karabek. 65 years later, the Kazakh liberator of Prague learned the truth about the “Pink Tank” (undefined) . Radio Azattyk (May 19, 2010). Retrieved November 8, 2014.
- Pink T-34 will sail through Prague (undefined) . InoSMI (June 22, 2011). Retrieved November 8, 2014.
Monument to Soviet Tankmen (Czech: Památník sovětských tankistů; also known as “Tank No. 23” (Czech: Tank číslo 23) and “Smíchovský tank”) - a monument erected on July 29, 1945 in Prague (Czechoslovakia) in honor of the Soviet soldiers who came to the aid of the rebel Prague on May 9, 1945 at the end of the Great War Patriotic War. The first to enter Prague was the crew of Guard Lieutenant I. G. Goncharenko on the T-34-85 tank No. 24, which was shot down, and Ivan Goncharenko himself was killed. On July 29, 1945, on Stefanik Square (now Kinskikh Square) a monument to Soviet tank crews was unveiled with another heavy tank IS-2 No. 23. According to legend, General D. D. Lelyushenko, who made the decision on the monument tank, spoke critically about the damaged T tank -34-85, declaring: “We won’t give the Czechs such old stuff.” However, until the end of the 1980s, the official version claimed that the “first” tank was actually exhibited in Prague. After the Velvet Revolution in 1991, it was repainted pink by artist David Cerny, then dismantled from its pedestal and is now used as a symbol of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.
Tank monument
On May 6, Soviet troops as part of the 3rd and 4th Guards Tank Armies of the 1st Ukrainian Front moved towards Prague to provide assistance to the townspeople who rebelled against the German occupation. At 3 o'clock in the morning on May 9, 1945, tanks of the 63rd Guards Chelyabinsk Army burst into Prague. tank brigade, the forward detachment of the 4th Tank Army. The first was the crew of the Guard Lieutenant I. G. Goncharenko on the T-34-85 tank No. 24 from the platoon of Lieutenant L. E. Burakov. In the battle for the Manesov Bridge, the tank was hit by a German self-propelled gun, Ivan Goncharenko was killed, the driver was wounded in the head, and the Czech conductor’s leg was torn off. The remaining tanks of the assault group, having broken the enemy's resistance, captured the Manes Bridge, along which they reached the center of Prague. On July 29, 1945, in Prague (Czechoslovakia) on Stefanik Square (now Kinsky Square), in the presence of Marshal I. S. Konev, a monument was unveiled in honor of Soviet soldiers. However, instead of the “thirty-four” of the guard of Lieutenant I. G. Goncharenko, the IS-2 heavy tank, built in 1943 at the Kirov plant in Chelyabinsk, was installed on a quadrangular pedestal made by captured Germans. According to legend, the decision to replace the T-34 with the IS-2 was made by General D. D. Lelyushenko, who spoke critically of the damaged T-34-85 tank by I. G. Goncharenko, saying: “We won’t give the Czechs such junk.” In addition, the IS-2 was marked with the number 23 (instead of the real number 24) and a red star, which was not on I. G. Goncharenko’s tank. Until the end of the 1980s, the official version claimed that the very “first” tank was actually exhibited in Prague. Brass plates with the inscription were installed on the pedestal: “Eternal glory to the heroes of the guard tankmen of General Lelyushenko, who fell in the struggle for the freedom and independence of our great Soviet Motherland. May 9, 1945", and the square with the monument was renamed Soviet Square...
Today, about 4 thousand monuments in honor of Soviet liberating soldiers have been preserved in Europe. In Poland, for example, there are more than 560 of them. In Hungary, which fought on the side of Nazi Germany, there are 940. In Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and other civilized countries, such monuments and memorials are looked after. But there are “uncivilized” countries where the demolition of monuments is equated with heroism.
AUSTRIA
Monument to Soviet soldiers-liberators on Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna, Austria
On the four sides of the base of the monument are engraved the order of I.V. Stalin to take Vienna, lists of Soviet soldiers and officers who died in the battles for Vienna, the second verse of the USSR national anthem as amended in 1943, and a quote from I.V. Stalin’s speech dated 9 May 1945 in connection with the Victory over Germany.
In 1977-1978, the Austrian authorities carried out work to repair the monument (low-quality marble was replaced with granite, the foundation was protected from moisture), and in 2008-2009 it was overhauled with landscaping of the surrounding area.
Curiosities
During Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to Austria in 1961 and inspection of the monument, the Soviet embassy sent a diplomatic note to its colleagues in Vienna with a proposal to erase the name “Stalin” from the monument, leaving simply “Commander-in-Chief.” On the Austrian side there was a refusal with reference to the obligation to preserve the structure unchanged.
Monument Soviet soldiers at the Central Cemetery in Vienna, Austria
On the monument there is the inscription “Guardsmen! You served your Fatherland honorably, from the walls of Stalingrad you came to Vienna. For the happiness of the people, you gave your lives far from your native Soviet land. Glory to you, brave Russian warriors! Your immortality rises above you. Valiantly fallen, sleep peacefully - The people will never forget you!"
The graves of 2,623 Soviet soldiers are located in the central part of the cemetery, immediately behind the main temple.
BELARUS
Memorial complex "Mound of Glory" near Minsk, Belarus
The construction of the Mound of Glory began in November 1967, the grand opening was on July 5, 1969.
On inner surface rings with the inscription "Glory to the Soviet Army, the Liberator Army!"
From the foot of the mound, encircling it, two concrete stairs lead to the monument, each of which has 241 steps
BULGARIA
Monument "Alyosha" on the Liberators Hill in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
The prototype of the monument is considered to be private consolidated company of the 3rd Ukrainian Front Alexey Ivanovich Skurlatov, a former shooter of the 10th separate ski battalion of the 922nd rifle regiment, transferred to signalmen due to a serious injury. In 1944 he restored the Plovdiv - Sofia telephone line.
Attempts to demolish the monument
1989 The Plovdiv community council decided to demolish it, but the residents of Plovdiv organized round-the-clock vigils at Alyosha.
1993 The mayor of the city decided to demolish, but dozens public organizations Bulgarians and war veterans saved the monument.
1996 The Plovdiv community council decided to demolish it, but the court overturned the decision.
Bottom line. The Supreme Court of Bulgaria ruled that the monument is a cultural and historical heritage and cannot be demolished.
Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia, Bulgaria
The monument was opened in 1954
High reliefs of the monument Soviet Army in Sofia
Demolition attempts and vandalism
1993 The Sofia Community Council decided to destroy the monument. Public organizations came to the defense.
The authorities do not take care of the monument and the surrounding area, despite the fact that it is located in the very center of Sofia.
Representatives of public organizations, schoolchildren and Russian diplomats often clean the monument of offensive inscriptions and Nazi symbols.
UNITED KINGDOM
Soviet War Memorial in London, UK
The memorial to Soviet soldiers and citizens who died during the Second World War was opened on May 9, 1999 in Geraldine Mary Park near the Imperial War Museum of Great Britain.
Soviet War Memorial dedicated to the memory of 27 million Soviet citizens, who died from 1941-1945.
HUNGARY
Freedom Monument on Mount Gellert in Budapest, Hungary
(originally called the Liberation Monument)
Installed in 1947
In 1947, by order of the Hungarian dictator, Admiral Horthy, a monument in the form of a female figure holding an aircraft propeller was erected on Mount Gellert in honor of his son, who died in a plane crash during the Second World War. When the communists came to power in Hungary, the statue was modified - instead of a propeller, a palm branch appeared in its raised hands as a symbol of peace and the liberation of Hungary from the Nazis. As a reminder of the role of the Red Army in the liberation of Hungary, a bronze monument to a Soviet soldier was also erected on the hill, with a scarlet star and the names of 164 Soviet heroes who fought and died in the battles for Budapest. After the fall of the communist regime in 1990, their names were erased and the star disappeared, the bronze soldier was moved to the Monument Park near Budapest.
Monument to Soviet soldiers-liberators on Szabadsag (Freedom) Square in Budapest, Hungary
Installed in 1945
It became the target of attacks by Hungarian nationalists many times.
GERMANY
Monument to the Soldier-Liberator in Treptower Park in Berlin, Germany
About 7,000 Soviet soldiers are buried in the memorial, the names of about 1,000 of them are known.
The entrance to the memorial cemetery is framed on the right and left by 13-meter granite banners.
The granite from which they are created was taken from the ruins of Hitler's Reich Chancellery.
Inside the pedestal there is a round memorial hall. The walls of the hall are decorated with mosaic panels. Above the panel in Russian and German languages it is written: “Now everyone recognizes that the Soviet people, with their selfless struggle, saved the civilization of Europe from the fascist pogromists. This is a great merit Soviet people before the history of mankind"
The dome of the hall is decorated with a chandelier with a diameter of 2.5 m made of rubies and crystal, reproducing the Order of Victory.
Memorial to fallen Soviet soldiers in the Gross Tiergarten park in Berlin, Germany
Opened in 1945 in memory of the 75 thousand Soviet soldiers who died during the storming of Berlin
Before the withdrawal of the Group of Soviet Forces from Germany, there was a guard of honor at the monument.
Between Germany and Russian Federation Bilateral agreements have been concluded on the care of military graves.
LATVIA
Monument to the soldiers of the Soviet Army - liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from Nazi invaders(Monument to the Liberators of Riga) in Victory Park in Riga, Latvia
The monument was opened in 1985.
Since 2013, there have been talks about moving or completely dismantling the monument.
LITHUANIA
Monument "Guardian of Peace" on the Green Bridge in Vilnius, Lithuania
In 1952, 4 monuments were erected on the Green Bridge (“Guardian of Peace”, “Industry and Construction”, “ Agriculture", "Student youth")
The monument was doused with paint more than once, it was proposed to be dismantled and even enclosed in a cage
Memorial in memory of the Soviet soldiers who liberated Vilnius from the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War at the Antakalnis cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania
MOLDAVIA
Monument to the Soviet soldier-liberator in Chisinau, Moldova
The mayor's office proposes to replace the monument to the soldier-liberator with a monument to the Moldovan language in the form of a book
NETHERLANDS
Soviet Field of Glory in Amersfoort, Netherlands
The memorial cemetery, where 865 Soviet soldiers are buried, was officially opened on November 18, 1948
In September 1941, a train arrived at the Amersfoort railway station, containing more than 100 captured Red Army soldiers in cattle cars. While at Kamp Amersfoort, 24 of them died. And on April 9, 1942, the 77 remaining were shot by the Nazis. After the war, their remains were reburied in a cemetery near Amersfoort. This cemetery became a gathering place for scattered burials of Soviet prisoners of war. The remains of 691 Red Army soldiers who died in German hospitals and 73 prisoners who were forced laborers or in German service were reburied here.
NORWAY
Monument to Soviet soldiers at the Vestre Gravlund cemetery in Oslo, Norway
The inscription on the monument is “Norway thanks you” and “In memory of the Soviet soldiers who died in the battle for a common cause in 1941-1945.”
In this cemetery in mass grave 347 Soviet soldiers were buried.
Monument to Soviet soldiers in Kirkenes, Norway
The inscription in two languages "To the brave Soviet soldiers in memory of the liberation of the city of Kirkenes. 1944."
6,084 Soviet soldiers died in the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation.
POLAND
Cemetery-mausoleum of Soviet soldiers in Warsaw, Poland
Opened in 1950.
21,468 Red Army soldiers who died in 1944-1945 during the liberation of Warsaw from German occupation during the Warsaw-Poznan operation are buried here.
Monument to the Soviet-Polish brotherhood in arms in Warsaw, Poland
On the pedestal there are inscriptions in Russian and Polish languages: “Glory to the heroes of the Soviet army. The residents of Warsaw erected this monument to brothers in arms who gave their lives for the freedom and independence of the Polish people.”
While the dismantled monument remains in storage
Dismantling
1992 - the first attempt to destroy the monument, but the residents of Warsaw defended the monument.
2011 - due to the construction of the metro, the monument was dismantled with promises to return it to the same place.
In surveys commissioned by the Warsaw City Hall (2012) and commissioned by Gazeta Wyborcza (2013), the majority of Warsaw residents were in favor of re-installing the monument on or near its current location.
February 26, 2015 - The Rada of Warsaw canceled its own decision to restore the monument in its original location.
ROMANIA
Monument to Soviet soldiers on Victory Square in Bucharest, Romania
Opened in 1945.
At the end of the 1980s. under the pretext of metro construction, the monument was moved from Victory Square in the center of Bucharest to a small park on the Kiseleva highway. In the 1990s, the monument was moved to the military cemetery in Herastreu.
SERBIA
Memorial to the Liberators of Belgrade in Belgrade, Serbia
In total, during the liberation of Belgrade from the Nazi aggressors, 2953 people's fighters died liberation army Yugoslavia and 976 soldiers and officers of the Red Army.
SLOVAKIA
Monument on Mount Slavin in Bratislava, Slovakia
The monument was opened in May 1960
Around the obelisk are bronze statues dedicated to the 6,845 fallen soldiers who died during the liberation of Bratislava. Next to the memorial is the only open military cemetery in Slovakia, where Soviet soldiers are buried.
Monument to the Carpathian-Dukla operation at the Dukla pass in Slovakia
Inside the first monument there is a monument to fallen Soviet soldiers
Monument to Soviet tank crews at the site of the battles for the Duklinsky Pass in Slovakia
USA
Monument to Soviet soldiers in West Hollywood, California, USA
Every year in the Los Angeles area of West Hollywood, five hundred veterans of the Great Patriotic War celebrate their Victory Day on May 9 in the local Plummer Park.
At their request, the city authorities erected a monument here: white cranes on a 7-ton slab of red granite. Russian wedge. On the monument there are lines from Rasul Gamzatov: “Sometimes it seems to me that the soldiers...”
UKRAINE
A lot of monuments have been blown up and destroyed, especially in the west of the country.
Monument to the liberators of Kyiv in the village. New Petrivtsi, Kiev region, Ukraine
Monument to soldiers-liberators in Lugansk, Ukraine
The monument was erected in 1991
Monument "To Your Liberators, Donbass" in Donetsk, Ukraine
CROATIA
Memorial to the Soviet Army in the village. Batina, Beli Monastery municipality, Croatia
The memorial is dedicated to the victory of the Soviet-Yugoslav troops over the German-Hungarian troops in the battle for Batina.
CZECH AND I
Monument to Soviet soldiers at Olsany Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic
At the Olshansky cemetery in Prague there is a Russian section, where Red Guards and White generals, Vlasovites and Soviet soldiers are buried side by side.
ESTONIA
Monument "Bronze Soldier" on Tõnismägi Hill in Tallinn, Estonia
In the early 1990s, after Estonia declared independence, the Eternal Flame was extinguished and removed
Since 1995, the official name is the Monument to the Fallen of the Second World War.
Monument at the Military Cemetery in Tallinn
On the night of April 26-27, 2007, the monument was dismantled and moved to a military cemetery. This led to mass unrest in Tallinn and other cities of Estonia.
From the history of the monument
On the night of May 8, 1946, a temporary wooden monument erected at the burial site on Tõnismägi was blown up by Tallinn schoolgirls Ageeda Paavel and Aili Jürgenson, who planted an improvised explosive device there. They motivated their action with revenge for the fact that Soviet authorities Monuments to those killed in the Liberation War were massively destroyed. The girls were arrested and sentenced to eight years in prison. In 1998, Ageeda Paavel and Aili Jürgenson were awarded the Order of the Eagle Cross (Estonian: Kotkaristi Teenetemärk) by President Lennart Meri for their fight against communism.
