Konev monument near Dukla: who paid for it? Nobody admits it

Last weekend, a concrete statue of Marshal Konev was ceremonially unveiled in the Valley of Death near Dukla in Slovakia, but who paid for it remains unclear. Neither the municipality nor the organizers of the ceremony admit to having financed the project.

As far back as May last year, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the intention to erect a monument to Konev in the Kremlin. Putin then offered to help with its realization. “I know about your proposal to put up a monument to Marshal Konev in your country. It is a noble cause, and we are grateful. If you need any help, we are ready,” he said.

The organizer denies paying. The unveiling was organized by the Slovak Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters, which is linked to the state budget. Its representatives, however, claim they did not finance the statue themselves. The union’s chairman, Jaroslav Demjan, referred journalists with all their questions to his deputy, Ján Rogar. According to Rogar, the organization took the project under its patronage, but did not arrange the choice of the author or payment for the work: “We didn’t deal with that.”

Asked directly about the funding, he replied: “Probably the volunteers who collected money for it.” He said he does not know the details. Rogar also rejected the suggestion that the union covered the costs. Another deputy chairman, Smer MP Marián Kéry, spoke in the same vein.

What the municipality says. Adrián Hužo, the mayor of Krušlová, said the municipality approved the site where the monument stands but gave no money for its creation. According to him, the municipality got in touch with the statue’s author, Slavomír Hibej, a native of nearby Svidník. The town hall did not object to the monument and permitted its installation. The mayor assumed that the anti-fascist fighters’ union knows the details of the funding and that the money came from a fundraising drive.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz