Decision to keep Soviet-era sculpture at Prague’s Anděl metro station “a compromise”

If you’ve taken the metro to Prague’s Anděl station, you may have noticed a bronze sculpture that reads ‘Moskva-Praha’. Constructed in 1985, it was meant to symbolize friendship between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. After the fall of the regime, it remained, stirring debate amongst the public. Recently, Prague City Hall decided to add a plaque explaining the contentious history of the sculpture, instead of tearing it down. To learn more about this, I spoke with Cold War historian Jan Adamec.

“The Anděl metro station was opened in November 1985, originally under the name of ‘Moskva’. The bronze sculpture with the inscription of ‘Moscow-Prague’ in the lobby of the metro station was to commemorate the alleged friendly and warm relations between the two capital cities. The propaganda at the time described it as a symbol of ‘eternal friendship’ between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt