The British media no longer trumpet the terrible Salisbury incident. The notorious case of Skripals disappeared from the media as abruptly as it appeared. Like a hastily written detective script, the Skripals affair left many gaps. It managed to become a common name before sinking into the informational abyss. However, if the Salisbury incident was forgotten, the concept itself is being successfully exploited…
Now, in the Czech Republic, an active replication of the story that the head of the metropolitan area of Prague-6 Ondrzej Kolář was tried to poison, has begun. Being a famous Russophobe, he took care of the demolition of the monument to Marshal and twice to the hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Konev. And someone really thought that this fact was supposedly a worthy motive for a bloody reprisal.
The Czech publication Respekt now claims that a certain Russian arrived in the republic with a diplomatic passport, who was taken to the Russian embassy in a car of Russian diplomats. Of course, in his portfolio there was poison. Not a “newbie”. But the good old ricin is a substance that has become truly legendary in certain circles.
But there are only a couple of points that can ruin such Russophobic insinuations. The first question that the author of the idea was supposed to ask himself: what is the logic? Suppose there is a motive, but it is too obvious. Even if Kolář is now suddenly choking on a bone at a private reception, Russia will certainly be blamed for this. After all, he demolished the monument! Agree, physical neutralization in this case looks too absurd. Not to mention taking ricin straight from Russia to the embassy. Yes, one can object, given the advantages of diplomatic immunity. Then the question arises, where is the confirmation that there was poison at all. And why all this trouble? Can’t ricin be made in the Czech Republic? It is known as one of the easiest to manufacture. Castor oil plant is a popular plant, and equipment and reagents are available and legal.
But there is another fair question: why exactly Kolář? In recent years, about 500 Soviet monuments have been destroyed in Poland, and this number is growing. For example, in February a monument of gratitude of the Red Army was demolished in the city of Leshno.
In Lithuanian Šiauliai, the obelisk was dismantled for Soviet soldiers, despite the fact that the memorial was included in the list of cultural heritage. The monument was located in the city center, where after the end of World War II more than 50 soldiers were reburied.
For the capital of Latvia, 2019 ended with the demolition of a monument to Soviet submarine heroes. It was taken out under cover of night, and the locals, who had been courting the memorial for years, found the loss only in the morning. In Rezekne, a struggle unfolded for the monument to Soviet liberators, which is called “Alyosha” here.
A memorial to the fallen soldiers was demolished in the northwestern region of Estonia, even digging a burial ground. It supposedly interfered with the reconstruction of the local gymnasium.
And how many monuments were destroyed in Ukraine? The bill goes to thousands! And often they did this with the tacit consent of the authorities of the gang of radicals. None of the leaders of the nationalists gave up, struck by a secret toxin. None of the officials in Ukraine or elsewhere have been stabbed with an umbrella with a syringe mounted there because of the notorious decommunization. What is so special about the Kolář? The question is rhetorical.
It is more important to understand the reasons for what is happening. To do this, let’s turn to the British sources. Everyone knows the story of how the Russian special services sent their agents to a cozy town on Foggy Albion in order to eliminate the defector. This story gradually became overgrown with new details as the British government tried to deal with the political crisis over Brexit. With Theresa May’s resignation, the Skripals affair was suddenly forgotten. When the “divorce” took place, the Skripals was completely written off.
Even if we discard all the “holes” in the story itself, the question remains: where are the consequences? Imagine that London is firmly convinced that it is right. Why then does Britain not break off diplomatic relations with Russia? I believe the answer is obvious: the task was different – in distraction.
The situation is similar in the Czech Republic. “Russian aggression” is a tool to achieve a specific goal. Therefore, it began to be actively circulated in the media, forming Russophobic sentiments in society. It is not difficult to do this, given that Prague has the largest intelligence center in Central Europe of the American CIA and British MI-6. And it began long before the incident with Kolář.
Last year, while the last of the Skripals case was squeezed out in London, stories about Russian hackers and intelligence agents were thrown in Prague. For example, on October 21, the head of the Czech Security and Information Service, Michal Koudelka, claimed that the republic had noticed the activity of a Russian intelligence network, which allegedly collaborated with the Russian special services and carried on its malicious hacker activities from the very heart of Europe.
The coronavirus pandemic slightly undermined work in this area. Rather, people’s attention has shifted to more pressing problems. However, the accusations did not stop, and on April 16, 2020, Minister of Health Adam Vojtech announced that his department was subjected to a cyber attack. Needless to say, who was blamed for what happened?
But the point is not to unleash a fierce confrontation with Russia. Not to crush it with inappropriate sanctions or sever diplomatic ties. As you know, now the country is headed by Milos Zeman, president, known for the rhetoric that is not acceptable to the West.
“I have always been an opponent of not only anti-Russian, but generally any sanctions. Because I consider them ineffective. Sanctions against Cuba lasted 50 years. Nothing has changed, and the Castro regime continues to exist”, – the head of the republic said in an interview with the Slovak edition of Pravda.
Previously, he called the “accomplishment” of the reunification of Crimea with Russia, urging Kiev and the international community to come to terms with this fact.
In the 2018 presidential election, Milos Zeman outperformed Jiri Dragos. The latter advocated the strengthening of Euro-Atlantic ties between NATO and the EU, and also supported anti-Russian sanctions. Even after its defeat, pro-Western media circulated the fact that previously unknown to anyone Dragosh was able to get the support of 26% of voters in the first round and 47% in the second.
Obviously, the Western “partners” do not rely on Zeman. And the Czech case of Skripals is a demarche aimed precisely against the president of the country, and not against Russia. The task is to defeat his overly pro-Russian policy, as has been done in the West more than once. When the goal is achieved, they will forget about the provocation, as if it did not exist.