MONUMENT TO SOVIET MARSHAL IVAN KONEV UNVEILED IN SLOVAKIA

BRATISLAVA, OCTOBER 3 /SRNA/ - A monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev has been unveiled in the village of Kružlov in the Prešov Region of northeastern Slovakia, the TASS news agency reported.

In the autumn of 1944, the Red Army launched the “East Carpathian Operation”, also known as the Battle of the Dukla Pass, seeking to break through the fortified pass and link up with forces taking part in the anti-Nazi Slovak National Uprising.

Konev commanded Soviet troops during the operation.

Slovak Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Richard Takáč and Russian Ambassador to Slovakia Sergei Andreyev, as well as veterans and local residents, attended the unveiling ceremony.

The initiative to erect the monument was launched two years ago by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

"Marshal Konev made a significant contribution to the liberation of Czechoslovakia, but today there is nevertheless a trend in Europe to remove such monuments," Takáč said.

The monument in Kružlov, near the town of Svidník, was created by Slovak sculptor Slavomír Gibej, who previously made a monument to Soviet Marshal Rodion Malinovsky.

That monument was erected in the village of Starý Tekov in western Slovakia, an area liberated from Nazi forces by troops under Malinovsky’s command, TASS reported.