Shortly before Russians have the chance to participate in Austria’s presidential elections on Sunday, unknown persons vandalized a Navalny monument opposite the Russian diplomatic mission in Vienna early on Saturday evening. A Russian activist told the APA about ten men who packed everything and transported it away. Navalny supporters again brought flowers and posters to the site on Sunday morning.
Around 4pm on Saturday afternoon, supporters of Alexei Navalny had tidied up the makeshift memorial on Vienna’s Reisnerstrasse, leaving fresh flowers and lighting candles. Since February 16, numerous posters and photos hung on a construction fence memorializing Russia’s top opposition politician and criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with his death. Of course, two of the most prominent posters with expressive slogans against Putin had already disappeared in recent weeks.
The military police do not want to talk to the press
The military police on site, who routinely guarded the Russian embassy, would not provide the APA with information about the monument’s removal on Saturday evening. “The previous team told them that about ten men without identification plates came, packed everything and transported it away (in a vehicle, note),” said a representative of the “Russians against war” initiative, which was not launched on Sunday afternoon. far from the anti-Putin embassy wanting to demonstrate. They were also said to be Ukrainians, explained the activist, who asked not to be named for security reasons. He emphasized that he did not believe in such a track. In the Ukrainian community this is out of the question: “I’m sure Ukrainians wouldn’t do that,” said leading activist Andrij Karioti of the association “Mrija” on Saturday evening.
On Sunday morning, the Russian embassy did not want to answer the question whether they were involved in the destruction. “I’m not even going to comment on this,” wrote a spokesperson for the diplomatic mission. You can vote on Sunday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the embassy itself.
To date, only one such case has occurred in the EU
While in Russia makeshift memorials to the opposition politician are usually removed after a short time, only one such case had emerged in the EU in recent weeks: on March 1, a suspected security agent from the Russian consulate in Hamburg attempted to assassinate Navalny weapon to destroy. memorial near there and had also physically attacked a Russian woman who tried to prevent them from entering, according to media reports.
Criticism of the removal of the monument came from a local resident who walked past the Russian embassy with his dog late in the evening: “I find it particularly disturbing that at an hour when a monument to an apparently highly respected person is being built, little observation of this place, has been filed away.” The monument was cared for with a lot of love, flowers were always added and an important message was spread here, says the resident.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
