Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this simple question. Especially in recent years, it has been viewed not historically, but ideologically. During the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1944 (on 6 October Czechoslovak troops entered our territory in eastern Slovakia at Dukla) to 1945, about 190,000 Allied soldiers were killed on our territory, including 140,000 members of the Red Army, 33,000 members of the Romanian Royal Army, 10,500 Poles, 3,500 members of the Czechoslovak foreign resistance and about 300 Americans. After the end of World War II, the Red Army withdrew from Czechoslovakia as early as 1945, the main combat units withdrew by the end of autumn 1945, with the last Soviet troops leaving Czechoslovak territory by 1 December 1945.
The Communists came to power in February 1948. The building of socialism in our country was of course under the influence of the Soviet Union and Soviet advisors, but the Soviet army did not enter our territory until 21 August 1968. Today, the mainstream media say that Soviet troops occupied us at that time, but the fact that the armies of Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria also took part in the invasion is mentioned only marginally, or rather not at all. The Poles, Hungarians and Bulgarians soon left, but the Soviet army remained here until June 1991. Every year, the biggest and, in fact, since 1990, almost the only liberation celebrations are held in Pilsen, only the participation of the US Army and Belgian troops who liberated western Bohemia is remembered. Until 1989, the liberation of western Bohemia by these troops was not officially spoken or written about
.
In some cities, similar monuments are being removed, in other places they are being maintained... I think that those fallen members of the Red Army - and they were not only Russians, but also Ukrainians and other nationalities of the Soviet Union - are not to blame for the way the political situation later developed and that the monuments commemorating their contribution to the liberation should not be demolished.
Trv Athens Ac Mus Dionysos D_12-01-25-0002 by Lester W, on Flickr
