In Russia, they presented a film about Marshal I. S. Konev and discussed the problem of rewriting history

TVER – On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the documentary film “The Story of a Superhero: Ivan Konev” was presented in the Russian city of Tver. The film was made with the expert support of the National Centre of Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation. The authors of the film are the team of the Autonomous Non-Profit Organization Center for Media Strategy. The project tells the story of Marshal I. Konev – a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union, who played a significant role in the liberation of Europe from fascism in 1945. The presentation was attended by students, pupils, filmmakers and representatives of the Russian and European public.

The presented film is intended primarily for a youth audience. According to the filmmakers, the main task of the film was to attract young men and women who today “absorb tons of information” and get used to narratives that are not always factual. The “superhero” format was not chosen by chance – it is closer to the perception of the digital generation.

By using comic book aesthetics, neural networks and lightweight language, the writers tried to show the hero as a person, not just a character on a historical plaque.
The film covers the liberation of Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. Part of it is devoted to the problem of distortion of the history of World War II in Europe, the attitude in the Czech Republic towards the figure of Konev and the commemorative symbols of the Red Army, which liberated European countries from Nazism.

One of the film experts, Dr. Josef Skála, a publicist and history scholar from the Czech Republic, gave a video testimonial to the participants. He thanked the organizers of the presentation and the filmmakers and emphasized that Konev is the record holder among all World War II commanders, as he alone commanded the Soviet troops that liberated Auschwitz, defeated the Nazis in Berlin, and liberated Prague and other parts of the Czech Republic in May 1945.

Dr. Josef Skála also recalled that “Konev’s monument in the centre of Prague was recently removed at the height of the anti-Russian psychosis”. “Despite the decision of the majority of the participants in the public referendum, the renaming of the streets named after I. S. Konev in the centre of Prague followed. Only people who have neither honour nor conscience are capable of removing monuments to heroes!”. – Skál’s appeal reads, “We call on you to attend the meeting with the President of the Republic.

The launch of the film has become an opportunity to discuss a broader issue – who owns historical truth today and how to protect it. The discussion after the screening was attended by experts from various countries, including the Czech Republic and Serbia.

Marko Kojić, a student from Serbia, said that today the influence of the European Union on the interpretation of the events of the Second World War can be directly felt. Kojic also noted that in his homeland the Soviet Union is perceived as a liberator country and the soldiers of the Red Army as those who saved Yugoslavia and, one could say, the whole of Europe.

Czech journalist Roman Blaško thanked the filmmakers and pointed out the importance of the theme of the heroism of the Red Army, which liberated the Czech capital. “In the battles for Prague, Ivan Konev gave orders not to destroy historical buildings, which made the task much more difficult.

For this I express my gratitude to both the Red Army and the Allies – to all those who participated in the liberation of Czechoslovakia, in which 144 000 soldiers died. I am ashamed of the EU’s policy; I am sure that most people have a different opinion and do not want to revise history. I feel sorry for our government, hopefully the situation will change. We will never give up fascism and we will never give up our principles,” said Roman Blaško.

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