Local residents worried

Unknown persons destroy Navalny memorial in Vienna

This is what the Navalny memorial opposite the Russian embassy in Vienna looked like.(Bild: Angelika Eliseeva)

Shortly before Russians in Austria have the opportunity to vote in the presidential elections at their embassy on Sunday, unknown persons destroyed a Navalny memorial located opposite the Russian diplomatic mission in Vienna early on Saturday evening. A Russian activist told APA that around ten men had packed everything up and taken it away. Navalny supporters brought flowers and posters to the site again on Sunday morning.

On Saturday afternoon, supporters of Alexei Navalny had put the improvised memorial in Vienna's Reisnerstraße in order by around 4 pm, deposited fresh flowers and lit candles. Since February 16, numerous posters and photos commemorating Russia's leading opposition politician and criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with his death had also been displayed on a construction fence. Two of the most striking posters with expressive slogans against Putin had, of course, already disappeared in recent weeks.

Military policemen do not want to speak to the press
The military policemen on site, who routinely guarded the Russian embassy, did not want to give any information about the removal of the memorial to APA on Saturday evening. "The previous shift told them that about ten men came without identifying marks, packed everything up and took it away (in a vehicle, note)," said a representative of the "Russians against war" initiative, which plans to demonstrate against Putin not far from the embassy on Sunday afternoon. There had also been talk of Ukrainians, explained the activist, who did not want to be named for security reasons. He emphasized that he did not believe in such a lead. In the Ukrainian community, this has been ruled out: "I am sure that Ukrainians would not do this," said leading activist Andrij Karioti from the "Mrija" association on Saturday evening.

I find it particularly disturbing that a monument to an obviously highly esteemed person has been removed at a time when this place has been little observed.

Besorgter Anrainer

On Sunday morning, the Russian embassy itself refused to answer the question of whether it had been involved in the destruction. "I will not even comment on this," wrote a spokesperson for the diplomatic mission. The embassy itself is open for voting on Sunday between 8am and 8pm.

So far there has only been one such case in the EU
While improvised memorials to the opposition politician were usually removed after a short time in Russia, only one such case has become known in the EU in recent weeks: On March 1, a suspected security guard at the Russian consulate in Hamburg had attempted to remove a Navalny memorial in the neighborhood there and, according to media reports, had also physically assaulted a Russian woman who tried to stop him inside.

The removal of the memorial was criticized by a local resident who was walking his dog past the Russian embassy in the late evening hours: "I find it particularly disturbing that a memorial to an obviously very esteemed person has been removed at a time when this place has been little observed". The memorial had been very lovingly cared for, flowers had been added time and again and an important message had been spread here, explained the local resident.