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(Bild: Angelika Eliseeva)

While stuffed animals on the fence of the Russian embassy in Vienna have been commemorating victims of terrorism from Crocus City Hall since Saturday, a memorial to Alexei Navalny on the opposite side of the street was destroyed again at the weekend.

Unknown persons had already removed all posters, flowers and candles here on the eve of the Russian elections on March 16. Supporters of the deceased opposition leader then reinstalled this memorial.

Improvised memorial
Flowers in the colors of the Russian tricolor, mourning candles and stuffed animals stood at the fence of the Russian embassy in Reisnerstraße on Sunday evening and small posters with a reference to Crocus City Hall made it clear that the victims of last Friday's terrorist attack were to be commemorated here. This commemoration was officially welcomed: "We are sincerely grateful to all those who do not react to this tragedy with indifference and share in the pain of the Russian people," wrote the Russian embassy on Telegram on Saturday morning and published photos of this improvised memorial.

Nocturnal action
Until Saturday evening, there had been a much larger memorial on the other side of the street, which had always been officially ignored by the embassy: representatives of the Russian opposition in Austria had been commemorating the politician Alexei Navalny, who died in detention, here since February 16 and protesting against Vladimir Putin's regime at the same time. According to a local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, the Navalny memorial disappeared again on Saturday between 9 and 10 pm.

However, military police officers present in front of the embassy refused to give him more detailed information, citing "neutrality" and a recent commotion, he said. "But I can tell you that many of the residents around the Russian embassy are watching this and they are really appalled by it," he said, referring to the renewed dismantling of the memorial.

But I can tell you that many of the residents around the Russian embassy are watching this and they are really appalled by it.

Besorgter Anrainer

Police investigate
After this Navalny memorial was destroyed by unknown persons for the first time on March 16, the Vienna State Police Directorate also informed the State Office for State Protection and Extremism (LSE) about the incident. The authority also wanted to check whether there was any criminal relevance.

The memorial was also discussed in the Austrian parliament last Thursday. "It would be helpful if, for example, surveillance cameras were installed at the Navalny monument or an attempt could be made to give it official status in order to protect it," said a Russian activist during a meeting with MPs from four parliamentary groups, which was initiated by Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic, the Greens' foreign policy spokesperson.