Sbratření

Brotherhood Monument in Prague is a 1950 sculpture by Karel Pokorný, portraying a Red Army soldier as a liberator being warmly welcomed by a Czech civilian on behalf of the nation. Standing close to Prague's main railway station, it is one of the more overlooked postwar monuments in the city, passed daily by crowds who rarely stop to consider the history behind it.

What does the monument actually show?

The composition features two figures: a Soviet soldier in uniform, embodying the liberator, and a civilian representing Czech society, greeting him with an open, welcoming gesture. The scene is symbolic rather than a depiction of any single documented event — it presents a generalized image of liberator meeting liberated, a motif common in postwar monumental sculpture across the former Eastern Bloc. The work belongs to a wave of art commissioned to commemorate the Red Army's arrival in Czechoslovakia and to reinforce an official narrative of fraternity between the two nations.

Who created it, and when?

The monument is the work of Karel Pokorný, a respected Czech sculptor associated with the postwar figurative tradition in Czechoslovak sculpture. It was completed in 1950, five years after the end of the Second World War, during a period when the country's new communist leadership was actively shaping the official memory of liberation and the alliance with the Soviet Union. The date places the work firmly in the early years of communist rule, when monuments of this kind served both an artistic and a propagandistic purpose.

Who posed for the sculpture?

The soldier's likeness was modeled on Vasily Pruzhinev, an NKVD officer, while the Czech civilian was modeled on Jožo Vraz, a factory worker. The fact that real, identifiable people sat for the sculpture — rather than the figures being purely the sculptor's invention — adds a layer of human history to what might otherwise read as a purely symbolic scene, and it is often mentioned as a point of interest when the monument is discussed today.

Where exactly is it located?

The monument stands in Prague, right next to the city's main railway station, Hlavní nádraží — one of the busiest transport hubs in the country. Its position means that enormous numbers of travelers pass it every day while moving between trains, trams, and the city center, even if most never pause to look closely. The site sits at approximately 50.085°N, 14.435°E, making it easy to locate on a map of the station area.

Is this the only version of the monument?

No — the Prague sculpture is a copy of a monument standing in Česká Třebová, a town in eastern Bohemia known primarily as a major railway junction. The existence of two versions of the same composition reflects how themes of liberation and wartime brotherhood were replicated across different Czechoslovak towns as part of a broader, coordinated policy of commemoration during that era.

Is it worth stopping to see?

For anyone passing through the area around the main station, the Brotherhood Monument is worth a brief pause — not for its scale or artistic fame, but as tangible evidence of a specific moment in Czechoslovak history and of how that period was memorialized in public space. It also offers an interesting contrast: a piece of postwar figurative sculpture standing amid the modern bustle and architecture surrounding one of Prague's busiest transit points.

Frequently asked questions

Who created the Brotherhood Monument in Prague?

Czech sculptor Karel Pokorný, who completed the work in 1950.

What does the monument depict?

A Red Army soldier being welcomed as a liberator by a Czech civilian, symbolizing brotherhood between the two nations.

Who posed for the figures?

NKVD officer Vasily Pruzhinev posed for the soldier, and worker Jožo Vraz posed for the Czech civilian.

Where is the monument located?

In Prague, next to the main railway station, Hlavní nádraží.

Is there a similar monument elsewhere?

Yes, the Prague monument is a copy of one standing in Česká Třebová.