Socha Rudoarmějce

Socha Rudoarmějce is a monument to a Red Army soldier standing in the municipal park of Žďár nad Sázavou, a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. Locals simply call it "Ivan", and the surrounding park has picked up the same nickname, known as "u Ivana".

Where does the monument stand?

The sculpture stands on Sadova Street, in the city park in the center of Žďár nad Sázavou. The oversized figure of a soldier rises on a tall pedestal reached by a flight of steps — the whole structure is nearly seven meters high and visible from a distance. For decades it has been one of the town's recognizable landmarks, even though its meaning has stirred debate for just as long.

Who does the statue depict, and who made it?

The monument shows a Soviet soldier with a machine gun slung over his shoulder, facing east. It was created by sculptor Konrád Babraj and unveiled in 1955, on the tenth anniversary of Czechoslovakia's liberation from Nazi occupation. The figure is meant as a symbolic representation, but residents of the town have long linked it to one specific person.

Where does the name "Ivan" come from?

The first Red Army soldier to enter Žďár, on 10 May 1945, was a Ukrainian named Ivan Grigorijevič Lukašenko. After the war he settled in the city of Sumy in Ukraine. A delegation from Žďár later visited him there, and he himself came back to the town several times, which people had come to associate with the statue in the park. That connection is how the nickname for both the sculpture and the park took hold.

What happened in 1968?

After Warsaw Pact troops entered Czechoslovakia in August 1968, some residents of Žďár tried to pull the statue down as a gesture against the occupation. According to local accounts, they used a tractor and chains, but the sculpture stayed in place — it turned out to be anchored too firmly in its foundation to be torn out that way.

What changed in 2022?

In early March 2022, shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, the town's authorities decided to cover the monument with a Ukrainian flag as a gesture of solidarity. Mayor Martin Mrkos explained the council's decision as a way of offering moral support to Ukraine in defending its territory. Because the ground around the tall pedestal proved unstable, the first attempt to hang the flag high up on the sculpture did not succeed right away, showing that even a symbolic act around the monument required technical care.

Why is it worth a stop?

Socha Rudoarmějce is a rare example of a 1950s monumental sculpture that has survived to this day in nearly unchanged form, despite the attempt to remove it in 1968 and the shifting political context around it ever since. For visitors, it's a spot where local history — a specific soldier, a specific liberation date — intersects with wider European events, from the 1968 invasion to the war in Ukraine decades later. At the same time, the park around the monument remains an ordinary green space that residents use every day.

Frequently asked questions

Who created the monument? The sculpture was designed by Konrád Babraj and unveiled in 1955 to mark the tenth anniversary of Czechoslovakia's liberation.

Why is the monument nicknamed "Ivan"? After Ivan Grigorijevič Lukašenko, the Ukrainian Red Army soldier who was first to enter Žďár on 10 May 1945.

Was the statue ever nearly removed? Yes — in 1968, following the Warsaw Pact invasion, residents tried to pull it down with a tractor and chains, but it remained standing.

What happened at the monument in 2022? The town covered it with a Ukrainian flag as a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine after Russia's invasion.

Where exactly is the monument located? On Sadova Street, in the municipal park in the center of Žďár nad Sázavou, in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic.