The 'Monster' of Stalin Once Again Over Prague

This week, the people of Prague witnessed with surprise the re-emergence of a statue of Joseph Stalin, the former Soviet dictator, in their city. However, this is only a model of the original statue that once stood over Prague in a park called Letna. This statue was erected during the height of Stalin's power and was, in fact, the largest statue of Stalin in the world and even the largest of its kind in Europe. The statue of Joseph Stalin was located in this park from 1955 to 1962, and after his death, his successors dynamited this massive statue as part of a de-Stalinization campaign. Currently, in the place of this statue, there is a metronome. The model of the Stalin memorial is part of a television film titled 'Monster,' produced by the Czech Republic's state television and directed by Viktor Polensky. This television film narrates the life story of Otakar Švec, the creator of this statue, who won a competition to design the memorial but committed suicide the night before its unveiling. The film expresses the professional commitment and illustrates the contradictions that the sculptor faced in accepting this controversial task. According to the filmmakers, their intention is not to recreate the statue entirely; they stated that, apart from the head of the statue, cinematic tricks will be used to complete its body.