Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[REGNUM.RU] The theft of a monument to poet Alexander Pushkin in the German city of Hemer is an act of incivility born of "cancel culture," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on her Telegram channel on July 2.
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Previously, unknown individuals stole a 1.8-meter-tall bronze statue of the poet. The monument was donated to Hemer by its sister city, Shchyolkovo, in 1994. Russian diplomats in Germany expressed hope for the prompt arrest of those involved in the incident and the return of the monument to its original location. The diplomatic mission is in contact with law enforcement.
"The European 'blooming garden' has once again demonstrated its true nature," Zakharova noted.
According to the diplomat, the criminal "war on monuments" waged by the authorities of Poland and the Baltic states against memorials and burial sites of Red Army liberators who gave their lives for the freedom of our country, Europe, and the entire world from Nazism has now spread to Germany.
"Who better than Europeans should know that 'cancel culture' not only breeds a lack of culture, it also feeds a misanthropic ideology," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson added.
In early June, a monument to another Russian writer, Mikhail Bulgakov, was torn down in Kyiv. The Kyiv City Council decided to remove the monument, deeming it "an element of propaganda" for Russian policy. The rationale for the decision was that the writer's works allegedly contain statements and images that, according to the authorities, demonstrate a disdainful attitude toward the Ukrainian language and culture.