Kremlin Rejects Japan Demand to Remove Soviet WWII Statue — SkimNews
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- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday (Sept 8) that Russia will not consider Japan's request to dismantle a new WWII memorial erected in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk.
- Japan's foreign ministry on Saturday "strongly requested" Russia remove the statue, which commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Japan in 1945.
- The bronze statue depicts a Soviet soldier destroying a boundary post decorated with a chrysanthemum — an emblem widely recognized as symbolizing Japan.
- Japan called the depiction of the chrysanthemum's destruction "unacceptable and extremely regrettable in terms of Japanese national sentiment."
- Peskov accused Tokyo of selective memory, declaring Russia "has not forgotten Japanese militarism; we have not forgotten that victory," and said Moscow "can hardly take such demands and statements into account in any way."
Why it matters: Japan and Russia have no formal post-WWII peace treaty, and the Khabarovsk memorial — a Soviet soldier actively destroying a chrysanthemum-emblazoned boundary post — weaponizes a shared grievance on permanent public display. By refusing even to engage Tokyo's request, the Kremlin signals the statue is staying as deliberate provocation, ensuring the dispute lingers in bilateral relations.
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