Královec Region
 | This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Czech. (October 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (October 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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In 2022, an Internet meme appeared according to which the Czech Republic had annexed Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia.[1] This new Czech province was referred to as the Královec Region (Czech: Královecký kraj).[2]
On 27 September, the Czech satirical website AZ247.cz made a petition for the Czech Republic to send soldiers to Kaliningrad Oblast, hold an annexation referendum that would have a 98% vote in favor, and make the region a formal part of the country renamed as Královec, thus gaining access to the sea.[3][4] This was in response to the annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine and the subsequent annexation of southern and eastern Ukraine by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.[5]
Calls for Czech annexation also extended to Franz Josef Land (Czech: Země Františka Josefa).[6]
Various official figures and entities, including Jana Černochová (Czech Minister of Defence),[7] Zuzana Čaputová (President of Slovakia)[8] and the Embassy of the United States in Prague (as a followup to the planned F-35 acquisition by the Czech Republic) made satirical comments regarding the movement on Twitter.[9]
On 10 October 2022, a few hundred people attended a mock referendum to perform the annexation of the region in front of the Embassy of Russia in Prague.[10]
Historical justification[edit]
During an interview between the Czech journalists Petr Koubský and Filip Titlbach in an article for the Czech newspaper Deník N, it was attempted to find out if the proposal had any real or historical basis that could justify the satire. The city of Kaliningrad was originally named Königsberg (German for "King's Hill"; Czech: Královec, from král, "king") at its founding in honor of King Ottokar II of Bohemia (with the Kingdom of Bohemia being a Czech kingdom preceding the modern Czech Republic), who attended the first crusade into the region. The predominantly German crusaders did so out of pride of accompanying such an important person as the King of Bohemia, who was moreover a respected person in the Holy Roman Empire of which Bohemia was part, as his mother belonged to the prominent Hohenstaufen noble family.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ Meitav, Roman (7 October 2022). "Czech Republic hold mock referendum, say they now control Russia's Kaliningrad". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "Czechs troll Russia with mock annexation of Kaliningrad". Kafkadesk. 4 October 2022.
- ^ AZ247.cz (27 September 2022). "Petice za vyhlášení referenda o připojení Kaliningradu k České republice". petice.com (in Czech).
- ^ Hrywna, Igor (29 September 2022). "Královec założył czeski król. Czesi teraz o tym przypominają Kremlowi". Gazeta Olsztyńska (in Polish).
- ^ a b Titlbach, Filip; Svoboda, Vít (5 October 2022). "Studio N: Mají Češi nárok na Královec? #KaliningradIsCzechia". Deník N (in Czech).
- ^ Krčmář, Milan (6 October 2022). "Nejen Královec, i Země Františka Josefa: část Ruska pojmenovali kdysi po Brně". Deník.cz (in Czech).
- ^ "Pamatuju si, že jsme na Výboru pro obranu (cca před deseti lety) opravdu vážně řešili naší ponorku v Albánii". Twitter. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "I might consider a state visit. Or not". Twitter. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Nepotřebovali byste také náhodou letadlovou loď?". Twitter. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Před ruským velvyslanectvím v Praze se "rozhodlo" o připojení Královce k Česku". novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 11 October 2022.
External links[edit]
- visitkralovec.cz, a satirical tourist website portraying Kaliningrad as a Czech city
- @KralovecCzechia on Twitter, another satirical account
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- CS1 Polish-language sources (pl)
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- Kaliningrad Oblast