Czechs troll Putin and annex Kaliningrad – beer pipeline planned

What happened?

The Czech Republic has held a referendum on the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. A large majority of the population there voted in favor and joined the Czechs as the new province of Královec.

There’s even a website for the awesome new tourist attraction: visitkralovec.cz.

Is that serious?

No of course not. It is – as many social media users believe – a very successful form of internet satire. The initiators want to poke fun at the (unfortunately deadly) annexation of parts of Ukraine by the Russian criminal regime.

Satirical posts from Eastern Europe caused a stir on social media platforms this week. The authors are committed to the Hashtag #KaliningradIsCzechia mocking the Russian annexations of occupied territories in Ukraine by demanding that the former Koenigsberg be annexed to the Czech Republic.

Under the slogan “Make Kaliningrad Czech Again” (make Kaliningrad Czech Again), citizens of the Czech Republic, among others, were asked to assemble in front of the Russian embassy in Prague.

Most memes come from Poland and the Czech Republic, reports watson media partner t-online.de. A Czech Twitter user called for the exclave to be divided between Poland and the Czech Republic – and also provided a map of a possible border.

A Polish Twitter user named Tomasz Komentasz shared a photo of an aircraft carrier by the name of legendary Czech pop singer “Karel Gott” just leaving the port of Kaliningrad.

Kremlin chief Putin also got rid of his fat, as another meme circulated via Twitter showed: In a photo, the Russian ruler sits relaxed on the phone and inquires about the situation in Kaliningrad. In the next photo he asks, “What do you mean by Ahoy?” This is the Czech word for hello and goodbye.

Several Twitter users suggested a metro line between the second largest Czech city of Brno, the Polish capital Warsaw and Kaliningrad – or a beer pipeline “Beer Stream” that supplies Kaliningrad with the well-known Czech beer from Prague.

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How do the Russians react?

Apparently you don’t think it’s funny.

Czech politician Tomas Zdechovsky, who is also a member of the European Parliament, tweeted the joke — sparking outrage in Russia, it was reported on Wednesday.

The Russian news portal EurAsia wrote of a “revanchist” tweet, describing the authors of the jokingly petition for the annexation of Kaliningrad as “provocateurs”. Zdechovsky replied:

Why Kaliningrad?

The joke has a historical background:

Russia has stationed its Baltic fleet in Kaliningrad. The Russian exclave can only be reached by land via Lithuania or Poland.

The Czech Republic currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU and provides significant humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine in its defense against the Russian war of aggression.

sources

(dsc)