Královec Region
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The Královec Region (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkraːlɔvɛt͡s]; Czech: Královecký kraj) is an internet meme consisting of a satirical annexation of Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast by the Czech Republic. The meme originated in 2022, in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2]
History
On 27 September 2022, 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 the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.[5]
Satirical calls for Czech annexation also extended to Franz Josef Land (Czech: Země Františka Josefa), an Arctic archipelago discovered during an expedition by a group including Czech individuals in 1873. It was named after Franz Joseph I, the Emperor-King of Austria-Hungary, the state the modern Czech Republic was part of at the time.[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]
During an interview between the Czech journalists
References
- ^ 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).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hrywna, Igor (29 September 2022). "Královec założył czeski król. Czesi teraz o tym przypominają Kremlowi". Gazeta Olsztyńska (in Polish).
- ^ a b c 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).
- ^ Černochová, Jana [@jana_cernochova] (4 October 2022). "Pamatuju si, že jsme na Výboru pro obranu (cca před deseti lety) opravdu vážně řešili naší ponorku v Albánii" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 October 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Čaputová, Zuzana [@zuzanacaputova] (6 October 2022). "I might consider a state visit. Or not" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 October 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Embassy of the United States in Prague [@usembassyprague] (5 October 2022). "Nepotřebovali byste také náhodou letadlovou loď?" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 October 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Před ruským velvyslanectvím v Praze se "rozhodlo" o připojení Královce k Česku". novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Караляучус - Краловиц - Кёнигсберг - Калининград" (in Russian). Deutsche Welle. 29 April 2005.
- ^ "125. posiedzenie Komisji Standaryzacji Nazw Geograficznych poza Granicami RP" (in Polish). Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names Outside the Republic of Poland. 9 May 2023.
External links
- visitkralovec.cz, a satirical tourist website portraying Kaliningrad as a Czech city
- @KralovecCzechia on Twitter, a satirical Twitter account
