For over 40 years following the end of World War II, a Soviet Tank – the Monument to Soviet Tank Crews – stood in Prague 5’s Soviet Tank Square, now (and originally) named Kinsky Square. After the fall of communism in 1989, a young student named David Černý – along with some friends – painted the tank pink and put a giant middle finger atop the hull. It was prank designed, presumably, to flip the bird to the former Soviet oppressors one final time. But Černý claimed he did it to impress a girl. Local authorities were not impressed: the young artist was thrown in jail, and the tank was painted green to match its original condition. But some new members of the young Czech parliament sided with Černý. To protest his imprisonment, they repainted the tank pink, and later passed a law stripping the landmark of its National Monument status. Černý was soon released, and has gone on to become one of the country’s most prominent artists. His tank has stayed pink ever since – though it’s needed a few new coats of paint over the years – and has travelled across the Czech Republic. it is now homed at The Military Technical Museum of Lesany (or Vojenské technické muzeum Lešany) a remarkable museum located near Prague. It houses over 400 military vehicles, mostly tanks, but also missile systems, huge radars, personnel carriers, motorcycles and more.
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