An aircraft carrier named Karel Gott is leaving its base in Kaliningrad for the Baltic Sea - a tweet that has received more than 15,000 likes in just one day. And just one of many about the Russian Kaliningrad, which suddenly belongs to the Czech Republic in these articles. The suggestion went viral. Behind this is, among other things, a Czech satirical site that is calling for a petition to announce a referendum on Kaliningrad's annexation to the Czech Republic.
From a political point of view, the joking idea has received support from Tomáš Zdechovský, a Czech member of the EU Parliament, who is campaigning for it with many memes and jokes on Twitter. Personalities such as Czech author Jaroslav Rudiš have also shared relevant posts. And there are a few of them.
Next to the aircraft carrier Karel Gott, a picture of a submarine with a Czech flag and the name of the Czech singer Helena Vondráčková is doing the rounds.
One meme shows Vladimir Putin inquiring about the situation in Kaliningrad and asking, irritated, why he heard an "Ahoj" - "hello" in Czech. Some of the tweets were shared in Polish, and the idea seems to be well received in Poland.
The city and province of Kaliningrad is located on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania, but is part of Russia. A petition demands that Kaliningrad be part of the Czech Republic - it now has around 14,000 signatures and, according to the petition site, these include some from Kaliningrad. The idea is historically justified and goes back a long way: In the 13th century, under the Bohemian King Přemysl Ottokar II, Kaliningrad belonged to what is now the Czech Republic for a while.
Russia itself is taken as a role model: As Russia has shown in Crimea and now in eastern Ukraine, it is perfectly fine to announce a referendum on the territory of a foreign state and then annex it.
The petition therefore calls on the Czech government to send soldiers to Kaliningrad and to announce a referendum that ends with a 98 percent result for joining the Czech Republic. Kaliningrad should then be renamed Královec. The sham referendums in four eastern Ukrainian regions ended with a very similar percentage (stern reported).
Another public action recently caused a stir in the Czech Republic. More than 11,000 Czechs have donated money to buy a tank in Ukraine. It should be a birthday present for Vladimir Putin (the star reported).
The last census conducted in 2021 shows that Czechs also cultivate their humor officially. The results of the census show that the number of people who feel they belong to the Jedi Knights has increased. You can find out what this trend is all about here.
Quellen: petition.com, irozhlas, Twitter, Czech Television
