Activists in the Czech Republic installed a “Fingers Salute” statue in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague as a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraines Independence Day.The sculpture depicts an older Ukrainian womans hand, more than six feet tall, making a V with her index and middle finger. From Boris Nemtsov Square, the sculpture can be viewed as a victory or peace sign, while from the embassy it appears as a rude gesture.“As members of the global artistic community, we could not stand by and watch whilst an horrific and unjustified war is waged to our east,” creative producer Antonín Milata said in a statement. “Along with the renaming of streets and bridges in the vicinity of the Russian Embassy, we want to send Russia a strong message: FYou.”“This two-fingered salute sends a double message,” said creative director Joseph Ali Tehranian. “From one side it says Peace and Victory”and from the other… well, lets just say it should be crystal clear.”Artist Jan “Slove” Slovenčík created the sculpture out of “deliberately lifelike” material to represent those who suffer most in Russias invasion of Ukraine: “the older women of the region who have witnessed the horrors of unjustified war more than once in their lives.” The installation was described as “a spontaneous happening by the Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune Represented by the Repressed.” The sculpture is only scheduled to remain in place for the Aug. 24 holiday.
