Czech Republic Issues Statement Clarifying That They Are Not Chechnya, Because America

The Boston Marathon suspects have been connected to Chechnya by pretty much every major news outlet at this point, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that a good number of Americans have no idea where Chechnya is, among other things. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where the ambassador of the Czech Republic felt the need to issue a statement informing the American people that, you know, the Czech Republic actually isn’t Chechnya. Sigh.

Petr Gandalovič‘s statement is short and sweet, beginning with him essentially conveying his condolences. Then it gets to the important bit, because nobody wants their country mistakenly connected with an attack like this:

As more information on the origin of the alleged perpetrators is coming to light, I am concerned to note in the social media a most unfortunate misunderstanding in this respect. The Czech Republic and Chechnya are two very different entities – the Czech Republic is a Central European country; Chechnya is a part of the Russian Federation.

So, yeah. I’m not saying everyone absolutely needs to know precisely where Chechnya is located or anything, but it’d sure be nice if they at least knew it’s not the same as the Czech Republic. For reference, here’s an image from Google Maps with a route from the Czech Republic to Chechnya:

The Czech Republic isn’t Chechnya.

(via Embassy of the Czech Republic)

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