Kremlin aide urges Japan to refrain from comments on WWII monument

MOSCOW, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Japan should not tell the victors of World War II what monuments to install on their own territory or what they should depict, Russia's presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said in an article published Thursday on his personal website.

Commenting on Japan's demand that Russia remove a monument in the Russian city of Khabarovsk commemorating victory over militarist Japan, Medinsky said Tokyo "should keep quiet" and "remember the lessons of history."

"Japan has no business telling the victors of World War II what monuments to put up on their own territory," Medinsky said.

The monument is a 15-meter bronze figure depicting a Soviet soldier smashing a border post bearing Japan's imperial chrysanthemum with the butt of his rifle. Its unveiling immediately provoked a negative reaction from the Japanese government.