And then Russia invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n
That sent already poor perceptions of Russia among Poles plummeting, and reinvigorated efforts to correct the historical record. Poland has taken down<\/a> more than 40 Soviet-era memorials since 2022. A poll<\/a> taken shortly after the war began showed that 97% of Poles have an unfavorable opinion of Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cIn our memory in Poland, in our activities, we are concentrated on the history of the 20th century,\u201d said Piotr D\u0142ugo\u0142\u0119cki, a historian at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), in an interview at the organization\u2019s office in central Warsaw.<\/p>\n For over a century, he said, Poland\u2019s relationship with Russia has been one of its most important \u2014 and sensitive \u2014 alongside relations with Germany and with Jewish peoples.<\/p>\n \u201cThose areas of history are connected with emotions in Poland and are very important for Poles, for Poland the country, for our society and our nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n This relationship wasn\u2019t always a toxic one. Before the invasion of Ukraine, D\u0142ugo\u0142\u0119cki recalled, Polish and Russian historians used to have substantial links. While interpretations of history diverged greatly, there was at least dialogue. As an example, he gestured to the next room over, a large conference hall where PISM used to host Russian scholars.<\/p>\n Asked whether he could envision that happening again, D\u0142ugo\u0142\u0119cki was cautious.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the end of the war, in the future, it will be possible to do something new,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at this moment, I don\u2019t suppose so.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia has interpreted historical reexamination in Poland and the Baltics as an assault on its reputation as a liberator of Europe, a profound source of national pride. A report<\/a> from the Russian Foreign Ministry issued last year condemned the destruction of memorials and claimed that Poland is spreading a myth of \u201cdouble occupation\u201d by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n Russia has previously placed<\/a> European leaders on wanted lists for allegedly desecrating memorials.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe exhibition to \u201cPolish Russophobia\u201d at the Katyn massacre memorial complex in the Smolensk region. At the same time, Russian authorities have themselves moved in recent years to remove<\/a> Polish memorials<\/a> and diminish the Soviet Union\u2019s role in perpetrating crimes against Poles, officials say<\/a>.<\/p>\n In one recent example that was seen as particularly egregious, officials installed<\/a> an exhibition to \u201cPolish Russophobia\u201d at the Katyn massacre memorial complex in the Smolensk region.<\/p>\n The massacre, in which the Soviets executed 22,000 Poles in 1940, is for Poles one of the war\u2019s most solemn episodes. For years it has poisoned relations between the countries. In a highly symbolic move, the State Duma officially acknowledged in 2010 that Josef Stalin personally handed<\/a> down the order.<\/p>\n According to Sergey Medvedev, a historian and professor at Charles University in Prague, the goal of a stunt as brazenly antagonistic as the Katyn exhibition is multifaceted.<\/p>\n On one hand, it allows Russia to propagate a view of WWII in which \u201cRussia was the sole victim and the combined forces of Europe, including Poland, led to this war,\u201d as well as \u201cwhitewashing the crimes\u201d of the Soviet Union\u2019s secret police.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also a rallying point for a domestic audience.<\/p>\n \u201cPutin\u2019s battle is a battle over history, over minds, over the interpretation of history,\u201d Medvedev said.<\/p>\n \u201cPoland in the Russian public discourse has been one of the arch enemies for the past few decades,\u201d he added, \u201cand this exhibition stresses it once again.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tnews \t\t\t\tAmid Ukraine War, a Quiet Battle of Memorials Unfolds in Russia Bart\u0142omiej Gajos, a historian and expert on Polish-Russian relations, gave an even more severe assessment, calling these public displays \u201cmental preparation of the Russian society in case of any war with Poland.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI’m looking at it from more of a security perspective rather than a strictly historical one,\u201d Gajos told The Moscow Times. \u201cI do believe that history in the public sphere \u2014 not as an academic discipline \u2014 is a very powerful influencing tool, telling people who they are and how they should behave in certain circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n That line of thinking reflects growing Polish fears about an attack from Russia. The war in Ukraine, a spate of acts of sabotage<\/a> and a shocking episode last fall when Russian drones entered<\/a> Polish airspace have left many people believing that scenario is a real possibility.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t help to cool tempers that Polish authorities deliberately blur the lines between Russia and the Soviet Union, with the removal of monuments framed as both a mending of past mistakes and an assertion of sovereignty directed at Russia.<\/p>\n Standing in a park in the northern town of Maszewo last December, Karol Polejowski, the deputy director of the Institute for National Remembrance (IPN), said<\/a> that \u201cthere is no place for Soviet objects in a free Poland.\u201d Then an excavator toppled<\/a> an old pillar into the dirt. It was a monument that had been erected in 1947 to honor the Red Army\u2019s liberation of the town.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the Soviets, to propaganda objects, to Russians who believe that these lands somehow belong to their sphere of influence, we say \u2018no\u2019,\u201d Polejowski said<\/a>.<\/p>\n The IPN, a controversial government agency dedicated to researching Polish history, is leading decommunization efforts. The organization declined to make any of its experts available for an interview or to respond to questions for this article.<\/p>\n When it comes to addressing Russia\u2019s legacy, it has a clear policy: Soviet monuments need to be destroyed.<\/p>\n \t\topinion \t\t\t\tThe Distortions of Holocaust History by Russia and Poland Are a Disgrace While the underlying sentiment is something most Poles can get behind, not everyone agrees with an uncompromising approach \u2014 especially toward such a sensitive issue.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch debates have taken place in Poland, that we should present [the memorials], regardless of the past, regardless of the values that they carry,\u201d said Gajos. \u201cThere are different perspectives on this.\u201d<\/p>\n The monument in Rzesz\u00f3w is a case in point. IPN wants to tear it down, but city officials have planned to simply remove it from a public space while preserving some of its parts elsewhere, according to local media<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recently, after years of back and forth, the IPN and the city seemed to come to an impasse. IPN released a lengthy statement in February outlining its position.<\/p>\n \u201cPlacing its elements in a war cemetery maintained by the Polish state would contradict the idea of \u200b\u200bdecommunization, as it would make them inviolable under the law,\u201d IPN said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some people argue that there are better answers to the question of how to acknowledge the past without glorifying it. In Lithuania, for instance, many Soviet memorials that used to dominate public spaces have been gathered<\/a> in one place, a sculpture garden.<\/p>\n Gajos said that this is a model he is more supportive of.<\/p>\n \u201cI would remove them from the public space, but I wouldn’t destroy them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n A Message from The Moscow Times:<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear readers,<\/p>\n We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has designated The Moscow Times as an “undesirable” organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a “foreign agent.”<\/p>\n These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work “discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership.” We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.<\/p>\n We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help<\/a>.<\/p>\n Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It’s quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.<\/p>\n By supporting The Moscow Times, you’re defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tContinue\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Not ready to support today? \u00d7<\/p>\n \t\tRemind me next month<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\t\t\tThank you! Your reminder is set.\n\t\t<\/p>\n![\"
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