MOSCOW: Terming the dismantling of around 465 monuments of Russian soldiers in Poland as ‘shameful’, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the act by Poland government has set an anti-record for erasing the memory of World War II.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, shared a post on X, stating, “As many as 465 monuments to our heroic soldiers have been dismantled in Poland.”
Zakharova further called it a “shameful act” and said that it has set an anti-record for erasing the memory of World War II. “It has set a shameful anti-record for erasing the memory of WWII and of the 600,000 Soviet soldiers who sacrificed their lives to save the Polish nation”, she added.
💬 #Zakharova: As many as 465 monuments to our heroic soldiers have been dismantled in Poland.
❌ It has set a shameful anti-record for erasing the memory of WWII and of the 600,000 Soviet soldiers who sacrificed their lives to save the Polish nation. pic.twitter.com/Bbo4J4ZdaE
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) April 3, 2024
In 2022 also, four communist-era monuments to Red Army soldiers were dismantled in Poland, to remove symbols of Moscow’s post-World War II domination and to emphasise their condemnation of the war in Ukraine, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The workers used drills and heavy equipment to destroy the 1945 monuments at four different locations across Poland. Notably. most of them were in the form of concrete obelisks dedicated to Red Army soldiers who fell while fighting to defeat Nazi German troops, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The head of the state Institute of National Remembrance, Karol Nawrocki, said that the monuments stood for a system that was guilty of enslaving and murdering its people and other nations, including Poles.
Ever since shedding communist rule in 1989, Poland has been removing the symbols of Moscow’s past domination from the public space, taking away monuments and plaques.
However, some have been moved to special storage, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The drive does not include cemeteries or current burial sites.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added urgency to Poland’s efforts as the country is backing Ukraine’s struggle against Russia politically, militarily and economically. (ANI)