Poland/Russia
Gazeta Wyborcza, 4 February 2010

Remembering the Katyń massacre

Published on 4 February 2010 at 13:26
Gazeta Wyborcza, 4 February 2010

Cover

For the first time in history, the prime ministers of Poland and Russia will together honour the memory of Poles and Russians murdered by the Soviet secret service in Katyń. Vladimir Putin extended to his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk an invitation to a joint commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Katyń massacre. “It’s a symbolic gesture that lays the ground for improving bilateral relations,” Tusk told Warsaw daily Gazeta Wyborcza. Until the early 1990s, the Russia refused to admit to its responsibility in the murder of some 20,000 Polish officers captured by the Red Army in 1939. Russia’s president Boris Yeltsin provided the Poles with classified documents, including the execution order signed by Stalin. For years now, the victims’ relatives have fought in vain in Russian courts, demanding rehabilitation of those murdered in Katyń, and have also complained about the Russian justice system to the European Court of Human Rights.

Categories
Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!