DISINFO: Polish protests against the attempts to revise the role of the USSR in the Katyń Massacre is a denial of reality
SUMMARY
Poland presented its protest against the attempts to revise the Katyń Massacre after an appeal by a Russian MP to reassess the role of the NKVD and the USSR in these events. In these terms, the Polish side often ignores what happened in Polish-Russian shared history – Poland a priori occupies a hostile position, denying reality.
RESPONSE
This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to distort the truth about the Soviet crimes committed against Poland.
The Katyń Massacre is a symbol of the criminal policy of the USSR against the Polish nation. In Spring 1940, almost 22.000 Polish prisoners of war were executed by the NKVD in Katyn, Kharkiv and Kalinin (Tver). The Massacre was carefully considered and organised by the Soviet leadership. Up until 1991, the Soviet authorities refused to accept their responsibility for this crime, blaming Nazi Germany for the mass-murders of Polish prisoners of war. In 1992, the Russian President Boris Yeltsin submitted documents to President Lech Walesa confirming the Soviet blame for this crime. Read more about the Katyn Massacre here.
Throughout 2020, the Russian authorities took several steps regarding the Katyń Massacre, which may be considered as historical revisionism. In May 2020, the municipal authorities of the city of Tver ordered the removal of two plaques commemorating the memory of the victims of the Katyń Massacre. In November 2020, the Russian authorities organised a conference on the Katyń Massacre – several participants of the conference promoted the idea that the USSR and the NKVD were not responsible for this crime. These statements are an evident example of historical revisionism promoted by Russia – the Polish authorities continue to demand an investigation into this Soviet crime against the Polish nation.
The Polish Institute of Historical Remembrance presented its protest against the Russian attempts to distort the truth about Soviet crimes.
See other disinformation messages connected to the Kremlin’s historical revisionism: Poland re-writes the history claiming that the USSR attacked it in September 1939; Accusing USSR of WWII outbreak, Poland distracts attention from its pre-war “miscalculations” and The pre-war Polish leadership bears all the blame for the tragedy of this country during WWII.