Moscow to Protest Over Polish Desecration of Soviet Soldiers Monument

The Russian Foreign Ministry has voiced a protest to Warsaw with regard to the desecration of a monument devoted to Soviet soldiers in Poland's city of Strzegom, the ministry's statement said on Thursday.

"[We are] appalled by another act of vandalism against a monument to Soviet soldiers-liberators in Poland… We express our strong protest against the ongoing attack on our war memorial heritage in Poland. We demand that the order should be restored in this field in compliance with international legal obligations to Russia, in this particular case, the monument in Strzegom should be restored to a proper condition, the hooligans should be found and held accountable," the statement said.

A number of memorials to the Soviet soldiers have been desecrated over the past several weeks in Poland, including the mass grave of Soviet soldiers in the Polish city of Sosnowiec and places of remembrance in Warsaw and Olsztyn. A number of memorials to the Soviet soldiers, who liberated Poland from the Nazis during World War II, has been desecrated in the country in recent years. The recent case took place on Tuesday in the southern Polish town of Szczyrk. Meanwhile, in July, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into law a bill on the prohibition of communist propaganda that regulates the demolition of Soviet-era monuments. The law enters into force three months after being signed and could lead to the destruction of hundreds of Soviet-era monuments. With this regard, Moscow vowed to appeal to UNESCO, asking the organization to make an assessment of desecration of Soviet memorials in Poland.

Poland has demonstrated a lack of respect for Soviet monuments located on its territory on several occasions. Apart from numerous cases of desecration of Soviet memorials by vandals, Polish authorities have been engaged in a campaign aimed at removing Soviet statues in recent years. In July, a law, regulating the demolition of monuments and renaming of objects associated with the Communist legacy, or any other totalitarian regime was adopted by Polish authorities, prompting harsh criticism from Russia and several other states.