KALININGRAD (Sputnik) — Currently the monument is being demolished, with parts of the memorial set to be handed over to the communal city department. In place of the monument, the authorities will put a 10-meter-high (32,8-foot-high) Christmas tree, according to Radio Poland.
The city made the decision to demolish the monument, created in the 1960-s to pay homage to the heroism of Soviet soldiers in the Second World War, in April. Several years ago, it was renamed as “For those who fought for the independence of homeland”. According to city authorities, the renaming did not help to dissociate the monument from the military and communist regime.
Relations between Moscow and Warsaw have been strained by a number of issues, including repeated cases of the demolition and dismantling of Soviet monuments in the country, alleged attempts by some Polish officials to distort history and belittle the contribution Soviet soldiers made to the victory over Nazism in World War II, and others.
