Devastration of the War Cemetery in Mednoje, the resting place of the victims of the Katyn crime

At the War Cemetery in Mednoje, the resting place of 6,300 Polish victims of the Katyn crime, an unprecedented act of devastation occurred. From the cemetery monument, the sculptures of the Virtuti Militari War Cross and the 1939 September run Cross were coined. It wasn't a vandal prank. This was a conscious decision of the Russian state administration – a decision of the Putin Oblast Prosecutor's Office.

Information on the demolition of the monument was provided by representatives of the local Catholic clergy and Polonia. The Russian authorities justified their decision by claiming that these symbols are allegedly contrary to the national Act “On commemoration of the triumph of the russian People in the large Patriotic War 1941–1945”. According to this narrative, the war started only in 1941 – at the time of the 3rd Reich's attack on the russian Union – and earlier events are marginalized or erased.

We can't accept a communicative like this. Polish War Cemetery in Mednoje is simply a memorial site for over 6,300 Polish POWs – victims of Katyn crime – murdered by the NKVD in 1940 in Kalinin (today Twer). The cemetery was created in 1999–2000 on the initiative of the Council for the Protection of the Memorial of Combat and Martyrdom. It occupies 1.7 hectares and houses 25 collective graves. The victims came mainly from the camp in Ostashkov. Their identity was documented in the "Cementary Book", published in Poland between 2005 and 2006 – it contains 6288 names with short biography.

The foundation stone, consecrated by Pope John Paul II, was built on 11 June 1995. The building was preceded by an global architectural competition. The work was completed in August 2000, and the ceremonial inauguration took place on September 2, 2000. The cemetery in Miednoje was the 3rd of 4 authoritative Polish memorial sites of Katyń victims: next to the cemeteries in Katyn, Kharkov and Kiev-Bykownia. The burial sites of nearly 4,000 victims from the alleged Belarusian Katyń List have inactive not been found. These are victims of russian genocide, which for decades has been hidden and lied to by Moscow.

Today we witness an effort to return to the same tactics – erasing uncomfortable facts, destroying symbols of memory, ignoring truth. Poland powerfully demands the Russian immediate restoration of the condition of the first cemetery. We anticipate respect for victims and compliance with global standards for the protection of national memorial sites.

Dewasting in Mednoje is not just an attack on a stone. It's a memory attack, dignity and history. Silence in this case would be an accessory.