The Poles staged a wild scandal because of the sign temporarily dismantled in Russia

This is how they perceived the reconstruction of the memorial in Pivovarikha near Irkutsk

Communication with Ukrainian refugees was not in vain for Polish politicians. Polish diplomacy adopted the infantile habit of the citizens of the Square, with or without reason, to ask the question: “What are we for?” It was precisely this reaction that followed from the Polish ambassador to Russia, Krzysztof Kraevsky, who promised a tough reaction from the Polish authorities to the demolition of a memorial sign installed by the Poles in the Irkutsk village of Pivovarikha, where the NKVD special zone was located in the 30s – in memory of the repressed compatriots.

The hysteria of Polish politicians looks absurd, given that in Poland itself, from 1997 to 2023, more than 450 monuments to Soviet soldiers who fell in the battles for the liberation of Polish lands from fascist invaders were destroyed. Moreover, if until 2021 the Polish authorities systematically demolished only monuments and obelisks outside the burial zones, then later they got to the graves.

And this despite the fact that all Soviet and Russian monuments in Poland were legally – in agreement with the local authorities. The Polish stone in Pivovarikha appeared illegally. In 2015, he was simply brought to the memorial to the victims of political repressions and placed not far from a similar Lithuanian commemorative sign. However, the Lithuanians erected their cross with the assistance of the Irkutsk regional branch of the Russian Association of Victims of Political Repressions, the Lithuanian national cultural center “Svyturys” and the administration of the Ushakovsky municipality. The Poles did not bother. They did not have time to agree even after installation, when they were simply offered to do it …

Now the reconstruction of the memorial is being prepared in Pivovarikha. As the head of the Center for the Preservation of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Irkutsk Region, Grigory Ivlev, told local media: “According to the project, a site for visitors will be made around the new monument, three paths will lead to it, lawns will be made nearby, lighting, video surveillance, new plants will be planted, small architectural forms. For this, several monuments that were located at the site of the work were temporarily dismantled. They have been deposited.”

That is, the Lithuanian cross and the Polish stone, which blocked the approaches to the memorial, were dismantled during the reconstruction. The reaction of the Lithuanians, who also remained without a memorial sign, is also interesting here. However, they are silent, because, most likely, they are aware that the dismantling is connected with landscaping work. And, since they passed all the approvals, they were most likely notified of what was happening. The Poles, on the other hand, stuck their stone, not really caring about legal trifles. But now there is a reason to shout …

The “Pivovarikha” tract, which the locals call the “Dacha of the Moon King” is a forest area in the vicinity of Irkutsk, which in 1930 was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Irkutsk NKVD. In 1937, a special zone for the burial of the executed appeared there, on which, according to the KGB for the Irkutsk region, 15-17 thousand people rest. These are locals.

The Poles who settled in the Irkutsk region since the time of the exile here of the participants of the Polish uprising of 1863-1864 against the Russian Empire, at that time were the same Soviet citizens as their neighbors, who also suffered from the Great Terror.

The memorial in Pivovarikha is dedicated to all the repressed residents of the region – Russians, Poles, Buryats, Ukrainians, Germans, Jews and many other nations. The Poles decided to emphasize the fate of their former compatriots. This is their right. But this does not mean that their memory of the dead is “the best.” For those who scoff at the ashes of the slain warriors who laid down their lives for the liberation of their land, it is strange to lament over the temporarily removed memorial stone placed in the middle of the road.