Revisiting The Katyn Massacre

European Court of Human Rights. Moscow Times

Russia Shows 'Callous Disregard' In Katyn Massacre Case, Court Says -- L.A. Times

Russia's refusal to cooperate with the European Court of Human Rights in exposing a 1940 war crime that killed 22,000 Poles in the Katyn forest shows "callous disregard" for the victims and their relatives, the court said in a ruling Monday.

The court, based in Strasbourg, France, said it couldn't address the demands for full disclosure on the massacre because Moscow has refused to hand over the results of a 14-year investigation into the killings, which were ordered by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin after the Red Army invaded Poland in September 1939.

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More News On The European Court Of Human Rights Ruling That Russia's Refusal To Cooperate Has Made It Impossible To Address Demands For Full Disclosure

Russia's 1940 massacre of Poles war crime: court -- Vancouver Sun/Reuters
European Court Says It Can't Rule on Katyn -- The Moscow Times/AP
EU human rights court slams Russia over Katyn -- Euronews
European Court Rules Russia Gave Poles Cruel Treatment -- Wall Street Journal
European Court Can't Rule On Katyn Investigation -- Radio Free Europe
Russia had full right to classify Katyn probe – HR official -- RT
European Court Criticizes Russia’s Handling of Katyn Massacre Case -- Epoch Times
Court not considering Katyn massacre cases -- UPI
European Court classifies Katyn tragedy as war crime -- Kyiv Post

Russia Comes Clean With The Katyn Massacre

Katyn massacre may be recognized as Stalinist crime. © RIA Novosti.

Russian Parliament Admits Guilt Over Polish Massacre -- The Gaurdian

Symbolic acknowledgment of culpability over Katyn murders in 1940 signals Russia's willingness to face up to its past

In a symbolic admission of guilt, Russia's parliament has declared that Joseph Stalin ordered his secret police to execute 22,000 Polish army officers and civilians in 1940, in one of the greatest mass murders of the 20th century.

Today's acknowledgment of Stalin's personal culpability over the Katyn massacre comes amid a cautious thaw between Moscow and Warsaw, whose recent relations have been thorny at best. It was also seen as a sign that Russia may finally be ready for muted self-scrutiny over its totalitarian past.

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More News On The Stalin And The Katyn Massacre

Russia blames Stalin for Katyn tragedy -- Reuters
Russia: Stalin Ordered Katyn Massacre -- Voice of America
Russia admits Stalin ordered Katyn massacre of Poles -- AFP
Russian parliament condemns Stalin for Katyn massacre -- BBC
Russian parliament admits Stalin ordered Katyn massacre -- The Telegraph
Duma recognizes Katyn massacre as Stalinist crime -- RIA Novosti
Factbox: Twists and turns in Polish-Russian relations -- Reuters

My Comment: When I was growing up, my Russian father and an Polish elderly couple that my parents had known for years always argued about this part of Russian history. Their disagreements and arguments sometimes lasted for hours. It is a shame that they are no longer around to witness this historic announcement .... sighhhh .... life sometimes is not fair.

Russia's Katyn Files Are Now Open To The Public

The mass graves were found by the German army when it invaded Russia. It was immediately used as propaganda against the Russians who continued to deny they were to blame until 1990. But even today the Communist Party in Russia says the killings were carried out by German soldiers. Photo from The Daily Mail

Russia Opens Its Files On The Katyn Massacre

In a move that takes it one step closer to easing its long-running tensions with Poland, Russia on Wednesday posted online for the first time its files on the Soviet Union's World War II massacre of thousands of Polish officers in Katyn forest.

The documents — which were once classified — were opened to the public in 1992, but have mainly only been read by researchers and historians. Now for the first time, anyone with a computer can see for themselves the files that prove Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and his aides were responsible for the killings of 22,000 Polish officers in the forest in western Russia. "Let people see [the files], let them know who made the decision to kill the Polish officers," said Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who ordered that the files be published online. "It's all there in the documents. All signatures are there, all the faces are known."

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More News On The Katyn Massacre

Documents prove Stalin signed death warrant for 22,000 Poles -- Sydney Morning Herald
Secret documents confirm Stalin DID sanction Katyn massacre... but Russia still won't name police who shot 22,000 -- The Daily Mail
Documents show Stalin signed Katyn death warrants -- The Telegraph
Russia posts Katyn massacre documents online -- The Guardian
Russia opens Katyn massacre archive -- Financial Times
Russia posts documents on Polish executions online -- CNN
Russia posts some Katyn documents on Internet -- AP
Commentary: The issue will never die - Poles will always want more -- Times Online
New Katyn documents published by Russia "good sign": Polish PM -- Xinhuanet

My Comment: Russia wants to close the file on this part of it's Soviet history .... this goes a long way to accomplish that.

Are Russian - Polish Relations Still Testy Even With Movement Towards Reconciliation On The Katyn Massacre?

Polish director Andrzej Wajda's Oscar-nominated film Katyn was recently premiered on Russia's Kultura TV channel Photograph: PR

Shadow Of Katyn Still Haunts Poland's Relations With Russia -- The Guardian

Death of Lech Kaczynski comes as Moscow and Warsaw try to move on from Katyn, but massacre remains a source of conflict.

The death of Lech Kaczynski in a plane crash on his way to Katyn came at a time when Poland and Russia were taking tentative steps to move on from what happened there 70 years ago. The facts are no longer in dispute: in April 1940 Soviet secret police executed more than 20,000 Poles in a forest in western Russia. The victims included military officers, policemen and intellectuals, shot on Stalin's orders. Between 5,000 and 6,000 perished in the village of Katyn, near the border with Belarus, with the rest shot at two other camps. For almost 50 years the Soviet Union insisted it was the Nazis who had committed the murders – with Poland's communist leaders colluding in the lie.

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My Comment: My father (before he past away) commented to me on this issue when I brought it up to him in the mid 1980s (give or take a year). His opinion is important because he had a unique perspective on what was happening during this time (he was there), as well as understanding the antagonisms between Poland and what was then the Soviet union. To begin ..... his paternal grandparents were from Poland (hence the reason why I have a Polish last name), but everyone else in our family is Russian. My father served in the Soviet Army during the Second World War, and was on the front lines when they liberated Poland from the Nazis. He knew about the Katyn massacre, but he also knew about the atrocities that Poland committed on Russian POWs. As far as he was concerned .... there are no angels in this dispute. Both sides acted horribly, and as a result many people died.

But what was important to him was/is the need to move on. My father was a witness to the brutality and genocide that the Germans/Nazis committed during the Second World War .... but in the end he decided that instead of hating them it would be best to move on .... and move on he did. In regards to the Katyn massacre, he remarked to me 25 years ago that there will be a day of reconciliation and atonement for what had happened. My father is not alive today, but he would be praising Russian Prime Minister Putin's attempt to move on .... and my father would be telling the Poles to embrace it and to also move on.

The Poles experienced a political disaster two days ago when their President and many of their senior officials were killed in a plane crash. Russian PM Putin's commitment to find and disclose the truth of what has happened is a position that the Poles should embrace .... and I know that they will. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (R) embrace of his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk was also genuine .... and Polish PM Donald Tusk response was equally moving.

Russian - Polish history has not been a pretty one .... and in a strange way I am a product of that conflict. But even with this history I am proud to say that I am carrying my father's legacy .... I harbor no ill will or bad feelings towards any side .... the Katyn massacre was one of many many many massacres during this time .... but times have changed, and it is time that while we will always remember our history, we should also move on and face the future.