Russia Opens ‘Polish Russophobia’ Exhibit at Katyn Memorial, Drawing Outrage

Irony lost: Exhibit at site of Soviet massacre of 20k Poles directly references Kremlin war in Ukraine, accuses Poland of millennium-long “Russophobia,” and criticizes its military support for Kyiv. Make us preferred on Google Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied A woman walks along the memorial to Polish officers murdered in the 1940 Soviet-era Katyn massacre, during a memorial ceremony at a grave site in Kharkiv on Sept. 25, 2010. Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google Russia has opened a controversial historical exhibit in the Smolensk region, drawing criticism for distorting history and disrespecting one of Poland ’s most sensitive memorial sites. According to CNN , the state-backed Russian Military-Historical Society recently unveiled an exhibition titled “10 Centuries of Polish Russophobia,” which portrays Poland’s historical relationship with Russia as defined by hostility and aggression. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . According to the organizers, the display highlights what it describes as long-standing “hatred” by Polish elites toward Russia, including alleged territorial seizures and violence against Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian populations. The exhibit is located at the Katyn Memorial site, where more than 20,000 Polish officers, intellectuals, and prisoners of war were executed by Soviet secret police in 1940. The massacre was denied by Soviet authorities for decades, who blamed Nazi Germany before eventually acknowledging responsibility. The location and timing of the exhibition have sparked backlash. It opened shortly before a commemoration of the Katyn victims and near the site of the 2010 plane crash that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and senior officials en route to the memorial. Critics say the move reflects a broader shift in Russia toward historical revisionism. Kirill Martynov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, called the exhibit “shameful,” noting the Soviet Union’s role in partitioning Poland alongside Nazi Germany and carrying out mass executions. Other Topics of Interest ‘Ukraine’s Unbreakable Generation: Redefining Modern Warfare’ – Gen. David Petraeus The most highly lauded living military officer in the United States, Gen. David Petraeus, shares his admiration for an awe-inspiring generation of Ukrainians forged by Russia’s brutal war. Others drew parallels to more recent actions by Moscow. Economist Konstantin Sonin pointed to symbolic gestures such as awarding honors to Russian units accused of war crimes in Bucha, calling such acts characteristic of President Vladimir Putin’s approach to historical memory. The exhibition also directly references the ongoing war in Ukraine, accusing Poland of “Russophobia” and criticizing its military support for Kyiv. The Russian Military-Historical Society is chaired by Vladimir Medinsky, a key figure in promoting the Kremlin’s historical narrative and a participant in past negotiations related to the war in Ukraine. “And that war has also been an exercise in attempting to rewrite history, with Putin’s military trying – thus far without success – to extinguish Ukrainian statehood,” the report adds. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization since 1995. Its international market reach of 97% outside of Ukraine makes it truly Ukraine’s Global – and most reliable – Voice.