A monumental controversy

The recent controversy over the Estonian government's decision to move a monument to Soviet soldiers has spurred a discussion in Poland on the future of Soviet monuments in the country. While supporting Estonia during the crisis, the Polish government renewed work on a bill, dealing with monuments and historical sites dedicated to foreign powers. "You might think that the new discussions are inspired by the events in Estonia, but this is just a coincidence," assured the Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński. He also emphasized that the re-naming of streets whose names hearken back to the comunist era - something that has gained momentum in Poland recently - is also unconnected.

The Ministry of Culture had been working on the bill before the Estonian controversy erupted. The bill proposal gives voivodes an opportunity to remove monuments that are somehow related to the two expressions of 20th century totalitarianism - communism and Nazism. "This is not a project aimed against Russia," the Minister of Culture, Kaziemierz Ujazdowski, told PAP.

Despite of the assurances of the Polish government, the Kremlin still believes that the ongoing discussion on the bill has something to do with Estonia. The Russian Minister of Foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov, posited that "the removal of such monuments is turning into official state policy for several European countries." The bill is expected to be presented to parliament at the end of the month.