Over the past two days, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, Speaker of the Sejm, has accused President Karol Nawrocki of being pro-Russian. Yet the politician—formerly associated with the communist-era party PZPR and now a leader of the New Left—laid flowers at the Cemetery of Soviet Soldiers in Warsaw three years after Russia’s brutal attack on Crimea. He did so alongside the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus: Sergey Andreev and Alexander Averyanov.
Czarzasty accuses the president of “making contact with Putin”
Since Donald Tusk returned as prime minister, the December 13 coalition has portrayed itself as anti-Russian, accusing the opposition—and President Nawrocki—of pro-Russian sympathies. This narrative was also visible in the context of the elections in Hungary.
“I wondered whether to use this phrase or not, but the president, acting in our name—as he is the president of Poland—simply made a fool of himself. Not a Jesus figure, just a fool. That’s a big problem. Why is it not too strong? Just look at what happened in Hungary. Everyone knew how the Hungarians under Orbán were throwing sand into the gears of the entire EU, how they hated Poland, how they loved Putin,” Czarzasty said on Monday.
However, the New Left politician did not stop there. Yesterday, he appeared on the government-aligned TVP Info, where he doubled down on his remarks. Referring to President Nawrocki’s recent visit to Budapest, he described it as “making contact with Putin.”
“All of Putin’s friends were going to Orbán. President Nawrocki also went—he is a friend of both Orbán and Putin. He was making contact with Putin through Orbán. And now we have to be ashamed,” said the former PZPR member.
In 2017, he honored Red Army soldiers
Czarzasty appears to forget not only his past in the PZPR, but also his actions from just a few years ago. In March 2017—three years after the Russian Federation’s aggression against Crimea—the then-SLD politician visited the Cemetery of Soviet Soldiers on Żwirki and Wigury Avenue in Warsaw. He was not alone. The visit took place in the company of then-ambassadors of Russia—Sergey Andreev—and Belarus—Alexander Averyanov.
Photographs still available on the Russian embassy’s website also show Andrzej Szejna, who at the time served as deputy leader of the SLD.
The visit occurred shortly after a provocation at the cemetery, where blue Stars of David with black swastikas inside, along with red footprints, were painted on the steps and monuments.
Nevertheless, even more striking were the words Czarzasty spoke during a press conference at the time.
“Regardless of who governs Poland—whether it is PiS or any other party—the SLD will always say this: Russian soldiers, Soviet soldiers, together with other soldiers, liberated Poland. They died and gave their lives here. Regardless of how one assesses history, we should be grateful to them,” said the current Speaker of the Sejm.
He opposed removing Soviet monuments and called for cooperation with Russia
That was not all. Czarzasty also strongly criticized the historical policy of the then-ruling United Right government. He openly opposed plans to remove monuments commemorating Soviet soldiers and the “decommunization” of street names.
“The SLD believes that all of Poland’s neighbors are important. I believe that relations between Poland and Russia will be normalized. It is abnormal that our largest neighbor is treated as our greatest enemy by the current government. We need to talk, reach agreements, and cooperate. There is always more good in cooperation than in conflict,” Czarzasty said during the same event.