In Pieniężno, Poland, Russian Ambassador Sergei Andreyev’s wreath-laying at the demolished monument to General Ivan Cherniakhovsky ignited intense controversy, seen as a deliberate provocation that drew condemnation from Ukrainian and Polish communities present.
Accompanied by Ukrainian protesters, Andreyev faced accusations of being a “murderer” and was urged to “wash his hands of blood.” His presence at the site, once home to the monument honouring Soviet General Cherniakhovsky until its removal in 2015, reignited deep-seated tensions in the region.
Despite Andreyev’s claim of paying respects to General Cherniakhovsky, his explanation did little to pacify the irate crowd, including Ukrainian minority representatives and local Poles.
The symbolic weight of the event was palpable, with a cross now standing where the monument once was, alongside a plaque commemorating victims of totalitarianism. However, protesters intensified the atmosphere by bringing a portrait of Cherniakhovsky and laying flowers beneath it.
“Today, the Russian Embassy in Poland organized a celebration of the 79th anniversary of the death of this Soviet commander at the site of the dismantled monument to General Ivan Cherniakhovsky in Pieniężno (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship). General Ivan Chernyakhovsky, as the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, was responsible for, among others, the arrest of Colonel Aleksander Krzyżanowski “Wilk” and the disarmament of 6-8 thousand soldiers of the Vilnius Home Army. Many of them were murdered, sent to labor camps or forcibly conscripted into the Red Army,”
WarNews PL wrote on X.
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Ambasada rosyjska w Polsce zorganizowała dziś w miejscu zdemontowanego pomnika generała Iwana Czerniachowskiego w Pieniężnie (woj. warmińsko-mazurskie) obchody 79 rocznicy śmierci tego sowieckiego dowódcy.
Generał Iwan Czerniachowski, jako dowódca 3. Frontu Białoruskiego,… pic.twitter.com/Je9rOBe3V5