Polish leader-elect placed on Russia’s wanted list
(MENAFN) Polish president-elect Karol Nawrocki has been placed on Russia’s wanted list, facing criminal charges linked to his involvement in the removal and destruction of Soviet-era monuments in Poland, according to Russia’s Interior Ministry database. The specific charges remain undisclosed.
Nawrocki, who narrowly won the presidential run-off vote on Sunday, has been targeted by Russian authorities since at least February 2024. At that time, Russian law enforcement initiated investigations against several senior Polish officials, including Nawrocki, then director of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, over actions related to dismantling Soviet war memorials.
The Soviet Union lost over 600,000 soldiers during its campaign to liberate Poland from Nazi Germany in 1944–1945, and numerous monuments were erected across Poland to honor their sacrifice. However, following the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, Poland has viewed the Soviet presence as an occupation and has actively removed communist-era symbols.
By late 2023, Polish authorities had taken down 468 of the 561 Soviet memorials across the country, prompting Moscow to accuse Warsaw of distorting history and enabling justification for Nazi collaborators.
Nawrocki, an independent candidate supported by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, defeated Warsaw’s liberal Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski with 50.89% of the vote. He is set to be inaugurated on August 6.
Previously director of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk from 2017 to 2021, Nawrocki has supported ongoing aid to Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia but opposes Ukraine’s NATO membership and the deployment of Polish troops there. He has also criticized closer EU-Ukraine trade agreements, citing concerns over unfair competition harming Polish agriculture and transport sectors.
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