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Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki is listed as wanted by Moscow on criminal charges for his alleged role in the destruction of Soviet-era monuments in the country, according to Russia’s interior ministry database.

 

As a nation that played a critical role in defeating Nazi Germany during World War II, Russia takes immense pride in their war heroes who fought against Hitler’s SS army. Nawrocki, a conservative candidate who managed to win the election by less than one per cent difference on Sunday, is being sought by Russia “under a criminal article,” the database reveals without providing specifics about the details. 

 

The Polish president-elect has been in the sights of the Russian authorities since at least February 2024, according to reports. The agency, during the investigation initiated last year, saw senior Polish officials, including Nawrocki, then serving as director of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance. The charges were related to the removal and destruction of Soviet war memorials.

 

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The Soviet Union lost over 600,000 soldiers during its campaign to liberate Poland from Nazi Germany between 1944 and 1945. After the victory in World War II, the Soviet Union erected hundreds of statues commemorating their war heroes across Poland. Since the end of the Great Cold War between the US and USSR, Poland has repeatedly accused the Soviet Union of occupying the country and has since dismantled several hundred statues of communist symbols. 

 

By late 2023, the Polish authorities had removed 468 of the 561 Soviet memorials in the country, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. Moscow has accused Warsaw of trampling on the historical truth and paving the way for justifying Nazi collaborators.

 

Nawrocki, who ran as an independent backed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, defeated liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski with 50.89 per cent of the vote in the presidential election. He is scheduled to be sworn in on 6 August.