The Kremlin claimed on Wednesday that Poland’s move to rename the Russian city of Kaliningrad in official papers was a “hostile act,” as bilateral ties remain strained due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Kaliningrad was known as Koenigsberg in German until after WWII, when it was captured by the Soviet Union and renamed after Soviet statesman Mikhail Kalinin.
On Tuesday, Warsaw stated that Kalinin’s association with the 1940 Katyn massacre, in which thousands of Polish military officers were executed by Soviet forces, had negative connotations and that the city should now be referred to as Krolewiec, its name when ruled by the Kingdom of Poland in the 15th and 16th centuries.
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“The current Russian name of this city is an artificial baptism unrelated to either the city or the region,” Poland’s geographical standardisation commission stated.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, claimed the decision “bordered on lunacy.”
“We know that throughout history, Poland has slipped from time to time into this madness of hatred towards Russians,” he said during a regular press conference.
Relations between Poland and Russia have traditionally been tense, particularly during and after World War II.
When its soldiers pushed out Nazi German forces at the conclusion of the war, Moscow claims to have freed Poland. The majority of Poles feel that the Soviet Union replaced Nazi occupation with a new type of persecution.
More recently, Poland, a NATO member, has fiercely backed Ukraine following Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, and has accelerated the removal of memorials to dead Soviet forces around the nation.
Reuters contributed reporting. Andrew Osborn edited the piece.