Now there are enemies in the south, in the west, and in the north.

And the fiercest and most persistent of them, in the imagination of the Minsk regime, is Poland, the number one foreign enemy, which eagerly and lustfully looks across the Bug at a prosperous and happy "country to live in", longing to swallow it.

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This is not the first time Belarus has been overtaken by anti-Polish propaganda.

In the interwar BSSR, the main public holiday was July 11 - the anniversary of the "liberation from the Belopol occupiers".

Anti-Polish sentiments were encouraged in every way.

The communist regime exposed Polish "spies" and "saboteurs" by the thousands, destroyed Polish newspapers and schools, introduced anti-Polish literary works into school curricula.

But even then the matter did not come to the point of destroying the Polish cemeteries.

Under Lukashenka, it came.

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"We love, respect and appreciate our Poles"

In his last interview for foreign media (AFP, July 21, 2022), Alexander Lukashenko mentioned Poland more often than Russia and Ukraine.

Accusing, humiliating and ridiculing.

First, he once again reiterated his conviction that Warsaw is planning aggression against Belarus:

"We now see in all its glory, for example, what kind of policy Poland is pursuing.

Did you want me to calmly watch how Poland sees all of Belarus in its possessions, in its composition, I quote them?"

Who is Lukashenka quoting?

Which of the active Polish politicians voiced such expansionist plans, which are absurd for modern Europe?

There were no answers to these questions.

Secondly, he reported on his allegedly favorable attitude towards Belarusian Poles:

"I am not punishing the Poles for the policy pursued by Poland towards us.

I always say: we have ethnic Poles, but these are "my" Poles.

They have all the rights, just like Belarusians.

We love, respect and appreciate them.

And they behave with dignity for the most part."

Members of the Union of Poles of Belarus, Maria Tishkovskaya, Irena Biarnatskaya and Anna Panisheva, were released from Belarusian prisons under the condition that they were not allowed to enter Belarus.

Warsaw, June 2021

A strange "love" for the Poles, the manifestations of which are the total closure of Polish schools, the destruction of Polish newspapers and public organizations, the arrest and persecution of activists.

Or does he think that "his" Poles are not affected or bothered by this in any way?

Thirdly, he once again predicted the imminent collapse of the current Polish government:

"There, 15-20% trust the authorities.

And if the elections are held honestly, the current Moravian dudas will simply be swept away.

And so it will be."

This is said by the leader of a country that has not had a single fair election during the 28 years of his rule.

But it's not just about that.

Even if there is a change of power in Poland, Lukashenka will not receive any special dividends from this: he and his policy are not supported by any of the active opposition parties in Poland.

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It is noteworthy that precisely at this time, when Lukashenka was thinking about his love for the Belarusian Poles, the destruction of places of Polish national memory, mainly cemeteries and mass graves of Polish soldiers and partisans, participants of the uprisings, continued sanctioned by the authorities in Western Belarus.

Gravestones and monuments in Bohdany, Bobrovichi, Dindylishki, Ivy, Ashmiany, Yodkevichi were destroyed or damaged...

The most recent cases, recorded already in July, were the destruction of memorials at the mass graves of the soldiers of the Regional Army in Mikulishki, Ashmyan district, and in Strievka, near Hrodna.

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Hateful graves

Why are these graves of Lukashenka so hateful?

Who found their final resting place in them?

The conversation is mainly about the funerals of the soldiers of the Home Army.

During the Second World War, local residents of Vilna and Horaden regions called some partisans operating here "Polish" and others "Russian".

At first, both of them fought against the German occupiers, sometimes even together.

Often these were boys from neighboring local villages who knew each other well.

The first ambassador of Poland to Belarus, Elzhbeta Smulkova, lays flowers at the memorial to Polish soldiers of the Home Army.

Strievka, Horaden District, 1992

Life paths differed for various reasons: one could come from a wealthy Catholic family, have an education, work in the past as a teacher or a doctor — and consider himself a Polish patriot;

the second - from a family of small-land Orthodox peasants, with sympathies for the communists, who promised him foreign land - joined the Soviet partisans.

A monument on the grave of AK soldiers in Strievka near Hrodnaia before and after the destruction

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Polish partisan units, as a rule, were part of the Home Army (AK) - the largest organization of the Polish Resistance during the Second World War (more than 380,000 people at its peak).

One of its most famous operations on the territory of modern Western Belarus is "Bura" in 1943-1944, developed together with the Polish government in exile.

More than 100,000 soldiers participated in it.

It was expected that, having launched a massive partisan struggle in the rear simultaneously with the Soviet offensive, AK units would be the first to enter the liberated Vilnius, Hrodna, and Warsaw - even before the units of the Red Army entered there.

And in this way they will put Moscow in front of the fact, force them to consider themselves as the authorities of the new democratic Poland.

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Moscow and Stalin had completely different plans for the future of Poland and the fate of the AK.

On June 22, 1943, the Soviet partisans in Poland were ordered to fight against the Polish AK partisans.

In its directives, Moscow ordered to "squeeze the Polish units out of these territories", "to introduce its agents into the Polish units, demoralize them, decompose them from the inside", "quietly eliminate the leaders of the Polish underground".

All this inevitably led to conflicts, armed clashes and casualties, including among the civilian population, part of which supported one side and part supported the other side.

From the spring of 1943 to July 1944, Soviet partisans shot more than 500 local residents for cooperating with the AK only in the territory of the Baranovitsk region.

Accordingly, Polish partisans persecuted those who cooperated with the communists and Soviet partisans.

My grandmother, who lived in the Vilen region, recalled: it happened that in one night both partisans (both "Polish" and "Russian") visited the village - mainly for food and clothing.

In order to survive, I had to share the last with both.

And no one particularly objects.

The Kraiova Army was officially disbanded under pressure from Moscow on January 19, 1945.

It was believed that this would avoid an armed conflict with the Red Army and a possible civil war.

However, even earlier, the NKVD, SMERSH and the security services subordinate to them of the new Polish pro-communist regime began large-scale repression against the "occupiers" and their families.

According to Polish scientists, about 80,000 people suspected of participating in the Polish resistance were sent to Soviet camps and exile from the territory of the Białystok, Vilna, and Nowograd Voivodeships.

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For everyone - strangers

This is how the "cursed soldiers" ("Żołnierze wyklęci") appeared.

They turned out to be enemies of both the Soviet regime, which was re-establishing itself on the territory of Western Belarus, and the pro-Moscow People's Republic of Poland, which was emerging on the site of the former Second Reich of the Commonwealth.

Both here and there, arrest, prison, suffering and death awaited them.

Cursed by everyone and, it seemed, no one needed them... There were two ways left for them: emigration to the West, or the continuation of the armed struggle against the communist regime.

Many chose the second.

The armed struggle against the communist regime continued until the end of the 1950s.

Among their actions were attacks on prisons where communists kept political prisoners, attacks on employees of the penal apparatus of communist Poland, attempts to release political prisoners.

The last known "dead soldier" József Francak was ambushed and shot only in 1963.

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Their struggle was considered pointless and useless by many.

Their names and self-sacrificing deeds were erased from history and disgraced for a long time.

Their graves were leveled with the ground.

Nevertheless, the moment came when these last soldiers of free Poland were recognized as heroes.

Their names are returning from oblivion, streets and squares of Polish cities are named after them, monuments are erected in their honor.

The Street of "Damned Soldiers" ("Żołnierzy wyklętych") in Warsaw

Isn't the same fate awaiting those Belarusians who became political victims of the historic 2020 and who today carry their martyr's cross, misunderstood by many in their own homeland, forgotten, condemned to mockery and humiliation by the totalitarian regime?

Cemetery of soldiers of the Home Army in Mikulishke, destroyed by the authorities in July 2022. View before destruction.

Cemetery of the soldiers of the Regional Army in Mikulishki, Hrodna region, after the destruction

What Lukashenka is counting on

What does Lukashenka count on, destroying the graves of those who are considered their heroes in Poland?

Perhaps she will respond in a similar way (in a mirror image) by starting the destruction of those graves that are so revered in Minsk and Moscow?

It should be kept in mind here: there are more than 700 cemeteries of Soviet soldiers of the Second World War on the territory of Poland.

About 1,300,000 Red Army soldiers found their resting place on Polish soil.

The vast majority of them (800,000) were in prisoner of war camps, another 500,000 were during the offensive operations of the Red Army in 1944-1945.

Such cemeteries can be found in almost every Polish city, as well as in many villages and towns.

And all are well-groomed and neat.

Yes, in recent years, especially after the adoption of the law on the prohibition of propaganda of communism, Warsaw has consistently demolished all symbols, monuments, canceled names that reminded us of the USSR, the Red Army and its actions.

But this did not apply to the military cemetery where Red Army soldiers are buried.

If the graves of Polish soldiers are destroyed in Horaden or Brest, why can't Poland respond by destroying Soviet cemeteries in Podlasie or Mazovia?

It is quite possible that Lukashenka was counting on this kind of reaction when he authorized the destruction of the cemeteries of the Home Army soldiers on the territory of Belarus (by himself or by order from Moscow is an open question).

And one can only guess how the Kremlin would react if Warsaw dared to respond to Lukashenka with destruction upon destruction.

Soviet graves are a sore spot for Moscow.

If it came to liquidation of the Soviet cemetery in Poland, it could become a reason for the most unexpected actions in response.

And the conversation could not only be about the destruction of memorials of Polish soldiers in Katyn and Medny on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The ideological justification for aggression is very convenient for those armed with provocation.

Especially considering the current state of Russian society, pumped up by militaristic propaganda and "victoryism".

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What could be the reaction of Warsaw

But Poland's reaction turned out to be surprisingly restrained.

On June 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed "serious concern over the increasingly frequent acts of desecration of places of Polish national memory" and appealed to the Belarusian authorities to immediately stop the acts of vandalism and bring the perpetrators to justice, because "in accordance with international standards, this issue should be completely excluded from current political disputes".

How did Minsk respond?

In July, there were reports of new destruction of the graves of Polish soldiers in the Horaden Region - first in Mikulishki in the Ashmian Region, then in Strievka, which is near Ozyory in the Horaden Region.

However, the outwardly restrained reaction does not mean that Poland is condescending to this.

In fact, both public indignation and the decisive mood of the ruling elites are noticeable.

Another thing is that you would never dare to answer "mirror" (by destroying the graves).

A different mentality, a different attitude to funerals (regardless of who is buried, one's own or someone else's), to tombstone crosses, to raise one's hand on which is generally considered unheard of blasphemy.

This difference in mentality is especially noticeable if you compare the appearance of cemeteries (especially rural ones) in Poland and Belarus (not to mention Russia).

This, by the way, is something that catches the eye of everyone who comes to Poland from the East.

A politician or statesman who dares to order the destruction of crosses on anyone's graves can immediately forget about his political career and future in Poland.

But this does not mean that in Poland they will silently swallow the resentment in such a sensitive and sensitive issue as the graves of Polish heroes.

This will not be forgotten or forgiven.

Another thing is that the answer will obviously not be immediate and "asymmetric" - not at all like the one expected by Lukashenka, possessed by feelings of hatred and revenge, who, in his uncontrollable desire to humiliate and humiliate his hated neighbor, has reached something that is rarely even implacable enemies arrive.

The opinions expressed in the blogs represent the views of the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position.