escenic (original) (raw)

Russia publishes previously secret files on 1940 Katyn massacre

Russia's state archive has published previously secret files on the 1940 massacre of Polish officers by the Soviets at Katyn Forest, following an order by President Dmitry Medvedev, it said.

"On the order of Russian President D A Medvedev, electronic copies of authentic archival documents on the 'Katyn Problem' from 'Packet No. 1', which were held for decades in the Communist Party archives, have been published on the website of the state archives," it said in a statement.

The documents in question had been declassified in the 1990s but until now had only been available to specialised researchers and had never before been shared online, a spokesman for the state archives said.

Poland has long demanded that Russia open all its files on Katyn and the issue has strained relations between the two former Communist neighbours.

Some 22,000 Polish officers were executed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's secret police at Katyn, in western Russia, and a number of other places in present-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in April-May 1940.

Polish president Lech Kaczynski was heading to Katyn for a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre earlier this month when his plane crashed, killing all 96 people aboard, including many top Polish officials.