WARSAW, Poland (AP) — In a new dispute exposing the complexity of Poland's relations with Russia, Moscow is threatening Warsaw with "most serious consequences" for dismantling a monument to a Soviet World War II general.
The removal of the 1970s memorial to Gen. Ivan Chernyakhovsky began Thursday in the northern town of Pieniezno, where the general died of wounds in February 1945. He is buried in Russia.
Local authorities argue that Chernyakhovsky crushed units of Poland's clandestine Home Army during the war and also symbolizes the imposition of communism on Poland.
Poland's ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, while Russia's embassy in Warsaw has issued a "strong protest" and has expressed "deep indignation" over the dissembling of the concrete-and-metal memorial, which it called a "blasphemous act."
The statement said that Russia has "warned the Polish side many times" that removing such monuments cannot continue "without the most serious consequences." It did not specify the consequences.
Poland's Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna insisted Friday that the action is in line with bilateral agreements.
The authorities in Pieniezno want to send Charnyakhovsky's monument to Russia, where he is a national hero. The Red Army's role, along with the Allies, in defeating Nazi Germany remains a source of deep national pride in Russia. Some 600,000 Russian troops lost their lives fighting the Nazis on Polish territory. But in Poland the Red Army is associated with the brutal oppression that followed and cost thousands of lives.
The dispute comes as ties are strained over the conflict in Ukraine, where pro-Russian insurgents are waging a separatist struggle. Poland says Moscow is supporting the rebels.
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