Lech Kaczynski: a second tragedy at Katyn.

The death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, along with his wife and other senior government figures, has come at a time when the tragedy can only be viewed with great suspicion. Kaczynski had placed considerable pressure on the Russian authorities to finally admit to the murder of 22,000 Polich officers and others at Katyn forest, in 1940. For many years, the Russians blamed the Nazis for the murder of the men, who were prisoners of war. It was only in 1990 that Mikhail Gorbachev admitted to the truth - to this day, many Russians still believe the lie.
 
Many of the men were murdered in nearby Smolensk, at the headquarters of the NKVD - forerunner of the KGB. Others met their fate in a slaughterhouse.
 
Although the allies knew the truth from 1943, when the Nazis discovered mass graves in the Katyn forest, it was kept quiet as the Soviet Union was, nominally, our ally. The British were also kept in the dark about the degree of collaboration between the Third Reich and the Kremlin in the early years of WW2 - many of the German bombers that hit London during the Blitz were powered by Soviet-supplied engines.
 
Russian TV recently aired the movie "Katyn" for the first time. It was a shock to many viewers, who simply did not believe it.
 
The plane that crashed carrying Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 86 others near Smolensk was taking the passengers to mark the Katyn massacre near the town.
 
Kaczynski was due to visit Smolensk to mark the 70th anniversary of the massacre, and Vladimir Putin was also due to attend. The former KGB Colonel was known to be agitated about the fact that Russia was being pressured to accept responsibility for the atrocity. Indeed, Putin had invited Polish Prima Minister Donald Tusk to attend the event, not Kaczynski, who seemingly invited himself, much to the annoyance of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
The accident is likely to upset Polish-Russian relations, which have been improving in recent years. Given the propensity for Putin's rivals and opponents to die in "accidents", this incident is likely to assume the same mystique as the death of another Polish leader, General Sikorski, who in 1943 refused to accept the Soviet version of events at Katyn, and subsequently died... in an air crash.
 
 
"The West has lost a good friend. When Georgia and Ukraine went through tribulations with Russia, Kaczynski was a dependable voice for self-determination in eastern Europe." Ed Morrisey.
 
"People are suspicious about the nature of the accident, as so many important officials were on the flight. People are asking - why did this crash happen?" KAMILA KASPRZAK, 24, WARSAW

"It's a shame because things were improving between Poland and Russia. We haven't been very good friends so everyone was happy that the climate was changing. Now suddenly, this happens and everything is horrible." MONIKA SIDOR, 26, LONDON