WARSAW, August 1. /TASS/. Russia’s Embassy to Poland has started repairing two major cemeteries to Soviet soldiers in the country, head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s representative office for organization and implementation of military memorial work in Poland, Alexey Fomichev, told a TASS reporter.
The first facility is the Soviet Military Cemetery on Zwirki i Wigury St, Warsaw, and the second is a cemetery in the town of Ostroleka, he said. "These cemeteries to Soviet soldiers are among the most frequently visited in the republic. They are in bad condition, so works are underway to restore them," Fomichev informed.
"The renovation will be carried out in several stages due to the great amount of work and costs," the Defense Ministry spokesman said. The first stage is due to be completed in late October, and the repair brigades will start the follow-up stages the next year.
The Soviet Military Cemetery on Zwirki i Wigury St in the Polish capital Warsaw was established in 1950. About 22,000 Soviet soldiers who died while liberating Poland from the Nazi invaders were buried there. The main alley leads to a granite obelisk 15 meters high, to which guests from different countries and locals bring flowers and lit candles on state and religious holidays, both Polish and Russian.
The memorial plate has an inscription in two languages: "Eternal glory to the Soviet Army warriors who died during the liberation of Poland from the German Nazi invaders from 1944 to 1945."
The Brothers’ Cemetery in Ostrolek has mass graves in which 10,831 Red Army soldiers are buried. These are the soldiers who died in 1944 during the liberation from Fascism of areas in today’s Masovian Province, Poland. In 1949, remains from various gravesites in the region were transported to this cemetery, and a 10-meter Monument of the Warrior-Liberator with a banner in hands was mounted later on a stepped stone pedestal.
More than 600,000 Soviet warriors died during the Great Patriotic War in Poland.