RT-Engels: 18-02-2026,
Moscow’s spokeswoman has mocked the compensation claim, referencing a classic Russian opera
Poland is preparing a lawsuit against Russia for what it describes as “reparations” for the legacy of “Soviet influence,” mirroring its earlier demand for €1.3 trillion ($1.36 trillion) in compensation from Germany over crimes committed during World War II, the Financial Times has reported.
In September 2022, Polish President Andrzej Duda signaled that Warsaw might also pursue similar compensation claims against Moscow. Russia has repeatedly dismissed such demands as blatant Russophobia and political extremism.
Bartosz Gondek, head of an institute commissioned by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to investigate alleged “historic Russian crimes,” told the outlet on Tuesday the inquiry would be far broader than its previous work on Nazi atrocities.
Speaking to the FT, Gondek said it was “premature” to say whether the compensation sought from Russia would surpass the €1.3 trillion desired from Germany. Leading a team of around ten Polish historians and researchers, he said they faced greater challenges than when assessing the German claim, calling the investigation “a long-term project.”
In response to Poland’s demands for reparations, Moscow could “provide a link to a video of the opera ‘Ivan Susanin’,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RBK on Wednesday.
The opera is dedicated to a peasant from Kostroma Region, Ivan Susanin. As the story goes, the Polish army was marching on Kostroma to kill the 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov,