Polish Lower House Adopts Legislation on Demolition of 500 Soviet Monuments

WARSAW (Sputnik) — The Sejm, or lower house of Poland's parliament, adopted amendments to the so-called de-communization law stipulating the demolition of almost 500 Soviet-era monuments in the country, a Sputnik correspondent reported Thursday.

Under the new amendments, the monuments and memorial stones considered to be "glorifying communism" are subject to demolition. According to the official data of Polish provincial authorities, there are around 490 such monuments in the country.

The monuments are expected to be destroyed following consultations with Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, the correspondent said. In late March, Polish media reported that the institute's head, Lukasz Kaminski, announced the plan to demolish all Soviet-era monuments except for those erected on cemeteries of war graves.

The "de-communization" law was signed by President of Poland Andrzej Duda in May 2016. The legislation prohibits the use of the names that honor persons, organizations, events, and dates symbolizing communism for public spaces. Reacting to the move, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Poland was leading in the "anti-Russia race," noting that 30 Soviet monuments had been vandalized and demolished in the country in 2015.