Scandal marked the beginning of the mourning events to commemorate the anniversary of the plane crash near Smolensk, in which Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski died. Some Poles [predominantly from defunct President Kaczynski’s right-wing Law and Justice party, and those linked to the Katyn 2010 Association – Ed.] criticized the Russian government for not mentioning on the new plaque that the delegation was heading to Katyn to commemorate what they see as an act of genocide perpetuated against the Polish nation. The Russian Mi-nistry of Foreign Affairs stated that the previous plate violated Russian laws. Dr. Andrzej Szeptycki, an analyst from the Institute of International Relations at Warsaw University, told The Day that some Poles consider the removal of the informal plate, installed by the families of the victims, but then removed on the eve of the tragedy’s anniversary, an offensive gesture. Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski, who attended the event together with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, said that a new plaque will bear an inscription in both Polish and Russian. At the same time he noted that it is highly important for both sides to reach an agreement upon the text of the inscription, taking into account the recent events. Medvedev, on his part, said that a special intergovernmental group would be created to work on the project of a monument.
