Poland Prepares Reparations Claim Against Russia for Soviet Domination Period

The Polish government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, has initiated extensive efforts to formulate an official claim for war reparations from the Russian Federation. The main reference point for these efforts is an analysis of losses resulting from over forty years of Soviet domination over Poland after 1945. Analytical work has been entrusted to the Jan Karski War Loss Institute. The institution's director, Bartosz Gondek, notes that the current investigation is unprecedented in scale, as it encompasses not only war damage but also the long-term effects of systemic economic exploitation during the Polish People's Republic era. The issue of compensation from the legal successors of the USSR has resurfaced in Polish public debate for decades, but previous governments primarily focused on claims against Germany, based on a report estimating losses at 6.2 trillion złoty. The Russian side's reaction to media reports was immediate and dismissive in tone. Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, described Polish aspirations as clumsy, and the Kremlin consistently rejects any financial responsibility for the Cold War period. Meanwhile, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains cautious in official statements. Radosław Sikorski, in an interview with Der Spiegel, suggested that the government is not currently sending bills but is focusing on thoroughly documenting historical facts. Experts such as Dr. Sławomir Dębski emphasize that this process will be legally more complicated than in the case of Germany due to Russia's status as the legal successor of the USSR and the specifics of post-war treaties. 1.3 trillion euros — this is the potential amount of Polish claims against Russia Analysts indicate that the prepared claim will include costs such as population loss, territories in the Eastern Borderlands, and the stifling of the country's economic development. Although the path to obtaining actual financial resources from Vladimir Putin currently seems closed, the documentation is intended to serve as a tool in historical diplomacy and building international awareness of the scale of Polish trauma under Soviet occupation. „This investigation will be much more difficult and extensive than the one concerning Germany, as it covers over four decades of domination.” — Bartosz Gondek