Poles would like to see Russian regret over WWII - survey

Poles would like to see Russian regret over WWII - surveyWarsaw  - A large majority of Poles would like to hear words of regret from Russia about Soviet actions against Poland at the outbreak of World War Two, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported Saturday, citing the results of an opinion survey.

The survey by the polling institute GfK Polonia showed 76 per cent of Poles would like to hear Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin express regret about the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland on September 18, 1939.

Eighteen per cent of those surveyed did not wish for such an expression from Putin, while 6 per cent had no opinion.

Putin, a former Soviet KGB agent, is to attend the ceremonies in Gdansk on Tuesday marking the 70th anniversary of Nazi Germany's September 1, 1939 attack on Poland, launching World War II. Putin is also to speak on the occasion.

On August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany under dictator Adolf Hitler and the Soviets under dictator Josef Stalin agreed to a non-aggression pact, and in a secret additional protocol, they mapped out their future respective zones of influence in Central Europe.

Seventeen days after the Germans invaded Poland, the Soviet Red Army marched into eastern Poland, which Poles to this day consider to be an act of aggression, effectively wiping their country off the map as it was occupied by Germany and the Soviets.

In a related development, the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza has announced that it will be publishing a Putin essay on Monday. The contents of the essay are not yet known.(dpa)