Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday archive material related to mass repressions will be made more accessible to the public.
Medvedev's remarks came after the Russian Federal Archival Agency said on Wednesday it would provide access to digital copies of documents relating to the Katyn massacre, in which thousands of Poles were executed by Soviet secret police in 1939.
"We will continue this work. I believe it to be our duty," Medvedev told a news conference during his visit to Denmark.
The Soviet Union tried to blame Katyn on Nazi Germany by saying the killings took place in 1941, when the territory was under German occupation. Top-secret documents from the sealed Package No.1, which show the Soviet Union to be solely responsible, were released and transferred to Poland by Russian President Boris Yeltsin after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992.
"Katyn archives are actually open, but there are several documents that we have not given to our Polish partners," Medvedev said. "I gave instructions to carry out all the necessary work and, after the necessary procedures, to provide our Polish colleagues with the materials they are interested in."
He added that lessons must be learned from the past and that Russia had nothing to hide.
"Let everyone see what was done, who made the decisions, who gave the orders to eliminate Polish officers. Everything is written down there. All signatures are in place. All names are known," Medvedev said.
COPENHAGEN, April 28 (RIA Novosti)
