III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 476 

Honoring the lives of President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, his wife, and 

94 others who perished on April 10, 2010, in a plane crash while 

en route to memorialize those Polish officers, officials, and civilians 

who were massacred by the Soviet Union 70 years ago. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 12, 2010 

Mr. LUGAR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the lives of President of Poland Lech Kaczynski, 

his wife, and 94 others who perished on April 10, 2010, 

in a plane crash while en route to memorialize those 

Polish officers, officials, and civilians who were massacred by the Soviet Union 70 years ago. 

Whereas, on April 10, 2010, the President of the Republic of 

Poland Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and a cadre of 

current and former Polish statesmen, family members, 

and others departed Warsaw by plane to the Russian region of Smolensk; 

Whereas the purpose of the delegation’s visit was to hold a 

ceremony in solemn remembrance of the more than 

22,000 Polish military officers, police officers, judges, 

other government officials, and civilians who were exeVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:24 Apr 12, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR476.IS SR476

srobinson on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•SRES 476 IS 

cuted by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, 70 years 

ago, between April 3 and the end of May 1940; 

Whereas more than 14,500 Polish victims have been documented at 3 sites in Katyn (in present day Belarus), in 

Miednoye (in present day Russia), and in Kharkiv (in 

present day Ukraine), while the remains of an estimated 

7,000 Polish victims have yet to be precisely located; 

Whereas the Soviet Union failed to acknowledge responsibility 

for the massacres until President Mikhail Gorbachev’s 

statement on April 13, 1990; 

Whereas, on April 7, 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir 

Putin became the first Russian or Soviet leader to join 

Polish officials in commemorating the anniversary of the 

murders; 

Whereas the plane carrying the Polish delegation on April 10, 

2010, crashed in Smolensk, tragically killing all 96 persons on board, including President Kaczynski, his wife, 

and other current and former Polish statesmen; 

Whereas President Kaczynski was a steadfast proponent of 

consolidating freedom and prosperity in Poland and advancing them throughout Central and Eastern Europe 

and was a close friend of the United States of America; 

and 

Whereas the deep friendship between the Governments and 

people of Poland and the United States is grounded in 

our mutual respect, shared values, and common priorities 

on nuclear nonproliferation, counterterrorism, human 

rights, regional cooperation in Eastern Europe, democratization, and international development: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


srobinson on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•SRES 476 IS 

1 (1) recognizes the terrible tragedy that took 

2 place on April 10, 2010, when an aircraft carrying 

3 a delegation of current and former Polish officials, 

4 family members, and others crashed en route from 

5 Warsaw to Smolensk to memorialize the 1940 mas6 sacres, killing all 96 passengers; 

7 (2) honors the life and legacy of the late Presi8 dent of Poland Lech Kaczynski and the lives and 

9 legacies of all Poles who perished in the plane crash 

10 on April 10, 2010; 

11 (3) honors the lives and legacies of the more 

12 than 22,000 Polish government officials, military of13 ficers, and civilians who were executed by the NKVD 

14 70 years ago, between April and May 1940; 

15 (4) expresses deep sympathy for the surviving 

16 family members of those who perished at the hands 

17 of the NKVD in 1940 and for the surviving family 

18 members of those who perished in the tragic plane 

19 crash of April 10, 2010; 

20 (5) supports the people of Poland as they re21 store leadership in the institutions of the Govern22 ment of Poland that were impacted by the crash of 

23 April 10, 2010; and 


srobinson on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•SRES 476 IS 

1 (6) requests that the Secretary of the Senate 

2 transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the 

3 Ambassador of Poland to the United States. 

Æ 


srobinson on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with BILLS