On 5 December 2025, the Institute of National Remembrance hosted a delegation from Kazakhstan composed of: Yekaterina Ostrovskaya, President of the Union of Poles in Kazakhstan; Marianna Temraliyeva, Chair of the Polish Cultural Centre “Więź” in Almaty and Oleg Chervinsky, President of the Honorary Union of Poles in Kazakhstan. The IPN was represented by: Deputy President of the IPN, Prof. Karol Polejowski; Director of the President’s Office, Dr. Marek Jedynak; Director of the Historical Research Bureau, Dr. Sebastian Pilarski; Director of the Office of International Cooperation, Katarzyna Dryńska; Deputy Director of the Office of International Cooperation, Dr. Mateusz Marek; Deputy Director of the IPN Archives, Dr. Mariusz Żuławnik and Deputy Director of the Historical Research Bureau, Dr. habil. Konrad Graczyk.
The talks focused on commemorating the 90th anniversary of the deportation of Poles to Kazakhstan, which will be marked in 2026. In Kazakhstan, the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Political Repressions and Famine—commemorating the mass victims of Stalinist persecution, including many Poles—is observed on 31 May.
An important area of discussion during the meeting concerned the fate of memorabilia and documents belonging to Poles deported to the Soviet Union. Some of these materials are held in the Central State Archive in Astana, but a significant portion remains in private hands.“Saving them from oblivion remains one of the main tasks of the IPN,” emphasised Deputy President of the IPN, Prof. Karol Polejowski.
The academic conference planned by the IPN aims to shed light on the topic and systematise knowledge about Soviet repressions and deportations.
Through various initiatives carried out in cooperation with partners in Poland and Kazakhstan, the IPN will contribute to raising awareness of the dramatic events of 1936. Individual stories and experiences presented in documentary films, publications, and educational projects will serve as an important tool in shaping the historical consciousness of the younger generation.
The IPN has also implemented a project to restore cemeteries of General Władysław Anders’s soldiers, while the IPN’s Search and Identification Office has conducted research to locate Polish burial sites. These initiatives are an important element of preserving sites of remembrance located in Kazakhstan.
The history of the deportation of Poles to Kazakhstan is presented in many IPN projects, including the flagship international educational and commemorative project “Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom” and the exhibition prepared by the IPN Archive titled “Order No. 00485. The Anti-Polish NKVD Operation in Soviet Ukraine 1937–1938.”
The visit of the guests from Kazakhstan was the result of joint efforts by Polish diaspora organisations in Kazakhstan, the IPN’s Office of International Cooperation, and the Minister for the Polish Diaspora in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Agnieszka Jędrzak.