# Katyn massacre (1940)

URL: https://history-russia.com/timeline/1940-katyn-massacre
Categories: main-event

On Politburo orders the NKVD shot about 22,000 Polish officers, police and intelligentsia at Katyn Forest and other sites. The USSR blamed Germany until 1990. The discovery of the graves in 1943 led to a break between the USSR and the Polish government-in-exile. Katyn remains a central issue in Polish-Russian relations.

## Why it matters
Katyn remains a central issue in Polish-Russian relations.

Ruler at the time: [Joseph Stalin](https://history-russia.com/rulers/joseph-stalin)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Katyn massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn_massacre)
- [Wikipedia — Stalinism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinism)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Katyn massacre](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Katyn+massacre)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Russian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history)