Poland hit world headlines on April 10th 2010 when a plane carrying President Lech Kaczyński, his wife and ninety four other passengers crashed by the city of Smolensk killing all on board. The plane clipped trees as it came into land, before turning upside down and plunging to the ground. The president and his entourage had been flying in to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyń Massacre, a notorious episode in which Stalin ordered the execution of approximately 22,000 Polish officers. For decades Russia had denied responsibility, and only recently had steps been taken to mend bridges.

Strangely, the tragedy served to bring these two ancient foes closer together and many Poles, at the time, were left impressed by the sympathetic reaction of Putin & Co. As with all high profile disasters speculation as to the cause continues to be rife. The official Russian air authority report into the incident laid the blame squarely on the pilots who they claim ignored instructions to land elsewhere because of the poor weather conditions. They also suggested the presence and distraction of unauthorized personnel in the cockpit as the key to the tragedy. At first this had been thought to have been the president himself – a man who once notoriously insisted his pilots fly against their judgement and land in war torn Tbilisi – though black box evidence now points to the intrusion at members of the entourage.

While Kaczyński had been widely forecast to lose heavily in elections due for the autumn of 2010, the episode had wider implications. Also on board were the first lady, the head of the national bank, leading politicians and the heads of the army, navy and air force; at a stroke Poland lost its political, military and economic elite. Despite Kaczyński’s unpopularity the outpouring of grief was unmatched since the death of Pope John Paul II, and churches packed out as mourners paid their respects. In the capital thousands lined the streets when the bodies of Mr and Mrs Kaczyński were returned, and for the next week the streets outside the Presidential Palace were turned into a giant shrine as people converged to lay flowers and light candles – on April 17th alone, over 100,000 mourners gathered in Piłsudski Square to listen to a state service.

But even in death Kaczyński remained a divisive and controversial figure. The decision to bury him in Kraków’s Wawel Cathedral, the ancient resting site of monarchs and saints, split Poles down the middle, with many protesting the decision with the slogan ‘Warsaw for Presidents, Kraków for Kings’. Held on April 18th the funeral was marked with a service in Kraków’s St Mary’s Cathedral, before the coffins were transported with military escort to the crypt of Wawel.
The funeral has entered Polish history as a landmark event that will never be repeated. Since then however President Kaczynski’s twin brother and his opposition party have openly accused the current government of negligence and relations between Poland and Russia have been strained by what the Poles see as a total whitewash in the report of any Russian blame. A tragic incident that initially united Poles and Poland and Russia in grief now appears to be helping divide both even more.