Poland's communist legacy is proving to be a moot point for parties standing for parliamentary elections this weekend. While the prime minister's Law and Justice party favours removing former communist officials from office, its main rival, Civic Platform

The outcome of the elections will also decide the destiny of Soviet-era memorials in Poland. A bill allowing local officials to remove them was drafted last spring and raised criticism from Moscow.

The 1st Warsaw Infantry Division, named after Polish national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko, fought the Nazis in Poland in 1943 and ended the war in Berlin- together with the Soviet Red Army.

Tadeusz Ravski, a veteran of the Kosciuszko division who fought shoulder to shoulder with the Russians in 1944, is sure that despite many political controversies, on the human level Russians and Poles were friends.

“We fought together but unfortunately we were betrayed by the allied forces. Russians and Poles had many controversial issues in our history but we also had human relations – and that is most important. Russian soldiers fought with the Poles in a 19th century uprising against Tsarist Russia and we fought with the Red Army in 1944,” says Professor Ravski. 

After the war hundreds of monuments to Soviet soldiers were erected across Poland. In Warsaw alone 22,000 died and are buried there.

Still, many in Poland say the country's liberation from the Nazis resulted in a new occupation – this time by communist Russia. 

“They don't know what the war is like. They never smelled gunpowder. Their wives and children were not killed in the war. Over 650,000 young Soviet men and women perished liberating Poland from the Nazis. They gave their lives for this land and we have to bow to them, not get rid of the monuments,” believes another Polish war veteran Slavomir Sadovski.

A bill to remove the statues was tabled by the Polish Minister of Culture. He insists it's not aimed at Russia or the graves of soldiers that liberated Poland from Nazi occupation.

The ruling Law and Justice party also drafted a second law, which called for all Socialist era signs, including Soviet war memorials, to be removed from public places. If the deputies pass it, local authorities across Poland would have the right to scrap or transfer Soviet war memorials.

However, an agreement signed by Russia and Poland, provides no monument can be removed without both sides agreeing to that.

Polish was veterans are against removing monuments

Many in Poland say these new circumstances could aggravate already tense relations between Poland and Russia. To avoid this, any issues should be resolved in a calm and civilised way.

“I think we should teach people more about what fascism and communism were. But we should not try to change history because good and bad things happened. But if we are talking about a particular monument, symbolising Polish and Red Army brotherhood, I think it has the right to stay because it’s our common history. These soldiers liberated us but we found ourselves in a new occupation later. But that's another story,” says Janusz Maksymiuk from the Samoobrona party.

There are many controversial points in the history of both countries – with both sides accused of wrong doings from the past. Indeed, many Poles suffered under the communist regime. So the majority would like see any reminder of that time gone forever.

Still, people on the streets have mixed views. While some passers-by say the monuments should be left alone, others believe each case should be considered separately. Some also say that it’s up to the country to take the decision.

The new law is unlikely to cause the same furore that erupted in Estonia, especially as Poland says it will not tamper with the graves of Soviet soldiers. Meanwhile, Russia hopes the Polish Parliament refuses to pass the law. And the monument to brothers-in-arms will stay in its place as a reminder of a common victory over a common threat.