Russia's Foreign Ministry: Poland's harassment of biker gang insults memory of WWII victims

The Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded an explanation from Polish ambassador Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz on border guards’ refusal to admit a Russian patriotic biker gang into Poland.

The Night Wolves, a biker gang closely associated with Vladimir Putin, had planned to ride from Moscow to Berlin in an event they called Roads to Glory, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the USSR’s defeat of Nazi Germany. Polish border control guards turned the biker group away on April 27, citing their failure “to meet conditions for entry.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the actions of the Polish officials are “unfounded and provoking.” According to the Foreign Ministry, this constitutes “nothing but an insult of the memory of those who gave their lives to free Europe from fascism.”

The Night Wolves are a Russian motorcycle club which takes interest in political, social, and religious life in Russia. The members are staunch supporters of President Vladimir Putin, and Putin is said to be a longtime fan of the gang. In December 2014, the US announced sanctions against the Night Wolves due to their members’ involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine on the side of the separatists.
Members of the club had planned to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Soviet victory of Nazi Germany by partaking in a Roads to Glory trek from Moscow to Berlin through Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. The bikers wanted to trace the path of the Red Army in its advance on the Germany capital in 1945.
On April 16, the German newspaper Die Welt reported that Berlin police would bar the Night Wolves from driving together through Berlin.
Ever since learning of the bikers’ plans, officials in Poland have voiced their reservations about the trip. On April 24, Poland’s foreign secretary said the bikers would be barred from entering the country because not enough was known about their timetable and route while in Poland.