Imaginea ucraineanului în mentalitatea polonezilor. studiu de caz pornind de la cartea Borş Ucrainean a jurnalistului Piotr Pogorzelski

Abstract

The article aims at presenting the geopolitical, social and cultural image of Ukraine, seen through the eyes of the author, the Polish journalist Piotr Pogorzhelski, former Kiev correspondent of the National Radio Polonia. This imagological portrait, which carries us through the history and national stereotypes, means to bring Ukraine closer to Romanian readers. Despite the neighborhood and the presence of the Ukrainian community in Romania, Romanians don’t know their northern neighbours very well, older generations show preconceived ideas and a distorted historical memory. Piotr Pogorzhelski’s book, translated into Romanian and published in 2015 shortly after the dramatic events on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti, aims to raise public awareness and draw attention to the political and socio-cultural potential of Ukraine and the Ukrainians. The same goal pursues «The Ukrainian Borsch» in Poland, a country where Ukraine is a frequent topic of discussion in the press, because the connection between Poland and Ukraine has always been very strong, despite some historical difficulties. The majority of Poles treat Ukraine with a sense of deep affection due to family roots or nostalgia for the western territories of Ukraine, which once belonged to Poland. And yet, among the Poles who manifest openness and an increased interest in Ukraine, the image of this country and its inhabitants is due to narrow negative stereotypes. On the background of current political events and taking into the account the lack of knowledge about Ukraine in Romania, «The Ukrainian Borsch» seems to be an indispensable and appropriate tool for shaping the collective portrait of Ukrainians and contemporary Ukrainian society.