Ukraine in Polish Electronic Publicistic Periodicals in the Ukrainian Language (2017—2019): Cognitive Aspect

Abstract

The article analyzes Ukraine in Ukrainian electronic publicistic periodicals, namely “Nashe Slovo” ta “Nash vybir” for 2017–2019. The choice of the study period is due to the fact that it most clearly characterizes the dynamics of coverage of Ukrainian-Polish relations and events in Ukraine by foreign media. The research defines several main issues addressed by the authors to form the respective image of Ukraine for the citizens and its perception by the Poles. Among them are: characteristics of Ukrainian-Polish historical relations and Ukrainian politicians; political issues; attitudes towards Ukrainian immigrants and wage earners. The most discussed and described topic in foreign editions was the topic of presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine; also the publications focused on Ukrainians’ voting abroad. The perception of Ukraine and its characteristics in the Ukrainian-language weekly “Nashe Slovo” and newspaper “Nash vybir” were formed on the basis of sociopolitical and Ukrainian-Polish historical events, their impact on the global political situation. Such images and characteristics of Ukraine, Ukrainians, and Ukrainian politicians that remained unchanged during the analyzed period are distinguished: Ukraine as an important neighbor, the “barbaric state”, “Bandera ideology”, “Bandera monuments”, “Banderism”; Ukrainians as “murderers, hostile neighbors, traitors”; V. Viatrovych as “a moderate wing of Ukrainian nationalists”, P. Poroshenko as “the most likable Ukrainian oligarch”, Yu. Tymoshenko as a “veteran” of Ukrainian politics, V. Zelenskyi’s hybrid election campaign. Thus, despite the recent decrease in the number of Poles with a positive attitude towards Ukraine, and the crisis in Ukrainian-Polish relations, Poland remains interested in the development and stability of Ukraine, its democratic changes and integration into the European space.