Polish-Russian Relations Research Articles

Polish-Russian relations after 10 April 2010

Polish-Russian relations are an extremely dynamic and changeable phenomenon, especially after Poland’s accession to NATO. Despite the fact that the Russian Federation was established only in 1991, the relations discussed in this article have also been influenced by the relations between Poland and the Soviet Union, whose successor was Russia. The aim of this study is to analyse changes in the Polish-Russian relations after 2010. Not only does the paper present the causes of conflicts that have influenced mutual relations, but it also indicates areas that need changing and that may contribute to the warming of relations between Warsaw and Moscow. The method of comparative analysis was applied in the study. The conducted analysis allows stating a significant impact of the Smolensk disaster on the Polish-Russian relations.

Социальные аспекты польско-русских отношений в эпоху Средневековья (на примере браков Романовичей с Пястами)

Социальные аспекты польско-русских отношений в эпоху Средневековья (на примере браков Романовичей с Пястами)

Problematyka kaliningradzka na łamach „Gazety Olsztyńskiej” w latach 2015−2019

The article is a presentation of the results of the analysis of the (quantitative and qualitative) content of “Gazeta Olsztyńska” in the field of issues of the Kaliningrad region in 2015–2019. The Olsztyn daily is for the inhabitants of the Warmian-Masurian region one of the sources of knowledge about the Kaliningrad region and its inhabitants. The texts published in “Gazeta Olsztyńska” are also a reflection of the internal political situation and prevailing Polish-Russian relations. They are also one of the ways to promote economic cooperation and cultural exchange in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and the Kaliningrad District.

Zigzags of Polish-Russian Relations in the Post-Communist Period

Zigzags of Polish-Russian Relations in the Post-Communist Period

Wizerunek Rosji w powieści Jana Czyńskiego Cesarzewicz Konstanty i Joanna Grudzińska, czyli Jakubini polscy: problem ewolucji stereotypów romantycznych

The article focuses on the novel by Jan Czyński Cesarzewicz Konstanty i Joanna Grudzińska, czyli Jakubini polscy, analysed in the context of the Romantic cultural stereotypes concerning Polish-Russian relations formed after the November Uprising. While presenting the novel’s plot (the ambivalence surrounding the figure of Grand Duke Constantine, political life in the Kingdom of Poland, the opposition patriots vs. conformists, the operation of secret police services in Warsaw), the author proves that the pamphlet character of the novel (correlated with Czyński’s personal political involvement) makes it an instructive compendium of motifs constituting the image of Russia in Polish literature within the Romantic paradigm.

Polish-Russian relations in the 20th century through the eyes of an unbiased historian

Polish-Russian relations in the 20th century through the eyes of an unbiased historian

Польско-российские отношения в программах выбранных правых политических партий в Польше. Количественный и качественный анализ

Programmes of political parties are an important element of public discourse. In this article, I present the results of research aimed at defining the place of Russia and Polish-Russian relations in the programmes of several Polish right-wing political groups. I attempt an overview of the political programmes of the right-wing parties as regards their principal features, internal structure, and central postulates. Content analysis shows that relations with Russia are an impor tant element in most political programmes proposed by Poland’s major right-wing political groups. Based on a qualitative analysis, I distinguish between parties that postulate a determined and assertive policy towards Russia, parties committed to a neutral position on Russia, and those that seek the improvement and pragmatisation of Polish-Russian relations. There are two important conclusions from the qualitative analysis. Firstly, international relations have a pronounced influence on the programmes of political parties. Secondly, as to the right-wing parties considered in the Polish political discourse as pro-Russian (the National Revival of Poland, the National Radical Camp), they are either far from being pro-Russian or Russia is quite low on their agenda.

„Entretiens” Stanisława Augusta z ambasadorem rosyjskim Ottonem Magnusem von Stackelbergiem i „Mémoires” ostatniego króla Rzeczypospolitej

Entretiens of King Stanislaus Augustus with Russian ambassador Otto Magnus von Stackelberg, and Memoirs of the Commonwealth’s last king Among the most important historical sources for the reign of Stanislaw August one should list Entretiens abbreviated notices of Stanislaw August’s talks with the Russian Ambassador Otto von Stackelberg. This article approaches the structure, the state of survival, the date of composition and the authorship of the Entretiens as well as their content and the nature of information included. The Entretiens , firstly conceived as short notes, evolved into more and more complex and specific reports, so the king could easily find every essential piece of information about Polish-Russian relations in one place. Some of the talks recorded in the Entretiens were later included in King’s Memoirs , hence the second part of this article attempts at a comparison between the two. It reveals that the order of events described in Memoirs agrees with what we find in Entretiens , therefore we know that the latter was exploited during the composition of the Memoirs . The author of the present study was lucky to have found among the documents reclaimed from Russia a clean copy of Entretiens from 1779, which allows us to hope that in Russian archives there are still even later the yearbooks, which supposedly might have helped the King in the work on other volumes of Memoirs . Moreover, the author’s intention was to suggest a method which would allow to evaluate reliability of the Memoirs . Owing to a partial comparative analysis of both sources one can conclude that the king wanted to protect his loved ones from being seen as anti-Russian and to avoid criticism of Catherine II. Stackelberg was the only one described exactly as how the king knew him. However, it does not undermine reliability of the Memoirs in general.

Pushkin's "To the Slanderers of Russia": The Slavic Question, Imperial Anxieties, and Geopolitics

The article analyzes Pushkin's view of Polish-Russian relations and their impact on European politics, as reflected in his ode "To the Slanderers of Russia" (1831). It argues that key to Pushkin's presentation of these relations is Poland and Russia's imperial rivalry over shared borderlands in Eastern Europe, and that Pushkin's imperial swagger attempts to mask certain insecurities about Russia's imperial project there. Despite that, the ode powerfully argues that Russia should be Western Europe's sole diplomatic counterpart in East European affairs and denies East Europeans any independent voice. The article focuses on the poem's fluvial imagery (the idea of the "Slavic streams" flowing into the "Russian sea") and its discourse of kinship, which the poem has popularized as a metaphor coding Russia's relations with other Slavs. Pushkin's masterful modeling of political affect is given special attention, as it has been crucial for the poem's lasting relevance in Russian culture.

Z historii polskich przekładów powieści Doktor Żywago Borysa Pasternaka (na podstawie korespondencji Jerzego Giedroycia i Gustawa Herlinga-Grudzińskiego oraz Jerzego Stempowskiego i Marii Dąbrowskiej)

This article recalls the circumstances of the first edition of the novel by Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago, in Polish translation, which appeared in 1959 in volume XLIV of the Biblioteka ‟Kultury” series, published by the Paris Literary Institute. Reconstruction of the history of this publishing initiative in the context of the political situation is possible thanks to historical sources preserved in the Paris and Warsaw archives, publications in periodicals, memoirs and epistolary culture. The circumstances in which the typescript was imported to Poland and in which the Literary Institute obtained a license for a Polish translation, the choice of translator, and Jerzy Giedroyc and Gustaw Herling-Grudziński’s correspondence are discussed. An important source of information is the lively correspondence between Maria Dąbrowska and Jerzy Stempowski, the son of a publicist and social activist, and Mason Stanisław Stempowski, a longtime life partner of the writer. The fragments of epistolary culture discussed here allow a better understanding of these outstanding individuals of the twentieth century. The content of the correspondence analyzed also allows us to reconstruct many interesting facts from the field of translating Russian literature into Polish, as well as the complex situation of Polish-Russian relations in the post-war period.

Determinanty defektywnego międzyosobowego komunikowania się w relacjach polsko-rosyjskich

In the introductory part, the author defines the basic terms used in the article: culture, cultural norms, language-communication skills, knowledge and its deficits, intercultural communication in Polish-Russian relations and the concept of defective communication. The purpose of this article is to describe the various causes of defective communication in Polish-Russian relations. In the following sections of the article, the author describes and exemplifies symptoms of defective communication, the over-ethnic causes of communication failures, the ethnic Polish-Russian determinants of defective interpersonal communication related to knowledge deficits, Russian language skills and stricte cultural determinants of unfortunate communication in selected spheres of life.

Współczesne stosunki polsko-rosyjskie: uwarunkowania, problemy, implikacje

Contemporary Polish-Russian relations are examined, taking into consideration the broad internal conditions in Poland and in Russia. Negative mutual stereotypes prevail in both countries, shaped in the course of a complicated history of mutual relations, while the concepts of international policies in both states are underdeveloped and divergent. Polish-Russian relations are increasingly more influenced by external conditions, such as the profound change Europe is going through and the evolution of the entire international order. The most important modern issues in Polish-Russian relations concern the persistent differences in the perception of the history of mutual relations, dissimilar concepts of the European security system, and energy security. The conditions of relations between Poland and Russia affect Poland’s ability to pursue its international interests in many areas: in relations with Russia and the CIS, in the forum of international organizations (NATO, EU, Council of Europe, OSCE and the UN), in relations with Poland’s closest allies and partners (Germany, France, U.S. and Ukraine). Finally, Polish-Russian relations influence the position and international role of Poland, limiting it when these relations are bad or augmenting it when they are good. Since late 2007 Poland has been trying to conduct a pragmatic policy and normalize its relations with Russia. In general, Polish-Russian reconciliation seems feasible.

Relacje polsko-rosyjskie w retoryce politycznej obchodów rocznic zbrodni katyńskiej po 1989 roku. Perspektywa politolingwistyczna

Polish-Russian relations seem to be heavily burdened by historical experience. History in- fluences the present not only indirectly, via historical facts, but also via the ways of commem- orating them. Referring to their memories, social groups strengthen the sense of their own uniqueness and cultural identity. One of the ways to commemorate events are anniversary celebrations accompanied by a certain political rhetoric. The author analyzes the texts, press releases, commentaries and an- niversary speeches given by politicians to commemorate the Katyñ massacre published by the „Gazeta Wyborcza” and „Rzeczpospolita” daily in April 1990, 2000 and 2010. Among the figures of memory identified in the analyzed texts which are typical of the Pol- ish-Russian dialogue concerning the Katyñ issue over the period of 1990–2010, there prevails a certain group of topoi appropriated by the language of politics from Christianity, and pre- cisely from the sacrament of confession. These topoi are based on reconciliation and compen- sation. Other topoi involve those of a victim, righteous Russian or a common field of memory.

Oktawian Jeleński – a Pole in a Tsar’s Uniform. On Russians and Polish-Russian Relations in the 19th Century

[full article in Polish; abstract in English]
 In his memoirs of a Pole, Oktawian Jeleński presented the life of soldiers, gentry, peasants, merchants, Russian women and Orthodox clergy in provinces. He also focused on Polish-Russian relations during the January Uprising. His observations deserve attention of the historians researching Polish-Russian relations in the 19th century. Without doubt, Jeleński supported conciliatory approaches, however, at the same time he would severely criticise actions of the Russian administration and police undertaken in order to weaken the Polish spirit, especially in the North-Western Krai. Jelenski believed that good Polish-Russian relations were possible to achieve. In his opinion, however, the Russian „patriotic historiography” and propaganda practiced by Moskowskije wiedomosti, whose editor was Mikhail Katkov, stood in the way. Jeleński’s memoirs are a clear demonstration that a Pole wearing a Tsar’s uniform did not have to deny his Polish identity and the Catholic religion.

Z dziejów polsko-rosyjskich stosunków literackich (korespondencja Marii Dąbrowskiej i Jerzego Stempowskiego)

The study of the history of Polish-Russian relations is possible thanks to documents preserved in Warsaw archives, publications in periodicals, memoirs and epistolatory culture. A three-volume edition of the correspondence of Jerzy Stempowski and Maria Dąbrowska from the years 1926–1965 is a full source reconstruction. This correspondence has preserved not only the biographical facts of the private life of both writers, but also a wide social and historical context. Jerzy Stempowski, son of Stanisław Stempowski and author of the novel The Adventures of a Thinking Man was the long-term life partner of Maria Dąbrowska in the Forties, and the two also became intellectual partners. An acquaintance with their correspondence allows us to better recognize their place in Polish-Russian relations in the interwar and post-war periods, and the history of Russian emigration in Poland.

Polskie akcenty w publicystyce Aleksandra Sołżenicyna

Poland and Polish people are shown in the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s writing in the context of complicated Polish-Russian relations. In Repentance and Self-limitation the author criticises Polish nation for being unable to repent and admit making mistakes in the past in a historical context. At the same time he claims that Russians have a natural ability to repentance, that is a condition of a moral renewal of a nation. Nevertheless, the overall picture of the Polish nation in Solzhenitsyn’s writing is positive. This Russian Nobel prize winner highlights Polish courage, pride and their undeterred struggle for freedom. In The Gulag Archipelago the author eternalises a Polish scientist named Jerzy Wegierski, a prisoner of a forced labour camp, who had been Solzhenitsyn’s friend till his death. It is also very important to highlight Solzhenitsyn’s respect and attitude toward the Pope John Paul II. The article is an attempt to recall and analyse Polish features in the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s writing.

Prometeizm: utopijna idea czy realne narzędzie polskiej polityki wschodniej

The intensification and quality of Polish-Russian relations remains, despite passing years andgenerations, a key issue in discussions about Polish Eastern Policy choices. Successful warwith Bolshevik state in 1920 left Poland independent but has put an end the idea of federation.It has been replaced with “promethean” conception which genesis should be searched amongPolish emigrational and independence movements of 19th century. The “promethean” ideawas to lead to independence of nations remaining under Russian rule. This conception, withtime, become influential among Marshal Piłsudski’s supporters and was a part of Poland’sEastern policy until the Second World War. It harmed the relations with USSR and madea permanent Warsaw-Moscow cooperation impossible. After the Second War this conceptionbecome a history, an unwanted heritage for new, communist elite. It become again popularafter 1989 and again harmed Polish-Russian relations. The paper entitled “Prometheanconception: an utopia or real tool of Polish Eastern Policy” aims to answer the question aboutrationality of this idea, its coherence. It also formulates the broader question if utopia can bea permanent, well established issue in state’s policy, despite changing reality.Key words: Poland, Russia, prometheism, history, politics

The uses of history by the Polish democratic opposition in the late 1970s

During the late 1970s, members of the Polish democratic opposition revised and reinterpreted key elements in the Polish past in support of their contemporary ideas about Polish society and opposition. The birth of the independent press in Poland in 1976 provided these debates with a medium for wide dissemination and discussion. Analysis of democratic opposition debates in the independent press on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, historic Polish–Russian relations, and the struggle for and achievement of independence in the early twentieth century shed light on the ways in which the democratic opposition perceived Polish society and the legacy of tolerance, diversity, nationalism, and socialism within it. It also reveals the major divisions within the democratic opposition and its primary tactical proposals prior to the birth of the Solidarity trade union in 1980. Forty years later, these debates continue to reverberate.

Poland's conception of European security and Russia

This article examines the problem of contemporary bilateral relations between Poland and Russia. Its thesis largely attributes the rivalry of these two states in Eastern Europe to conceptions relating to the balancing and bandwagoning of power. This rivalry can be put down to the fact that Polish-Russian relations are being developed within broader global processes such as Russia's relations with NATO, the USA and European Union. The greatest obstacle to the maintenance of mutually beneficial relations is the sensitive issue of security. In recent years Poland has consistently underlined its willingness to reinforce NATO's mutual defense mechanisms by supporting the organization's continued presence in Central-Eastern Europe. This issue has been compounded by Poland's striving to bring the countries of Eastern Europe (especially Ukraine) into closer affiliation with Western institutions favoring European integration, which is evidently perceived as interference in what is regarded by Moscow to be a sphere of Russian influence. This has provoked a number of serious crises in bilateral relations between Poland and Russia since the Euro-Maidan Revolution in Ukraine. Russian plans to install new (Iskander) missile systems close to the Polish border and Poland's effective attempts post-2014 to extend NATO presence within its own country testify to the scale of conflicts of interest between the two states and the lack of trust afforded by both sides. The issues highlighted in this paper are of great importance, since they not only enable the complexity of Central European issues to be more fully comprehended but also help to elucidate other global actors' conceptions relating to cooperation with Europe.

National Memory and Divisive Narrative Building in Poland’s 2010 Presidential Election

AbstractThis paper employs the 2010 Polish presidential election as a case study to explore the implications of memory politics, examining the Law and Justice party’s (PiS) use of national memory ahead of the June election. Through process tracing, this paper finds that the Smolensk Air Crash became the central theme of this race, which pitted Civic Platform (PO) candidate Bronisław Komorowski against the late President Lech Kaczynski’s twin brother, PiS’s Jarosław Kaczynski. Amplified by the media, PiS selectively drew on easily recognisable events and figures from Polish history to construct an “Us versus Them” conflict of “true Polish patriots” - those who supported the party and its anti-Russian stance - and “Others” - those who, although sympathetic to the crash victims, favoured Tusk and his push for renewed Polish-Russian relations. The primary goal of this paper is to demonstrate how a historical memory approach can inform the study of contemporary politics - a subject which is too oft en left solely to social scientists.