Poland–Russia relations
Encyclopedia
Poland–Russia relations have a long history, dating to the late Middle Ages
, when the Kingdom of Poland
and Grand Duchy of Muscovy struggled over control of their borderlands. Over centuries, there have been several Polish-Russian wars, with Russians controlling much of Poland in the 19th century
as well as in the 20th century
. Polish-Russian relations have entered a new phase since the fall of communism in both countries around 1989-1993. Since then Polish-Russian relations have seen both improvement and deterioration, depending on various factors.
pulled the Kingdom of Poland
into its war with Muscovy around 16th century. As Polish historian Andrzej Nowak
wrote, while there were occasional contacts between Poles and Russians before that, it was the Polish union with Lithuania
which brought pro-Western
Catholic
Poland and Orthodox
Russia into a real, constant relation with both states engaged in "the contest for the political, strategic and civilizational preponderance in Central
and Eastern Europe
". While there were occasional attempts to create an alliance between the new Polish-Lithuanian state
and the Muscovy (including several attempts to elect the Muscovite tsars to the Polish throne and create the Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite Commonwealth
), they all failed. Instead, several wars occurred. Notably, during the Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618)
, Polish forces took Moscow
–an event that would become one of the many defining moments of the future Polish-Russian relations. Muscovy, now transforming into the Russian Empire
, was able to take advantage of the weakening Commonwealth, taking over disputed territories and moving its borders westwards in the aftermath of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
. By the beginning of the 18th century, with the deterioration of the Commonwealth political system (Golden Liberty
) into anarchy
, Russians were able to intervene in internal Polish affairs at will, politically and militarily (Silent Sejm
, War of the Polish Succession
). Around the mid-18th century, the influence of ambassadors and envoys from Russia to Poland
, could be compared to those of colonial viceroy
s and the Commonwealth was seen by Russians as a form of protectorate
. With the failure of the Bar Confederation
, opposing the Russian influence, the First Partition
took place in 1772; by 1795 three partitions of Poland
erased Poland from the map. As Nowak remarked, "a new justification for Russian colonialism
gathered strength from the Enlightenment
": Poland was portrayed by Russians as an anarchic, dangerous country: its Catholic and democratic ideas had to be suppressed by the more enlightened neighbors."
Over the next 123 years, a large part of Polish population and former territory would be subject to the rule of the Russian Empire. Several uprisings (most notably, the November Uprising
and the January Uprising
) would take place, attempting to regain Polish independence and stop the Russification
and similar policies, aimed at removal of any traces of former Polish rule or Polish cultural influence, however only in the aftermath of the First World War would Poland regain independence (as the Second Polish Republic
).
eventually ending up with a Polish victory at Warsaw
, spoiling Lenin's plans of sending his Red Army
west to spread the communist revolution. For the next two decades, Poland was seen by the Soviet Union as an enemy; eventually an agreement with Nazi Germany
allowed the Soviet Union
to successfully invade and destroy the Second Republic in 1939
. The brutal mass murder, known as the Katyn massacre
, of 20,000 Polish officers that took place soon afterward, in the background of various Soviet repressions of Polish citizens
, became another event with lasting repercussions on the Polish-Russian relations.
After the Second World War
and with the Allies permission
during the Yalta Conference
, the Soviet Union whose Eastern front rolled up Nazi Germany from the East ended up in control of the Polish territory. Stalin
decided to create a communist, Soviet allied Polish state, the People's Republic of Poland
. Poland became part of the Eastern bloc
, as the People's Republic of Poland
. Soviet control over Poland lessened after Stalin's death and Gomułka's Thaw, and ceased completely after the fall of the communist government in Poland in late 1989, although the Soviet Northern Group of Forces
did not leave Polish soil until 1993.
) and 1991 in Russia (dissolution of the Soviet Union
). With a new democratic government after the 1989 elections, Poland regained full sovereignty, and what was the USSR became 15 newly independent states, including the Russian Federation.
Relations between modern Poland and Russia suffer from constant ups and downs. Among the constantly revisited issues is the fact that Poland is moving away from the Russian sphere of influence
(joining NATO and the European Union
) and pursuing an independent politic, including establishing a significant relations with post-Soviet states
; for example, Polish support for the pro-democratic Orange Revolution
in 2004 in Ukraine has resulted in a temporary crisis in the Polish-Russian relations. Occasionally, relations will worsen due to remembrance of uneasy historical events and anniversaries, such as when Polish politicians bring up the issue of Russia apologizing for the '39 invasion
, the Katyn massacre
. (Many Polish citizens and politicians see as genocide
, but Russian officials refer to it as a war crime
rather than a genocide) or for the ensuing decades of Soviet occupation; in turn Russians criticize Poles' perceived lack of thankfulness for liberation from Nazi occupation (despite later being taken into Soviet occupation). During the 1990s, assistance granted by Polish government and civilian agencies to members of the Chechen separatist movement
had been met with criticism by Russian authorities.
In 2009, there had been controversy over the Russian government and state media publishing claims that Nazi Germany
, the Empire of Japan
and the Second Polish Republic
had allied or intended to ally against the Soviet Union before the Second World War. These claims were denounced by Polish politicians and diplomats as an attempt at historical revision. Other issues important in the recent Polish-Russian relations include the establishment of visa
s for Russian citizens, US plans for an anti-missile site in Poland, the Nord Stream pipeline (Poland, which imports over 90 percent of oil and 60 percent of gas from Russia, continues to be concerned about its energy security
which the pipeline threatens to undermine), Polish influence on the EU-Russian relations and various economic issues (ex. Russian ban on Polish food imports).
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, with Lithuania
, Ukraine
and Belarus
regaining independence, Polish-Russian border has mostly been replaced by borders with the respective countries, but there still is a 210 km long border between Poland and the Russian Kaliningrad
exclave.
on the side of Georgia
and against Russia. A bilateral agreement between Poland and the United States
was announced which would allow the US to install and operate an interceptor missile defense shield
, a move which Russia sees explicitly targeting it, prompting Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
to state that it made Poland "a legitimate military target." A high-ranking Russian military official said, "Poland in deploying [the US system] opens itself to a nuclear strike." One potential site for such planned anti-missile installations is near the village Redzikowo
which lies about 50 miles west of Gdansk
, close to the Baltic
coast. Russia later announced to set up missiles in Kaliningrad
, a city close to neighboring Poland. In 2009, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski
asked the United States to deploy more troops in Poland to fight off any Russian invasion, after joint military excersices between Russia and Belarus
, which Poland claims involved a simulated landing on the Polish coast. Russia strongly criticized the statement. Political analyst Vladimir Kozin accused Poland of trying to "annoy Russia", attempting to destabilize the situation in Europe, and disrupt negotiations on a Russian-proposed security treaty.
reported that one of the main effects of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
would be the impact it has on Russian-Polish relations. It is thought if the inquiry into the crash is not transparent, it will increase suspicions toward Russia in Poland.
The Wall Street Journal states that the result of the joint declaration by the PM's Vladimir Putin
and Donald Tusk
on Katyn on the verge of the crash, and the aftermath Russia's response has united the two nations, and presents a unique opportunity at a fresh start, ending centuries long rivalry and adversement.
, published in 1997, has been one of the most influential books among Russian military, police, and statist foreign policy elites. It has been reportedly used in the General Staff Academy of Russian armed forces
. It believes in a sophisticated program of subversion, destabilization, and disinformation spearheaded by the Russian special services. The operations should be assisted by a tough, hard-headed utilization of Russia's gas, oil, and natural resources to bully and pressure other countries. Russia would divide Europe and Poland (like Latvia and Lithuania) would have a "special status" in the empire.
In 1996, Poland's Prime Minister Józef Oleksy
resigned because of his links to SVR agent Vladimir Alganov
.
In 2004 Polish intelligence recorded SVR agent Vladimir Alganov talking about bribery of top Polish politicians.
Russian military exercises have practiced attack against Poland. Exercise Zapad
in September 2009 practiced a simulated nuclear attack against Poland, suppression of an uprising by a Polish minority in Belarus, and many operations of an offensive nature.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, when the Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
and Grand Duchy of Muscovy struggled over control of their borderlands. Over centuries, there have been several Polish-Russian wars, with Russians controlling much of Poland in the 19th century
Russian partition
The Russian partition was the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that were acquired by the Russian Empire in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland.-Terminology:...
as well as in the 20th century
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Polish-Russian relations have entered a new phase since the fall of communism in both countries around 1989-1993. Since then Polish-Russian relations have seen both improvement and deterioration, depending on various factors.
Muscovy and Russian Empire
Relations between Poland and Russia (Muscovy) have been tense from the beginning, as the increasingly desperate Grand Duchy of LithuaniaGrand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
pulled the Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
into its war with Muscovy around 16th century. As Polish historian Andrzej Nowak
Andrzej Nowak (historian)
Andrzej Nowak is a Polish historian and publicist. Professor of Jagiellonian University and Business College - National Louis University in Nowy Sącz, former visiting professor of East-Central European history at Rice University. Member of Polish Academy of Sciences, where he is the director of...
wrote, while there were occasional contacts between Poles and Russians before that, it was the Polish union with Lithuania
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...
which brought pro-Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Poland and Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
Russia into a real, constant relation with both states engaged in "the contest for the political, strategic and civilizational preponderance in Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
". While there were occasional attempts to create an alliance between the new Polish-Lithuanian state
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
and the Muscovy (including several attempts to elect the Muscovite tsars to the Polish throne and create the Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth was a proposed state that would have been based on a personal union between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia...
), they all failed. Instead, several wars occurred. Notably, during the Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618)
Polish-Muscovite War (1605–1618)
The Polish–Muscovite War took place in the early 17th century as a sequence of military conflicts and eastward invasions carried out by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, or the private armies and mercenaries led by the magnates , when the Russian Tsardom was torn into a series of civil wars, the...
, Polish forces took Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
–an event that would become one of the many defining moments of the future Polish-Russian relations. Muscovy, now transforming into the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, was able to take advantage of the weakening Commonwealth, taking over disputed territories and moving its borders westwards in the aftermath of the Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
The Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, also called Thirteen Years' War, First Northern War, War for Ukraine was the last major conflict between Tsardom of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1655 and 1660, the Second Northern War was also fought in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,...
. By the beginning of the 18th century, with the deterioration of the Commonwealth political system (Golden Liberty
Golden Liberty
Golden Liberty , sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth refers to a unique aristocratic political system in the Kingdom of Poland and later, after the Union of Lublin , in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
) into anarchy
Anarchy
Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...
, Russians were able to intervene in internal Polish affairs at will, politically and militarily (Silent Sejm
Silent Sejm
Silent Sejm is the name given to the session of the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1 February 1717. A civil war in the Commonwealth was used by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great as an opportunity to intervene as a mediator...
, War of the Polish Succession
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European war for princes' possessions sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland that other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests...
). Around the mid-18th century, the influence of ambassadors and envoys from Russia to Poland
Ambassadors and envoys from Russia to Poland (1763–1794)
Ambassadors and envoys from Russia to Poland-Lithuania in the years 1763-1794 were among the most important characters in the politics of Poland. Their powers went far beyond the those of most diplomats and can be compared to those of viceroys in the colonies of Spanish Empire, or Roman Republic's...
, could be compared to those of colonial viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
s and the Commonwealth was seen by Russians as a form of protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
. With the failure of the Bar Confederation
Bar Confederation
The Bar Confederation was an association of Polish nobles formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were...
, opposing the Russian influence, the First Partition
First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...
took place in 1772; by 1795 three partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
erased Poland from the map. As Nowak remarked, "a new justification for Russian colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
gathered strength from the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
": Poland was portrayed by Russians as an anarchic, dangerous country: its Catholic and democratic ideas had to be suppressed by the more enlightened neighbors."
Over the next 123 years, a large part of Polish population and former territory would be subject to the rule of the Russian Empire. Several uprisings (most notably, the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
and the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
) would take place, attempting to regain Polish independence and stop the Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
and similar policies, aimed at removal of any traces of former Polish rule or Polish cultural influence, however only in the aftermath of the First World War would Poland regain independence (as the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
).
Soviet Union
Immediately after regaining independence in 1918, Poland was faced with a war with the new Bolshevik Russia, with the Polish-Soviet WarPolish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
eventually ending up with a Polish victory at Warsaw
Battle of Warsaw (1920)
The Battle of Warsaw sometimes referred to as the Miracle at the Vistula, was the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War. That war began soon after the end of World War I in 1918 and lasted until the Treaty of Riga resulted in the end of the hostilities between Poland and Russia in 1921.The...
, spoiling Lenin's plans of sending his Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
west to spread the communist revolution. For the next two decades, Poland was seen by the Soviet Union as an enemy; eventually an agreement with Nazi Germany
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
allowed the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to successfully invade and destroy the Second Republic in 1939
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
. The brutal mass murder, known as the Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
, of 20,000 Polish officers that took place soon afterward, in the background of various Soviet repressions of Polish citizens
Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939-1946)
In the aftermath of the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, which took place in September 1939, the territory of Poland was divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union . Both powers were hostile to Poland's sovereignty, the Polish culture and the Polish people, aiming at their destruction...
, became another event with lasting repercussions on the Polish-Russian relations.
After the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and with the Allies permission
Western betrayal
Western betrayal, also called Yalta betrayal, refers to a range of critical views concerning the foreign policies of several Western countries between approximately 1919 and 1968 regarding Eastern Europe and Central Europe...
during the Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
, the Soviet Union whose Eastern front rolled up Nazi Germany from the East ended up in control of the Polish territory. Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
decided to create a communist, Soviet allied Polish state, the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Poland became part of the Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
, as the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Soviet control over Poland lessened after Stalin's death and Gomułka's Thaw, and ceased completely after the fall of the communist government in Poland in late 1989, although the Soviet Northern Group of Forces
Northern Group of Forces
The Northern Group of Forces was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fall of Soviet Union...
did not leave Polish soil until 1993.
Present
Modern Polish-Russian relations begin with the fall of communism –1989 in Poland (Solidarity and the Polish Round Table AgreementPolish Round Table Agreement
The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, Poland from February 6 to April 4, 1989. The government initiated the discussion with the banned trade union Solidarność and other opposition groups in an attempt to defuse growing social unrest.-History:...
) and 1991 in Russia (dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
). With a new democratic government after the 1989 elections, Poland regained full sovereignty, and what was the USSR became 15 newly independent states, including the Russian Federation.
Relations between modern Poland and Russia suffer from constant ups and downs. Among the constantly revisited issues is the fact that Poland is moving away from the Russian sphere of influence
Sphere of influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence is a spatial region or conceptual division over which a state or organization has significant cultural, economic, military or political influence....
(joining NATO and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
) and pursuing an independent politic, including establishing a significant relations with post-Soviet states
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
; for example, Polish support for the pro-democratic Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
in 2004 in Ukraine has resulted in a temporary crisis in the Polish-Russian relations. Occasionally, relations will worsen due to remembrance of uneasy historical events and anniversaries, such as when Polish politicians bring up the issue of Russia apologizing for the '39 invasion
Soviet invasion of Poland (1939)
The 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland was a Soviet military operation that started without a formal declaration of war on 17 September 1939, during the early stages of World War II. Sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, the Soviet Union did so from the east...
, the Katyn massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
. (Many Polish citizens and politicians see as genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, but Russian officials refer to it as a war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
rather than a genocide) or for the ensuing decades of Soviet occupation; in turn Russians criticize Poles' perceived lack of thankfulness for liberation from Nazi occupation (despite later being taken into Soviet occupation). During the 1990s, assistance granted by Polish government and civilian agencies to members of the Chechen separatist movement
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
had been met with criticism by Russian authorities.
In 2009, there had been controversy over the Russian government and state media publishing claims that Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
and the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
had allied or intended to ally against the Soviet Union before the Second World War. These claims were denounced by Polish politicians and diplomats as an attempt at historical revision. Other issues important in the recent Polish-Russian relations include the establishment of visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s for Russian citizens, US plans for an anti-missile site in Poland, the Nord Stream pipeline (Poland, which imports over 90 percent of oil and 60 percent of gas from Russia, continues to be concerned about its energy security
Energy security
Energy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
which the pipeline threatens to undermine), Polish influence on the EU-Russian relations and various economic issues (ex. Russian ban on Polish food imports).
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, with Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
regaining independence, Polish-Russian border has mostly been replaced by borders with the respective countries, but there still is a 210 km long border between Poland and the Russian Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
exclave.
Deployment of US missile defense shield in Poland and the South Ossetia War
Poland–Russia relations saw a dramatic worsening in the middle of the 2008 South Ossetia war. Poland had taken a leading role in the international community's responseInternational reaction to the 2008 South Ossetia war
The international reaction to the 2008 South Ossetia war covered many nations, NGOs, and non-state actors. The conflict began in August 2008 over South Ossetia but eventually the violence spread elsewhere in Georgia as well...
on the side of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and against Russia. A bilateral agreement between Poland and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was announced which would allow the US to install and operate an interceptor missile defense shield
National Missile Defense
National missile defense is a generic term for a type of missile defense intended to shield an entire country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missile or other ballistic missiles. Interception might be by anti-ballistic missiles or directed-energy weapons such as lasers...
, a move which Russia sees explicitly targeting it, prompting Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
to state that it made Poland "a legitimate military target." A high-ranking Russian military official said, "Poland in deploying [the US system] opens itself to a nuclear strike." One potential site for such planned anti-missile installations is near the village Redzikowo
Redzikowo
Redzikowo is a village in northern Poland, located in Gmina Słupsk, Słupsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, 5 km to the east of Słupsk. It has 405 inhabitants . Just to the north of it is an airfield which was to be the site of a US missile defense complex that was planned to be built by 2012...
which lies about 50 miles west of Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
, close to the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast. Russia later announced to set up missiles in Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
, a city close to neighboring Poland. In 2009, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski
Radoslaw Sikorski
Radosław Tomasz Sikorski , is a Polish politician and journalist. He served as Deputy Minister of National Defense in Jan Olszewski's Cabinet and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Jerzy Buzek's Cabinet. He was also Minister of National Defense in Jarosław Kaczyński's Cabinet...
asked the United States to deploy more troops in Poland to fight off any Russian invasion, after joint military excersices between Russia and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, which Poland claims involved a simulated landing on the Polish coast. Russia strongly criticized the statement. Political analyst Vladimir Kozin accused Poland of trying to "annoy Russia", attempting to destabilize the situation in Europe, and disrupt negotiations on a Russian-proposed security treaty.
2010 Plane Crash
The BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reported that one of the main effects of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
The 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash occurred on 10 April 2010, when a Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the city of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board...
would be the impact it has on Russian-Polish relations. It is thought if the inquiry into the crash is not transparent, it will increase suspicions toward Russia in Poland.
The Wall Street Journal states that the result of the joint declaration by the PM's Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
and Donald Tusk
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
on Katyn on the verge of the crash, and the aftermath Russia's response has united the two nations, and presents a unique opportunity at a fresh start, ending centuries long rivalry and adversement.
Russian intelligence and influence operations in Poland
The Russian textbook Foundations of GeopoliticsFoundations of Geopolitics
The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia is a geopolitical book by Alexander Dugin. The book has had a large influence within the Russian military, police, and statist foreign policy elites and is used as a textbook in the General Staff Academy of Russian military.-Use:The...
, published in 1997, has been one of the most influential books among Russian military, police, and statist foreign policy elites. It has been reportedly used in the General Staff Academy of Russian armed forces
General Staff Academy (Russia)
The General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was founded in 1936 in Moscow by Leonid Govorov. It was the senior Soviet and now Russian professional school for officers....
. It believes in a sophisticated program of subversion, destabilization, and disinformation spearheaded by the Russian special services. The operations should be assisted by a tough, hard-headed utilization of Russia's gas, oil, and natural resources to bully and pressure other countries. Russia would divide Europe and Poland (like Latvia and Lithuania) would have a "special status" in the empire.
In 1996, Poland's Prime Minister Józef Oleksy
Józef Oleksy
Józef Oleksy is a post-communist Polish politician, former chairman of Democratic Left Alliance ....
resigned because of his links to SVR agent Vladimir Alganov
Vladimir Alganov
Vladimir Alganov is a Russian spy. He was Soviet KGB officer in Warsaw, Poland in the 1980s and Russian SVR officer in the same city in the 1990s.In 1996, Poland's Prime Minister Józef Oleksy resigned because of his links to Alganov....
.
In 2004 Polish intelligence recorded SVR agent Vladimir Alganov talking about bribery of top Polish politicians.
Russian military exercises have practiced attack against Poland. Exercise Zapad
Exercise Zapad
Exercise Zapad-81 was the largest military exercise ever to be carried out by the Soviet Union, according to NATO and US sources. It was conducted from September 4, 1981 and lasted approximately 8 days...
in September 2009 practiced a simulated nuclear attack against Poland, suppression of an uprising by a Polish minority in Belarus, and many operations of an offensive nature.
See also
- List of Ambassadors of Poland to Russia
- List of Ambassadors of Russia to Poland
External links
- Dabrowski, Patrice M. Russian-Polish Relations Revisited, or The ABC's of "Treason" under Tsarist Rule, Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History - Volume 4, Number 1, Winter 2003, pp. 177–199 muse
- Goldman, Minton F., Polish-Russian relations and the 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections., East European Quarterly, 22 December 2006
- Oscar Halecki, Polish-Russian Relations: Past and Present, The Review of Politics, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul., 1943), pp. 322-338, JSTOR
- Library of Congress, On Polish-Soviet relations in the early 1990s
- Lubecki, J. "In the Shadow of the Bear: Polish-Russian Relations 1999-2005" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the The Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois. 2008-05-08 allacademic
- Cornelius Ochmann, Alexey Ignatiev, Petr Shopin, Polish-Russian Relations, Koszalin Institute of Comparative European Studies, working paper
- Unge et al., Polish-Russian Relations in an Eastern Dimension Context
- Harding, Luke, The Guardian. 2009-09-01 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/01/russia-poland-nazis-secret-documents