Poland and Russia: Turbulent Relations and No Rapprochement in Sight

Abstract

Poland is well-known in Europe for its difficult relations with Russia, which often lead into what seems to be prejudices and biases. Yet, the long and difficult history of relations between Poland and its Eastern neighbour provides a good deal of substance in understanding why such a distrustful approach exists. For centuries Poland was threatened by Russian imperial aspirations and indeed the eastern part of Poland was part of the Russian empire. In this chapter we focus on various aspects of relations with Russia as seen from Warsaw. Rebuilding relations after the end of the Cold War proved to be difficult and the significant mounting crisis in mutual relations largely reflected Poland’s growing role in the EU’s foreign policy to build a uniform policy towards Russia and strong support for pro-Western tendencies in neighbouring countries such as Ukraine. We discuss the links between the Polish radical right-wing parties and Russia and the latter strategy aimed at undermining society’s support for EU membership and promoting ultra-conservative values. Poland strongly supported Ukraine when Russia attacked the country in February 2022 and again became one of the leaders of common and unequivocal support for Ukrainian leadership and society within the EU and in transatlantic community.