Poland–Russia relations#Soviet Union
{{Short description | None}}
{{Infobox bilateral relations|Poland–Russia|Poland|Russia|filetype=svg|mission1= Embassy of Poland, Moscow|mission2= Embassy of Russia, Warsaw}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
Poland–Russia relations have a long and often turbulent history, dating to the late Middle Ages. Over the centuries, there have been several wars between Poland and Russia, with Poland once occupying Moscow during the Commonwealth-era, and later Russia occupying Poland in the 19th and 20th centuries, leading to strained relations and multiple Polish attempts at re-acquiring independence. Polish–Russian relations entered a new phase following the fall of communism in 1989, with relations warming under Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and later Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Relations began worsening considerably as a result of the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008, and later the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and especially the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Relations between the Polish and Russian governments and their citizens have become increasingly hostile since the Russo-Ukrainian War. According to a 2022 poll, only 2% of Poles viewed Russia positively, the lowest number in the world among countries polled.
History
=Poland and Kievan Rus=
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2024}}
One of the earliest known events in Rus'-Polish history dates back to 981, when the Grand Prince of Kiev, Vladimir Svyatoslavich, seized the Cherven Cities from the Duchy of Poland. The relationship between two by that time was mostly close and cordial, as there had been no serious wars between both.
In 966, Poland accepted Christianity from Rome while Kievan Rus'—the ancestor of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus—was Christianized by Constantinople. In 1054, the internal Christian divide formally split the Church into the Catholic and Orthodox branches separating the Poles from the Eastern Slavs.
In 1018, Svyatopolk the Cursed who fled from Kiev turned for help to the Polish king Bolesław I the Brave, who defeated Yaroslav the Wise in the Battle of the River Bug. The Kiev campaign of Boleslaw I was crowned with the capture of the city, but Boleslaw, instead of transferring power to Svyatopolk, began to rule in the city himself. In response, the people of Kiev raised an uprising, as a result of which they began to “beat the Poles”. Boleslaw fled with the treasury, and also took Yaroslav the Wise's sisters with him. The Cherven cities, were restored to Poland until conquered again by Yaroslav the Wise and his brother Mstislav the Brave in 1030–1031.
A similar story took place in 1069, when the Grand Duke Izyaslav Yaroslavich ran to Poland to his nephew Bolesław II the Brave, and he, having made a trip to Kiev, intervened in the Rus' dynastic dispute in favor of Izyaslav. According to legend, a relic sword named Szczerbiec, which was used during the coronations of Polish kings, was notched when Boleslaw I or Boleslaw II struck the Golden Gate in Kiev. The first option cannot be true due to the fact that the Golden Gate was built in the 1030s, the second is also not confirmed by the results of carbon dating of the sword, which, apparently, was created not earlier than the second half of the 12th century.
At the same time, Kievan Rus' and Poland also knew long periods of peaceful coexistence (for example, during the life of Vladimir after 981) and military alliances. Thus, the Polish king, Kazimierz I, concluded an alliance with Yaroslav the Wise in 1042, marrying the first to the sister of the Grand Duke Maria Dobroneg. In 1074, according to the chronicle, peace with Boleslaw II was signed in Suteisk by the Smolensk prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, and in 1076 he together with the Volyn prince Oleg Svyatoslavich came to the aid of the Poles in a military campaign against the Czechs. The Grand Prince of Kiev, Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, made peace with the Polish king, Bolesław III Wrymouth, who in 1103 married the daughter of Svyatopolk Sbyslav; when in Poland a struggle broke out between Boleslaw III and his brother Zbigniew, the Rus' troops came to the aid of the king and forced Zbigniew to recognize his power.
Like the principalities that arose from the disintegration of Kievan Rus', Poland experienced several Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, despite the devastation, the Mongol yoke was not established, which subsequently provided Poland with an advantage in the development of trade, culture and public relations. In 1340, Vladimir Lvovich died, the last Galician heir to the Rurik dynasty, after which the Galician principality was inherited by Kazimierz III the Great and annexed to the Kingdom of Poland.
=Muscovy and Russian Empire=
File:Capitulation of Russian garrison of Smolensk before Vladislaus IV Vasa of Poland 1634.png before Władysław IV of Poland in 1634]]
Relations between Poland and Muscovite Russia have been tense, as the increasingly desperate Grand Duchy of Lithuania involved 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".Andrzej Nowak, [http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia/197/Nowak.html The Russo-Polish Historical Confrontation], Sarmatian Review, January 1997 Issue While there were occasional attempts to create an alliance between the new Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Grand Duchy of Moscow (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 (1605–18), Poland exploited Moscow's politically weakened state caused by civil war and Polish forces took Moscow – an event that would become one of the many defining moments of the future Polish–Russian relations.Peter Cheremushkin, [http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/ece/research/intermarium/vol5no3/ruspol.pdf "Russian-Polish relations: A long way from stereotype to reconciliation"], Intermarium, vol. 5, no. 3. (2003), School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Muscovy, now transforming into the Russian Empire, retaliated by taking advantage of the weakening Commonwealth, taking over disputed territories and moving its borders westwards in the aftermath of the Russo-Polish War (1654–67) and later participated in the destruction of the Commonwealth during the Swedish Deluge. 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, see (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 viceroys{{cite book|author=Hamish M. Scott|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-521-79269-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lc8EMD0JYUAC&q=Saldern+Poland&pg=PA249|title=The Emergence of the Eastern Powers, 1756–1775|page=249}} and the Commonwealth was seen by Russians as a form of protectorate.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpMxTvBuWHYC&q=Russia+Poland+protectorate&pg=PA84|author1=Jerzy Lukowski|author2=Hubert Zawadzki|title=A Concise History of Poland|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-521-55917-0|page=84}}{{cite book|author=Hamish M. Scott|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-521-79269-X|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lc8EMD0JYUAC&q=Repnin+Poland&pg=PA182|title=The Emergence of the Eastern Powers, 1756–1775|pages=181–182}}
With the failure of the Bar Confederation opposing the Russian political and military influence in Poland, the First Partition took place in 1772, followed by the Second Partition, and the Third Partition of Poland. By 1795, the three partitions of Poland erased Poland from the map of Europe. As Nowak remarked, "a new justification for Russian colonialism gathered strength from the Enlightenment": occupied Poland was portrayed by the Russian authors as an anarchic, dangerous country whose 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. However, Poland was undergoing a cultural and political revival after the First Partition culminating in the Constitution of 3 May 1791 and the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. Many Polish expatriates and volunteers sided with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France in its struggles with the very same powers (Russia, Austria and Prussia) which had partitioned Poland. After 1815, 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).
=Soviet Union=
{{Infobox bilateral relations|Poland–Soviet Union|Poland|Soviet Union|map=Poland Soviet Union Locator.png}}
File:Stamp of USSR 1806.jpg and Alexander Pushkin]]
File:The Soviet Union 1970 CPA 3908 stamp (Soviet and Polish Workers and Flags).jpg
Nationalist opposition to Russian rule of Poland persisted through the 19th century, and after the fall of the Romanov dynasty in the Russian Revolution the German Empire forced Vladimir Lenin's new Bolshevik regime to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk surrendering most of Russian Poland as a German client state.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-17|title=Treaty of Brest Litovsk|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1917-2/treaty-of-brest-litovsk/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}}{{Cite book|last=Figes|first=Orlando |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/37648457|title=A people's tragedy : the Russian Revolution, 1891-1924|date=1997|publisher=Pimlico|isbn=0-7126-7327-X|location=London|oclc=37648457}} Immediately after regaining independence in 1918 after the fall of Germany, Poland was faced with a war with the new Bolshevik Russia, with the Polish–Soviet War eventually ending up with a Polish victory at Warsaw, spoiling Lenin's plans of sending his Red Army west to start a worldwide Communist revolution. However, Poland failed in its war aims to annex Soviet-occupied territories such as Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania, which were incorporated into the Soviet Union as Soviet Socialist Republics.{{Cite book|last=Snyder|first=Timothy|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/857892148|title=Bloodlands: Europa mellem Hitler og Stalin|date=2011|publisher=Jyllands-Posten|others=Peter Dürrfeld|isbn=978-87-400-0302-4|edition=1. E-bogsudgave|oclc=857892148}}
For the next two decades, Poland was seen by the Soviet Union as an enemy and, along with Germany (under both the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich), as a "politically illegitimate" state created by the Allied Powers during World War I at the expense of Germany and Russia.{{Cite book|last=Hastings|first=Max|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/752772437|title=All hell let loose : the world at war 1939-45|date=2011|publisher=HarperPress|isbn=978-0-00-733809-2|location=London|oclc=752772437}}{{Cite book|last=Snyder|first=Timothy|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/688506397|title=Bloodlands : Europe between Hitler and Stalin|date=2010|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-02290-8|location=New York|oclc=688506397}} During the interwar period Joseph Stalin feared a coordinated Polish-Japanese two-front invasion. Numerous residents of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic also fled across the border to Poland in protest of the First Five-Year Plan's collectivization policies and the Holodomor. The Soviet Union supported subversive activities of the Communist Party of Poland, the Communist Party of Western Belarus, and the Communist Party of Western Ukraine. Poland in turn sent secret agents across the border to encourage rebellion against Soviet rule, which caused Stalin to begin to associate Poles in the Soviet Union with nationalist dissident and terrorist groups. The NKVD murdered 111,091 Poles during the Polish Operation and deported many families to Kazakhstan. Fears of a Polish invasion and external espionage also gave justification to the general internal repression of the Great Purge in the 1930s. Nevertheless, the USSR and Poland concluded a formal Non-Aggression Pact in 1932.
Eventually a secret agreement with Nazi Germany allowed Germany and the Soviet Union to successfully invade the Second Republic in 1939. The Soviet invasion of Poland, conducted mostly by Ukrainian Red Army units under Semyon Timoshenko, allowed the Soviet Union to annex much of Eastern Poland into Ukraine and Belarus.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-18|title=Soviet Territorial Annexations|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1939-2/soviet-territorial-annexations/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}} Most Polish Armed Forces officers captured by the Soviet Union were killed, while many soldiers were held in the Gulag system. The following years of Soviet repressions of Polish citizens, especially the brutal mass murder in 1940, known as the Katyn massacre, of more than 20,000 Polish officers and its subsequent Soviet denial for 50 years, became additional events with lasting repercussions on the Polish–Russian relations to this day. Nevertheless, Poland and the Soviet Union nominally became “allies” after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. In 1944, the Polish Home Army timed their capital's uprising to coincide with the Lublin-Brest Offensive by the Red Army and First Polish Army on the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces. However, the Red Army stopped at the city limits and deliberately remained inactive there for several weeks. Also, the Soviet Union did not allow its Western Allies to use its nearby airports for airdrops into Warsaw for several weeks. This allowed the German forces to regroup and demolish the city while defeating the Polish resistance and causing between 150,000 and 200,000 civilian deaths. The tragic circumstances under which Poland's capital was liberated even further strained the Polish–Russian relations.
File:Konstanty Rokossowski w polskim mundurze.jpg, Soviet Marshal of Polish origin and Poland's Defence Minister from 1949 until his removal in 1956]]
At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Joseph Stalin was able to present his western allies, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, with a fait accompli in Poland. His armed forces were in occupation of the country, and his agents, the communists, were in control of its administration. The Soviet Union was in the process of annexing the lands in eastern Poland, including the mass expulsion of the Polish population, which it had occupied between 1939 and 1941, after participating in the invasion and partition of Poland with Nazi Germany. Stalin was determined that Poland's new government would become his tool towards making Poland a Soviet puppet state controlled by the communists. He had severed relations with the legitimate Polish government-in-exile in London in 1943, but to appease Roosevelt and Churchill he agreed at Yalta that a coalition government would be formed. The Soviet Union supported Polish demands to be compensated by the loss of the eastern lands, from which 2-3 millions Polish citizens were expelled, by German hands east of the rivers Oder and Lusatian Neisse which had homed 9 million Germans. Stalin allowed Polish communist authorities to
man the Oder–Neisse line as border, notwithstanding the lack of international consent for the new border, to prevent Germans from returning to their former homes after the German capitulation.{{cite journal |last1=Eberhardt|first1=Piotr|title=The Oder-Neisse Line as Poland's Western Border: As Postulated and made a reality
|journal=Geographia Polonica| year=2015| volume=88|issue=1 |pages=77–105 |doi=10.7163/GPol.0007|doi-access=free}}
Many Poles were killed (e.g. during the Augustów roundup) or deported to the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin decided to create a communist, Soviet allied Polish state subservient to him, the People's Republic of Poland. Thus Poland became part of the Eastern Bloc, as the People's Republic of Poland. The Soviet Union had much influence over both internal and external affairs, and Red Army forces were stationed in Poland (1945: 500,000; until 1955: 120,000 to 150,000; until 1989: 40,000).Rao, B. V. (2006), History of Modern Europe Ad 1789-2002: A.D. 1789-2002, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. In 1945, Soviet generals and advisors formed 80% of the officer cadre of the Polish Armed Forces. The communists held a majority of key posts in this new government, and with Soviet support they soon gained almost total control of the country, rigging all elections. A pro-Soviet coalition between the Polish Socialist Party and the Polish Workers' Party assumed control of the country after the rigged 1947 Polish legislative election.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-19|title=Cold War|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1947-2/cold-war/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}} Many of their opponents decided to leave the country, and others were put on staged trials and sentenced to many years of imprisonment or execution. In 1947 the ruling Polish Workers' Party joined the Soviet Cominform, beginning its entrance into the Eastern Bloc and increasing Soviet dominance of the Polish government.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-19|title=Cominform and the Soviet Bloc|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1947-2/cominform-and-the-soviet-bloc/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}}
Soviet control over the Polish People's Republic 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-Russian Northern Group of Forces did not leave Polish soil until 1993. The continuing Soviet military presence allowed the Soviet Union to heavily influence Polish politics. The Polish People's Army was dominated by the Soviet Union through the Warsaw Pact, and Poland participated in the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia to suppress the Prague Spring reforms in Czechoslovakia.{{Cite web|title=Milestones: 1961–1968 - Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/soviet-invasion-czechoslavkia|access-date=2021-10-04|website=history.state.gov}} The Soviet Politburo closely monitored the rise in political dissent in Poland in the late 1970s and the subsequent rise of the anti-communist Solidarity trade union after the 1980 Lenin Shipyard strike.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-22|title=Solidarity in Poland|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1980-2/solidarity-in-poland/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}} The Soviet state newspaper Pravda denounced the Gdańsk Agreement between the Polish government and Solidarity in similar terms to state media coverage of Alexander Dubček's government during the Prague Spring.{{Cite web|date=2015-09-02|title=Soviet Evaluation of Polish Solidarity Crisis|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1980-2/solidarity-in-poland/solidarity-in-poland-texts/soviet-evaluation-of-polish-solidarity-crisis/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}} It subsequently pressured the ruling Polish United Workers' Party and Wojciech Jaruzelski's government into declaring martial law.{{Cite web|date=2015-09-02|title=Soviet Letter to the Polish United Workers' Party|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1980-2/solidarity-in-poland/solidarity-in-poland-texts/letter-to-the-polish-united-workers-party/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}} Soviet influence in Poland finally ended with the Round Table Agreement of 1989 guaranteeing free elections in Poland, the Revolutions of 1989 against Soviet-sponsored Communist governments in the Eastern Bloc, and finally the formal dissolution of the Warsaw Pact.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-22|title=Warsaw Pact Dissolves|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/warsaw-pact-dissolves/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|language=en-US}}
=Post-communism=
File:Vladimir Putin in Poland 16-17 January 2002-12.jpg and Prime Minister of Poland Leszek Miller in 2002]] Modern Polish–Russian relations begin with the fall of communism – 1989 in Poland (Solidarity and the Polish Round Table Agreement) 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 Soviet Union, 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 has moved 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, Poland was the first nation to recognize Ukraine's independence and Polish support for the pro-democratic Orange Revolution in 2004 against the pro-Russian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine has resulted in a temporary crisis in Polish–Russian relations.Richard Bernstein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/03/international/europe/03poland.html After Centuries of Enmity, Relations Between Poland and Russia Are as Bad as Ever], New York Times, 3 July 2005.
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 (which scholars internationally see as genocide, but Russian officials refer to as a war crime instead), or for the ensuing decades of Soviet occupation; in turn, Russians criticize Poles' perceived lack of “thankfulness” for “liberation” from Nazi 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.The Garden Times, Associated Press, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19950531&id=PLkfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v9cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1224,3104722 "Information center a thorn in Polish-Russian relations"], 31 May 1995. In 2009, there had been controversy over the Russian government and state media publishing claims that Poland, which signed non-aggression pacts with Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the early 1930s, played a role in the partition of Czechoslovakia after the Munich Agreement and 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.{{cite news|work=Brisbane Times|author1=Traynor, I. |author2=Harding, L.|url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/remembrance-of-things-past-puts-russia-at-odds-20090902-f8h5.html|title=Remembrance of things past puts Russia at odds|date=3 September 2009}}{{cite news |title=Russian Premier Calls Nazi-Soviet Pact Immoral |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/world/europe/01russia.html |work=The New York Times |date=31 August 2009}}{{cite news |title=Vladimir Putin Brings Judo Tactics To Poland |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/Vladimir_Putin_Brings_Judo_Tactics_To_Poland/1816467.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=7 September 2009}} These claims were denounced by Polish politicians and diplomats as an attempt at historical revision.{{cite news|url=http://www.euranet.eu/eng/Archive/News/English/2009/August/Russian-TV-accuses-Poland-of-secret-Nazi-pact|publisher=Euranet|title=Russian TV accuses Poland of secret Nazi pact|date=24 August 2009}}{{cite news|author=Harding, Luke|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/01/russia-poland-nazis-secret-documents|title=Fury as Russia presents 'evidence' Poland sided with Nazis before war|date=1 September 2009}}Brisbane Times, Traynor, I., and Harding, L., "Survivor denounced pact as blaming the victim", 3 September 2009 [http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/survivor-denounces-pact-as-blaming-the-victim-20090902-f8h6.html]
Other issues important in the recent Polish–Russian relations include the establishment of visas for Russian citizens, NATO plans for an anti-missile site in Poland, the Nord Stream 1 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 (e.g., the Russian ban on Polish food imports).Adam Grzeszak, [http://www.ziggi.pl/pdf_download.php?file=Ziggi/3_ziggis_corner_article.pdf Polish-Russian Relations: Bones of Contention Piling Up] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224013051/http://www.ziggi.pl/pdf_download.php?file=Ziggi%2F3_ziggis_corner_article.pdf |date=24 February 2012}}, Polityka, (PDF), 2006.[http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/17256 Breaking the Ice?], Warsaw Voice, 20 February 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, with Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus regaining independence, the 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 Kaliningrad Oblast.{{in lang|pl}} [http://www.prezydent.pl/x.node?id=44 Informacje o Polsce – informacje ogólne] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625210208/http://www.prezydent.pl/x.node?id=44 |date=25 June 2009}}. Page gives Polish PWN Encyklopedia as reference.
According to a 2013 BBC World Service poll, 19% of Poles view Russia's influence positively while 49% express a negative view.{{cite web|title=Views of Russia's Influence By Country, 2013., BBC World Service POLL, EMBARGO 23:01 GMT 22 May 2013 |url=https://globescan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2013_country_rating_poll_bbc_globescan.pdf |website=Globe Scan |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=7 August 2023 |page=37}}
After 2017, most of the Soviet War Memorials in Poland were dismantled due to policy of decommunization.{{cite news |title=Poland plans to tear down hundreds of Soviet memorials |url=https://www.dw.com/en/poland-plans-to-tear-down-hundreds-of-soviet-memorials/a-19185159 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=13 April 2016}}{{cite news |title=Then And Now: Soviet Monuments Disappear Across Poland |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/then-and-now-photos-show-soviet-monuments-disappearing-in-poland-after-decommunization-law/30905305.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=23 October 2020}}
=2008 Russo-Georgian war=
During the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, Polish President Lech Kaczyński flew to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi as a show of support to the country. Kaczyński held a speech in front of the Georgian parliament in which he warned that Russia was trying to re-establish its dominance in the region by force.{{cite web |url=https://tvpworld.com/38485759/words-that-stopped-russia-polish-presidents-georgia-speech-remembered |title=Words that stopped Russia": Polish President's Georgia speech remembered |work=TVP World |date=12 August 2018 |language=en |access-date=30 June 2023 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.rp.pl/artykul/175569.html |title=Lech Kaczyński: jesteśmy tu po to, by podjąć walkę |work=Rzeczpospolita |date=12 August 2008 |language=pl |access-date=4 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111082310/http://www.rp.pl/artykul/175569.html |archive-date=11 January 2012 |url-status=live }} The Polish government afterwards led a group of eastern European countries in proposing sanctions against Russia, drawing anger from the Russian government.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russia-continues-criticism-of-missile-shield-during-poland-talks/a-3637378 |title=Russia continues criticism of missile shield during Poland talks |work=Deutsche Welle |date=9 November 2008 |language=en |access-date=30 June 2023 }}
=2010 plane crash=
File:Dmitry Medvedev in Poland 6 December 2010-16.jpeg, 6 December 2010]]
BBC News 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 was thought if the inquiry into the crash were not transparent, it would increase suspicions toward Russia in Poland.{{cite news|date=10 April 2010|access-date=11 April 2010|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8613355.stm|title=Looking beyond Poland's "unprecedented disaster"|publisher=BBC News}} The Wall Street Journal states that the result of the joint declaration by the Prime Ministers 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 confrontation.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB40001424052702304846504575178210105827850#mod=todays_europe_page_one|title=Poles and Russians unite|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=12 April 2010|page=1}}
=2011 dialog centers=
File:Dmitry Medvedev 11 April 2011-8.jpeg and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski laying wreaths at the Katyn massacre memorial complex, 11 April 2011]]
Creation of parallel Polish and Russian dialogue centres was decided during President Medvedev's visit to Poland in December 2010.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wprost.pl/kraj/222799/stworzenie-centrum-polsko-rosyjskiego-dialogu-ma-poparcie-sejmowe.html|title=Stworzenie Centrum Polsko-Rosyjskiego Dialogu ma poparcie sejmowej większości|date=15 December 2010|website=Wprost|accessdate=14 March 2023}} The Polish Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding supports cooperation of youth from both countries.
Russia has created parallel foundation called The Russian-Polish Center for Dialogue and Understanding,[https://archive.today/20160225011905/http://www.rospolcentr.ru/ofonde/ Foundation "Russian-Polish Center for Dialogue and Concord"] (Фонд «Российско-польский центр диалога и согласия»), 2014, archived homepage. which does not fully cooperate with the Polish Centre. Its director, Juri Bondarenko, presents controversial opinions about Russian-Polish relations.Niezalezna.pl (15 April 2015), [https://web.archive.org/web/20160617193207/https://www.wprost.pl/395779/Katyn-to-nie-ludobojstwo-Wystarczy-poczytac-Marksa-i-Lenina "Katyń was not a genocide. Read Marx and Lenin"] (Katyń to nie ludobójstwo. Wystarczy poczytać Marksa i Lenina). Internet Archive. The Foundation has organised a trip for Polish students to Russian-annexed Crimea,{{Cite web |url=http://gorchakovfund.ru/en/tags/Russian-Polish%20Center%20for%20Dialogue%20and%20Understanding/ |title=The Russian-Polish Center for Dialogue and Understanding: Announcements. |access-date=16 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629160821/http://gorchakovfund.ru/en/tags/Russian-Polish%20Center%20for%20Dialogue%20and%20Understanding/ |archive-date=29 June 2016 |url-status=dead }} being aware the visit breaks Polish law.Wschodnik.pl (25 September 2015), [http://wschodnik.pl/polska/item/2493-polscy-uczniowie-pojechali-na-krym-na-koszt-rosyjskiej-fundacji.html Polish students' trip to Crimea sponsored by the Russian foundation] (Polscy uczniowie pojechali na Krym na koszt rosyjskiej fundacji).
=2014 airliner shootdown=
Following the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over the separatist Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine July 2014, the Polish government on 24 July cancelled the "Polish Year in Russia" and "Russian Year in Poland" that were planned for 2015.[http://www.thenews.pl/1/11/Artykul/177048,Polish-Year-in-Russia-cancelled-following-MH17-catstrophe Polish Year in Russia cancelled following MH17 catastrophe], Thenews.pl, 24 July 2014.{{cite news|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/poland-cancels-year-of-bilateral-celebration-with-russia-over-ukraine/504025.html|title=Poland Cancels Year of Bilateral Celebration With Russia Over Ukraine|work=The Moscow Times|date=24 July 2014|access-date=25 July 2014}}
=Aftermath of the Russian annexation of Crimea=
Poland has repeatedly requested the additional permanent deployment of NATO military assets to Poland following Russia's annexation of Crimea and its subsequent support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10737838/Ukraine-crisis-Poland-asks-Nato-to-station-10000-troops-on-its-territory.html|title=Ukraine crisis: Poland asks Nato to station 10,000 troops on its territory|work=The Telegraph|date=1 April 2014}} In response to these events, Poland has been a staunch supporter of tougher sanctions against Russia by the EU.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} Poland's continued support of the new Ukrainian government and its criticism of Russian interference in the new Ukrainian government's affairs has angered Russia and increased tensions between both countries.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} On 30 July 2014, Russia banned the import of Polish fruits and vegetables amidst the Ukraine sanctions war. Russia's food hygiene authorities said that the imports had unacceptable levels of pesticide residues and nitrates. They earn Poland more than 1bn euros (£795m; $1.3bn) annually. Russia is Poland's biggest market for apples. The move follows EU sanctions against Russia over the Russo-Ukrainian war.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28603140|title=Russia bans Polish fruit and veg amid sanctions war|publisher=BBC News|date=1 August 2014|access-date=2 August 2014}}
However, since the Russian annexation of Crimea, over 60–80% of Poles are worried about the possibility of a future conflict with Russia, given the fact that Russia maintains control of the Kaliningrad Oblast, directly bordering Poland.Samuel Osborne. "Russia could invade Poland 'overnight'" – The Independent [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-could-invade-poland-overnight-report-claims-a7156131.html]
=Historical revisionism=
Both Poland and Russia had accused each other for their historical revisionism. Russia has repeatedly accused Poland for not honoring Soviet Red Army soldiers fallen in World War II for Poland, notably in 2017, in which Poland was thought on "attempting to impose its own version of history" after Moscow was not allowed to join an international effort to renovate a World War II museum at Sobibór, site of the notorious Sobibor extermination camp.{{cite news |title=Russia warns Poland not to touch Soviet WW2 memorials |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40775355 |work=BBC News |date=31 July 2017}} Meanwhile, Poland also accuses Russia for its unlimited historical distortion, notably back to 2014 when Putin signed a bill using any comparison of Nazi to Soviet war crimes as a punishment,{{Clarify|date=February 2024|reason=Isn't the real meaning that comparing them is a crime?}} as the Poles were also treated brutally by the Soviets; although Russia's historical revisionism might have influenced Poland's Andrzej Duda over its Nazi war crime laws;{{cite news|last=Ganieva|first=Alisa|date=3 December 2018|title=Russia's Revisionist History|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/opinion/russia-poland-history-laws.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=13 August 2020|url-access=registration}} and Poland also has concerned that Russia's political and historical revisionism might put Poland at risk.{{cite web|last1=Buras|first1=Piotr|last2=Balcer|first2=Adam|date=15 July 2016|title=An unpredictable Russia: the impact on Poland|url=https://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_an_unpredictable_russia_the_impact_on_poland|publisher=European Council on Foreign Relations|access-date=13 August 2020}}
=Poland–Russia gas disputes=
As part of Poland's plans to become fully energy independent from Russia within the next years, Piotr Wozniak, president of state-controlled oil and gas company PGNiG, stated in February 2019: "The strategy of the company is just to forget about Eastern suppliers and especially about Gazprom."{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/business/poland-gas-lng-russia-usa.html|title=Burned by Russia, Poland Turns to U.S. for Natural Gas and Energy Security|last=Reed|first=Stanley |date=2019-02-26|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} In 2020, the Stockholm Arbitral Tribunal ruled that PGNiG's long-term contract gas price with Gazprom linked to oil prices should be changed to approximate the Western European gas market price, backdated to 1 November 2014 when PGNiG requested a price review under the contract. Gazprom had to refund about $1.5 billion to PGNiG. The 1996 Yamal pipeline related contract is for up to 10.2 billion cubic metres of gas per year until it expired in 2022, with a minimum annual amount of 8.7 billion cubic metres.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-russia-gas-idUSKBN21I1QY |title=Poland's PGNiG to take immediate steps to receive $1.5 billion from Gazprom |last=Barteczko |first=Agnieszka |publisher=Reuters |date=31 March 2020}}{{cite press release |url=https://en.pgnig.pl/news/-/news-list/id/victory-for-pgnig-the-arbitral-tribunal-in-stockholm-rules-to-lower-the-price-of-the-gas-sold-by-gazprom-to-pgnig/newsGroupId/1910852 |title=Victory for PGNiG: the Arbitral Tribunal in Stockholm rules to lower the price of the gas sold by Gazprom to PGNiG |website=PGNiG |date=20 March 2020}} Following the 2021 global energy crisis, PGNiG made a further price review request on 28 October 2021. PGNiG stated the recent extraordinary increases in natural gas prices "provides a basis for renegotiating the price terms on which we purchase gas under the Yamal Contract."{{cite news |url=https://tass.com/economy/1355365 |title=Polish PGNiG asks Gazprom to reduce gas prices under Yamal contract |agency=TASS |location=Moscow |date=28 October 2021}}{{cite press release |url=https://en.pgnig.pl/news/-/news-list/id/pgnig-files-request-for-price-reduction-under-yamal-contra-1/newsGroupId/1910852 |title=PGNiG files request for price reduction under Yamal Contract |website=PGNiG |date=28 October 2021}} However, in April 2022, it was announced that Russia will suspend sending gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, in exchange for their refusal to pay in roubles. The Russian gas export monopoly, Gazprom is known to supply about 50% of Poland’s consumption. Poland stated that its gas storage is still 76% full and will not need to draw on its reserves.{{Cite news |last1=Strzelecki |first1=Marek |last2=Tsolova |first2=Tsvetelia |last3=Polityuk |first3=Pavel |date=2022-04-27 |title=Russia halts gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/poland-bulgaria-face-russian-gas-cut-ukraine-crisis-escalates-2022-04-26/ |access-date=2022-04-27}}
= Russian invasion of Ukraine =
In the lead-up to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to rebuild the Russian Empire and urged Europe to unite and prevent Putin from making his dreams reality.{{cite news |title=Polish PM warns against Russia's aggressive actions |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/polish-pm-warns-against-russias-aggressive-actions-27565 |access-date=19 March 2022 |work=The First News |date=29 January 2022 |language=en}} On 22 February, after Putin recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, Prime Minister Morawiecki called the action "an act of aggression against Ukraine,"{{cite web |title=Polish PM condemns Russia's recognition of breakaway Ukraine regions |url=https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7989/Artykul/2906391,Polish-PM-condemns-Russia%e2%80%99s-recognition-of-breakaway-Ukraine-regions |publisher=Polskie Radio |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=22 February 2022}} and Polish leaders urged European powers to adopt strong financial sanctions against Russia. Morawiecki singled out Germany's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia as "harmful and dangerous."{{cite news |title=Poland says heavy sanctions should be inflicted on Russia |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/poland-heavy-sanctions-inflicted-russia-83045383 |access-date=19 March 2022 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=ABC News |date=22 February 2022 |language=en}}
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine started, Poland, as one of the EU countries, imposed sanctions on Russia, and Russia added all EU countries to the list of "unfriendly countries".{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Michael |date=8 March 2020 |title=Here are the nations on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list |publisher=CTV News |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/here-are-the-nations-on-russia-s-unfriendly-countries-list-1.5810483}}
After the Russian invasion began on 24 February, Morawiecki tweeted, "We must immediately respond to Russia's criminal aggression on Ukraine Europe and the free world has to stop Putin."{{cite web |date=24 February 2022 |title='Unprovoked and unjustified:' world reacts to attack on Ukraine |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220224-unprovoked-and-unjustified-world-reacts-to-attack-on-ukraine |access-date=24 February 2022 |publisher=France 24 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224065317/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220224-unprovoked-and-unjustified-world-reacts-to-attack-on-ukraine |url-status=live}}
On 26 February, the Polish Football Association announced that it would not participate in a planned 24 March 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against the Russia in Moscow.{{cite news |title=Poland, Sweden refuse to play World Cup qualifier with Russia |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/26/poland-refuses-to-play-world-cup-2022-qualifier-with-russia |access-date=19 March 2022 |agency=Al Jazeera |date=26 February 2022 |language=en}} Poland joined other countries in spring 2022 in declaring a number of Russian diplomats persona non grata.
On 9 May, during VE Day, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev was splashed with red liquid by Ukrainian protestors of the invasion, as he arrived at a Soviet military cemetery in Warsaw for wreath-laying ceremony. The protestors prevented the Russian delegation from laying the wreath and shouted "murderers" and "fascists" at them, before the police escorted Andreev and his delegation away from the Soviet military cemetery. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the attack and called the protestors "young neo-Nazis", and demanded Poland to organize without delay the wreath-laying ceremony while providing complete security. Polish Minister of Interior and Administration Mariusz Kaminski defended the protestors saying that their gathering was legal and claimed that the protestors' actions were understandable due to emotions of Ukrainian women present in the protests "whose husbands are fighting bravely in defense of their homeland".{{cite news |title=Russian ambassador to Poland hit with red liquid by anti-war protesters |url=https://www.dw.com/en/russian-ambassador-to-poland-hit-with-red-liquid-by-anti-war-protesters/a-61737291|access-date=10 May 2022 |agency=DW News |date=9 May 2022 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Russian Ambassador Sergei Andreev doused with red paint by protesters in Poland|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-ambassador-sergei-andreev-hit-red-paint-poland-protesters/|access-date=10 May 2022 |agency=CBS News |date=9 May 2022 |language=en}}
A survey from June 22 noted that only 2% of Poles hold a favourable view of Russia, while 97% have an unfavourable opinion, which was the most negative views of Russia among all countries included in that international survey. The 2% view was a stark decrease from previous polls, which for the past two decades had about 20–40% of Poles expressing a favourable view of Russia.{{Cite web |last=Tilles |first=Daniel |date=2022-06-22 |title=Only 2% of Poles view Russia favourably, lowest of any country in global study |url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/06/22/only-2-of-poles-view-russia-favourably-lowest-of-any-country-in-global-study/ |access-date=2022-08-31 |website=Notes From Poland |language=en-US}}
In September 2022, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia decided to close entry for Russian citizens with Schengen visas, including those issued by third countries.{{cite web |last1=Manning |first1=Joshua |title="You are not welcome here!" Estonia restricts entry of Russian citizens from September 19 |url=https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/09/08/you-are-not-welcome-here-estonia-restricts-entry-of-russian-citizens-from-september-19/ |website=Euro Weekly News |access-date=11 September 2022 |date=8 September 2022}}
In October 2022, the Senate of Poland unanimously declared Russia as a terrorist state.[https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/9766/Artykul/3060577,Polish-Senate-declares-Russia-a-terrorist-regime Polish Senate declares Russia "a terrorist regime"] (Polskie Radio)
On November 2, 2022, Poland's Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak announced the construction of a barrier along the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, as Russia uses the border to illegally transport African and Asian immigrants to Europe.{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-poland-migration-warsaw-403b1effe2518ee9e9a2415b9bfddc57 | title=Poland lays razor wire on border with Russia's Kaliningrad | website=Associated Press | date=2 November 2022 }}{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/6227424/poland-building-border-russia-kaliningrad/|title=Poland Orders Border Wall With Russia's Kaliningrad, Cites Security and Migrant Crossings |magazine=Time|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102110431/https://time.com/6227424/poland-building-border-russia-kaliningrad/|date=2 November 2022|agency=Associated Press}}{{cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/en/poland-to-build-wall-on-border-with-russias-kaliningrad/a-63621942 | title=Poland to build wall on border with Russia's Kaliningrad – DW – 11/02/2022 | website=Deutsche Welle }}{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/poland-building-wall-border-russias-kaliningrad-92526790 | title=Poland lays razor wire on border with Russia's Kaliningrad | website=ABC News }}
Russia had failed to pay rent on a building in Warsaw and failed to vacate a building, despite a 2016 court order. After Poland took possession of these buildings Russia announced it would close the Polish consulate in Smolensk in July 2023.{{cite web |title=Russia closes Polish consulate due to "unfriendly" acts, Poland pledges "equivalent response" |url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/07/14/russia-closes-polish-consulate-due-to-unfriendly-acts-poland-pledges-equivalent-response/ |date=14 July 2023}}
Russian intelligence and influence operations in Poland
The 1997 textbook Foundations of Geopolitics by a controversial Russian sociologist and philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, among other things, dwells upon the Eurasianism, and within Dugin's plans, Poland (as well as Latvia and Lithuania) would have a "special status" within the Eurasian-Russian sphere of influence.{{cite web|url=http://www.princeton.edu/~lisd/publications/wp_russiaseries_dunlop.pdf|title=Aleksandr Dugin's Foundations of Geopolitics|author=John B. Dunlop|publisher=Princeton University|date=August 2003}} In 1996, Poland's Prime Minister Józef Oleksy resigned because of his links to Russian Foreign Intelligence Service agent Vladimir Alganov.{{cite news |title=Polish PM forced to resign over links with KGB man|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/polish-pm-forced-to-resign-over-links-with-kgb-man-1325658.html|date=25 January 1996 |access-date=17 October 2009|location=London}} In 2004 Polish intelligence recorded Vladimir Alganov talking about bribery of top Polish politicians.{{cite news|title=From Poland to Hungary, Gazprom takes stealth route to domination|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/from-poland-to-hungary-gazprom-takes-stealth-route-to-domination-522003.html|date=8 January 2006|access-date=17 October 2009|location=London|first=Neil|last=Barnett|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100227043731/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/from-poland-to-hungary-gazprom-takes-stealth-route-to-domination-522003.html|archive-date=27 February 2010|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Oil scandal rocks Polish leadership – Some fear Moscow gaining influence |work=The Boston Globe|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2004/12/05/oil_scandal_rocks_polish_leadership/|date=5 December 2004|access-date=17 October 2009|first1=Jeffrey|last1=Fleishman}}
In May 2023, Poland's Parliament voted for a law that will establish a commission to investigate alleged Russian influence during the period from 2007 to 2022.{{cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/en/poland-passes-contentious-bill-to-examine-russian-influence/a-65750111 | title=Poland passes contentious bill to examine Russian influence – DW – 05/26/2023 | website=Deutsche Welle }}{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/polish-opposition-brands-russian-influence-bill-political-witchhunt-2023-05-26/ | title=Polish parliament passes Russian influence bill which opposition brands political witch hunt | newspaper=Reuters | date=26 May 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/05/27/polish-parliament-passes-bill-to-create-commission-investigating-russian-influence/ | title=Polish parliament passes bill to create commission investigating Russian influence | date=27 May 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/polish-opposition-denounces-new-commission-to-probe-russian-influence/ | title=Polish opposition denounces new commission to probe Russian influence | date=27 May 2023 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/politics-election-poland-andrzej-duda-russia-law-donald-tusk-pis-civic-platform/ | title=Political uproar in Poland after Duda pledges to sign Kremlin commission law | date=29 May 2023 }}{{cite act
| type = Act
| title = Ustawa z dnia 14 kwietnia 2023 r. o Państwowej Komisji do spraw badania wpływów rosyjskich na bezpieczeństwo wewnętrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w latach 2007-2022
| url = https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20230001030/O/D20231030.pdf
| language = pl
| trans-title = An Act of April 14, 2023 on State Commission for investigating Russian influence on internal security of the Republic of Poland in the years 2007–2022
| date = 14 April 2023
| publication-date = 2023-05-30
| access-date = 2023-06-09
| legislature = Sejm
| via = Sejm (isap.sejm.gov.pl)
}}
Russian military exercises have practiced attacks 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 offensive nature.{{cite web|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=&lng=en&id=109702 |title=Intel Brief: Poland On Edge Over Russian Drills |publisher=ISN ETH Zurich |date=18 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614064202/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=&lng=en&id=109702 |archive-date=14 June 2011 }}
Trade
In 2021 Poland exported $8.83 billion worth of goods to Russia, the top product being computers. Russia exports to Poland were $12.7 billion with crude oil being the main product. Between 1995 and 2021 Polish exports rose by an average of 7.84% p.a. with Russian exports rising by an average of 7.92%{{cite web |title=Poland/Russia |url=https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-country/pol/partner/rus |date=January 2022}}
EU sanctions and decisions taken by Russia and Poland, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, means that imports of oil and gas from Russia have fallen, affecting the balance of trade between the two nations.{{cite web |title=Poland's farewell to Russian oil is the beginning of its challenges, not the end |url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/03/10/polands-farewell-to-russian-oil-is-the-beginning-of-its-challenges-not-the-end/ |date=10 March 2023}}
Resident diplomatic missions
- Poland has an embassy in Moscow and consulates-general in Irkutsk, and Kaliningrad{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja|title=Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych - Portal Gov.pl|website=Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych|accessdate=14 March 2023}} and used to have a consulate in the city of Smolensk as well as used to have a consulate-general in Saint Petersburg.
- Russia has an embassy in Warsaw and consulates-general in Gdańsk and Kraków{{Cite web|url=https://poland.mid.ru//|title=Главная - Посольство Российской Федерации в Польше|website=poland.mid.ru|accessdate=14 March 2023}}
File:Moscow, Klimashkina 5.JPG|Embassy of Poland in Moscow
File:S7 ticket in Irkutsk.jpg|Consulate-General of Poland in Irkutsk
File:KG Kaliningrad 2.jpg|Consulate-General of Poland in Kaliningrad
File:Konsulstvo Sankt-Peterburg 2011 1007.jpg|Consulate-General of Poland in Saint Petersburg
File:Belwed40DSC 0996.JPG|Embassy of Russia in Warsaw
File:Gdansk Batorego15.jpg|Consulate-General of Russia in Gdańsk
File:Russian consulate in Kraków by Maire.jpg|Consulate-General of Russia in Kraków
See also
{{Portal|Poland|Russia|Politics}}
- Poland–Soviet Union relations
- List of Ambassadors of Poland to Russia
- List of Ambassadors of Russia to Poland
- Foreign relations of the Soviet Union
- Anti-Katyń
- Augustów roundup
- Russification
- Russophobia
- Polonophobia
- Polish–Russian Wars
- Poland–Russia border
- Russia–EU relations
- Russians in Poland
- Poles in Russia
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- Babiracki, Patryk. Soviet Soft Power in Poland: Culture and the Making of Stalin's New Empire, 1943-1957 (UNC Press Books, 2015).
- Brown, Heather. "Post-Communist Poland and the European Union: Energy Policy and Relations with Russia." The Polish Review 61.3 (2016): 85-98.
- Cienciala, A. M. (1999). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20171128 Detective Work: Researching Soviet World War II Policy on Poland in Russian Archives (Moscow, 1994)]. Cahiers Du Monde Russe, 40(1/2), 251–269.
- Cieslak, Edmund. "Aspects of Baltic Sea-borne Trade in the XVIIIth Century: the Trade Relations between Sweden, Poland, Russia and Prussia." Journal of European Economic History 12.2 (1983): 239.
- Dąbrowski, Stanisław. "The Peace Treaty of Riga." The Polish Review (1960) 5#1: 3-34. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25776284 Online]
- 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 [http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/kritika/v004/4.1dabrowski.html muse]
- Eberhardt, Adam. "Relations between Poland and Russia." Yearbook of Polish Foreign Policy vol 1 (2007): 128-139.
- Fenny, Lucinda. The representation of the Second World War in Polish cinema 1945-1970: directors, the state and the construction of memor ( Diss. University of Oxford, 2020) [https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:450b9021-b38e-443a-9618-202b5af3eaf7/download_file?file_format=&safe_filename=Fenny_2020_The_representation_of.pdf&type_of_work=Thesis online].
- Goldman, Minton F., "Polish–Russian relations and the 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections", East European Quarterly, vol 22 (December 2006)
- Gross, Jan T. Revolution from abroad: the Soviet conquest of Poland's western Ukraine and western Belorussia (Princeton University Press, 2002).
- Halecki, Oscar. "Polish–Russian Relations: Past and Present", The Review of Politics, Vol. 5, No. 3 (July 1943), pp. 322–338, [https://www.jstor.org/pss/1404095 JSTOR]
- Harding, Luke, The Guardian. 1 September 2009 [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/01/russia-poland-nazis-secret-documents Fury as Russia presents 'evidence' Poland sided with Nazis before war]
- Klatt, Malgorzata. "Poland and its Eastern neighbours: Foreign policy principles." Journal of Contemporary European Research 7.1 (2011): 61–76. [https://www.jcer.net/index.php/jcer/article/download/259/255 online]
- Korbel, Josef. Poland Between East and West: Soviet and German Diplomacy Toward Poland, 1919-1933 (Princeton University Press, 2015).
- Kuźniar, R. ed. Poland's Security Policy 1989-2000 (Warsaw: Scholar Publishing House, 2001).
- Lewitter, Lucjan Ryszard. "I. Russia, Poland and the Baltic, 1697–1721." Historical Journal 11.1 (1968): 3-34.
- Library of Congress, [http://countrystudies.us/poland/89.htm On Polish–Soviet relations in the early 1990s]
- Litauer, Stefan. "The Rôle of Poland between Germany and Russia." International Affairs (1935): 654-673. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2601842 online]
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External links
- Lubecki, J. "In the Shadow of the Bear: Polish–Russian Relations 1999–2005" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, Illinois. 8 May 2008 [http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p140989_index.html allacademic]
{{Foreign relations of Poland}}
{{Foreign relations of Russia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland-Russia relations}}