The article discusses Russian information warfare focusing mainly on propaganda issues, which were used during the conflict in Ukraine, and tries to find an answer to the question of to what extent these undertakings are dangerous to Euro-Atlantic security. It provides a political background of the conflict in order to better understand why Russia is using particular information warfare tools. The article analyzes manipulation techniques and the use of specific elements of Russian identity such as the attitude to history and the role of the Orthodox Church. Finally, it discusses a possible influence these actions may have on security and stability of the EU and NATO and their particular member states.

Russian “historical policy” towards Poland. The “Anti-Katyń” issue

The Russian Federation ruled by Putin seeks to rebuild the superpower position of the USSR, formerly the Russian Empire. A certain difficulty for her is Poland’s attitude and its eastern policy. Hence the use of information warfare means to combat it, including a specific “historical policy” whose origins date back centuries. Due to the need to admit to committing the Katyn massacre, in order to weaken its meaning, the “Anti-Katyń” issue was promoted, based on the alleged genocide of Poles on Russian prisoners of war in 1919–1920. This is a propaganda invention not confirmed by historical facts.

Research objective – The aim of this article is to analyse the specifics of Russian information warfare. Starting from the definition of the concept of political strategy, the author tries to show that information warfare is one of the key instruments in the confrontation with Western states, and that the war in Ukraine has intensified Russia’s activities in this area, also towards Central European states. The means and tools used are an instrument for influencing the political and social processes taking place in other countries. Methodology – The study used a comparative method, collecting and analysing historical data and comparing theoretical approaches to categories such as political strategy, information warfare and hybrid warfare. Findings – The correlation analysis of Russian geopolitics and information warfare confirms that it is a dangerous weapon: a means of achieving the state’s goals in international, regional and domestic politics, as well as of ensuring its geopolitical superiority regionally and globally. Practical implications – This study aimed to organise and expand the available literature on the analysis of the specifics of Russian information warfare.