The semiological approach to the studies of the political myth by the example of the Smolensk myth

This article is an attempt to present the Smolensk myth (which is a very important subject in Polish myth studies) from the perspective of the semiological approach. The analysis of the two most important theories in that field: one by Roland Barthes and another one by Tadeusz Biernat, will allow to examine the mythologization of the social and political reality after the Smolensk catastrophe. That examination will be conducted by analysing the ways of creating symbolic signs which may express the mythical political meaning. That analysis will also enable the depiction of the semiological meaning of political myths in the events or statements from the times after the catastrophe. In conclusion, the aim of this article will be a depiction of an historical event, which had an enormous impact on today’s Polish political reality, from the perspective of creation of the mythical constructs in the collective memory.