Węzły pamięci. Kwestia zbrodni katyńskiej w relacjach polsko-rosyjskich
- Institution: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3714-8992
- Year of publication: 2024
- Source: Show
- Pages: 114-146
- DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/npw20244006
- PDF: npw/40/npw4006.pdf
Memory nodes. The issue of the Katyn massacre in Polish-Russian relations
The article focuses on discussing the impact of the conditions regarding the Katyn massacre on the current relations between Warsaw and Moscow. The history of these two countries is characterized by a long and difficult past, which is why numerous unresolved disputes, burdens and myths have arisen and are still visible today, negatively affecting bilateral contacts. In 1989, right after the fall of the communist system in Poland, the new political elites, coordinating the process of democratic changes in our country, made efforts to sort out the controversial threads in the common Polish-Russian history. Without a doubt, the most important of them was the Katyn massacre. For the political elites of the Third Polish Republic, explaining the overall circumstances of those events was the most important goal of diplomatic activities undertaken towards the Kremlin. In Warsaw’s opinion, untangling this knot of memory from the history of relations between the two countries was supposed to help free them from past burdens and negative accumulations and contribute to strengthening friendship in current times. Unfortunately, it quickly turned out that this topic soon became one of the main elements negatively burdening mutual relations.