UKRAINIAN–POLISH RELATIONS AFTER THE REVOLUTION OF DIGNITY OF 2013–2014: THE TEST OF HISTORICAL POLICY

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of bilateral Ukrainian- Polish relations in the sphere of historical policy from the Revolution of Dignity of 2013 –2014 to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It demonstrates that relations between Ukraine and Poland were characterized by both geopolitical solidarity – grounded in shared security interests and Euro-Atlantic aspirations – and chronic tension rooted in incompatible models of state historical policy. Special attention is given to the 2016 resolutions of the Polish Senate and Sejm recognizing the Volhynia tragedy as “genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists”, as well as to the 2018 amendments to the Polish Law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which equated “Ukrainian nationalists” with Nazi and Soviet criminals. It is shown that for the conservative Law and Justice party, appeals to the tragic past served simultaneously as a domestic political instrument (electoral mobilisation) and an instrument of foreign policy pressure on Kyiv. The article examines the destructive role of Russia, which provoked a “war of monuments” in the public space of both countries through acts of vandalism and information manipulation aimed at driving the two peoples apart. It highlights constructive Ukrainian– Polish intellectual alternatives: the activities of the Ukrainian–Polish Partnership Forum, the Polish–Ukrainian Forum for Historical Dialogue, and the initiatives of the International Renaissance Foundation and the Stefan Batory Foundation. Considerable attention is devoted to the analysis of the 2020 Joint Declaration of Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Andrzej Duda, which enshrined a mutual commitment to resume search and exhumation operations and to establish a bilateral memorial dialogue. The article argues that the most productive strategy for both countries is a consistent distinction between two separate dimensions: current security and geopolitical partnership, where Poland and Ukraine share natural common interests, and academic, civic, and diplomatic engagement with a complex shared past. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, both dimensions acquired a qualitatively new character: geopolitical solidarity was transformed into direct humanitarian and military assistance, while the memorial dialogue became a matter of security and sovereignty.