Poland's present for Putin
Unfortunately this statement is still relevant today. The Polish government, on the face of it hostile to Vladimir Putin, gave him a priceless gift. Thanks to the Kaczyński brothers' party, the Russian president is even stronger and no one has any doubts that the candidate Putin recommends to replace him will triumph in next year's presidential elections.
Uniting against the enemy
Some 16 years ago events in the Balkans showed that nothing can unite a society in which democracy is weakly rooted as well as nationalist rhetoric and the creation of a common enemy. In Russia, an empty space has been waiting for that "enemy" since, with the decimation of Chechen opposition, it has become difficult to use the Chechens to constantly frighten the Russian nation.
First of all, with the Kremlin's help, there was Estonia, where they decided to take down the Bronze Soldier - a symbol of the Red Army's "liberation" from the Nazi occupation. The Russians united in defense of a symbol of national pride. They burnt Estonian flags and pro-Putin youth organizations threatened the "enemy" with clenched fists. Putin's popularity soared.
Now the Polish government has served up another delicacy for Putin. Minister of Culture and National Heritage Kazimierz Michał Ujazdowski announced plans to introduce a draft bill concerning places of national memory. The draft suggests removing all monuments which bear witness to the communist and Nazi dictatorships from Polish streets and squares. Monuments that commemorate Soviet soldiers would be among them.
To make it even easier for the Kremlin to strum the nationalist balalaika, Ujazdowski carefully checked his diary. He announced the commencement of work on the bill just before the most solemnly celebrated national holiday in Russia - May 9, or Victory Over Fascism Day. No one could have picked a better date to humiliate Russia. May 9, 1945, is for the Russians their greatest source of pride, one of the few remaining symbols of strength, triumph and domination. Could Minister Ujazdowski really not have known that he was defiling the Russian holiest of holies and that this wouldn't pass without a harsh Russian reaction? Stupidity or sabotage?
Intellectual desert
This diplomatic ignorance has an ironic side. Poland ranks second in the world after Great Britain in the number of academic research centers analyzing issues related to policy towards the East. There is a whole army of intellectuals, publicists, sociologists and historians who describe themselves as experts on Russian matters. Research centers painstakingly follow and comment upon events in Moscow, examine the Russian past, the crimes and sins of the Soviet period. They point to Russians' ignorance of history and how the country still has not come to terms with its past and its totalitarian inheritance.
Russia has not assessed and at present does not want to assess the losses it has borne as a result of long years of communist rule. It is even less ready to bow its head before the damage the totalitarian system caused to other countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Thus drawing attention to Russia's sins from the past and riding roughshod over its cherished national icons will only anger the country. Poland's politicians and historians should know from history and sociology what will happen - the race to the Kremlin will be won by the politicians who ruthlessly use the defense of "national symbols" in the struggle with the "national enemy" in their populist political campaigns.
A sound business plan
Paradoxically, social and economic development in Poland has always depended to a large extent on good relations with Russia. Poland now faces an immense historical chance. Over the next few years, rivers of EU money will flow into the country. Hosting the 2012 European Soccer Championship will bring millions more euros. Geographically the country is ideally located to become the very heart of the continent. A stable Poland that has good relations with its neighbors could become a springboard for Western capital into Russia. A dynamically developing, modern Warsaw has every chance of becoming the capital of European business. It is precisely here that the north-south and east-west axes of Europe intersect.
But to make this a reality, stupid confrontations with our neighbors must end. The best solution would be to have international business experts and marketing specialists train Polish politicians. Because successful diplomacy, like successful business, depends on a few simple rules. Then a mission, a vision and a strategy should be drawn up, and a sound budget should be prepared and kept to. Emotions should be locked away in a well-guarded safe. They will not be of any use in achieving social and economic success.
Joanna Wóycicka is the former head of the foreign section of the Życie Warszawy and Życie newspapers and the former head of the foreign department at the Polish Press Agency (PAP)
