Ukraine, through the Eyes of a Pole
The Year of Poland in Ukraine was not the biggest news of the year from the very outset, even less so on the eve of the presidential elections. However, another poll by TNS OBOP in Poland contains interesting data addressing the Year of Ukraine in Poland, including almost forgotten notions like strategic partnership and rapprochement. Respondents were asked whom they considered Poland’s best neighbor. As was to be expected, ordinary Poles believed Ukrainians were among the worst. A total of 1,004 Poles were polled in various regions.
According to the results, 47% of respondents consider the Czech Republic a good neighbor; 37% mention Germany (no other country has helped Poland so much since the historic roundtable of 1989, and thanks to Germany’s lobbying efforts, Poland became a member of the European Union); 22% mention Lithuania; 12% speak well of Ukraine and 18% badly; 10% and 39%, respectively, of Russia, and 8% and 22%, respectively, of Belarus.
Another question asked which countries regarded Poland as a good neighbor. Thirty-six percent said that Poland was a good neighbor of the Czech Republic, 25% indicated Slovakia, 25% mentioned Germany, 24 % said Lithuania, 14% said that their country was a good neighbor of Ukraine, 10% said Belarus, and 9% mentioned Russia.
Analysts believe that this is a lasting trend and that Polish EU membership can strengthen this country. It is worth remembering that three CBOS polls were made public there early last year. The results of these polls indicated that in late 2002, 22% of respondents felt friendly toward Ukraine and 48% did not. In the 1990s, Ukraine was listed third to last among Poland’s friends (with the last two places firmly occupied by Romanians, Gypsies, and Arabs, and experts believe that this trend has not disappeared, except that Serbs have now been added to the list). Experts explain this attitude by a number of reasons, in particular, by the fact that Ukraine’s political and economic situation is objectively worse than Poland’s. Information about Ukraine and Ukrainians is often painted in dark colors. Poles often encounter Ukrainian migrant workers (frequently illegal ones), rather than tourists, and several years ago an explosion of Ukrainian crime caused much concern. All this hardly helps Ukraine’s international image, and it is difficult to explain to an ordinary Pole that there are different strata in any society, and that a negative example cannot be used to pass judgment on an entire nation.
Experts also indicate another factor: historical memory and different sentiments inspired by different historical facts, as well as various interpretations of events, and various historical stereotypes. In addition, Polish public opinion can be influenced by the fact that, in terms of institutions, Poland belongs to the Western world, whereas Ukraine has yet to determine the course of its development.
At the same time, experts note that in the last while Poland has been gradually improving its attitude to its eastern neighbors, as evidenced by the results of periodic polls.
