The Eastern Dimension

Writing in EDM, Igor Torbakov considers what may be behind the present sharp deterioration in relations between Russia and Poland, and concludes:

For a number of Polish and Russian commentators, Warsaw's active role in the 2004 Ukrainian political upheaval that ended in what Moscow perceives as its largest strategic defeat is but an element of a broader trend. The Kremlin views last year's sweeping eastward expansion of the European Union, and especially the emergence of the "Eastern Dimension" sponsored by Poland, as a serious geopolitical threat -- particularly due to the perceived "tendency of selectively offering partnership arrangements" to the countries sandwiched between Russia and United Europe. "There exists a widespread feeling in Russia," one commentary argues, "that Poland is reluctant to accept the common rules of the game and is eager to distinguish Ukraine (and potentially Moldova and Belarus) from other eastern neighbors, which transfers the whole issue to the domain of power politics."

See also in this blog: Poland: the Chechnya of the 1860s