Thread by @Kostiantyn1024

1/n If anyone is wondering what is happening between #Poles and #Ukrainians, let me immerse you in the context of Ukrainian-Polish relations.

This will be a long, long, very long post. I even paid that damn Musк to make my posts longer and more comfortable to read :)

Hardly anyone living outside these countries understands the complexities of the relationship that these two nations have gone through. Perhaps many Poles do not either, because they have never tried to look at our shared history from the Ukrainian perspective…

So, in a galaxy far, far away, back in the tenth century… Okay, Polish-Ukrainian relations indeed began as early as the 10th century (when, strictly speaking, no modern Ukrainians or Poles existed yet), but do not worry – we will not go that deep, because the truly crucial events begin in 1569.

2/n But first, a little backstory to the history. In the 13th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) emerged around Lithuanian tribes. In the 14th century, it expanded rapidly, annexing a significant part of the modern lands of Ukraine, Belarus, and western Russia. The Lithuanians formed the ruling core, while the majority of the population consisted of Ruthenians (the ancestors of modern Ukrainians and Belarusians). Initially, the Lithuanians were pagans, but after the baptism of Lithuania in 1387, the elite became Catholic. The majority of the Ruthenian population remained Orthodox. The official chancery language of the GDL was Ruthenian.

In general, the duchy was quite diverse, tolerant, and characterized by a calm internal state compared to neighboring countries. However, the borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were a source of unrest. On one side lay the Teutonic Order, and on the other, the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

And while the combined efforts of the GDL and Poland managed to undermine the Teutonic Order, things were much more difficult with Moscow. In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Moscow significantly surpassed the GDL in population, mobilization potential, and centralisation of power, which became clearly evident during the exhausting Livonian War.

3/n And now for the actual story. In the mid-16th century, the position of the GDL became increasingly desperate, forcing it to seek a closer alliance with Poland. Negotiations began, leading to the Union of Lublin in 1569.

However, Poland demanded complete political unification and access to the lands of the GDL (especially the lands of modern Ukraine, which possessed extremely fertile soils).

The GDL nobility considered such terms unacceptable and left the Sejm several times. But right during the negotiations, King Sigismund II Augustus issued decrees transferring Volhynia, Podlachia, the Kyiv region, and the Bratslav region directly into Polish possession. This forced the Lithuanian magnates back to the negotiating table.

This union became a turning point in the process of formation of the Ukrainian nation. The Polish state supported Catholicism, while the Orthodox Ruthenians found themselves in a secondary position. Polish magnates began actively acquiring vast lands in Ukraine, turning local peasants into serfs.

The peasants had virtually no political rights, and serfdom (panszczyna) grew increasingly oppressive. While cities had autonomy under Magdeburg Law, they were dominated by Polish townspeople, as well as Jewish merchants. The local Ruthenian population faced significant restrictions.

As a result, part of the Ruthenian nobility polonized to preserve their privileges, while another part lost political influence. The Orthodox Church felt constant pressure, especially after the Union of Brest in 1596, which created the Greek Catholic Church.

4/n And this is where the Cossacks enter the scene, emerging as a social response to the living conditions on the southern frontier of Ukrainian lands. They were free warriors, defending the borders against Crimean Tatar raids, but they also refused to submit to Polish landowners.

The Polish state sought to utilize the Cossacks in military conflicts against other nations but did not want to grant them official status or equal rights with the Polish nobility (szlachta). Over the 70 years following the Union, one can count 6–7 major Cossack-peasant uprisings against Polish rule.

The Cossacks joined peasant rebellions, transforming them into full-scale military conflicts. Every uprising was suppressed with extraordinary cruelty, which only fueled mutual resentment.

And this is where the histories of Ukraine and Poland begin to diverge drastically. In Polish textbooks of the communist period (the Polish People's Republic era), these uprisings were viewed primarily as rebellions against legitimate authority or as internal social conflicts, with a heavy emphasis on the class struggle between peasants and feudal lords.

In the new textbooks, these are referred to as “powstania kozackie” (Cossack uprisings) or “bunty na Ukrainie” (rebellions in Ukraine), and their social, political, and religious causes are cited. In other words, the uprisings are viewed as regional rebellions against the legitimate authorities, even though they were triggered by specific causes.

Ukrainians, on the other hand, view these uprisings as part of the formation of Ukrainian society and statehood, and as a heroic struggle for religious and national rights against foreign oppression.

5/n The climax of the uprisings of that period was Bohdan Khmelnytsky’s uprising, which escalated into a full-scale war. Polish textbooks on this subject can be divided into three periods.

1. The Interwar Polish perspective: Khmelnytsky is a traitor who dealt a fatal blow to the state, and the uprising itself is viewed as a tragedy that opened the way for the collapse of Poland.

2. The Communist period perspective: A negative image of the war for the state, but more attention was paid to the social causes - peasants against pans - while aligning with the Soviet narrative of the 'reunification' of Ukraine and Russia.

3. The Modern Polish perspective: This is a much less emotional approach. In Polish textbooks, it is primarily portrayed as a civil war within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the beginning of a prolonged crisis for the state, and one of the factors leading to the future decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In Ukrainian textbooks, however, the Khmelnytsky Uprising is generally regarded as the beginning of modern Ukrainian statehood.

6/n Interesting but tragic nuances.

1. A typical description of the pretext and causes of the uprising in Polish textbooks: 'należał do starszyzny kozackiej... czuł się osobiście skrzywdzony przez magnata' (he belonged to the Cossack elders... and felt personally wronged by a magnate).

But let us unpack what lies behind these words. Bohdan Khmelnytsky was a Chyhyryn centurion (sotnyk) who owned the estate of Subotiv. Daniel Czapliński, the Polish vice-starosta of Chyhyryn, coveted his land.

Around 1647, Czapliński’s men raided Subotiv, looted the property, and beat Khmelnytsky's young son. The estate was seized.

Khmelnytsky initially tried to act within the legal framework of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: he filed complaints with local courts and even appealed to King Wladyslaw IV. However, the courts ignored the Cossack, and the king was powerless against the magnates.

Khmelnytsky was even briefly arrested. After his release, he fled to the Zaporozhian Sich, rallied the Cossacks, and initiated the war. This personal tragedy reflected the absolute lawlessness faced even by elite Ruthenians under the magnate system. Khmelnytskyi alone could not have suddenly rallied tens of thousands of people, but there was already discontent in the Sich over the restrictions on the Cossack register, government policies, and the previous repressions following the uprisings of 1637–1638.

7/n
2. The Polish national anthem praises Stefan Czarniecki ('Jak Czarniecki do Poznania...'), who was a brilliant military commander for Poland. However, in Ukrainian memory, his name is associated with extreme ruthlessness.

In March 1653, the Polish army under the command of Charnetsky entered Pohrebyshche. The town was captured during a fair, when a large number of residents and peasants from the surrounding villages were there. After the capture, a mass slaughter of the population began. Many sources explicitly state that no distinction was made between men, women, and children, and that the town itself was burned to the ground.

According to historical accounts, a similar fate befell other settlements in the region. After Pohrebyshche, Polish forces moved through the Bratslav region, leaving devastation in their wake.

This is why in the Ukrainian historical tradition, this campaign is called a punitive expedition. In Poland, Czarniecki is a national hero who saved the country during the 'Deluge'; in Ukraine, he is remembered for his pacification campaigns.

8/n Either way, this phase of Polish-Ukrainian relations ended with the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, which partitioned Ukraine along the Dnieper River between Poland and Russia.

In the Ukrainian narrative, this is usually interpreted as a partition that denied the local population agency; in the Polish narrative, it is seen as a forced diplomatic acknowledgment of the loss of control over part of the territory as a result of a long-standing war.

After the partition, the lands that remained under Polish control continued to be a source of unrest. Due to increasing pressure on the peasants (3–5 days of corvée labor instead of 1–3 per week), religious and sociopolitical conflicts, and linguistic conflicts (the language of the elite equaled access to power, while the language of the peasants meant marginalization), new uprisings emerged: the Paliy Uprising, the Koliivshchyna, and the Haidamak movements… Needless to say, the portrayal of these events in Polish and Ukrainian history differs.

The Cossack autonomies on the Left Bank gradually disappeared... 1764 marked the abolition of the Hetmanate by Catherine II. In 1775, the Zaporozhian Sich was destroyed. Soon after, the Polish state itself was dismantled - after the Third Partition in 1795, Poland ceased to exist.

9/n A new phase in Ukrainian-Polish relations began in 1918 following the collapse and disintegration of the empires. The majority of the population of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia consisted of Ukrainians (although Poles were in the majority in Lviv), who wanted to have their own nation-state. The Poles also wanted to restore the Polish state and, at the same time, considered Volhynia and Galicia to be Polish territory.

On November 1, 1918, the Ukrainians proclaimed the establishment of the West Ukrainian People’s Republic and began seizing administrative buildings. At that time, Poland did not yet have a fully-fledged centralized government. But after November 11, the Polish side began a massive mobilization, and localized Polish-Ukrainian skirmishes escalated into a full-scale war.

In this war, Poland held a significant advantage and achieved a military victory. The Entente put an end to the conflict: it sided with Poland because it viewed Poland as a more stable buffer state against the Bolsheviks, and this had a decisive diplomatic impact.

Poland views the 1918-1919 conflict as a border war to restore its statehood after 123 years of partitions, defending its historical territories.

Ukraine views this conflict as a struggle for Ukrainian statehood (the Western Ukrainian People's Republic - ZUNR) that failed due to unfavorable geopolitical circumstances and Polish military superiority.

10/n The Polish-Soviet War.After restoring statehood, Poland feared the resurgence of the Russian Empire on one hand and the spread of Bolshevism on the other. But also it sought to restore its borders to those of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (not limiting itself to territories inhabited by ethnic Poles). Taking advantage of the chaos and power vacuum, Poland seized a significant portion of present-day Belarus and Lithuania (including Vilnius).

In April 1920, the UNR (Ukrainian People’s Republic) and Poland concluded the Treaty of Warsaw. Poland recognized Petliura as an ally, and the UNR agreed to recognize the western border along the Zbruch River and further north through Volhynia, relinquishing claims to Eastern Galicia and Western Volhynia in exchange for military support. (Do you remember the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Union of Lublin?)

The shared goal of the UNR and Poland was to defeat the Bolsheviks. After early successes, the Red Army launched a powerful counter-offensive. Poland managed to halt the Bolsheviks near Warsaw ('the Miracle on the Vistula').

An exhausted Poland signed the Treaty of Riga in 1921, which resulted in another partition of Ukrainian lands between Poland and Russia. Ironically, the partition of Ukraine was soon followed by the partition of Poland… again…

What happened to the Ukrainian territories that were part of Poland after the Treaty of Riga? In diplomatic agreements and international discussions, Poland declared the rights of national minorities - it recognized the principle of cultural rights for Ukrainians (language, schools, religion). In reality, however, the rights of Ukrainians were suppressed: restrictions were placed on the political activities of Ukrainian organizations; there were periods of “pacification” (the 1930s); Ukrainian schools and the press existed but with interruptions and limitations; the language issue was contentious; and Ukrainian Orthodox churches were shut down.

I won’t repeat; for more on the lives of Ukrainians in Poland, follow the link:

x.com/Oksii33/status…

11/n And this is where the difference between what is taught in history classes in Ukraine and Poland becomes glaring. In Polish textbooks, interwar policy is described as integration and a response to threats to the state, whereas in Ukrainian textbooks it is portrayed as a period of restrictions on the political and cultural rights of Ukrainians, including the 1930 campaign of Polonization and pacification.

Polish historians refer to the ban on Ukrainians holding administrative positions as “the predominance of Polish personnel in the state administration.” The closure of Ukrainian schools is called “school system reform.” Polonization is termed “state integration.” Pacification is termed a “police security operation.” Restricted access to higher education is described as “the complex integration of minorities.”

Restrictions on Ukrainian political life and conflicts in interwar Poland became one of the factors leading to the radicalization of the Ukrainian movement, which resulted in the emergence of the OUN in 1929. The OUN advocated underground revolutionary methods in the struggle for independence, including sabotage and, to some extent, political violence, while the authorities of interwar Poland and later the USSR responded with repression, arrests, and military operations (including the 1930 pacification).

12/n Unfortunately, mutual radicalization led to an escalation of reciprocal ethnic violence in 1943, known in Ukraine as the “Volhynia Tragedy” and referred to by Poles as the “Volhynia Massacre.” It arose as an escalation of a long-standing Polish-Ukrainian conflict, which, in the power vacuum of World War II, escalated into mass mutual violence between the Ukrainian and Polish underground movements in 1943–1944.

The problem here is that if one studies history using Polish textbooks, the events of 1943 appear to have been triggered by absolutely nothing. That is why many Poles are convinced that the Ukrainians suddenly went berserk and began killing Poles who had done nothing wrong.

I recall this long history not to justify crimes against the Polish civilian population. Murdering civilians is a crime that has no justification. But historical truth requires acknowledging the fact that the violence did not arise in a vacuum. It was the result of a long accumulation of mutual grievances, mistakes in public policy, and the radicalization of both societies in the territories where they coexisted - factors that were particularly exacerbated by the chaos of war and the confrontation between totalitarian regimes.

Ukrainians do not deny the crimes committed by representatives of the Ukrainian underground against the Polish civilian population. This is a painful truth that must be acknowledged.

But similarly, one cannot remain silent about the crimes against Ukrainians committed by Polish military and underground formations - in Sahryn, Pawlokoma, Piskorowice, and during the Wisla operation.

13/n The modern history of Polish-Ukrainian relations began on December 2, 1991, when Poland became one of the first nations to recognize Ukraine's independence.

In the photo, Vasyl Kuk (the last commander of the UPA) shakes hands with Andrzej Zupanski (head of the Volhynia District of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers). This photo was taken during a historic seminar in Lutsk in March 1996, becoming a powerful symbol of reconciliation.

It seemed that time had healed the wounds and the two nations had reconciled, having both survived the hardships of communist totalitarian rule. Poland managed to rid itself of its communist legacy faster, join the EU, and advance its economy.

By 2014, only about 7% of Ukrainians associated Poland with past conflicts. More than half of Ukrainians viewed Poland positively. Among Poles, the dynamics were also improving: if in 1993, 65% of Poles felt animosity toward Ukrainians, by 2014 the percentages of sympathy and antipathy leveled out (34 and 33).

14/n But then something went wrong. While in Ukraine, no politician (never-ever) used the Polish question as an element of political rhetoric, in Poland, the Ukrainian question is increasingly used in domestic political games, introducing division into both bilateral relations and Polish society.

If Poland recognizes the existence of the Ukrainian people, it must also realize that the Ukrainian nation emerged not only in the struggle against Russia, but also in the struggle against Poland. To realize and to forgive.
!!!!
We apologize for the harm we caused the Polish people and the Polish state on our path to independence. We forgive the Polish state for having stood in the way of the formation of our Ukrainian nation.

We forgive and we ask for forgiveness.

The Ukrainian and Polish peoples have nothing to divide them. Instead, they share a common enemy.

Слава Україні! Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła!

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