Russia’s stand on Poland’s accession to NATO and the European Union

Abstract

There is abundant literature about Russia’s policy towards Poland after
1991, especially about its stand on Poland’s accession to NATO and the
European Union. In the author’s opinion, most publications overestimate
the role of Russia in the process of Poland’s striving for membership in
the Euro-Atlantic structures. That is why, in the present article, the author
makes an attempt to present Russia’ stand on Poland’s efforts to become
a member of NATO and the European Union in the period 1989–2004 and
to answer the question whether this stand was important and to what extent
it had impact on the process and its final results. According to the author, it
had no major influence, especially in formal terms, on the decisions made in
Washington and Brussels. This is the main thesis of the article. What exerted
considerable influence on Poland’s accession to NATO and the European
Union were the international events in Europe at the time and the stand of
the West, especially of the United States, Vatican and Germany.