How did the plane crash outside Smolensk, in which President Lech Kaczynski was killed, affect the relationship?
IK: The Smolensk tragedy caused a very emotional response. Many Poles, who earlier refused to believe that Russia can be compassionate and humane, now realized that our country is capable of experiencing human emotions. Another factor that contributed to the thaw between our two counties was that the Katyn issue, which for years was a bone of contention, has been practically closed. Russia agreed to declassify its archives. In addition, Russia and Poland set up a commission “for complex issues stemming from the history of Russian-Polish relations,” and this group has been working quite effectively for a number of years now. Today, Poland’s approach to relations with Russia is very proper. In the past, Poland thought it should have a big say in the EU’s Eastern policy, i.e., the EU’s policy towards Russia and former Soviet republics. Poland thought that the tougher its stance is, the more other EU members will respect it. But now Warsaw has finally realized that by improving the relatio
