FIZYCZNE I MENTALNE BARIERY POLSKO-ROSYJSKIEGO POGRANICZA
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL BARRIERS IN THE POLISH-RUSSIAN BORDERLAND

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explain the processes taking place in the PolishRussian borderland in the context of Russian and European Union (EU) foreign policy. The basic premise is that bilateral relations between Russia on the one hand, and Poland and the EU on the other, should not be considered without taking into account the communities whose situation is affected by the quality of international relations. Therefore, the problems of these communities and the situation on the border must be juxtaposed with the policies whose directions are set in Moscow, Warsaw, Brussels and other capitals. The first research question is therefore: How do the foreign policies of Russia, Poland and the EU affect the lives of local communities in the Russian-Polish borderland? Due to the gradual opening of borders for movement, border studies have recently also included non-physical aspects of cross-border relations, including mental ones. Hence, a second question was formulated: what mental barriers exist in the Russian-Polish borderland and can they be at least partially overcome? The analysis of the mental and cultural aspects is based on the results of sociological studies. The article begins with remarks on the history of the Polish-Russian neighborhood up to 1991, preceded by an overview of recent border studies. It then shows the changes in the foreign policy of the stakeholders, followed by an analysis of the impact of political factors on the life of local border communities, taking into account both physical and non-physical aspects.

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