POLAND AND RUSSIA. NEIGHBORHOOD OF FREEDOM AND DESPOTISM X-XXI CENTURIES. ANDRZEJ NOWAK

Why is Russia afraid of Poland? Why have Western countries naively believed in Moscow's good intentions for centuries? Why is there so much brutality, violence and backwardness in the history of Russia to this day? Why did it bloodthirstily attack countries it considered weaker? This book is an attempt to answer these questions.

• Historical analysis of Polish-Russian relations from the 10th to the 21st century.
• Unveiling the sources of Russian mentality and imperial ambitions.
• Comparison of the civilizations of Poland and Russia over the centuries.
• Conclusions regarding contemporary threats and challenges for Poland.
• Warning against repeating the mistakes of the past.
• Use of previously unknown documents from Moscow archives.
• Relevance of the analyses in the context of the current political situation.

Professor Andrzej Nowak, an outstanding expert on Russia, analyzes in his book the history of Polish-Russian relations from the formation of the Polish state and Kievan Rus to the contemporary Russian invasion of Ukraine. The author reveals the sources of Russian mentality, explaining that Rus is not Russia, and the heritage of that historical land has nothing to do with contemporary Moscow. Only in the 15th century did Moscow begin to be seen as a military threat, when the tsars began to use arguments about defending the Orthodox minority and uniting all Ruthenians under one tsar.

The book shows the civilizational gap between Poland and Russia. In Poland, the nobility decided the fate of the state at local councils and sejms, while in Russia there was brutal terror and the power of the secret services. In Poland, hundreds of books and political writings were created, while in Russia, maps were unknown, few people could read and write, and there were no schools. Fear of Poland grew, and with it hatred. The end of this hatred was the partitions of Poland, which were caused by the internal weakness of the state and the military strength of Moscow.

The author analyzes the heroism of the 19th-century uprisings, the victory in 1920, the activities of the Russian agency in the Second Polish Republic, and the dangerous German-Russian cooperation, which culminated in the crimes of World War II. He stops in contemporary times, when we see Vladimir Putin's imperial appetites in Ukraine. Professor Nowak based his analysis on documents from Moscow archives, warning against a bloodthirsty beast that also has supporters in Poland. This book is meant to shake us and wake us up.

The Biały Kruk publishing house presents a publication that should be on the shelf of everyone who cares about the future of Poland and Europe. It is a must-read for politicians, historians, students, and anyone interested in Polish-Russian relations. The book is hardcover, has 440 pages, and is in 176x243 mm format. Year of publication: 2022.