Poland and Kievan Rus One of the earliest known events in Rus'-Polish history dates back to 981, when the
Grand Prince of Kiev,
Vladimir Svyatoslavich, seized the
Cherven Cities from the
Duchy of Poland. The relationship between two by that time was mostly close and cordial, as there had been no serious wars between both. In 966,
Poland accepted Christianity from Rome while
Kievan Rus'—the ancestor of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus—was
Christianized by Constantinople. In 1054, the
internal Christian divide formally split the Church into the
Catholic and
Orthodox branches separating the
Poles from the
Eastern Slavs. In 1018,
Svyatopolk the Cursed who fled from
Kiev turned for help to the Polish king
Bolesław I the Brave, who defeated
Yaroslav the Wise in the
Battle of the River Bug.
The Kiev campaign of Boleslaw I was crowned with the capture of the city, but Boleslaw, instead of transferring power to Svyatopolk, began to rule in the city himself. In response, the people of Kiev raised an uprising, as a result of which they began to “beat the Poles”. Boleslaw fled with the treasury, and also took Yaroslav the Wise's sisters with him. The Cherven cities, were restored to Poland until conquered again by Yaroslav the Wise and his brother
Mstislav the Brave in 1030–1031. A similar story took place in 1069, when the Grand Duke
Izyaslav Yaroslavich ran to Poland to his nephew
Bolesław II the Brave, and he, having made a trip to Kiev, intervened in the Rus' dynastic dispute in favor of Izyaslav. According to legend, a relic sword named
Szczerbiec, which was used during the coronations of Polish kings, was notched when Boleslaw I or Boleslaw II struck the
Golden Gate in Kiev. The first option cannot be true due to the fact that the Golden Gate was built in the 1030s, the second is also not confirmed by the results of
carbon dating of the sword, which, apparently, was created not earlier than the second half of the 12th century. At the same time, Kievan Rus' and Poland also knew long periods of peaceful coexistence (for example, during the life of Vladimir after 981) and military alliances. Thus, the Polish king,
Kazimierz I, concluded an alliance with Yaroslav the Wise in 1042, marrying the first to the sister of the Grand Duke
Maria Dobroneg. In 1074, according to the chronicle, peace with Boleslaw II was signed in Suteisk by the
Smolensk prince
Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, and in 1076 he together with the
Volyn prince
Oleg Svyatoslavich came to the aid of the Poles in a military campaign against the
Czechs. The Grand Prince of Kiev,
Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, made peace with the Polish king,
Bolesław III Wrymouth, who in 1103 married the daughter of Svyatopolk Sbyslav; when in Poland a struggle broke out between Boleslaw III and his brother
Zbigniew, the Rus' troops came to the aid of the king and forced Zbigniew to recognize his power. Like the principalities that arose from the
disintegration of Kievan Rus', Poland experienced several
Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, despite the devastation, the Mongol yoke was not established, which subsequently provided Poland with an advantage in the development of trade, culture and public relations. In 1340, Vladimir Lvovich died, the last Galician heir to the
Rurik dynasty, after which the Galician principality was inherited by
Kazimierz III the Great and annexed to the
Kingdom of Poland.
Muscovy and Russian Empire before
Władysław IV of Poland in 1634 Relations between Poland and
Muscovite Russia have been tense, as the increasingly desperate
Grand Duchy of Lithuania involved the
Kingdom of Poland into
its war with Muscovy around 16th century. As Polish historian
Andrzej Nowak wrote, while there were occasional contacts between Poles and Russians before that, it was the
Polish union with Lithuania which brought
pro-Western Catholic Poland and
Orthodox Russia into a real, constant relation with both states engaged in "the contest for the political, strategic and civilizational preponderance in
Central and Eastern Europe". While there were occasional attempts to create an alliance between the new
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the
Grand Duchy of Moscow (including several attempts to
elect the Muscovite tsars to the Polish throne and create the
Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth), they all failed. Muscovy, now transforming into the
Russian Empire, retaliated by taking advantage of the weakening Commonwealth, taking over disputed territories and moving its borders westwards in the aftermath of the
Russo-Polish War (1654–67) and later participated in the destruction of the Commonwealth during the
Swedish Deluge. and the Commonwealth was seen by Russians as a form of
protectorate. With the failure of the
Bar Confederation opposing the Russian political and military influence in Poland, the
First Partition took place in 1772, followed by the
Second Partition, and the
Third Partition of Poland. By 1795, the three
partitions of Poland erased Poland from the map of Europe. Immediately after regaining independence in 1918 after the
fall of Germany, Poland was faced with a war with the new
Bolshevik Russia, with the
Polish–Soviet War eventually ending up with a
Polish victory at Warsaw, spoiling
Lenin's plans of sending his
Red Army west to start a
worldwide Communist revolution. For the next two decades, Poland was seen by the Soviet Union as an enemy and, along with
Germany (under both the
Weimar Republic and the
Third Reich), as a "
politically illegitimate" state created by the
Allied Powers during
World War I at the expense of Germany and Russia. During the
interwar period Joseph Stalin feared a coordinated Polish-Japanese two-front invasion. Numerous residents of the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic also fled across the border to Poland in protest of the
First Five-Year Plan's
collectivization policies and the
Holodomor. Most
Polish Armed Forces officers captured by the Soviet Union were killed, while many soldiers were held in the
Gulag system. In 1945, Soviet generals and advisors formed 80% of the officer cadre of the
Polish Armed Forces. The communists held a majority of key posts in this new government, and with Soviet support they soon gained almost total control of the country, rigging all elections. A pro-Soviet coalition between the
Polish Socialist Party and the
Polish Workers' Party assumed control of the country after the rigged
1947 Polish legislative election. Many of their opponents decided to leave the country, and others were put on
staged trials and sentenced to many years of imprisonment or execution. In 1947 the ruling
Polish Workers' Party joined the Soviet
Cominform, beginning its entrance into the Eastern Bloc and increasing Soviet dominance of the Polish government. Soviet control over the
Polish People's Republic lessened after
Stalin's death and
Gomułka's Thaw, and ceased completely after the
fall of the communist government in Poland in late 1989, although the Soviet-Russian
Northern Group of Forces did not leave Polish soil until 1993. The continuing Soviet military presence allowed the Soviet Union to heavily influence Polish politics. The
Polish People's Army was dominated by the Soviet Union through the
Warsaw Pact, and Poland participated in the
1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia to suppress the
Prague Spring reforms in
Czechoslovakia. The
Soviet Politburo closely monitored the rise in political dissent in Poland in the late 1970s and the subsequent rise of the anti-communist
Solidarity trade union after the 1980
Lenin Shipyard strike. The Soviet state newspaper
Pravda denounced the
Gdańsk Agreement between the Polish government and Solidarity in similar terms to state media coverage of
Alexander Dubček's government during the
Prague Spring. It subsequently pressured the ruling
Polish United Workers' Party and
Wojciech Jaruzelski's government into declaring
martial law. Soviet influence in Poland finally ended with the
Round Table Agreement of 1989 guaranteeing free elections in Poland, the
Revolutions of 1989 against Soviet-sponsored Communist governments in the
Eastern Bloc, and finally the formal dissolution of the Warsaw Pact.
Post-communism and Prime Minister of Poland
Leszek Miller in 2002 Modern Polish–Russian relations begin with the
fall of communism – 1989 in Poland (
Solidarity and the
Polish Round Table Agreement) and 1991 in Russia (
dissolution of the Soviet Union). With a new democratic government after the
1989 elections, Poland regained full sovereignty, Occasionally, relations will worsen due to remembrance of uneasy historical events and anniversaries, such as when Polish politicians bring up the issue of Russia apologizing for the
'39 invasion, the
Katyn massacre (which scholars internationally see as
genocide, but Russian officials refer to as a
war crime instead), In 2009, there had been controversy over the
Russian government and
state media publishing claims that Poland, which signed
non-aggression pacts with Soviet Union and
Nazi Germany in the early 1930s, played a role in the
partition of Czechoslovakia after the
Munich Agreement and that
Nazi Germany, the
Empire of Japan and the
Second Polish Republic had allied or intended to ally against the Soviet Union before the
Second World War. These claims were denounced by Polish politicians and diplomats as an attempt at historical revision. Other issues important in the recent Polish–Russian relations include the establishment of
visas for
Russian citizens, Since the
fall of the Soviet Union, with
Lithuania,
Ukraine and
Belarus regaining independence, the
Polish–Russian border has mostly been replaced by borders with the respective countries, but there still is a 210 km long border between Poland and the
Kaliningrad Oblast. According to a 2013
BBC World Service poll, 19% of Poles view Russia's influence positively while 49% express a negative view. After 2017, most of the
Soviet War Memorials in Poland were dismantled due to policy of
decommunization.
2008 Russo-Georgian war During the
2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, Polish president
Lech Kaczyński flew to the Georgian capital of
Tbilisi as a show of support to the country. Kaczyński held a speech in front of the Georgian parliament in which he warned that Russia was trying to re-establish its dominance in the region by force. The Polish government afterwards led a group of eastern European countries in proposing sanctions against Russia, drawing anger from the Russian government.
2010 plane crash , 6 December 2010
BBC News reported that one of the main effects of the
2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash would be the impact it has on Russian-Polish relations. The
Wall Street Journal states that the result of the joint declaration by the Prime Ministers
Vladimir Putin and
Donald Tusk on Katyn on the verge of the crash, and the aftermath Russia's response has united the two nations, and presents a unique opportunity at a fresh start, ending centuries long rivalry and confrontation.
2011 dialog centers and Polish president
Bronislaw Komorowski laying wreaths at the Katyn massacre memorial complex, 11 April 2011 Creation of parallel Polish and Russian dialogue centres was decided during President
Medvedev's visit to Poland in December 2010. The Polish
Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding supports cooperation of youth from both countries. Russia has created parallel foundation called The Russian-Polish Center for Dialogue and Understanding, which does not fully cooperate with the Polish Centre. Its director, Juri Bondarenko, presents controversial opinions about Russian-Polish relations. The Foundation has organised a trip for Polish students to Russian-annexed
Crimea, being aware the visit breaks
Polish law.
2014 airliner shootdown Following the shootdown of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over the separatist
Donetsk People's Republic in
eastern Ukraine July 2014, the Polish government on 24 July cancelled the "Polish Year in Russia" and "Russian Year in Poland" that were planned for 2015.
Aftermath of the Russian annexation of Crimea Poland has repeatedly requested the additional permanent deployment of
NATO military assets to Poland following
Russia's annexation of Crimea and its subsequent support of pro-Russian separatists in
eastern Ukraine. In response to these events, Poland has been a staunch supporter of tougher sanctions against Russia by the EU. Poland's continued support of the new Ukrainian government and its criticism of Russian interference in the new Ukrainian government's affairs has angered Russia and increased tensions between both countries. On 30 July 2014, Russia banned the import of Polish fruits and vegetables amidst the Ukraine sanctions war. Russia's food hygiene authorities said that the imports had unacceptable levels of pesticide residues and nitrates. They earn Poland more than 1bn euros (£795m; $1.3bn) annually. Russia is Poland's biggest market for apples. The move follows EU
sanctions against Russia over the
Russo-Ukrainian war. However, since the
Russian annexation of Crimea, over 60–80% of Poles are worried about the possibility of a future conflict with Russia, given the fact that Russia maintains control of the
Kaliningrad Oblast, directly bordering Poland.
Historical revisionism Both Poland and Russia had accused each other for their
historical revisionism. Russia has repeatedly accused Poland for not honoring Soviet
Red Army soldiers fallen in
World War II for Poland, notably in 2017, in which Poland was thought on "
attempting to impose its own version of history" after Moscow was not allowed to join an international effort to renovate a
World War II museum at
Sobibór, site of the notorious
Sobibor extermination camp. Meanwhile, Poland also accuses Russia for its unlimited historical distortion, notably back to 2014 when Putin signed a bill using any comparison of
Nazi to
Soviet war crimes as a punishment, as the Poles were also treated brutally by the Soviets; although Russia's historical revisionism might have influenced Poland's
Andrzej Duda over its Nazi war crime laws; and Poland also has concerned that Russia's political and historical revisionism might put Poland at risk.
Poland–Russia gas disputes As part of Poland's plans to become fully
energy independent from Russia within the next years, Piotr Wozniak, president of state-controlled oil and gas company
PGNiG, stated in February 2019: "The strategy of the company is just to forget about Eastern suppliers and especially about
Gazprom." In 2020, the
Stockholm Arbitral Tribunal ruled that PGNiG's long-term contract gas price with Gazprom linked to oil prices should be changed to approximate the Western European gas market price, backdated to 1 November 2014 when PGNiG requested a price review under the contract. Gazprom had to refund about $1.5 billion to PGNiG. The 1996
Yamal pipeline related contract is for up to 10.2 billion cubic metres of gas per year until it expired in 2022, with a minimum annual amount of 8.7 billion cubic metres. Following the
2021 global energy crisis, PGNiG made a further price review request on 28 October 2021. PGNiG stated the recent extraordinary increases in natural gas prices "provides a basis for renegotiating the price terms on which we purchase gas under the Yamal Contract." However, in April 2022, it was announced that Russia will suspend sending gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, in exchange for their refusal to pay in roubles. The Russian gas export monopoly, Gazprom is known to supply about 50% of Poland’s consumption. Poland stated that its gas storage is still 76% full and will not need to draw on its reserves.
Russian invasion of Ukraine In the lead-up to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Polish prime minister
Mateusz Morawiecki warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin sought to rebuild the
Russian Empire and urged Europe to unite and prevent Putin from making his dreams reality. On 22 February, after Putin recognized the independence of the
Donetsk and
Luhansk regions of Ukraine, Prime Minister Morawiecki called the action "an act of aggression against Ukraine," and Polish leaders urged European powers to adopt strong financial sanctions against Russia. Morawiecki singled out Germany's
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia as "harmful and dangerous." After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine started, Poland, as one of the EU countries, imposed sanctions on Russia, and Russia added all EU countries to the list of "
unfriendly countries". After the Russian invasion began on 24 February, Morawiecki tweeted, "We must immediately respond to Russia's criminal aggression on Ukraine Europe and the free world has to stop Putin." On 26 February, the
Polish Football Association announced that it would not participate in a planned 24 March
2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against the Russia in Moscow. Poland joined other countries in spring 2022 in
declaring a number of Russian diplomats persona non grata. On 9 May, during
VE Day, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev was splashed with red liquid by Ukrainian protestors of the invasion, as he arrived at a Soviet military cemetery in Warsaw for wreath-laying ceremony. The protestors prevented the Russian delegation from laying the wreath and shouted "murderers" and "fascists" at them, before the police escorted Andreev and his delegation away from the Soviet military cemetery.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Maria Zakharova denounced the attack and called the protestors "young neo-Nazis", and demanded Poland to organize without delay the wreath-laying ceremony while providing complete security.
Polish Minister of Interior and Administration Mariusz Kaminski defended the protestors saying that their gathering was legal and claimed that the protestors' actions were understandable due to emotions of Ukrainian women present in the protests "whose husbands are fighting bravely in defense of their homeland". A survey from June 22 noted that only 2% of Poles hold a favourable view of Russia, while 97% have an unfavourable opinion, which was the most negative views of Russia among all countries included in that international survey. The 2% view was a stark decrease from previous polls, which for the past two decades had about 20–40% of Poles expressing a favourable view of Russia. In September 2022,
Poland,
Lithuania,
Latvia, and
Estonia decided to close entry for Russian citizens with
Schengen visas, including those issued by third countries. In October 2022, the
Senate of Poland unanimously declared
Russia as a terrorist state. On November 2, 2022,
Poland's
Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak announced the construction of a barrier along
the border with the
Russian exclave of
Kaliningrad, as Russia uses the border to illegally transport
African and
Asian immigrants to
Europe. Russia had failed to pay rent on a building in Warsaw and failed to vacate a building, despite a 2016 court order. After Poland took possession of these buildings Russia announced it would close the Polish consulate in Smolensk in July 2023. On
September 10, 2025, Poland shot down multiple drones that entered its airspace during a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, marking the first known instance of a NATO member firing weapons during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. Polish authorities reported that 19 aerial objects had crossed into its territory, with those deemed a threat being destroyed. Prime Minister
Donald Tusk described the incident as a "large-scale provocation," stated that the alliance takes the threat "very seriously," and invoked
Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty to initiate consultations with NATO allies. Countries bordering Ukraine had previously reported occasional Russian missiles or drones entering their airspace during the war, but not on such a large scale, and they were not known to have shot them down. Several European officials, NATO, and EU foreign policy chief
Kaja Kallas characterized the incursion as intentional and an escalation of the war in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at least eight Iranian-made
Shahed drones had been aimed towards Poland, and "a strong response is needed." The operation involved NATO aircraft and surveillance assets, and no casualties were reported, though a house in
Wyryki-Kolonia, about from the
Ukrainian border, was severely damaged. The incident prompted renewed calls within the European Union and NATO for strengthened air defenses and increased sanctions on Russia, with European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen urging further measures. ==Russian intelligence and influence operations in Poland==