SMALL STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Russian-Polish cooperation among residents of the Kaliningrad region covered by the Local Border Traffic area

This report attempts to answer the question of how the residents of the Kaliningrad region evaluate the Russian-Polish relations and what impact on this assessment had the introduction in June 2012 of simplified procedure of Local Border Traffic between the border areas of both countries. Quantitative and qualitative studies have been conducted by a Russian public opinion research center WCIOM in January 2014 that is a year and a half after new rules for traveling were introduced.

Russian society shares a belief that Poland and Russia have a history of uneasy relationships. It is noteworthy that there are a number of pivotal points in the development of interstate relations between Russia and Poland that define the leitmotif of generally negative views of each other.

Beyond doubt, these are events in the period up to 1917 (memory of some of them is often cultivated in public consciousness both by cinema and peculiarity of holidays in post-Soviet Russia) and, obviously, both in the Soviet period (especially the Katyn massacre) and post-Soviet period (the Smolensk crash, the situation with football fans during the 2012 UEFA European Championship, etc.)

This report presents the research into the assessment of bilateral relations between Russia and Poland among the population of the Kaliningrad region together with the impact of simplified procedures of Local Border Traffic between the region and border areas of Poland since July 2012.

SMALL STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONRussian-Polish cooperation among residents of the Kaliningrad region covered by the Local Border Traffic area

Russian society shares a belief that Poland and Russia have a history of uneasy relationships. It is noteworthy that there are a number of pivotal points in the development of interstate relations between Russia and Poland that define the leitmotif of generally negative views of each other.

This report presents the research into the assessment of bilateral relations between Russia and Poland among the population of the Kaliningrad region together with the impact of simplified procedures of Local Border Traffic between the region and border areas of Poland since July 2012.

Other reports

SMALL STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Russian-Polish cooperation among residents of the Kaliningrad region covered by the Local Border Traffic area