MINSK, 25 November (BelTA) – Belarus takes a humanistic approach to history, Polish political expert Mateusz Piskorski said in a new episode of the V Teme [On Point] project on BelTA's YouTube channel.
Commenting on the speculations that Western Ukraine can become part of Poland, Mateusz Piskorski noted that this is not in the interests of the Polish state. "I can only say that nature is very beautiful there. The Soviet Union preserved the architectural heritage, but since the 1990s they have done nothing to take proper care of it. Unlike, by the way, Belarus. The Belarusian leadership, despite the difficult Polish-Belarusian relations, preserved the architectural monuments from the time of the first Rzeczpospolita. I visited Belarus and was impressed. The Belarusian leadership takes a slightly different attitude to these issues. It does not turn historical heritage into politics. This is a humanistic approach to history," Mateusz Piskorski said.
This is what sets it apart from the Ukrainian leadership which erects monuments to Stepan Bandera in almost all regions, Mateusz Piskorski emphasized. "Poland, like Belarus, is disgusted by it. I can understand when they install them in Lvov that has some connection with the Ukrainian nationalism. This brutal, barbaric thing really emerged in the territory of present-day Western Ukraine. But what connection the OUN and other collaborationist, fascist organizations have with the territories of Central and Southern Ukraine? I do not understand this," the political scientist said.
Returning to the question of Western Ukraine, Mateusz Piskorski said that from a civilizational, infrastructural point of view, the only moment in history when these regions got some development was the period of the Soviet Union. "Economically and civilizationally, these were still the most backward regions not only in Ukraine but in the USSR. I very much hope that no one will force Poland to incorporate these lands. I do not even mention security issues. Suffice it to recall the events during the second Rzeczpospolita, or Bandera and other Ukrainian nationalists, who, being citizens of Poland, very actively worked to destroy the Polish state from within," the political scientist concluded.
