Inspiracja i formy współpracy polskich instytucji państwowych z wydawcami i redakcjami pism rosyjskich w latach 1919–1935 — zarys problematyki

Abstract

Inspiration and Forms of the Cooperation of Polish State Institutions with the Publishers and Editorial Boards of Russian Periodicals in 1919–1935 — an Outline

The inspiration and cooperation of Polish state institutions with the publishers and editorial boards of Russian periodicals from 1919 exerted a considerable impact on the functioning of the Russian émigrés and minority in Poland as well as the large number of Russian–speaking readers residing in the Eastern Borderlands. This article is an outline of the activity conducted by the Society of the Eastern Borderland Guards, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Second Department of the General Staff vis a vis the Russian press. The author discussed the reasons for the interest of the Polish authorities in the Russian press and attempted to assess the effects of this activity. Furthermore, by resorting to the Russian example he tried to present certain constant mechanisms of the undertakings of Polish institutions, which embarked upon similar initiatives also in relation to the press of other minority and émigré groups. Finally, the article distinguishes several types of inspiration of the Russian press. The introduction offers a concise examination of the circumstances of the Russian influx in Poland after 1918, the number of the Russians, and their scattering across Polish territory. The first part focuses on Polish–Russian contacts during the Polish–Bolshevik war, with the author discussing the structure of the Russian press in 1919–1920 and the first inspiration–oriented operations. Upon the basis of the example of the Vladimir Horvitz–Samoylov case attention is drawn to the threat posed by cooperation with the Russians. The second part of the text deals with the use made of wartime experiences for the development of the inspiration of Russian periodicals outside Poland. The following fragment considers periodicals addressed chiefly to local readers and describes two divergent instances: „Novaya Rossiya” and „Volinskoe Slovo”. The last part brings the reader closer to the activity of Dmitry Filosofov, one of the leaders of the Russian émigrés in Poland. The article places particular emphasis on plans of expanding Filosofov’s press endeavours under Polish auspices so as to encompass important domestic and foreign periodicals that, associated with „Za Svobodu!”, could have resulted in a prominent press concern. This would have been an extremely essential achievement aimed at promoting the idea of a „third Russia” in accordance with the conception launched by Filosofov and, at the same time, the notions propounded by the Polish state, which would have gained a powerful propaganda instrument both at home and abroad. The article ends with a summary of the conclusions and an assessment of the policy carried out by the Polish state in 1919–1935.