Terytoria „buforowe” w stosunkach polsko‑rosyjskich

Przypadek Białorusi

Abstract

Buffer territories in Polish‑Russian relations: the case of Belarus

The notion of buffer territories is understood as referring either to buffer zones (whose status is usually reflected in international documents) or to states and semi‑state subjects existing between bigger and usually antagonistic powers. Belarus has sometimes been described as a buffer country both in its pre‑sovereign version and after 1991. In several moments of Belarusian history, especially after 1918, neighboring powers tended to treat the area as a part of a bigger creation: either as a part of Russia (Soviet Russia and Germany) or as a segment of Bigger Lithuania (Poland and Lithuania). Those speculations, based on false geopolitical perceptions, turned out to be a mistake in all cases. The failure of the Belarusian People’s Republic led to the unnatural division of the nation, which resulted not only in the miserable conditions it had to overcome but in strengthening the area of potential conflict between powers as well. Today’s Republic of Belarus despite its semi‑authoritarian system and connections with the Russian Federation within the Eurasian structures provides a good example of a state which gradually works out its independent position in international relations.