The year of Poland was canceled in Russia

The Polish government canceled the “cross” of the year of Russia in Poland and Poland in Russia, which was planned for 2015.

“In connection with the sanctions of the European Union, caused by violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the plans for the year of Poland in Russia are postponed for a long time,” Rzeczpospolita , a statement by Poland Minister of Foreign, Radoslav Sikorsky.

The Foreign Minister of Poland and Russia agreed to hold the year of Poland in December 2013 when signing a joint statement “Program 2020 in Polish-Russian Relations”, Rossiyskaya Gazeta recalls.

In the preparation of the year of Poland, dozens of cultural institutions participated from the Polish side, the approval of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland already received 87 projects, including a program dedicated to the dramaturgy of Tadeusz Ruzhevich , and the tour of the Sinfonia Varsovia orchestra.

The government’s decision upset the director Kshishtof Zanussi. Despite the “deep disapproval” of what Russia does in Ukraine, he believes that the year of Poland in Russia can still be held, even if not at the state level, but at the level of direct contacts of cultural figures.

An actor Daniel Olbrysky has a different opinion, who refused to play in the performance of the Polish theater in Moscow in protest against Russian politics in relation to Ukraine in March. According to him, back in May, Polish cultural figures invited the Prime Minister to postpone the decision to hold the year of Poland in Russia, "but there is nothing more to wait, especially considering the fact that Russian cultural figures and most Russians support Putin's policy."