The largest protest march in Poland in the last 30 years

The date was not chosen randomly. June 4 marked a significant milestone in Poland's history as it held its first partially free elections after the era of communism, which initiated crucial reforms in the country.

The slogan "Democracy" was the most popular here. 

One of the most recent pretexts was the law on agents of Russian influence. It was initiated by the government. According to the law, a special commission is supposed to determine who has been an agent of influence since 2007 and who has not. "Agents of influence" are not allowed to engage in politics. The commission is appointed by the majority in parliament, which is controlled by the ruling party. 

This is roughly the same mechanism that we had in the "law on oligarchs" when the National Security and Defense Council, appointed by the president, decides who is an oligarch and who is not. Both Ukrainian and Polish laws are criticized by European institutions as undemocratic. 

The government claims that the opposition is pro-Russian. The opposition, on the contrary, claims that the government is destroying the independence of the courts, free media, democratic principles, and EU unity, and thus working for Russia. 

Why is this relevant to Ukraine? Putin once offered Orban and Tusk to "take over" Halychyna and Zakarpattia regions of Ukraine during his prime ministership. This would have allowed Putin to occupy most of Ukraine, destroy the EU, and essentially gain political influence over Central Europe. Tusk was shocked and thought it was a joke. But Putin did not change his plans. This year, elections to the parliaments of Slovakia and Poland are due to take place. If the populist Fico returns to power in Slovakia and the pro-Russian Confederation becomes part of the coalition in Poland, Ukraine may find itself encircled by unfriendly pro-Russian governments. 

We, Ukrainians, should be grateful for the fantastic support of President Duda and the government, as well as Polish society. The opposition also supports us. The Polish Senate, where the opposition has a majority, was the first among our allies to call for Ukraine's membership in NATO. But our interest extends beyond the support of Ukraine by the leadership of our largest allies, it is also in strengthening democracy and European unity.

Foto: www.facebook.com/mykolakn

Foto: www.facebook.com/mykolakn

Foto: www.facebook.com/mykolakn

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About the author:

Mykola Kniazhytskyi -  journalist, Ukraine's MP

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.