Commission on Russian Influence in Poland and the Sputnik Festival Controversy
In a discussion on the Woronicza 17 program, Mirosław Suchoń of Poland 2050 described the committee investigating Russian influence in Poland as a potential event akin to a Sputnik Festival across the country. When pressed about the festival’s origins, the Hołownia Party representative avoided giving a direct answer. Suchoń’s remarks were met with responses from others, including Slawomir Cenckiewicz.
Recently, the Sejm passed a law establishing the State Commission to study Russian influence on Poland’s internal security from 2007 to 2022. The vote tally showed 233 deputies in favor, including 225 from PiS, with 208 against (from KO, Left, PSL-KP, and Poland 2050), nine abstentions (Confederation), and ten absentees.
The initiative to create the State Commission was first proposed last December by PiS delegates. The body is intended to operate with principles similar to those used by the Verification Commission for the Warsaw Reprivatization.
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Discussion about a commission similar in concept to the Sputnik over Poland festival arose when Suchoń was asked why Szymon Hołownia’s party opposed the appointment. He cited constitutional concerns, noting that the Sejm would appoint judges who could issue heavy sentences in a quasi-trial, and questioned Parliament’s role in appointing judges who operate in a presidential framework.
He also argued that the proposed committee could resemble a festival called Sputnik over Poland, suggesting that participants might be labeled as Russian agents of influence. Suchoń further noted that the festival has roots in previously signed agreements and asked why Poland 2050 would not investigate the decision to organize events with Russia, while stopping short of explaining the party’s opposition to the committee’s appointment.
During the discussion on the festival’s origins, Michał Rachoń, the host, pressed Suchoń on the source of the festival organized in Poland since 2008. Suchoń appeared to evade the question, pointing instead to agreements signed months earlier by several figures, including Donald Tusk, with Vladimir Putin, and urged a broader inquiry into the reasons behind those decisions.
Prof. Sławomir Cenckiewicz contributed to the debate by sharing a document dated October 6, 2008. The document, prepared by the Eastern Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was authored by Jarosław Bratkiewicz, then director of that department, who studied at MGIMO, the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, a school also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The conversation included a letter indicating that Bogdan Zdrojewski had taken patronage of the 2nd Festival of Russian Films Sputnik over Warsaw, to be held in November in Warsaw. The correspondence, signed in part by Radosław Sikorski and referencing a visit by Sergei Lavrov, suggested that diplomas would be awarded at the festival and that a participant from President Medvedev’s circle might attend. In response, a Poland 2050 MP said a committee would be created to explain the matters impartially, though the specifics of that explanation remained unclear.
With the discussion ongoing, the events described raised questions about the relationship between cultural initiatives, political influence, and national security in Poland. The evolving narrative highlights the tension between investigating external influence and ensuring constitutional and legal safeguards within Poland’s political system.
WK/TT