Search

The topic of this article is the function of sport in Russia’s bilateral relations with the Baltic States. The author attempts to define the goals which the Russian Federation wants to accomplish by using sport as a ‘soft power’ in relations with the Baltic States. The concept of the article is based on an analysis of three forms of sport politicisation described in the subject literature – as a collector (a carrier of certain values or ideas), a catalyst (a factor initiating processes or events) and a facilitator (the means facilitating communication and understanding). The examples provided as an illustration of the theses relate to the events that took place from 2002 to 2018. The source material consists predominantly of information obtained from online information portals, such as Delfi, RIA, Nowosti and Postimees. The analysis has showed that, in its relations with the Baltic States, Russia tries to use sport to strengthen its position and improve its image internationally. It also attempts to implement a historical policy at sporting events as well as use sporting rivalry as a demonstration of its power.

The article analyzes the establishment and operations of the Russian-Lithuanian and Russian-Latvian History Committees as an instrument of historical policy that was initiated to promote bilateral relations between the Russian Federations, Lithuania and Latvia. In Russia and the Baltic states, historical policy is regarded as an important instrument of building national identity that is rooted in national symbols. The historical narrative adopted by Lithuania and Latvia is often at odds with Russian historical memory, which is why bilateral history committees were established to foster debate on controversial issues. The Russian-Lithuanian History Committee was created in 2006. The establishment of the Russian-Latvian History Committee was fraught with many problems, and the organization was founded only in 2011. Both committees suspended their operations upon the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine in 2014, but their activities were revived in 2017. The Russian-Lithuanian committee published two volumes of archival documents (in 2006 and 2013), whereas the Russian-Latvian committee was successful in accessing source documents from Russian archives. The committees stirred considerable controversy and criticism in all three countries. However, historical policy should rely on factual information and reliable research to ensure that historical facts are not manipulated for the needs of state-controlled propaganda.

The issues of the assessment of the common past play an important role in the mutual relations of the Russian Federation and the Baltic States. In Russian opinion, the establishment of joint commissions of historians was to reduce tensions on this line and improve the image of Russia abroad. Lithuania was the first of the Baltic countries to express a desire to dialogue with Russia on the common past – in 2006, the Joint Russian-Lithuanian was established. According to the declaration, the main goal of both committees was to activate scientific research, the conclusions of which could also be used in inter-state relations. The work of both committees was focused on historical events of the 20th century, and the main problem was the dispute over the interpretation of the seizure of the Baltic states by the USSR. In 2014, in connection with the events in Ukraine, Lithuania suspended the activities of the commission.

Zbliżenie między Rosją a Etiopią pod koniec XIX w. stało się faktem, ponieważ obie strony były nim zainteresowane. Po otwarciu Kanału Sueskiego Etiopia zaczęła odgrywać ważną rolę w planach mocarstw europejskich. Strona rosyjska kierowała się przesłankami strategicznymi i gospodarczymi – zdobycia punktów oparcia na morskich szlakach handlowych, zapewnienia połączenia europejskiej części Imperium z Dalekim Wschodem, a także zdobyciem potencjalnie chłonnego rynku zbytu. Addis Abeba w Petersburgu szukała patrona i wsparcia w zabiegach o zachowanie niepodległości. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie w ujęciu chronologicznym działań o charakterze religijnym, naukowym, wojskowym i politycznym, które doprowadziły do nawiązania oficjalnych relacji dyplomatycznych między Rosją i Etiopią.