April 10, 2010, was a painful day for Poland, when then-Polish President Kaczynski, on his way to the western Russian city of Smolensk, had an accident and the plane crashed on landing, killing 96 people, including the Kaczynskis, most of them senior Polish officials.
The suddenness of the incident shocked the whole world, whether it is Poland or Russia, they are particularly surprised by the occurrence of the incident, and then the two countries have also quickly sent personnel to investigate the matter.
Kaczynski, who was born as a child actor, did not always adhere to the path of acting, but actively participated in politics after graduating from university, and after more than two decades of struggle in Polish politics, he was finally elected as the fourth president of Poland in 2005. Kaczynski is a capable and thoughtful person, at least his political experience is quite rich, after all, since the 90s, he has gradually become an important figure in the Polish judicial system, successively serving as the president of the Polish Supreme Prosecutor's Office and the Minister of Justice, and his experience in the 90s has made him deeply aware of the various ills of Poland. He realized, then, that if he attacked these problems in Poland, he would inevitably accumulate more political capital.
In 2001, when the time was ripe, Kaczynski and his brother formed the Law and Justice Party, which was boldly proposed to fight corruption and carry out structural reforms in the countryside in order to gain the support of more middle- and lower-middle-class people. Sure enough, Kaczynski's series of ideas were quickly recognized by the common people, who vigorously supported Kaczynski.
As Kaczynski's influence in Poland grew and his political views grew, he ran for the presidency in 2005 and was eventually elected. After being elected president, Kaczynski did fulfill his promises, advocating the role of the government in economic activities, increasing subsidies to the people at the bottom, and so on, and the implementation of these policies also made Kaczynski more supported in Poland.
However, Kaczynski was an out-and-out pro-American faction, because Poland and Germany and Russia had a great hatred in history, and Poland was divided four times by Germany and Russia, which also made Kaczynski always wary of Germany and Russia, and even demanded that Germany and Russia compensate Poland for the damage suffered in World War II.
Out of distrust of Germany and Russia, there were obstacles to Poland's relations with Germany and Russia, so Poland tended to cooperate with the United States, after all, Russia has always been a major problem for Poland, and their strong military power makes it difficult for Poland to sleep. Poland realized that only by establishing good relations with the United States and handing over national defense and security to the United States could Poland cope with Russian pressure. In this way, Poland gradually became a destabilizing factor for the United States to install in the European Union, and Kaczynski was the key figure in this situation.
Unexpectedly, Kaczynski died of an air crash before his first presidency was over.
One
The reason why Kaczynski rushed to Russia on April 10, 2010, was also to participate in the 70th anniversary of the "Katyn Incident", and the air disaster that Kaczynski suffered added new sorrow to the tragedy of the "Katyn Incident".
Poland itself has suffered four times in its history, including being ravaged by Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II. The reason why Poland is always coveted by the countries on both sides is mainly because of its limited strength, but it always has a bad relationship with the powerful powers on both sides, so whenever the national strength of one side becomes strong, it will not hesitate to expand to the other side, and Poland is always the first to be occupied. Of course, this is also related to Poland's own behavior, its own limited strength is just that, but Poland has always had a very high self-esteem, and its relations with neighboring countries are very stiff, and the final result can be imagined.
On September 1, 1939, Germany suddenly launched a "blitzkrieg" raid on Poland, and Poland fell. In September 1940, the Soviet Union ordered Soviet troops to cross the Soviet-Polish border and attack eastern Poland on the pretext of establishing an eastern defensive line. Germany and the Soviet Union were in opposition in Poland, and in June 1941, Germany began to attack the Soviet Union, and the Soviet-German war broke out in full swing. The German offensive was so overwhelming that the Soviet Union did not react and was ill-prepared, leading to successive defeats and retreats, and then a large number of territories fell, including the Soviet western city of Smolensk.
By the spring of 1943, when germany was building a railway in Smolensk, it found a large number of Polish corpses in the Katyn Forest on the outskirts of the city, totaling 22,000, and these people were the Polish elite! Obviously, this is an unusually bad tragedy. But who was responsible for this massacre?
When the Germans discovered this, they immediately announced that it was the Soviets who had caused the "Katyn Forest Massacre."
However, the Soviet Union hastened to deny it, and they also declared to the outside world that "this is the dirty imagination of the Germans, a shameless fabrication." It was the Germans who killed the Poles and wanted to plant the booty on the Soviet Union. ”
It was clear that the Soviet Union was unwilling to admit that it had done the incident, and that Germany's accumulated crimes in World War II were uncountable, which gave the Soviet Union a reason to exonerate. In fact, the Poles are not stupid, if this incident is really the work of the Germans, and the Germans hide it too late, how can it be publicized! Isn't that just making trouble for yourself! Therefore, all kinds of signs pushed the main culprit of the tragedy to the Soviet Union.
However, the Soviet Union firmly denied that they had always accused Germany of creating the tragedy, so that the truth of the tragedy had not been made public, and the three countries could not be clear. Because of this, the relationship between Poland and the Soviet Union and Germany further deteriorated, even if Poland later became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, they did not have any good feelings for the Soviet Union, but they were full of hatred, but the Soviet Union was too strong, they could only bury hatred in their hearts.
In the blink of an eye, nearly half a century has passed, the powerful Soviet Union has become turbulent, the upheavals in Eastern Europe have overwhelmed the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union is also facing a crisis of disintegration. In April 1990, when Poland's first president, Jaruzelski, visited the Soviet Union, the then supreme leader of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev, finally admitted that the Soviet Union had caused the Katyn massacre and apologized to Poland. However, at this time, the Soviet government blamed all the responsibility on Stalin, after all, Stalin personally ordered it.
So why did Stalin create this tragedy against the Polish elite?
First, Stalin had always regarded Poland as a hostile camp, and containing Poland would inevitably reduce the pressure on the Soviet Union. Since it was necessary to curb the rise of Poland, the Soviet government believed that by eliminating the Polish elite, Poland could become a complete headless fly, and even if they were hostile to the Soviet Union, after losing the elite, it would be difficult for them to unite, so this way was nothing more than an option for the Soviet Union.
In addition, the Soviet Union also made a good calculation of the future domination of Poland. The Soviet Union under Stalin has also been expanding abroad, and it can be said that Poland has long been Stalin's meal. However, Stalin also understood that once Poland was ruled in the future, Poland was bound to resist with all its might, so Stalin considered that if the Polish elite was cleaned up, it would pave the way for future rule over the Soviet Union.
Third, the Soviet Union also treated its human beings in its own way, after all, Poland also killed a large number of Soviet prisoners of war. After the end of World War I, the Soviet Union and Poland launched the Soviet-Polish War, when Poland had more than 100,000 Soviet prisoners of war, but only less than 70,000 people finally returned to the Soviet Union alive, that is to say, Poland also caused tragedies against Soviet prisoners of war, the Soviet Union remembered this, and then retaliated with tit-for-tat and created the Katyn Massacre.
It can be seen from this that the Katyn Forest Massacre launched by Stalin also paved the way for the future of the Soviet Union, but this method was too rough, seriously hurting the feelings of the Polish people, and also creating many obstacles to future relations between the two sides.
Two
Born in 1949, Kaczynski was deeply influenced by the patriotism of his parents at a young age, so he aspired to contribute to the country from an early age.
After his election as President of Poland, Kaczyński was also a well-known "patriot" and "nationalist" among Polish politicians, and he always had a deep affection for the Polish people. It is precisely because of this feeling for the country that Kaczynski is particularly sad about the suffering and pain that Poland has suffered before, and he can never let go of the "Katyn Incident".
Moreover, one of Kaczyński's wives' uncles, who had been an officer in the Polish army, was in his prime but suffered the "Katyn Incident" and lost his life. This made Kaczynski further feel the pain caused to Poland by the "Katyn Incident", so Kaczynski realized that Poland should always remember the incident. In 2007, Kaczynski decided to designate April 13 of each year as the day of remembrance of the victims of the Katyn Incident. In this way, Kaczynski remembered the history of Poland's suffering, and he was strongly supported by the Poles.
In 2010, Kaczynski was particularly important, as it marked the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Incident, and it was imperative for him to strengthen ties with Russia:
On the one hand, under the changes in the international situation, Poland's relations with Russia have improved.
Although Kaczynski tends to cooperate with the United States, he is not a person who understands the problem too extremely, after all, his political qualifications and experience are relatively old. Even if he is emotionally full of hatred for Russia, he still understands that if he wants to develop Poland well, he must not be emotional.
At this time, the international situation is changing, the EU is affected by the "European debt crisis" is also a problem, and strengthening cooperation with Russia is a must for Poland. As a result, Poland is also actively improving its relations with Russia, trying to use Russia to solve its own energy problems. So Kaczynski stepped up his dialogue with Russia in an attempt to create more opportunities for Poland. It is from this point of view that Kaczynski has also actively expressed his desire to participate in the commemorative activities held by Russia.
On the other hand, Russia is also actively organizing the 70th anniversary of the "Katyn Incident".
The "Katyn incident" can be described as one of the stains of the Soviet Union, and since Russia has inherited the Soviet Union's family foundation, then this incident is also naturally counted on Russia's head. For Russia, they are also quite helpless, after all, the neighboring countries have always been jealous of Russia, and with the eastward expansion of NATO, many countries in Central and even Eastern Europe have begun to throw themselves into the arms of the West, which makes Russia strategically encircled, and this encirclement is shrinking step by step, and Russia is particularly passive.
Of course, Russia does not want to be targeted by neighboring countries all the time, although Russia has never been afraid of the pressure exerted by Western countries, but Russia is constrained by economic development and can only struggle to maintain, which is what Russia hopes to improve. Based on this, Russia is also trying to improve relations with neighboring countries and strengthen energy exports, so that it can get out of the economic dilemma.
Since it wants to improve relations with neighboring countries, Russia is bound to show a friendly attitude, and just in 2010, it is the 70th anniversary of the "Katyn Incident", so Russia decided to hold a commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the "Katyn Incident" in Katyn. Gaining recognition from other countries by reflecting on historically wrong moves is also a way to improve relationships.
On April 7, 2010, Russia invited Polish Prime Minister Tusk to Moscow to attend a preparatory meeting for the commemoration and held a small meeting with Putin. After mutual communication, the two sides reached an agreement on the official commemoration on April 13.
Russia's preparations are also basically in place, waiting for the arrival of Polish President Kaczynski to participate in this commemoration.
Three
On 10 April, Kaczynski was in Smolensk in a Tu-154 airliner belonging to the Polish Air Force when he encountered bad weather and was subsequently killed in an air crash on landing.
The reason why the plane crashed had a lot to do with the weather at that time, after all, when the plane arrived over Smolensk, the airfield was filled with thick fog, and from above, it was a white expanse, and the runway could not be seen at all. Under normal circumstances, when bad weather is not suitable for landing, the plane should be transferred to the airport where landing conditions are available elsewhere, but at that time, Polish politicians were worried that landing elsewhere would delay more time, in order to avoid missing the event ceremony, the captain took the risk of landing, which eventually caused a serious accident.
After the plane crash, Russian rescue teams found the wreckage of the plane in the forest near the airport, and none of the members of the plane survived. The news came out and caused a global sensation, after all, the Polish president suffered an air crash that was really too unexpected! This has also attracted the attention of the world, is this incident an accident or a human cause?
After the black box was found, Russia also launched an investigation into the cause of the accident, and after several months of investigation, Russia made the cause of the accident public in 2011, and the final result was also lamentable, because the air crash was really caused by human causes!
The first factor, the gross negligence of the staff.
First of all, when the plane lands, it is already facing foggy weather, and as the captain should adjust the strategy in time, after all, the captain has the right to decide the landing of the aircraft. However, the failure of the captain to make effective decisions when the plane landed at great risk was a glaring oversight.
In addition, the crew is unfamiliar with the landing airport. The terrain of the northern airport in Smolensk is somewhat peculiar, with a height difference of nearly 100 meters, but the crew did not investigate this in advance, and the tower was not taken seriously, which led to a mistake in landing.
These oversights may seem like minor problems, but in fact they are related to the ultimate fate of the aircraft, which ultimately caused the crash of the aircraft. In the final analysis, it was the captain's choice that buried the tragedy.
The second factor is pressure from Polish politicians.
After the accident of the presidential plane, the recording from the black box clearly shows that in fact, half an hour before the plane crash, many situations occurred on the plane, the most prominent of which was that the polish air force commander and other officials put pressure on the captain and forced the landing, which eventually led to the accident. On more than one occasion, Polish dignitaries forced their way into the cockpit, interfering with the captain's instructions to the plane, and even their words were full of commands. Under pressure from Polish dignitaries, the captain eventually found it difficult to change the landing plan. As a result, the captain could only risk landing according to the requirements of the Polish politicians.
Originally, as a captain with rich flight experience, it was difficult for him to really grasp the decision-making power of the aircraft, and the mandatory requirements of Polish politicians made the captain helpless, and could only land with a fluke attitude, after all, if the change of flight delayed the trip of Polish officials, the captain could not bear this responsibility.
Not only that, the Russian tower staff is also under great pressure, after all, Russia and Poland's sensitive relations, so that they do not dare to act rashly, in fact, if the tower issued an instruction not to meet the conditions for landing, asking the aircraft to land elsewhere, may also avoid tragedy, but unfortunately, in the case of extreme tension on both sides, the tower also failed to prevent the landing of the aircraft.
Obviously, both the captain and the tower are affected by the people on the plane, so that their decisions are not reasonable, and when the decisions are unreasonable, the results in dealing with unexpected situations can be imagined.
When an air crash occurred, the Polish president and many politicians paid a heavy price for their underestimation of the risk of accidents, which also had a profound impact on Poland. It can be said that 70 years ago, at the same time and in the same region, the "Katyn Incident" occurred, which brought long-term trauma to Poland; unexpectedly, 70 years later, more than 80 Polish politicians were killed here because of a plane crash, which also added new sadness to the "Katyn Incident" and also made Poland suffer more.
Four
The accidental crash of the Polish president's plane caused the deterioration of Polish relations with Russia.
According to normal development, Poland and Russia will strengthen cooperation after this event, and relations will be closer, but the occurrence of air disasters has bankrupted this situation, and Poland has added a deeper hatred for Russia, and it is extremely difficult to resolve the estrangement between them in a short period of time.
Since then, Poland's trust in Russia has been even lower, and although the results of the air disaster investigation have been released, the Polish side is not satisfied with the investigation and even questions the authority of the black box. In their view, the Russian side is extremely responsible for the occurrence of this air disaster, and even some Poles believe that Russia caused the accident.
In fact, this view also reflects Poland's historical hatred of Russia, which will be difficult to resolve for a long time. However, the purpose of this event in Russia is to improve relations with Poland, and the accident is not what they wanted!
It is only the crash of the Polish president that makes it difficult to improve the relations between Poland and Russia, which has also led to the gradual separation of Poland and Russia in the past 10 years, and the United States has become closer and closer!
10 years after the air crash, the Polish government demanded that the Russian government return the wreckage of the wrecked airliner and other evidence, and threatened internationally that Russia would seize Polish property.
Relations between Russia and Poland also seem to be unfair, and the relations between the two sides have improved in 2010 and normalized exchanges, but I did not expect that this accident directly shattered Russia's concept! Poland regards Russia as the biggest threat, and then its relations with Germany are becoming more and more rigid, it can be said that Poland is very likely to follow the old british road, choose "Brexit", and completely become a dagger inserted by the United States in Europe, which will not only undermine the stability of the EU, but also become the biggest obstacle between Russia and the EU.
Insist on the original, I am loyal to the liver and righteousness of the old third, welcome to pay attention!