NEWS ANALYSIS: Poles see new beginnings after Kaczynski funeral

Apr 19, 2010, 16:31 GMT

Warsaw - Poles appreciated their fellow Europeans' solidarity with the country and saw a chance at bettering relations with Russia, analysts said Monday after the funeral of President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in Russia.

Kaczynski was buried Sunday with his wife Maria in Krakow after their deaths in a plane crash on April 10 which killed 95 other crew and officials.

Nearly one hundred delegations from all continents - including the presidents of Russia and the United States - intended to pay their last respects to the Polish leader.

Most of those delegations were later cancelled as a cloud of volcanic ash spread from Iceland across Europe - but for Poland it was the gestures of unity that counted.

'Whatever is the exact number of the delegations, it was a historical moment for Poland because ... there was widespread shows of solidarity,' said Marek Menkiszak, head of the Russian department at the Center for Eastern Studies, a think-tank in Warsaw.

The crash sparked world interest because of the magnitude of the tragedy, but the wish of so many delegations to attend the funeral was also indicative of Poland's stronger role in the European Union, Menkiszak said.

Russia was also recognizing Poland's increasingly stronger sway in the EU, said Bartek Nowak, executive director of the Center for International Relations, a Warsaw-based think-tank.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attended the funeral in what analysts called a gesture which may signal the start of better relations.

The reaction of Russia was 'remarkable and was hailed here in Poland, and noticed across the world,' Menkiszak said.

NATO's top official Anders Fogh Rasmussen praised on Monday the improved ties between Russia and Poland, saying it was clear 'Russia is making every possible effort to be a friend to the Polish people in this difficult time.'

And although Russia and Poland will continue to have different national interests, Menkiszak said the quality and tone of dialog could now be improved. 'What's important is that both sides are much more eager to speak to one another, and to hear one another.'

Kaczynski's delegation crashed en route to ceremonies in Katyn, Russia, marking the Soviet-era massacre of some 22,000 Polish officers.

Katyn is a sensitive subject that has strained relations between Moscow and Warsaw: The Kremlin blamed the crime on Nazi Germany and did not admit its guilt until 1990. Since then, Warsaw has pressed Moscow to open all its archives, saying it needs the documents to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Russia now notices what Katyn means for Poland, Nowak said. '(Previously) Russia wanted to bypass history, what counted for Russia was today. On the Polish side, it was the opposite.'

More important now is Russia's shift towards its own past, as Poland already knows the truth about Katyn, Menkiszak said.

'(The plane crash) has triggered a certain shift in Russian official policy ... a clear condemnation of Stalinist crimes, and an attempt to pay respect to the great numbers of Russian people who have died during the Stalinist regime,' Menkiszak said.

'Russia is now in the search of a new identity. It is in their interest, and in our interest, that Russia challenges its own past.'