Odchodzenie od stereotypów. Rosyjsko-ukraiński dwugłos w stosunkach literackich

A present-day tension in the relations between Russia and Ukraine is largely due to past experiences, centuries long. Conflict between these two nations emerged almost immediately after the Pereyaslav Agreement in 1654, i.e. when Bohdan Khmelnitsky drew Ukraine under the protectorate of Russia. It was the conflict of a colonial character which tended to continue throughhout the times of both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The declaration of Ukraine's independence in 1991 disturbed Russian minds greatly as, for ages, there had been a strong belief among the Russian elite and large masses of the Russian society that Ukraine had always been an integral part of powerful Russian state.The blow to well-established convictions was so heavy that, up till now, The Russian society has not yet recovered from its effects. Josif Brodsky's poem 'On Ukraine's Independence', in which the poet discredits Ukrainian mentality and national culture, illustrates perhaps best the dismay in the Russian society in this respect. In 2008, the editors of a Russian literary and artistic monthly 'Znamya' suggested a positive approach to the problem of cooperation between the two countries on literary grounds. In official statements on literature of their neighbouring countries, ten Russian and Ukrainian writers proved to be in favour of dialogue based on the treatment of both countries on equal grounds and subject-matter objectivism, void of any political bias and negative stereotypes. Such attiude may serve then as ideal model for discussions and negotiations in other areas of mutual relations between Russia and Ukarine.