The Mieroszewski Centre has published a survey of Ukrainian public opinion on Polish culture, conducted on a sample of 1016 adults in cooperation with the Kyiv-based sociological research centre ‘Info Sapiens’. The survey shows that for Ukrainians, Poland is the country most close to them and with a very attractive culture. Most of them declare interest in Polish culture and this interest is significantly higher than in the case of other European countries.

For Ukrainians, Poland is a country with a very attractive culture. 43% of respondents spontaneously identified Poland as the most culturally interesting country, and 56% of Ukrainians declare an interest in Polish culture, such as books or films.

The survey also showed that there is a strong demand in Ukraine to learn about Poland and Polish culture. 27% of Ukrainians, including 35% of respondents among young people under 24 years of age, stated that they became more interested in Polish culture after the outbreak of the war, 34% said they became more interested in relaxation and tourism in Poland and 36% said they started buying Polish products more often. At the same time, Ukrainians believe that there are not enough Polish films and TV series on TV (74% support this thesis and 8% disagree) and that Polish culture is not talked about enough in schools (55% of Ukrainians agree and 12% disagree).

It is noteworthy that 61% of respondents declared that Roman Catholic churches, palaces and castles, such as the Kamianets Podolski, constitute a common Polish-Ukrainian heritage. 11% were of the opinion that this was only Polish, and 15% were of the opinion that this was only Ukrainian heritage. At the same time, 69% of Ukrainians were of the opinion that instead of Russian culture, Polish culture should be taught in Ukraine.

Adrian Andrzejewski