The Role of Polish Press in Promoting Polish Culture in Ukraine on the Example of “Monitor Wołyński”

The system transformation in 1989 in Poland brought about changes in the policy concerning Polish community abroad. One of its main objectives was to develop Polish language media in former Soviet Union states. Ukraine turned out to be an exceptionally difficult area for this activity. In the past the authorities did everything to forever wipe out Polish culture. Both communists and nationalists contributed to this fact. Many Ukrainian citizens of Polish nationality lost the spirit of their ancestors and the majority stopped speaking Polish. The development of Polish language press in this area was meant to solve those problems to some degree. Polish magazines and press is to increase contact with the forgotten language which is the carrier of Polish culture. An important objective of Polish press is to break the fear of speaking Polish, particularly in public places. Currently Polish press in Ukraine has an additional task as it is a true European barrier against Russian influence and protects the society against dangerous separating tendencies. Out of fourteen Polish language press titles which are issued in Ukraine a bilingual “Monitor Wołyński” plays a particular role. This bi-weekly has a circulation of five thousand and usually has 16 pages. It also has its online version. Its main objectives include: promoting the idea of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, familiarizing the Ukrainians with Poland (by informing them about Poland, her history, culture, traditions and events) informing the Poles about Volyn, facilitating dialogue among both nations and breaking stereotypes. Taking into account the contents presented in “Monitor Wołyński”, it can be said that the magazine fully meets its objectives and plays an educational and informative role. The news it covers reaches many Polish recipients who live in Ukrainian environment and cannot obtain such information from other sources. This magazine adequately shapes the national consciousness of the Poles living in Ukraine. It is a necessary source of information and both Polish and Ukrainian authorities should be interested in maintaining it