A Russian army stands at the gates of the capital of another country, a country that Russia has previously occupied and one that, according to Russian politicians, has no right to independent existence. Sounds familiar? That capital city was Warsaw and the year was 1920. But what happened in Poland just after the end of World War One bears strong similarities to what went on near Kyiv in 2022. After the First World War, Russian Bolsheviks, and Lenin in particular, wanted to reoccupy Poland, and indeed Ukraine, Belarus and some other countries, so that they could serve as a bridge for exporting communist revolution to Western Europe. The Poles resisted even though at first they were outnumbered and outgunned by the Russians. The result was the Polish-Bolshevik war which was not fully resolved until 1921 and which had a big impact on the future shape of inter-war Europe. To guide us through the Polish-Bolshevik war are three distinguished historians: Dr. Pawel Duber, researcher at Nottingham Trent University whose work focuses on Poland in the first half of the 20th Century; Anita Prazmowska, professor of International History at London School of Economics and the author of many publications on Polish history in the last century and beyond; Robert Service, emeritus professor of Russian history at Oxford University, whose books cover Russia from the Mongol conquest to Putin. (Photo: Red Army on the Polish front, c.1920. Credit: Photo 12/Getty Images)
Welcome to the Forum from the BBC World Service.
I'm Rajan Datta.
The Russian army stands at the gates of the capital of another country, a country that Russia has previously occupied and one that, according to Russian politicians, has no right to independent existence.
The situation looks bleak for the residents of the capital and the rest of the world expects it to fall soon.
But then, guided by a charismatic leader, the defenders of that capital city fight back.
And before long, they drive the Russian invaders back to where they came from.
Well, that capital city was Warsaw in Poland, not Kyiv in Ukraine.
And the year was 1920, not 2022.
But what happened in Poland just after the end of the First World War not only bears strong similarities to what's going on in Ukraine right now, but it also had a big impact on the future shape of interwar.
Russia, which by 1918 was governed by the Bolsheviks, wanted to reoccupy Poland and indeed Ukraine, Belarus and some other countries too, so that they could serve as a bridge for exporting Communist revolution to Western Europe.
The Poles, although outnumbered and outgunned by the Russians, resisted.
The result was the Polish Bolshevik War, which wasn't fully resolved until 1921.
To guide us through this significant historical conflict, I'm joined by three distinguished historians.
Dr.
Pavel Duber is a researcher at Nottingham Trent University whose work focuses on Poland in the first half of the 20th century.
Anita Prasmowska is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and the author of many publications on Polish history in the last century and beyond.
Anne.
Robert Servis is Emeritus professor of Russian History at Oxford University, whose books cover Russia from the Mongol Conquest to Putin.
Now, to really get a handle on the Polish situation in 1918, we need to rewind over a century before that date.
At the end of the 18th century, Poland was colonized by three major powers, Russia, Austria and Prussia, which was a precursor state to Germany.