For Poland, Russian aggression is not an abstract or distant possibility; it is an experience embedded in national history. Polish political life was strangled, the language was suppressed in schools and administration, and tens of thousands were exiled to Siberia. In 1920, only two years after regaining independence, Poland faced a Soviet invasion aimed at spreading communist revolution into Europe. This period, lasting until 1989, left deep scars on Poland’s political culture. The memory of Russian aggression, and the determination never to be its victim again, continues to guide Poland’s course.