Poland took the Order of the White Eagle from Zelenskyy, while Mussolini and Catherine II remain its knights: who else has the award
Kyiv • UNN
Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle. Benito Mussolini and Catherine II still remain among the knights of the award.
The decision of Polish President Karol Nawrocki to strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle has sparked debate not only in Ukraine but also in Poland itself. The reason is that among the knights of Poland's highest award there are still figures with an extremely controversial reputation in history. UNN writes about this.
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The Order of the White Eagle is the highest state decoration of Poland. It was established back in 1705, and over more than three centuries of its existence, the award has been received by monarchs, presidents, military figures, and politicians from various countries around the world.
One of the most controversial recipients remains the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. He received the Order of the White Eagle in 1923 during an official visit to Poland, long before his alliance with Adolf Hitler and the start of World War II.
Also among the knights of the order in different historical periods were Russian emperors, including Catherine II, who participated in the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which led to the disappearance of Poland from the map of Europe at the end of the 18th century. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski recently drew attention to this fact, proposing a review of the list of recipients.
Among the well-known foreign knights of the order are also Napoleon Bonaparte, US President Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, Pope John Paul II, Czech President Václav Havel, and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the Order of the White Eagle in April 2023 from then-Polish President Andrzej Duda for the development of Polish-Ukrainian relations and his contribution to the protection of democracy and security in Europe.