Grzegorz Michał Braun is a Polish politician. He has performed as a member of the Sejm for Rzeszów and as Chairman of the Confederation of the Polish Crown. Braun’s political career began when he declared his candidacy in the 2015 presidential election. He started the campaign committee “God Bless You!”, but received the tiniest percentage of votes.
His political journey persisted with participation in discussions on European and Russian relations and his candidacies in various elections including for the mayoral office of Gdańsk and the EU Parliament.
Braun is known for his pro-Russian and anti-vaxxer perspectives, repeatedly flouting COVID-19 restrictions and restricting the virus’ existence. His statements were echoed in Kremlin-linked Russian media, and he has often been removed from parliamentary debates for not sporting a facemask.
Braun holds anti-US, anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian sentiments, aligning himself with Polish ultranationalism and traditionalist Catholicism. While in the Sejm, his movements have been characterised by a series of pro-Russian stances. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, MPs have adopted a pro-Russian tone, particularly Grzegorz Braun.
In 2021 Polish far-right party Confederation member, MP Grzegorz Braun requested a conference be adjourned because of the “improper” Ukrainian flag that hung in the Polish parliament during a parliamentary session.
In August 2016, Braun took part in a meeting organised by the Center for European Policy Analysis noting Russian propaganda in the former Soviet satellite countries. He suggested holding a controlled balance between the European Union and Russia. National Movement presidential candidate Marian Kowalski condemned Braun for not trusting NATO forces stationed in Poland as a fair defence against Russia. Braun calls for Poland to unassisted maintain and operate nuclear weapons.
Braun has been represented as pro-Russian. He was interviewed by Sputnik in 2019 and has been honoured by the Russian media for his stances on Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion. He claimed that his party was vigorously fighting against the “Banderization” and “Ukrainization” of Poland by trying to control the influx of Ukrainian refugees. On 25 June 2022, Braun took a stake in a pro-Russian rally; he addressed his discourse to Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Joe Biden, declaring “President Joe Biden, if you still trust God, let your personal interest and the interest of American corporations, that sell spears to Ukraine, along with entire America, kneel in humility in front of God’s almightiness(…)”.
