Historical problems and perceived injustice related to the past are often seen as causes of violent conflicts between states or at least as factors that create tensions and significantly hamper mutual cooperation in cases where otherwise common interests exist. If this is so, there is a strong practical interest to overcome such historical problems and develop knowledge about processes of reconciliation. In particular, we lack knowledge of the role of forgiveness in reconciliation of history disputes between states. The paper makes the point that practices related to forgiveness help reduce conflicts and foster cooperation between states and nations even when apologies and forgiveness are imperfect. I will first outline a theory of various mechanisms of how historical problems affect current relations and then discuss the concept of forgiveness and its potential usefulness in influencing these mechanisms. Empirically, the paper looks at actual processes of reconciliation or lack of them, in the relations between Russia and three of its western neighbours: Estonia, Finland, and Poland. The cases share some similarities since all the countries have had historical problems with Russia related to WWII, but there have been varying degrees of progress in solving them. Together they demonstrate that the burden of history can be overcome if genuine attempts to address the problems of the past are made, although the process does not reflect any perfect theory of forgiveness.
