Click here to subscribe and get access to this issue plus all erstwhile issues
To acquisition a single copy of the issue click here
As we send this final issue of 2025 to print, uncertainty hangs over the region and the planet beyond. Since Donald Trump returned to office in January, we have witnessed a dramatic shift in US policy toward Ukraine and Russia, most visibly in the form of a recently promoted “peace process”. Like all people of good will, we hope for an end to the aggression. Yet we stay convinced that if the global order is to hold any meaning, this war must end justly – on terms accepted by its victim, Ukraine – and not to the advantage of the aggressor, the Russian Federation. Only specified an result can lay the foundation for a lasting peace in Ukraine and across Europe. Any alternate would carry risks that we should be determined to avoid.
While Ukraine’s conflict continues to specify Europe’s safety landscape, it is not the only communicative shaping our region today. In this issue, we besides turn to Belarus, where repression and deepening dependence on Moscow weigh heavy on society, both inside the country and among Belarusians abroad.
With this issue, we would besides like to warmly thank Basil Kerski, the manager of the European Solidarity Centre (ECS) in Gdańsk and 1 of the founding fathers of this magazine, for his remarkable work at the ECS and for the unwavering support he has offered New east Europe from the very beginning. The ECS, rooted in the legacy of Solidarity, reminds us that even in dark moments, societies can reclaim their freedom through courage, fact and civic responsibility.
This legacy besides frames the main subject of our issue: the unsettled memory of communism. Across Central and east Europe, the past remains both a origin of identity and a terrain of political struggle. It is invoked, reshaped and at times misused by those seeking to influence today’s debates. knowing how these memories are constructed, contested and lived is essential to knowing our current moment.
Thus, as we enter 2026, inactive uncertain about what the future holds, we are reminded by the past of the Polish Solidarity movement that democratic change is possible even erstwhile it seems improbable – and that it emerges from persistence and moral clarity. With this conviction, we want you a good and hopeful fresh year.
Table of Contents
Goodbye communism Kinga Anna Gajda, Michał Kuryłowicz
From revolution to souvenirs Jovana Janinovic
Sensory memory and creating a community of memory Magdalena Banaszkiewicz
The memory of forgetting Dymitr Romanowski
Rediscovering the People’s Poland Elżbieta Żak
The gradual “forgetting” of communism in Poland
Michał Kuryłowicz, Aleksander Niepokój
Recovering Moldovan identity through literature Oxana Gherman
Looking for heroes. Experiences in Latvia Vita Zelče
Lithuania’s memory of communism Paweł Plichta
Russia’s religion of triumph Bartłomiej Brążkiewicz
Essays and analysis
Poland’s borderland on fire Jan Farfal
Establishing NATO’s “East Shield” Alicja Zyguła, Tomasz Stępniewski
When grief becomes routine
Polina Vernyhor
Taking Ukraine’s corruption seriously Alessandro Vitiello
Ukraine’s education improvement amidst the war Oleksii Lionchuk
A test of Sandu’s success Piotr Oleksy
Moldova’s pro-West forces request to set a fresh agenda Dan Nicorici
Shifting ground in Russia-Azerbaijan relations Murad Muradov
Interviews
Putin’s goal has always been a greater Russia An interview with Ann Linde
Our work is to safeguard the memory of Auschwitz A conversation with Piotr Cywiński
Stories and ideas
A halt off at the gambling hall on the way to school Raluca Cristea
The fight to preserve Kyiv’s past and Ukraine’s future Theodore Griffin
How Poland stole UK universities’ lunch in Africa Ray Mwareya
Why Belarus inactive matters
Belarus between a spin dictatorship and a dictatorship of fear Maxim Rust
An alliance of creepy uncles Kacper Wańczyk
A dictator’s effort to enforce timelessness Tatsiana Astrouskaya
In search of a fresh “Global East” Justyna Olędzka
Hybrid relations in times of war Yevhen Mahda
Losing people, losing growth
Anastasiya Luzgina
From the classrooms to the farms
Aliaksandr Papko
