European history would have taken a completely different course—and most likely there would be no Europe at all—were it not for two hundred combat triremes built in the early 5th century BC by Athenians. The powerful fleet of three-row galleys allowed them to stop the invading Persians and create a civilization which soon, thanks to…

Asne Seierstad, Jeden z nas, trans. Iwona Zimnicka, WAB, Warszawa 2015

Katarzyna Surmiak-Domańska, Ku Klux Klan. Tu mieszka miłość, Czarne 2015

Paweł Kowal, Mariusz Cieślik, Jaruzelski. Życie paradoksalne, Znak Litera Nova, Kraków, 2015.

Timothy Snyder, Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, Bodley Head, 2015.

Nobel Prize for Svetlana Aleksievich is a litmus paper for the post-Soviet cultures.

The South Korean capital Seoul is a vibrant metropolis full of hurried- and worried- looking people which (if it weren’t for signs in the characteristic local alphabet) could be easily mistaken for any American city. South Korea’s current economic miracle has been built literally on the rubble of a devastating war. The Koreans have trained…

If we considered the election promises of political parties as the predictor of the future economic policy, we could safely assume that Poland would become another “sick man of Europe.” The only difference being that Poland is not a member of the eurozone and therefore could not hope for any bailouts.

The future of capitalism is in danger if it is not based on values. Otherwise, for the sake of stability, people will demand various forms of socialism.

German federalism is not only complicated but costly as well. Fierce patriotism and interests of local politicians stand in the way of meaningful reform.

Three intersecting crises confront Spaniards as they go to the ballot box this December.

A Note on Transitional Routes in Russia and China

Throughout the current refugee crisis the Czech government has demonstrated an extraordinary lack of the self-preservation instinct. Perhaps without even realizing it, by launching a trench warfare against quotas, the members of the Czech coalition have caused a rift with Germany and helped to undermine the European Union. The purpose of the recent Prague rebellion…

There are at least four types of Russian propaganda, each with different modus operandi in a strategically diverse environment.

An interview with Andrei Kolesnikov by Filip MemchesThe Russian leader is trying to divide Europe. He is unsuccessful in that, because he is recruiting weak players—says Andrei Kolesnikov in an interview with Filip Memches.

How has a reasonably democratic society with a market economy and following the course of neoliberal reforms turned into a classical fascist regime of a corporate state?

At the end of December 1985, Alexander Yakovlev wrote on his own initiative a lengthy memorandum for Gorbachev containing some of the salient political and economic recommendations of what came to be known as perestroika.

To have fewer problems with refugees in the future, we must open ourselves more to them now.