Issue 6 2025: Remembering yesterday, today
Re-examining the unsettled memory of communism.
December 8, 2025 -
New Eastern Europe
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Issue 6 2025Magazine
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As we send this final issue of 2025 to print, uncertainty hangs over the region and the world 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 newly promoted “peace process”. Like all people of good will, we hope for an end to the aggression. Yet we remain convinced that if the international order is to retain 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 such an outcome can lay the foundation for a lasting peace in Ukraine and across Europe. Any alternative would carry risks that we should be determined to avoid.
While Ukraine’s struggle continues to define Europe’s security landscape, it is not the only story shaping our region today. In this issue, we also turn to Belarus, where repression and deepening dependence on Moscow weigh heavily on society, both inside the country and among Belarusians abroad.
With this issue, we would also like to warmly thank Basil Kerski, the director of the European Solidarity Centre (ECS) in Gdańsk and one of the founding fathers of this magazine, for his remarkable work at the ECS and for the unwavering support he has offered New Eastern 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, truth and civic responsibility.
This legacy also frames the main theme of our issue: the unsettled memory of communism. Across Central and Eastern Europe, the past remains both a source of identity and a terrain of political struggle. It is invoked, reshaped and at times misused by those seeking to influence today’s debates. Understanding how these memories are constructed, contested and lived is essential to understanding our current moment.
Thus, as we enter 2026, still uncertain about what the future holds, we are reminded by the history of the Polish Solidarity movement that democratic change is possible even when it seems unlikely – and that it emerges from persistence and moral clarity. With this conviction, we wish you a good and hopeful new 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 victory 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 reform amidst the war Oleksii Lionchuk
A test of Sandu’s success Piotr Oleksy
Moldova’s pro-West forces need to set a new 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 duty is to safeguard the memory of Auschwitz A conversation with Piotr Cywiński
Stories and ideas
A stop 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 still matters
Belarus between a spin dictatorship and a dictatorship of fear Maxim Rust
An alliance of creepy uncles Kacper Wańczyk
A dictator’s attempt to enforce timelessness Tatsiana Astrouskaya
In search of a new “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
