Issue 6/2020: Understanding Values in Uncertain Times

If there is anything that 2020 has taught us, is that there is a critical need to reflect on the things that bind us and those that divide us. This can be done by taking an inward look at our values. Certainly, defining values is a very personal endeavour. Yet, we know that as a society or community, we also have shared values, which can change in time due to events or new experiences. As Milton Rokeach writes in Understanding Human Values, they are “learned and determined by culture, society, society’s institutions, and personal experiences”. That is why our authors in this issue ask and explore questions like – how does politics reflect our values? Do European values still matter? And, importantly, what axiological changes are we witnessing as a result of the protests in Belarus?

Contents

Understanding Values in Uncertain Times 

A shining city on a hill. What if anything can American values teach a free Belarus?
George Blecher

Do European values still matter in Ukraine?
Volodymyr Yermolenko

A country of grumblers? Hungarian values and how to misunderstand them
Réka Kinga Papp

A timeline, interrupted
Mateusz Mazzini

 We took our victories for granted
An interview with Vladimir Tismaneanu

Our common heritage
Jacek Hajduk

On Russia and resignation
Natasha Bluth

A Belarusian clash of civilizations
Maxim Rust

Revolution in Belarus. Surprisingly female?
Olga Dryndova

In Belarus, national solidarity, not nationalism, leads the day
Christian Gibbons

Opinion and Analysis

What happens to Belarus after Lukashenka falls?
Andreas Umland

 Moldova’s oligarch mayors go global
Cristian Cantir

China’s footprint in Ukraine. A breathing space between Russia and the West
Anthony Rinna

The Eastern Partnership enters a new decade
Pavel Havlíček

Clan war instead of fighting coronavirus and corruption
Ludwika Włodek

Interviews

Prisoner’s Voice – Oleh Sentsov

Prisoner’s voice – Oleksandr Kolchenko

Art, Culture and Society

The power of Ukrainian youth
Natalia Dolgopolova, Kinga Anna Gajda, Alina Mekheda and Hanna Surkova

Stories and ideas

Armenian Syrians. From one war to another
Magdelena Chodownik

History and Memory

The fleeting memory of December 1970
Piotr Leszczyński

Eastern Café

The line between politics and friendship
Simona Merkinaite

Spies not like us
Adam Reichardt

Belarus at sea
Tomasz Kamusella

Ukraine’s “learning” revolutions of 1990, 2004/05 and 2013/14
Ostap Kushnir

Serbia’s and Croatia’s struggles with the past
Grzegorz Skrukwa