contributors

Articles by Edward Kasinec and Nathaniel Knight

1. Jānis Lipke. A hero of Latvian history

   This article will present the story of Jānis (Žanis) Lipke, a Latvian man living an ordinary life who became a national hero by saving fifty-five Jews from the brutality of the Nazi regime.

2. “There are many shades of grey in the history of Polish-Jewish relations” An exhibition of memory maps of a lost culture

   The Grodzka Gate-NN Theater in Lublin is displaying maps about the memory of Jewish Central and Eastern Europe in an online exhibition. Martin Englund from Baltic Worlds meets curator and educator Piotr Nazaruk in a conversation about the memory maps, educating people about the Jewish history of Poland, nostalgia, and anti-Semitism.

3. Meat and the City in the Late Russian Empire Dietary Reform and Vegetarian Activism in Odessa, 1890s–1910s

   Unlike British or American vegetarian movements which arose during the 19th century, organized vegetarianism did not emerge in the Russian empire until the turn of the century. By the 1910s, a network of vegetarian circles flourished across the empire. Odessa presents a fascinating case study for examining dietary reform and vegetarianism. Using diverse sources, the article explores the evolution and implementation of grassroot vegetarian activism in the city of Odessa by focusing on its institutionalization and infrastructure, as well as on ideas, practices and activists. It scrutinizes the motives that guided actions, unfolds alliances and challenges that arose, and how these played out in practice, and identifies popularization strategies for vegetarian ideas, and forms of vegetarian consumption. The study sheds light on an unknown page of the history of Odessa and the Black Sea Region, as well as enriching existing knowledge of the histories of imperial and European borderlands.

4. “At the very core of the Belarusian uprising is a moral trauma”

   Tatiana Shchyttsova, is professor of Philosophy at the Department of Social Sciences and Academic Director of Center for Philosophical Anthropology, at the European Humanities University, Vilnius. Here in an interview on the present situation in Belarus, on the role of philosophy in times of revolution and change.

5. Institutional Constraints and Possibilities in (Semi-)Revolutionary Belarus

   Political institutions in a hegemonic authoritarian regime like Belarus tend to be downplayed, if not entirely ignored. While authoritarian regimes can sometimes masterfully direct constituent assemblies and other such fora, they represent a singular, politically-charged location within which protest energy and opposition efforts can be focused. Uncertainty is the enemy of autocrats and any chance for unwelcome deviations from a prescribed line can prove to be deeply destabilizing.

6. A historical background to the demonstrations in Belarus

   An interview with three researchers at Södertörn University; Nikolay Zakharov, senior lecturer in sociology, Per Anders Rudling, associate professor of history and Andrej Kotljarchuk, historian at the Institute of Contemporary History at Södertörn University.

7. The Flag Revolution. Understanding the political symbols of Belarus

   The protestors and officials in Belarus use different national flags. Why is the massive state-run propaganda against peaceful protests focusing on the white-red-white flag and the history of World War II? Referring to the white-red-white flag the official propaganda described the leaders of opposition as inheritors of the pro-Nazi collaborators. The fact that under this flag Belarus proclaimed its independence in 1918 and again in 1991 has been muted. In a study of political symbols of Belarus the author contributes to a more detailed understanding of the ongoing situation in the country.

8. The Tsikhanauskaya Effect: How an Accidental Heroine Transformed the Belarusian 2020 Presidential Election.

   While in the past there has generally been an atmosphere of resigned acceptance after the election, this time countless Belarusians went out on the streets to contest the results. The dynamics of the protest clearly illustrate its main goal is not to ensure Svitlana Tsikhanauskaya becomes the head of state, but rather to guarantee Lukashenka does not stay in this position. One factor that played a particularly important role was the way that President Lukashenka was handling the COVID-19 crisis. Nonetheless, it was Tsikhanauskaya’s campaign that made people actually vote – because it gave them hope they could influence political affairs.

9. ELECTIONS IN SERBIA – THE FALL OF DEMOCRATIC FAÇADE

   The context in which these elections were held included not only the President's rise to power and party build-up, but also ongoing protests, boycotts, several ‘affairs’ and problematic behavior of party officials, and chaos in the handling of the health crisis.

10. Presidential election in Poland: the festival of polarization

    The brutal presidential campaign only exemplified the degree of polarization in the Polish society. The campaign before the first round turned out to be relatively calm, where most of the candidates had to show their conciliatory side. However, due to the course, the intensity of the competition had revealed long-lasting divisions in Poland.

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