Whither Poland
Dan Davison analyses the new Polish government, the Polish left, and the rise of the far right.
#IWD2023: women fight across the globe
On International Women’s Day, rs21 members share 13 inspiring examples of women fighting for liberation and against capitalism and state repression.
Civil partnerships and reproductive rights in Eastern Europe: an interview with Laima Vaige
rs21’s Leslie Cunningham interviews Dr. Laima Vaige, a feminist and LGBTQ activist from Lithuania, on same-sex partnerships in Lithuania, abortion rights in Poland, and LGBTQ people’s experiences across Europe during the Covid crisis.
Poland’s feminist uprising
Women in Poland are making their own cause for hope by taking the streets. rs21 spoke with several feminist activists in Polish union Inicjatywa Pracownicza about the recent wave of feminist strikes and protests.
Poland: the right holds fast
The European elections in Poland showed the Law and Justice Party staying firmly in the driving seat of Polish politics
Polish government lend legitimacy to far-right speakers in Slough
Polish government’s promotion of “Cursed Soldiers” remembrance day in Slough gives legitimacy to far-right speakers among Poles in Britain and must be opposed, argues JL On Sunday, a day-long celebration of the Polish national remembrance day dedicated to the “Cursed Soldiers” will take place in Slough.1 The remembrance day, initiated in 2011, continues to cause controversy. The “Cursed […]
A turning point in Polish politics: the #czarnyprotest and Monday’s women’s strike
Large protests have taken place in Poland against a proposed ban on abortion in all cases. On Monday (3 October) Polish women are taking part in a nationwide strike to defend their basic reproductive rights. Mark Bergfeld, who researches Polish immigrant workers as part of his PhD, spoke to Aleksandra Wolke who is a feminist […]
Poles resist the attack on women’s rights
Aleksandra Wolke reports on a protest against the proposal to ban abortions in Poland, the largest Polish-led political protest in the UK in recent years. On Saturday 9 April thousands of people demonstrated across Poland against the proposed ban on abortion. The demonstrations were called by the Reclaim Choice Coalition (Porozumienie Odzyskać Wybór) which recently […]
From democracy to neoliberalism – from Poland to Ukraine
Following recent waves of labour struggles in Poland, Jan Ladzinski reflects on the contradictions of movements for democracy that result in neoliberal reforms and suggests possible lessons from the Polish experience for Ukraine. This is a year of strikes in Poland. From the very first days of January, 20% of GP practices in the country […]
Beyond the Holocaust – POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Jan Ladzinski discusses how POLIN’s attempt to place the Holocaust and subsequent emigration of Polish Jews in the wider context of the one thousand years of shared Polish-Jewish history is not only useful politically but also potentially subversive The ideas behind the project POLIN, meaning both “Poland” and “rest here” in Hebrew, opened its core exhibition […]
Poland’s Gender Trouble
Dan Swain examines the debate over gender issues that is dominating Polish politics.