1968. The “Prague Spring”: Fifty Years Later. Historical Essays

2021 ◽  

This book is devoted to a symbolic event that defined the life and values of several generations. Half a century ago, Czech communists tried to give a new impetus to their country’s system of government by combining socialist values with a rational market economy and the mechanisms of a developed democracy. This effort failed, and the state was occupied by the military. This book is the result of joint efforts by Russian, Czech, and Romanian historians, archivists, and cultural and literary scholars, who—exploring new documents and materials—have reinterpreted these events and their lessons from a present-day perspective. Objectively, the “Prague Spring” is from a bygone era, but it is still a milestone, and many of the problems encountered during the Prague Spring are still relevant today. The authors hope that they have contributed to the historiography of the now-distant events of 1968 and that their contributions will help in analysing the experiences of the past in order to be prepared for the events of the future. This book is aimed at specialists in the history and culture of Central and Eastern Europe, students of higher educational institutions, and the general reader interested in twentieth-century history.

Politeja ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 12 (2 (34/1)) ◽  
pp. 25-62
Author(s):  
Witalij Łytwyn

The Evolution of Institution of Presidency in Political History of Ukraine: Incipience, Powers, Role and Place in the System of Government The author determined phases of formation, powers, role and place of presidency in the government system of Ukraine at different stages of its political development, outlined historiography of presidency’s researches in Ukraine, incrementally structured the evolution of political and legal views about the nature and purpose of the presidency in Ukraine, outlined the factual authority, role and place of presidency in the government system of Ukraine (on Ukrainian ethnic territories) in the first decade of the twentieth century. He also described the influence of the USSR presidency on the characteristics of formation and role of the presidency in post‑Soviet Ukraine as well as revealed the dynamics of presidency in the independent Ukraine, 1991‑2014. The author also found out the problem of institutional inheritance of presidency (including his powers, role and place in system of government) in the context of impact of some historical milestones of Ukrainian statehood in the following historical milestones. As result, the researcher argued that the institution of presidency in Ukraine (including the government system at all) needs to be reformed because of the past institutional, legal and political legacy of the presidency in Ukraine, and given to the experience of presidency in Central and Eastern Europe countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (324) ◽  
pp. 142-151
Author(s):  
Bogdan Chrzanowski

The regaining of the country’s independence, and then its revival after the war damages, including itseconomic infrastructure – these were the tasks set by the Polish government in exile, first in Paris and thenin London. The maritime economy was to play an important role here. The Polish government was fullyaware of the enormous economic and strategic benefits resulting from the fact that it had a coast, withthe port of Gdynia before the war. It was assumed that both in Gdynia and in the ports that were to belongto Poland after the war: Szczecin, Kołobrzeg, Gdańsk, Elbląg, Królewiec, the economic structure was to betransformed, and they were to become the supply points for Central and Eastern Europe. Work on thereconstruction of the post-war maritime economy was mainly carried out by the Ministry of Industry, Tradeand Shipping. In London, in 1942–1943, a number of government projects were set up to rebuild the entiremaritime infrastructure. All projects undertaken in exile were related to activities carried out by individualunderground divisions of the Polish Underground State domestically, i.e. the “Alfa” Naval Department of theHome Army Headquarters, the Maritime Department of the Military Bureau of Industry and Trade of the Headof the Military Bureau of the Home Army Headquarters and the Maritime Department of the Departmentof Industry Trade and Trade Delegation of the Government of the Republic of Poland in Poland. The abovementionedorganizational units also prepared plans for the reconstruction of the maritime economy, and theprojects developed in London were sent to the country. They collaborated here and a platform for mutualunderstanding was found.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragoș Adăscăliței ◽  
Ștefan Guga

This article investigates a case of successful union organizing in one automotive assembly plant in Romania. The authors argue that in order to explain why the union succeeds in defending workers’ rights there is a need to consider both structural and agency aspects that condition labor’s capacity to effectively defend their interests. The findings show that the union at the Romanian plant has made use of a diverse repertoire of protest activities in order to defend its worker constituency. The authors also discuss why as of late protests are less and less used by the union in response to the shifting economic and political environment in which the plant is embedded. They argue that a closer look at the strategy of the Romanian union and the path it has taken in the past decade provides a better understanding of the conditions for union success in an economic, legal, and political environment that has become increasingly hostile toward organized labor. In this sense, the article points to the more general situation unions in Central and Eastern Europe have found themselves in recent years.


Politeja ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (7 (34/2)) ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
Igor Grieckij

Central and Eastern Europe countries and NATO enlargement in foreign policy of Russian Federation in 1992‑1992 The beginning of the 1990s is one of the most interesting and controversial periods in the history of Russian foreign policy. At that time, extensive reforms were introduced in Russia in the framework of transition to market economy and institutions of civil society. Russia’s foreign policy has undergone great changes, as well, many of its fundamental provisions were subject to significant adjustment. In particular, the new leadership of Russia is no longer considered NATO as an enemy, and even let in a possibility of Russia’s prospects for NATO membership in future. However, by 1994, the Kremlin’s position on that issue has changed dramatically. This article examines the nature of these changes in Russia’s foreign policy, as well as the reasons why the Russian government perceived negatively the CEE countries’ aspirations to join NATO, and considered it as a threat to its national interests.


Lituanistica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurynas Giedrimas

The article deals with the households of the nobles and peasants in the first half of the nineteenth century in Užventis parish, Samogitia. In the middle of the twentieth century, John Hajnal and Peter Laslett started researching the history of resident households. The researchers formulated theoretical and methodological foundations for household analysis and encouraged other historians and demographers to undertake similar studies. The researchers who analysed the households of Central and Eastern Europe either refuted or corrected many of the statements proposed by John Hajnal and Peter Laslett and established that the most common household in Central and Eastern Europe was a nuclear household, although in many cases it was also possible to find an extended household. However, it was not clarified at what age people started building new households and which household model dominated in Samogitia. Also, it was not known what the difference between a household of nobles and a household of peasants was. The data on the households of the nobles and peasants also interconnected. The households of landlords were bigger than the households of peasants and the petty nobility, because the menage of a landlord used to be part of the household. After analysing the aforementioned data, it has been discovered that in the first half of the nineteenth century, nuclear household dominated Užventis parish. Extended household models were often found as well. The Catholic inhabitants of Užventis parish married late and had a child every two years. Around 3500 Catholic residents lived in Užventis parish in the first half of the nineteenth century. The analysis of the data showed that nuclear household dominated the Užventis parish in the first half of the nineteenth century.


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadeusz Stryjakiewicz ◽  
Michał Męczyński ◽  
Krzysztof Stachowiak

Abstract Over the past two decades the cities in Central and Eastern Europe have witnessed a wide-ranging transformation in many aspects. The introduction of a market-oriented economy after half a century of socialism has brought about deep social, economic, cultural and political changes. The first stage of the changes, the 1990s, involved the patching up of structural holes left by the previous system. The post-socialist city had to face challenges of the future while carrying the ballast of the past. Rapid progress in catching up with the West transformed the city a great deal. Later on, the advent of the 21st century brought a new wave of development processes based, among other things, on creativity and innovation. Hence our contribution aims to explore the role of creativity and creative industries in the post-socialist urban transformation. The article consists of three basic parts. In the first we present the concept of a ‘creative post-socialist city’ and define the position of creative industries in it. We also indicate some similarities to and differences from the West European approaches to this issue. In the second part, examples from Central and Eastern Europe are used in an attempt to elucidate the concept of a ‘creative post-socialist city’ by identifying some basic features of creative actions /processes as well as a creative environment, both exogenous and endogenous. The former is embedded in different local networks, both formal (institutionalised) and informal, whereas the structure of the latter is strongly path-dependent. In the third part we critically discuss the role of local policies on the development of creative industries, pointing out some of their shortcomings and drawing up recommendations for future policy measures.


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