The Dissolution of the Soviet Union

In late December 1991—some 74 years after the Bolsheviks had taken power in Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin—the Soviet Communist regime and the Soviet state itself ceased to exist. The demise of the Soviet Union occurred less than seven years after Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Communist Party. Soon after taking office in March 1985, Gorbachev had launched a series of drastic political and economic changes that he hoped would improve and strengthen the Communist system and bolster the country's superpower status. But in the end, far from strengthening Communism, Gorbachev's policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (official openness) led inadvertently to the collapse of the Soviet regime and the unraveling of the Soviet state. This article analyzes the breakup of the Soviet Union, explaining why that outcome, which had seemed so unlikely at the outset, occurred in such a short period of time.

Mass Arrivals of Poles in the 1980s as a Symptom of Political and Economic Changes in the Eastern Bloc

The article concerns the subject of mass Ukrainian-Polish contacts in the last decade of the USSR. Documents produced by the Polish consular services and the political police allow for the study of Poles’ travel across the eastern border. They were visiting Ukraine e.g. as employees of cultural and commercial institutions, construction companies, participants of official delegations, students of Soviet universities, trainees, participants of trips and — the most frequent — individual tourists. The most important were informal contacts, almost all visitors tried to trade illegally. The intensification of these trips (in 1988 Ukraine was visited by 700,000 Poles), their circumstances and character were the effect of the progressive disintegration of the communist system, which had been taking place in Poland since 1980 and in Ukraine since 1985. The deepening economic crisis increased interest in the transportation of goods across the border and their illegal sale as a source of household supplies or income. Weakening state structures were unable, or unwilling, to effectively counteract this practice. The progressive liberalization of travel regulations increased the number of visitors, who were interested not only in business but also in Ukraine’s past and culture, especially in monuments of Lviv. Poles sometimes demonstrated their critical attitude to the Communist regime, manifested freedom or religious attitudes and often broke harsh Soviet rules. The militia and secret service found them to be troublesome guests. However, non-political people-to-people contacts, virtually nonexistent after WWII, were established and renewed then. These relations developed into close neighborly cooperation after the fall of the USSR.

Historical issues in Polish-Russian relations within the period of 1989 to 2007

The article focuses on the issue of the influence of the historical conditions on the Polish-Russian relations at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The history of these two countries is linked by a long-lasting and difficult past, and thus numerous unresolved disputes, burdens, and myths arose that have been felt to this day. In 1989, after the fall of the Communist system in our country, new political elites managing the process of democratic changes in the Third Polish Republic made efforts that aimed at settling disputed threads from the common Polish-Russian history. On the way to making up for the past, the period between 1989 and 2007 was marked by a number of important events that could be seen as the symbol of the common reconciliation. Unfortunately, there were also moments of regression and deep crisis that negatively affected the cooperation of both countries in the matter of dealing with difficult cards of the common history. This was influenced by a different approach to the past that is understood differently in Poland and in Russia and that contributed to the emergence of numerous misunderstandings, as well as to the mutual accusations in this field.

Communism and Anti-Communist Dissent in Romania as Reflected in Contemporary Textbooks

The structural changes brought about by the collapse of the communist system also included the reconfiguration of social memory, so that future generations have a more objective imagining of the impact of the communist period on the societies from Central and Eastern Europe. In this view, the depoliticization of recent history is a top priority. The present study aims to highlight the way in which the schoolbooks in Romania bring into the memory of the young generation a strictly secret episode in recent (pre-1990) history: anti-communist dissent. Two categories of methods were used: researching the data and information contained in history textbooks and other bibliographic sources on anti-communist dissent in Romania in the overall socio-political context of that era; and assessing—with the help of a set of surveys—the degree of assimilation by young people in Romania of the knowledge about communism conveyed through textbooks. Research points to the conclusion that the Romanian curriculum and textbooks provide an objective picture of the communist period in this country, but young people’s perception of communism in general and of Romanian communism in particular tends to be distorted by poor education, poverty and surrounding mentalities rooted in that period.

Resistance through Culture. Satirical Student Groups of the Last Decade of Communism and the Silence of Theatre Critics

"In the ‘80s, satirical student groups, the so-called artistic “brigades”, were one of the most dynamic subversive artistic phenomena against the communist system. This paper aims to shine a light on the dimension of this phenomenon, to find explanations for the apparently privileged status enjoyed by such groups, as well as to clarify the reasons why theatre critics of the time so stubbornly ignored them. Keywords: theatre, cultural policies, camps humour, political humour, theatre criticism "

How Has the Legal Consciousness of Chinese Enterprise Managers Transformed since 1949? A Study of Chinese Enterprises under Socialism

This paper analyses how the legal consciousness of Chinese enterprise managers has transformed in the face of drastic changes brought along by major events in socialist China. During the past 70 years, there have been in place a series of radical and pervasive changes in the legal framework constituted by a communist system frequented by mass political campaigns, trailed by a massive liberalized move towards a market economy. By building upon the thesis of legal-consciousness narratives suggested by Ewick and Silbey, this paper discusses how Chinese managers have evolved through various states of “With the Law,” “Against the Law,” and “Under the Law” legal consciousness. It is suggested that, in the coming era of globalization under socialist China, Chinese enterprise managers may start to embrace a new narrative of legal consciousness—“In the Law”—by participating more actively in the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

New forms of rental dwelling in contemporary Poland

Aim. The subject of the article are types of rental dwelling in contemporary Poland. The aim of this paper is to present the forms of contemporary living in terms of age groups, way of study or work and financing possibilities of Poles compared to other countries in the world. Methods. The authors of the article present selected new forms of rental dwelling in Poland in context of changes after the collapse of communist system in 1989. The article discusses the present situation of Polish real estate market basing on European statistics. It indicates the problem of limited availability of housing and presents solutions implemented by the government and the private sector market. Results and Conclusion. Poland is one of the European countries with the highest rate of people living in overcrowded apartments or houses. The solutions introduced by the state in order to increase the availability of housing and allowing the alternative to buying a flat, encounter difficulties with spatial planning regulations. In the absence of sufficient support of the government private sector market see its chance for profit in constructing and renting apartments. Cognitive value. The article describes the phenomenon of a growing private rental, that could be a shift in dwelling characteristic of Poles and influence the housing market. It presents new forms of developments, showing the background of their creation.

The idea of independence and freedom in the activities of Hasan Oraltay

Hasan Oraltay is a Kazakh figure abroad, researcher of the national liberation movement, historian, publicist, author of works in Turkish, Kazakh, English, German and other languages, honorary professor of the International Kazakh-Turkish University. He devoted all his life to serving for the benefit of the Kazakh people. In the 20th century, the Kazakhs of East Turkestan waged a liberation struggle for their freedom and independence. Hasan Oraltay wrote a chronicle of the life of the Kazakhs, persecuted by the totalitarian communist system in their homeland and gained freedom in the West. His writings highlight the history of the Alash national intelligentsia and all the pressing problems of Kazakhstan. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that the article deals with the writer's and, as is known, the historical role of Hasan Oraltay, from the perspective that the Kazakhs of East Turkestan, picking a pen, declared the first swallow of the national liberation struggle to the world. Half a century ago, his first book was published in the Turkish city of Izmir “On the way to freedom. Kazakh Turks of East Turkestan”. Until the last period of his life, all works written and organised by him were devoted to urgent problems concerning the Kazakh people, for the Kazakh past and future. Radio Azattyk (RL/RFE) was the first to speak about the uprising of Kazakh youth against the Soviet system in December of 1986. Later, Hassan Oraltay published in the Western press various articles about the December events, collections and books, in which he assessed the protest mood in Soviet Kazakhstan. The practical significance of the study is determined by the fact that for 27 years of service in Azattyk, Hasan Oraltay constantly raised the urgent problems of Kazakhs in the Soviet Union. The study collected all information on the ideas of independence