New Eastern Europe Magazine Sept-Oct 2016 Zurück Ausgabe

Do many people think of political prisoners in Europe today? Or have politicians in countries that still uphold this despicable practice managed to deflect western criticism in exchange for business transactions and promises of stability? In rocky times, the latter is especially tempting.
No matter what the exchange deal is, it is clear that silencing dissent and oppressing individuals based on political views is something we cannot ignore. That is why this issue of New Eastern Europe aims to show the plight of the political prisoners whose voices we barely hear. Our contributors include former prisoners themselves, Andrei Sannikov and Rasul Jafarov, as well as other authors who illustrate the alarming increase in oppressions in the post-Soviet space. Reading them should help us understand the dire situation of today’s freedom fighters and encourage greater solidarity towards their cause. As Sannikov writes, “political prisoners are jailed for their beliefs and principles. They fight for freedom, not just of their countries, but for all of us.”

Continued attention also needs to be paid to Ukraine, where changes are being implemented even if some elements of the landscape remain the same. Yulia Tymoshenko is hungry for power again and appears willing to do whatever it takes to make a comeback. Our author, Ukrainian journalist Roman Romanyuk, explains why Tymoshenko’s ratings are on the rise. As the situation with Crimea becomes more tense, the position of its Tatar population is only getting worse. It is presented in Igor Semyvolos’s text. Finally, while the western media talk about the possibility of war in Ukraine’s eastern parts, our reporters, Paweł Pieniążek and Wojciech Koźmic, show that in the two self-proclaimed republics, the war has never stopped.

We close this issue with a special section on Kraków and Lviv – two UNESCO Cities of Literature.