The news that the defenders of Mariupol had left the underground of the Azovstal steelworks for Russian captivity brought no relief to their families or to Ukrainian society. If this …
Our weekly English-language bulletin featuring our pick from European print and one of our top articles from our weekly Přítomnost.
Russianness is murder
A changing view of the recent past. České Budějovice decided to remove Valentina Těreškovová’s name from the list of honorary citizens of the city, where it had been since the …
Are the Russian people Putin’s victims or collaborators in crime?
Lacking a positive national identity, Russians continue to be governed by a dangerous imperial mindset that betrays both subservience and aggression. Putin has cynically built on this dubious foundation. The …
No limits? China, Russia and Ukraine
China’s failure to condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine seems to have confirmed the two autocracies’ friendship with no limits. But China has its own stakes in the war-torn country. Ultimately, …
War and indignation
At the end of April, the world-famous German philosopher Jürgen Habermas commented in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on the attitudes of the West and Germany towards the war in Ukraine and …
Flags of survival
The Ukrainians trapped underground in besieged Mariupol steel works were instructed to wave white flags. They face a warring nation whose people once suffered a crippling war of extermination themselves. …
The Pope’s dilemma: Is even a just war madness
With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, attention has also been focused on one of the biggest global celebrities – Pope Francis. He heads a community of over a billion …
The war is equally terrible everywhere and Europe still lacks bravery
Martin J. Stránský, editor of Přítomnost, spoke with the winner of the Ferdinand Peroutka Prize 2021 about the situation in Ukraine. Martin Jan Stránský: You were in Ukraine in 2017, …
Ukraine: A battleground for Europe’s future
For Ukrainians, this uneven battle is about the survival of their nation. However, it is also about the future of democracy in Europe as a whole. The unprecedented act of …
France is a paradise inhabited by people who think they live in hell
We spoke with Jacques Rupnik, a political scientist based in Paris at Sciences Po, about the French presidential elections. Already on Sunday, the second round will decide whether Macron or …
Of fish and people
Belarusian and Ukrainian intellectuals have been applying postcolonial theory to Russia since the 1990s. But they have largely been ignored in the West. Now it is time to listen to …
Why (even successful) Tibetans burn themselves to death
The recent case of the self-immolation of a young Tibetan pop singer reveals extremely clearly what drives young Tibetans to such protests, despite the significant improvement in material conditions in …
Conflict, commitment and fear
War polarizes debate. And the sympathies of post-Soviet migrants living in Central Europe have come under extra scrutiny since war broke out in Ukraine. A closer look at the immigrant …
Real refugees, fake refugees
After pushing back Middle Eastern refugees into the forests on its northern border with Belarus, Poland is now welcoming an unprecedented number of displaced Ukrainians. Deep racial and gender stereotypes …
Cancel culture vs. execute culture
Why Russian manuscripts don’t burn, but Ukrainian manuscripts burn all too well Rather than debating what to do with Russian culture, western intellectuals need to talk about how to prevent …
You can’t lose democratic elections if they don’t exist
It would have taken a miracle for Viktor Orbán to lose the election. Hungary is a fortified kleptocracy where the ruling party has captured the state and controls 80% of …
How Putin found God
It was a sodden spring day in May 2009. A small group of men trooped solemnly across a leafy cemetery in central Moscow. The priest in flowing black robes was …
Altruism in times of war
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, we have witnessed unprecedented solidarity with the war refugees fleeing the invaded country. This solidarity is also being shown by Czech society, …
Preparing for the good times to be over
A month into Russia’s invasion, is the EU ready for the challenge? Russia’s war on Ukraine is clearly an attack on the whole of Europe, but domestic responses are still …