Interest in professional military service is growing among Gen Z in Poland, a frontline state in the Ukraine war. But is this generation, who spent much of their coming of age indoors during COVID-19, really ready to fight?
Source: GAZETA WYBORCZA
Gazeta Wyborcza (“Election Gazette”) is a leading daily newspaper in Poland, and the country’s most popular news portal. Founded in 1989 by Adam Michnik and based in Warsaw, the paper is now owned by Agora SA, and is described as center-left.
After splitting from the Confederation party, Poland’s far-right leader Grzegorz Braun has continued to say ever more extreme statements, including blatant Holocaust denial. It all seems to give him a boost in popularity.
This small but strategically located Russian exclave is the most militarized area in Europe. Much of the continent remains within range of Kaliningrad’s Iskander missiles which allows Russia to keep NATO in check. What is the real potential of the Russian military forces stationed just beyond our northern border?
The Kremlin accuses Ukraine of persecuting the Russian language as propaganda to justify the Ukraine War. But on the home front, Vladimir Putin uses language oppression as a power play — endangering Russia’s diverse native languages as a means of consolidating his rule.
As Poland reinstates border checks with Germany and Lithuania over immigration concerns, experts warn that the situation at the Polish-German border increasingly unregulated, threatening the life and health safety of migrants.
A Polish influencer is claiming that the U.S. streaming giant has illegally stolen her ideas — and even her pink hair.
Poland is the EU country that is most afraid of adopting the euro. But why are Poles so afraid, and what economic prospects could help them change their mind?
In a tightly contested election night marked by twists and turns, Karol Nawrocki emerged victorious as Poland’s next president. But what does the rise of this conservative-nationalist, backed by the Law and Justice party, signal for the country’s future?
Romania and Poland, both countries divided between their liberal Pro-European and conservative nationalist parties, both countries with a communist past, have now had to make a choice about which direction they wish to go in.
Despite heavy international sanctions from the West, Russia has taken a lighter economic hit than expected. Rather than suffering from war, it’s become dependent on it — like Germany in the 1930s.
As the war in Ukraine has continued for years now, reports have surfaced of international soldiers, including those from China and North Korea, fighting for the Russian side. Less known but perhaps no less significant is the example of Nepalese soldiers, some of whom don’t even know a war is ongoing when they make the decision to leave for Russia in search of a better life.
With her open-armed gestures and lack of filter, left-wing candidate Joanna Senyszyn has won the hearts and minds of many Gen Z voters preparing for Poland’s May 18 presidential elections. Can it take her to the second round?
Since the 1990s and the fall of communism in Poland, the country’s economic life has changed drastically, moving from a command economy focused on national production to a global one, which is now becoming an increasingly important player in Europe and the world. In the face of Donald Trump’s protectionist inclinations, Witold Gamoski argues that globalization is exactly what economies need to grow.
Pope Francis had a remarkable impact on the Vatican. In Poland, the last Catholic stronghold of Europe, Francis took action, forcing high-ranking officials in the Church to resign, and dismissing some altogether. For Poland, a country still reckoning with the impacts of Pope John Paul II, both positive and negative, Francis’s papacy held particular weight.
Faced with the threat of global economic chaos brought on by Trump’s tariffs, and accelerated by the war in Ukraine, the Russian economy should be in shambles. However, as noted by Russian economist Władysław Inoziemcew, the situation is far more complicated than it may seem.
A new exhibit, “Eastern Europeans From a Polish Perspective,” in Brussels aims to shed new light on Poland, which has long been seen as an outlier to European affairs.
After Donald Trump returned the White House, he quickly began implementing stricter immigration and security policies, including increased checks in airports. Many cases, such as that of a German tattoo artist being detained, became highly publicized around the world. But are the changes under Trump as harsh as they seem?
Konfederacja, or Confederation, is Poland’s furthest-right mainstream party. Describing itself as economically liberal and nationalist, the party has been rising in the polls ahead of the the May 18 and June 1 presidential election, with growing support from women, young people and the LGBTQ community.
Poland, one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine since the beginning of the war, and a neighboring country to Ukraine, has accepted over one million refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. However, as time has gone on, Poles have grown to increasingly resent Ukrainians. But why? Olena Babakova, a Ukrainian journalist, explains for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza.
In a region known for its strong, centuries-long ties to the mining industry, areas once dedicated to coal are now being transformed into cultural hubs. Among these is a disused mine in the town of Pszów, which has now been transformed into a library.
Poland, which borders Ukraine and has been their close ally since the beginning of the war, is one of the many European countries that began reasserting their security priorities after Donald Trump began peace talks with Russia. Now, wanting to deter Russian aggression, Polish political leaders are floating the idea of procuring nuclear weapons.
In an exclusive for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, a bishop speaks to the journalist about why he offered money to a former altar boy who claimed to have been abused by a Catholic priest in the city of Bydgoszcz in Poland.
Although Poland is known as a key supporter of the Ukrainian cause, public opinion is beginning to shift, especially among the far-right. Leading the charge is far-right presidential candidate Grzegorz Braun.
Poland was right to vote alongside Ukraine and other Western countries on a UN resolution this week that clearly indicated President Vladimir Putin’s Russia as the culprit in the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. But would Polish diplomats have made that same choice if the nationalist-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) were in power. The election in May could see that happen.
Polish scientist Maria Skłodowska-Curie, also known as Marie Curie, has often caused controversies entirely unrelated to the scientific breakthroughs she achieved. Rather, almost 70 years after her passing, a heated debate on the inclusion of her Polish maiden name, and the Polish spelling of her name, continues.
The German elections showed rising support for the far-right AfD, and increased dissatisfaction running rampant in German society, Polish columnist Bartosz T. Wielinski asks whether this runs the risk of history of the early 20th century repeating.
The number of Israeli citizens applying for a Polish passport has quadrupled, and law offices as well as provincial citizenship offices have been struggling to keep up with the rising demand. But why have so many people suddenly taken an interest in Poland?
For years there has been a visible increase in the percentage of so-called “nesters,” people entering adulthood who do not move out of their family homes. But is the explanation for this problem really limited to the lack of housing availability or the economy more broadly? Or are they some other factors at play?
Since 2021, Poland has been facing a humanitarian and migration crisis along its border with Belarus. In the meantime, several collectives of volunteers have sprung up, providing aid to migrants stuck between the two borders, such as food, water, and emergency blankets. Now, facing a harsher Pan-European border policy, and security pressure at home, some of these volunteers may be prosecuted for their efforts.
Trump’s politics of mass deportation have long been associated with migrants coming from Latin America and the Caribbean. However, as the first roundups begin in Chicago, home to the largest Polish community in the U.S., Warsaw-based looks at thousands of Polish immigrants who have been there for decades without proper documentation.
One-third of young Polish women don’t go to the gynecologist from fear of being judged. Catholic Polish doctors often refuse to prescribe birth control, openly make references to their religion, make judgmental remarks about their patients, and, in the worst cases, deny women life-saving care because of Poland’s draconian abortion laws.
With the popularity of food travel shows, the rise of international dishes like Basque cheesecake and Japanese ramen, and the enduring allure of the culinary traditions of Italy and France, Gazeta Wyborcza‘s culture editor Małgorzata Muraszko argues that Poland should (and can) become a foodie destination.
With a growing number of far-right victories in Western democracies, many individuals have begun idealizing Poland as “the ideal combination of capitalism and tradition.” What are the origins of the conservative fascination with Poland, and is it even true?
Last December, the European Court of Human Rights found that Poland was violating the right to respect for private and family life by refusing to recognize same-sex civil partnerships. This, along with the end of conservative-Catholic rule last year, brings some signs of change to couples who have been waiting for years for the legislation to pass.
While the traditional most promising path to well-compensated employment included a college diploma followed by a corporate job, an increasing number of young people are instead looking to the trades for better work-life balance, increased compensation and a break from the patterns set by their parents.
The memory of the Holocaust remains a painful and ever-present stain on Polish history. While the trauma continues to affect the living survivors and their families today, many survivors’ descendants are facing it head-on, and returning to Poland to learn about their family history and transform it into artistic works.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and fears of westward escalation have already led many European countries to up their own defense strategies. But instead of the latest technologies, rockets, and fighter jets, the true key to fighting back may lie in studying the polar region, critical for world stability.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 1,000 days ago. Since then, many Western nations, scholars and politicians have suggested negotiating for peace with Russia, rather than letting the war go on. But negotiations will not stop Putin’s imperial ambitions.
One of the few EU countries to not agree to the 2015 migration scheme, Poland had long been viewed as a right-wing periphery on migration. But with the rest of Europe moving rightward, Poland has emerged as the new leader on the issue.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly said he could end the Russia-Ukraine war “in a day” if reelected. Now that he has won, some Ukrainian commentators and politicians are hoping that they can use his unpredictability — and vanity — to their advantage.