Paradoksalnie Europa jest teraz bezpieczniejsza niż przed wojną, lecz wyzwań nie brakuje.

The article is dedicated to the analysis of ideologically meaningful proper names, mainly oikonyms, and also to the indication and description of the three main tendencies noticed in Ukrainian oikonyms from the end of 1989 until 2016, during the social and political transformations in Ukraine and the decommunization processes connected with it. Using examples, the authors illustrate the phenomenon of korenizatsiya (nativisation), namely the recovery of historical names from before sovietisation, allusiveness, ensuring a neutral nature for names by referring to objects outside the area of politics and ideology, as well as glorification, the honoring and memorializing of events, heroes, and symbols connected with the past and modern history of Ukraine.

According to the finds, Polish and Western European coins reached western Ukraine in two stages: in the 10th / 11th century and in the first half of the 12th century. Some of these coins (but usually without Polish ones) were transported further east, to the vicinity of Kiev. On the other hand, Western European coins flowed into the territories of Northern Rus’ from the north. This text is based on data contained both in the literature (including recent one) and information not yet published, kindly provided by researchers from Ukraine (A. Kryzhanivskiy) and from the Czech Republic (J. Videman).

The article analyses the results of mass survey conducted in the framework of the project of the Volkswagen Foundation “Bi- and multilingualism between intensification of conflict and conflict resolution. Ethno-linguistic conflicts, language politics and contact situations in post-Soviet Ukraine and Russia”. Research’s aim was to understand to what extent the state language policy in the area of mass media and cultural sphere meet the expectations of the citizens of Ukraine. It underlines regionally marked attitude towards the strategy of language policy: the Western part of the country prefers Ukrainian language, South – Russian, and Center and North take intermediate positions.

Artykuł stanowi próbę wglądu socjologicznego w problematykę imaginarium społecznego na przecięciu nauki i religii, jest głosem w dyskusji na temat roli nauki w procesach sekularyzacji. Kontynuując tradycję socjologiczną zgłębiającą rozumienie kulturowej roli nauki poprzez badania akademii, Autorka opiera analizę na materiale 100 wywiadów pogłębionych z fizykami oraz biologami z Polski i Ukrainy. Poświęca uwagę w szczególności imaginarium dotyczącemu miejsca człowieka we wszechświecie. Celem artykułu jest pokazanie istotnego zróżnicowania w tym zakresie między populacjami uczonych z Polski i Ukrainy oraz ustalenie konsekwencji, jakie ma ono dla utraty lub zachowania ich religijności. Uzyskane dane pozwalają dostrzec, że wpływ nauki jako wiedzy obiektywnej na religijność uczonych nie jest uniwersalny, lecz silnie zapośredniczony kulturowo. Zamiast poszukiwania jednej formuły tego wpływu warto zatem mówić o wielu jego kulturowo zależnych konfiguracjach.

In the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw there are four small sets, originating from the eastern lands of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They had belonged to the collection of Józef Choynowski and, as a deposit of the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, in 1923 became a part of the Museum’s collection. They represent quite a wide time horizon, dated from the beginning of the 16th century to the half of the 17th century. Their compositions are similar to deposits from the same period, and size allow to determine them as content of purses. The older hoards are homogeneous in nature, while the later ones are more varied, including, among others, many counterfeit coins. The circumstances of their deposition are unknown.

The third decade of the 21st century clearly reminded us of the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the environment in which economies, organizations and individuals operate, bringing at least two serious economic crises. On the one hand, the COVID-19 pandemic brought an unprecedented shock of both demand and supply nature, thus materializing the risks associated with the system of international economic connections constructed over many decades. On the other hand, we are facing a global economic crisis caused by Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. The aim of the article is to capture the impact of the above-mentioned phenomena on the economic situation in Poland from the internal and international perspective, with the global perspective also taken into account. As part of the internal perspective, the focus was on inflationary processes in the short and long term, taking into account their course and possible countermeasures. As part of the international perspective, attention was drawn to one of the most frequently discussed issues, which is making forecasts and assessments regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus. The second problem within this perspective, which affects both many European economies and developed economies around the world in a tanginble way, is Europe's dependence on Russia for access to energy resources and on China for production capacity. The third issue from the international perspective are the problems related to the reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy after the war and the development prospects of this economy, paying particular attention to the role that Polish enterprises can play in these processes. Finally, within the global perspective, attention was paid to two issues, namely the so-called economy of moderation and the future of globalization. It was assumed that moderation can be considered a synonym of global rationality and a guarantee of the long-term survival of civilization, and therefore also a special case of the so-called common good. With regard to globalization, understood as an advanced form of internationalization, the focus was on the opportunities and threats for the region of Central and Eastern Europe resulting from significant changes in international value chains in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Western Ukraine arouses a high emotional charge of historical origin. There are a number of buildings and complexes in this area created since the 14th century, that are the witnesses of the Polish presence and our contribution to the culture of these lands. The monuments of sacred architecture and numerous military ones occupy a special place. In the short interwar period a number of structures and complexes that demonstrate a high level of design technique were created. Their current technical state is usually very bad. Our participation in restoring splendour to the witnesses of our, historical centuries-old presence, would be beneficial.

The content of the article is a historical analysis of the presence, understanding and validity of the Iron Curtain metaphor in the field of social sciences. After 1989, it might seem that the fall of the Iron Curtain had lost its relevance and the metaphor had become dead. It’s recall by Władimir Załęski in connection with the war in Ukraine prompted a re-analysis of the sense, meaning and emotions associated with it. The question of how this commonly known metaphor influenced (and influences) our understanding of reality and to what extent it constitutes a reliable analytical category is subject to reflection.

After 1945, the Gdańsk Library became a treasury for the surviving collections of Po-meranian libraries liquidated during and after the Second World War. The safeguarded manuscripts included an anonymous notebook – a diary describing the route of a summer trip through Eastern Lesser Poland in 1926 (Ms. 5872). A detailed analysis of diary entries made it possible to identify the author – a landowner, Maria Chełmicka, née Wybicka (1901-1968).
The programme of Maria Chełmicka’s trip was based on visiting castles and palaces constituting a priceless heritage of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as temples characteristic for Eastern Lesser Poland (churches of various Christian denomi-nations, including the Orthodox Church, and Jewish synagogues). The description of the state of the historical buildings of the time, both the ones which are currently in ruin and the ones restored by Ukrainian authorities after 1991, is of a timeless value. The notebook is also a precious source familiarising readers with the realities of sightseeing trips of the time. One of the most interesting fragments of the diary is a description of a hike along the mountain range of Chornohora and the tourist infrastructure on the routes leading to its highest peak of Hoverla.

‘The special military operation’ conducted by the Russian Federation, including the ‘anti-terrorist operation’ in the Black and Azov Seas carried out by its Black Sea Fleet, meets the definition of aggression, which, in addition to violating the UN Charter, also violates the provisions of UNCLOS (Article 301) and the San Remo Manual (general provisions, first three sections). The unilateral announcement (through a navigational warning) of an ‘anti-terrorist operation’, and in fact a sea blockade of Ukrainian ports, is contrary to the content of UNCLOS (freedom of navigation) and does not meet the requirements for methods of fighting at sea (sea blockade, zones - San Remo Manual).
The missile attacks on civilian and protected objects located on the territory of the Ukrainian state, carried out by ships and aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as artillery and missiles shelling of coastal towns, constitute a gross violation (war crime) of the international humanitarian law of armed conflicts (San Remo Manual). On contrary, the use of unmanned surface vehicles (drones) by the Ukrainian side in the arak on the Sevastopol base is in accordance with the provisions of the Manual (means of warfare at sea). Particular attention in the discussed armed conflict deserves art. 35 (c) UNCLOS relating to the Turkish Straits, which allows Turkey (based on the Montreaux Convention) to significantly influence the strategic and operational situation in the Black Sea by denying the use of the straits to warships (Turkey closed them to warships all flags). The voting procedure for informal members of the UN Security Council should be considered ineffective, which in the discussed case, when the aggressor is a state – a permanent member of the Security Council makes it difficult to apply measures provided for by international law against it and forces the use of ad hoc solutions, such as ‘grain corridors’.