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DearReader,
Ithasbecomequitefashionable,andarguablycorrect,todisputeFrancisFuku-
yama’stheorythatthecollapseoftheSovietUnionbroughtabouttheendofhis-
tory.AnyoneinterestedinCentralandEasternEuropeunderstandsthatthisregion
isfarfrommonolithic,alsointheimplementation(orlackthereof)ofwesterneco-
nomicandpoliticalsystems.Atthesametimewecannotdenythatthereissome-
thingidiosyncraticabouttheformerSovietbloc,somethingwhichlinksitssocieties
together.Eitherthroughcommonexperienceorhistory(orboth).
WeaddressthisphenomenoninthisissueroughlyusingthetermHomopost-
sovieticus.Itallowsourauthorstotalkaboutthelegacyofthesocialistpastwhich,
astheyargue,hasnotyetfullydisappeared.Itstracescanbefoundthroughoutthe
regionandshapethelivesofitsmanypeople.Thesetraceshavebeencapturedby
agroupofphotographerswhocollectivelycallthemselvestheSputnikgroup(notto
beconfusedwiththepro-KremlinSputnikmedia).Theiruniqueprojectispresented
byWojciechGóreckiintheopeningessaytothisissueandisaccompaniedbysome
oftheirillustrativephotographs.
Inaddition,wetackletheissueoftheincompletesystemtransformationwhich,
inmanycases,hasallowedforacreationofhybridsocio-economicsystems.They
may,likeinGeorgiaasdiscussedbyKajaPuto,bearesultofahastyreconstruction
ofthestatetolookmorelikewhatisbelievedtobetheWest.Or,asisthecaseof
Belarus,whichisanalysedbyMaximRust,revealasloweremergenceofcollective
identitythatisbothsubmissiveandopen,passiveandentrepreneurial.
Inthecaseofpost-MaidanUkraine,wherewithoutadoubtthetransformation
hasgonemuchfurther,therootingofthewesternvaluesystemisalsostillunder
way.AswecanseefromAndriyLyubkaandNinaBoichenko’stextsthepossible
risksofitsinterruptioncannotbeignored.
Additionally,inthisissuewehavepreparedtwospecialsections:thefrstone,
publishedonthe500-yearanniversaryofMartinLuther’sNinety-fveTheses,debates
thelegacyoftheReformationfromourregion’sstandpoint,whilethesecond,at
theendoftheissue,isdedicatedtoJosephConrad–aPolish-bornwriterwhose
masterpieceshavebeenreadandstudiedthroughouttheworldforgenerations.
OurauthorstakeanewlookatConrad,hisinfluencesandhowhisworksarestill
veryrelevantin2017.
Lastly,wearepleasedtoannouncethatintheautumnofthisyearNewEastern
Europewillbelaunchinganewwebsite.Itwillprovidenewfeaturestosubscribers,
whowillnotonlybeabletoaccessourdigitalarchive,butalsoreadeachtextfrom
theissueonlineviatheirwebbrowser.
Weinviteyoutotakealookandjoinusonlineat:www.neweasterneurope.eu
TheEditors
