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This article presents the role of selected motifs of prayer depicted in the works of first-wave Russian emigrants in the creation of a certain type of national mythology. The starting point of the considerations is a reflection on the status of emigrant literature at the time of its creation, during the period of political changes in the Soviet bloc, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and today. From the beginning, émigré literature has served as a certain treasury of images and symbols, which are treated as necessary elements for maintaining the national identity of emigrants. The article presents selected motifs from the works of Ivan Shmelev's The Year of the Lord and Pilgrimage, and Boris Zaitsev's Saint Sergius of Radonezh, showing prayer as an element of ritual, as a collective request, and as an act of deep contact with God. The analysis of the selected examples shows that regardless of the literary form, narrative perspective, or the way the subject was presented, the writers showed prayer motifs in a patriotic context, while mythologizing pre-revolutionary Russia and bringing the idea of "Holy Rus" to life. In the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been an increased interest in emigrant literature, and the ideas contained therein have proven to be very important for the formation of the new national consciousness of Russians. Today, due to another political change in Russia and its political isolation, émigré literature is of renewed importance in Russian circles. The writers whose works are discussed in this study are regarded as the main Orthodox writers of the twentieth century, and the image of praying Russia is again the basis for building a new national identity. The study concludes with the observation that the value of emigrant literature should be studied in the context of the time of its creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the book "Brisbane" by Russian novelist Evgenii/Eugene Vodolazkin, which touches on the relations between Russia and Ukraine. Topics discussed include geopoetic perspective of the hero's identity, spiritual consequences of spacial experience, and description on Vodolazkin's writing style.

The article presents the issues of local identity. One of the main objectives was to indicate how to determine the local identity of councilors of municipalities and counties on the basis of three selected indicators. The article consists of three parts. The first will present the theoretical foundations of identity and its types. The second part shows how it can determine the local identity. The third part is empirical. The study, carried out with the use of a questionnaire, covered the councilors of the city of Lublin, the council of lubelski county, and councilors from 8 municipalities included in lubelski county. The electoral terms 2002–2006 and 2014–2018 were selected for the analysis. The quantitative and descriptive methods were used in the study. The analysis of the research shows that the overwhelming majority of councilors show local identification, but its territorial range is different and not only at the municipality and county level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper depicts a category of memory in the works by Vadim Borisov, a historian of the Orthodox Church and a literary critic, whose fate in the communist period was strictly connected to the political activity of A. Solzhenitsyn. The most known works by Borisov are primarily devoted to various issues of the Soviet people in the philosophical and historical perspective, but they also stress the problem of memory very clearly. The author of the article characterises several aspects of the phenomenon juxtaposing them with the theories proposed by contemporary memory scientists. The scrutiny shows that Borisov's deliberations surpassed the boundaries of political discourse underlining cultural and religious dimensions of the given problem which have become an important subject under consideration of many subsequent scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ethos (0860-8024) is the property of John Paul II Institute, Faculty of Philosophy, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article deals with different aspects of space in the text of Eugene Vodolazkin's novel Brisbane as well as in its studies and reception. Successive parts of the research are devoted to lieux de mémoire in autobiographical fiction, cultural understanding of the space of the home and places which traditionally create the image of Kiev and the individual mythology of this city. Space perceived in the way modified by culture is a certain frame in which both the hero of Vodolazkin lives and a receiver reads the novel. It is also an important component of the work's internal structure, the factor responsible for certain genre associations that determine the direction of the reading process. In all these forms of functioning, space is thematically related to the reflection on death. The author concludes that the understanding of space leads to the rejection of the physical future and the affirmation of eternity understood in a religious way, in line with medieval tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present legal state, the mayor is an important political leader in Polish municipalities. On account of being elected in direct elections and enjoying a broad range of powers, he/she is a natural local leader. Another municipal authority is the council, which fulfills decision-making and supervisory functions. Whether the mayor can effectively act depends on the outcome of elections and, in consequence, the council's composition. Elections may lead to the phenomenon of cohabitation. This occurs when the mayor does not have the support of an absolute majority in the council or represents the opposite political camp to the members of the municipal council. Taking into account 1,737 questionnaires and 74 interviews, it turns out that mayors do not operate in a political and administrative vacuum. Even if they make decisions on their own, they need internal (councilors, local government employees) and external (entrepreneurs, representatives of NGOs, the Catholic Church, political parties) help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Athenaeum: Polskie Studia Politologiczne is the property of Faculty of Political Science & Security Studies Nicolaus Copernicus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper depicts a topos of Russia-home in Alexander Solzhenitsyn's novel cycle the 'Red Wheel'. The author defines metaphoric pictures named as a home, an empty house, a house without an owner. The metaphors allows to indicate additional motifs connected with titular topos: a good host, a woman as a wife and mother and a fake host. The analyses show that Solzhenitsyn's metaphors of Russia-home reflect writer's conception of the revolutionary process in the history of Russia and his thoughts about citizen responsibility and patriotism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studia Regionalne i Lokalne is the property of University of Warsaw and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recently, the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Poland and the Czech Republic has increased, which has translated into a growing tendency to change the procedures for social assistance provision. However, the relationships between public administration and non-governmental organisations differ in both countries. The Najam Four-C's Model is used in this paper to describe how NGOs and public administration approach the problem of homelessness in the Czech Republic and Poland. To explore this issue, the authors conducted interviews with public servants and NGOs' mangers in both countries. The findings show that, as far as homelessness is concerned, NGOs and state authorities function on the basis of complementarity in Poland as well as in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]