In colloquial terms, Prometheism denotes the active policy of the Polish authorities in the East, directed at the dismemberment of Russia and the Polish-supported struggle of peoples conquered by Tsarist or Communist Russia to regain their independence. In fact, the term Prometheism refers both to Promethean thought, which aims at the idea of a common struggle of nations enslaved by Russia to regain their independence, and to the Promethean movement, which was one of the attempts to put Promethean thought into practice. The
Promethean movement was a part of the interwar period, had well-defined organisational structures and was actively supported by the Polish authorities. The Promethean thought lasted much longer and used to be present in various national and political traditions. The aim of this paper is to try to answer, based on the programme texts, what the Promethean movement was and what it aimed to achieve. The analysis also covers the question of the chronological framework of the Promethean movement - both its beginning and its end. Particularly the latter sparks quite a debate in the scholar community. The study includes 1939, 1941, 1945 as well as later years. The most important part of the paper focuses on the activities of the Promethean movement during and after World War II. Can they be considered a continuation of earlier activities or merely an attempt at reactivation in a completely different political setting? An analysis of the main lines of activity after 1939 allows us to conclude that the Promethean movement, which was formally started in 1925, continued to function until the outbreak of World War II. Attempts to reactivate this activity both after 1939 and after 1945 failed, mainly due to the change in the international situation and the difficulty of finding a country interested in supporting the movement in its previous form. The activities related to Promethean movement faded away in the mid-1950s. Paradoxically, one of the most important achievements of the Promethean movement was the promotion of the Promethean idea, which was still alive and used as a model for building other similar structures in the second half of the 20th century.

The article analyses the different waves of Russian political emigration in the 20th and 21st century and those organisational political forms that emerged in exile. The following aspects were included: the emigration of the opponents of the autocracy before 1917, the emigration of the opponents of the Bolsheviks between 1917 and 1922 and in the following years, the emigration of the opponents of the Bolsheviks at the end of World War II and the emigration after World War II. The subsequent topic is the period from the end of World War II until the collapse of the USSR, including Jewish emigration and the emigration of political dissidents, political emigration in Putin’s Russia, including a new wave of emigration after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022. Moreover, the fact that certain groups and prominent representatives of the emigration started returning to Russia and the nature of their activities in their homeland, as well as their activities
in exile aimed at achieving specific political goals in Russia, are also discussed. The article also considers emigration activities in the media and forecasts the possible future
development of emigration as well as the impact of ideas developed during emigration on the development of Russia, including contemporary Russia.

The article discusses the activities of Ukrainian social organisations from Eastern Galicia in providing assistance to Ukrainian prisoners of war and internees from this region who were in Polish prisoner-of-war camps between 1918 and 1921. During the period in question, those in captivity were in a difficult food and material situation and
the Polish military authorities were unable to address it in an effective manner. The activities of the Ukrainian Civic Committee in Lviv and the Samaritan Aid in Przemyśl provided a large – and often the only – support to help Ukrainians survive the period of captivity. Both organisations mostly supported them by sending food and clothing; on top of that, in 1920, they also provided financial aid and the arranged for train tickets for those returning home. The actions of the women of Przemyśl deserve a special mention as they used to provide assistance in the Pikulice camp during the most difficult period of the typhoid and dysentery epidemic in the winter of 1919.

The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists formed a network of emigrant organisations in Europe and North America. Expansion towards the Balkans was a natural course of influence for the organisation – both because of its proximity to Soviet Ukraine and the presence of Ukrainians in the countries of that region, but financial and, above all personnel constraints allowed for very modest activities in this area. The Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists met with little support in the Balkans, unlike other places, mainly due to the poor material situation and poor national awareness of the Ukrainians who lived there. The aim of this article is to supplement the existing knowledge of the activities of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists in the Balkans based on the report of an inspection trip Yaroslav Baranovs’kyy made at the turn of June and July 1933.

The article basically aims to shed light on the efforts of the Caucasian peoples to establish a state and unity, especially on the axis of the Caucasian Mountaineers, and their activities emigration activites during the turbulent years of the world. Today, Turkey is home to North Caucasian community representing about 10% of its population. Although this ratio represents a small percentage of the Turkish population, it has a very different meaning for the peoples of the North Caucasus. If we consider that the population of genuine North Caucasians today is half of the population of the diaspora and that only Russians, Cossacks, and other settlers live in many parts of the North Caucasus now, the meaning of the North Caucasian diaspora in Turkey can be understood much better. Although the North Caucasian ethnicities in Turkey were the victims of large-scale assimilation, especially during the first fifty years of the republican regime, they are still of great importance to their homeland. We witnessed the most striking example of this during the 1992–1993 Abkhaz-Georgian war. Within the scope of this article, we will examine the events that developed in the North Caucasus in the years between the revolutions at the beginning of the 20th century and the world wars, and the influence of Turkey and North Caucasian immigrant community in Turkey on the course of events. We also submit the issue of a Confederative Union of the peoples of the Caucasus to the attention of the reader from the perspective of North Caucasian Mountaineers.

The research paper takes a closer look at the biography of Rev. Diodor Kolpinskiy, PhD (1892–1932). He was a truly outstanding individual: a Christian, priest, painter, poet, philosopher, writer, sculptor, patriot, political and religious emigrant – this is the simplest way to summarise nearly 40 years of his life. Today, the figure and achievements of Rev. Kolpinskiy are unknown. In his life, in which he was constantly on the move as a searching Christian, he sought answers to existential questions. Tsarist and Soviet Russia, Poland, Austria, Germany and China – these were just the main points on the world map where Rev. Kolpinskiy used to stay for a bit longer. It is important to present the life and work of such a talented person as Diodor Kolpinskiy, who spent one compact part of his life in Poland, leaving behind not only poems, scientific and artistic works, but also his students, to whom he passed on his knowledge and love of the East within the walls of the Missionary Institute and the Catholic University of Lublin.

The issue raised in the following article is not particularly well-known in both Polish and Turkish historiography. The author points to the existence of two groups of Polish refugees in Turkey during the period in question: military men passing through the country in transit on their way to Western Europe and the Middle East, and engineers and
specialists employed locally. He highlights the fact that the Turkish authorities used the assistance of Polish specialists in the establishment of local industries, including aviation,
and that, on the other hand, the Polish government-in-exile hoped to use the professional experience of these people in post-war Poland. Based on various Polish, Turkish, British
and French archival materials, it discusses the fate of Polish wartime refugees in Turkey after the end of the war. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of professionals decided to return home, which was due to, among other things, a change in demand for their work in Turkey, but also a desire to return to their families. All of these aspects had an impact on political relations between Warsaw and Ankara.

The German press in Polish, the so-called “gadzinówka”, was an important source of information for Polish society in the General Government during the Second World War. It dealt with, among other things, matters concerning Polish statehood, including the authorities of the Republic emerging in exile and the battles of Polish soldiers on the
Western Front. This text aims to provide an overview of the scope, narrative style and objectives of the journalism depicting the activities of the Polish government-in-exile
and the Polish Armed Forces during the Second World War, appearing in German daily press published in Polish. The primary source base are major daily newspapers: “Goniec
Krakowski” (Cracow Courier) and “Nowy Kurier Warszawski” (New Courier of Warsaw).
The newspapers in question reported, for example, on the current activities of the government-in-exile, the death of General Władysław Sikorski, and conflicts both with the
British and the Soviets as well as within the Polish government. The publication of these texts was not dictated by a concern to reliably satisfy the hunger for information of the Polish public in the General Government, but it related to the objectives of German propaganda which sought to influence Poles through “gadzinówka” in order to convince them of the hopelessness of the Polish cause and, by extension, the futility of resisting the occupying German authorities. This type of narrative about the government-in-exile was featured in the German press in Polish throughout the entirety World War II.

The fate of the returnees from Harbin to the USSR in the 1950s and their possible impact on the slow erosion of the Soviet system remain a relatively unknown topic in Poland. Representatives of this group – as spouses of Polish repatriates from Kazakhstan – recently came to our country. It is difficult to say whether such marriages were frequent. While collecting reports from Kazakh Poles, the author managed to find two such people, representing two different generations: a woman born in Harbin, who came with her parents to the USSR as a small child, and a man born in the 1980s, whose father left the city as a child. Their family memories, however, will not be fully understood without showing the historical context and the unique role of Harbin in the social history of Russia. In the pre-revolutionary period, Harbin, as a Russian enclave in Chinese territory, was a kind of liberal experiment, and after the civil war and partially under Japanese occupation,
the city played the role of a free market for ideas. Due to these factors, post-war Harbin emigrants to the USSR came with completely different baggage of experience, becoming
a “suspect” group at once.

This article presents a profile of the eminent Russian historian and political activist Sergei Melgunov, against the background of his interest in Poland and his contacts with
Poles after his departure from the USSR. This little-known thread in the history of Polish and Russian relations in exile can be seen as a representative case study illustrating the difficulties Polish emigrants encountered when trying to establish a dialogue with representatives of the Russian emigrant community. On the other hand, it also provides
an example of Polish and Russian cooperation in the area of anti-Soviet propaganda. The Russian historian used to be in touch with several Poles in exile, but he stayed with constant contact only (until his death) with his friend – Ryszard Wraga. The example of Mielgunov also shows well how different the understandings of the idea of a democratic Russia were for Poles and Russians. When most Russian democrats, like Mielgunov, wanted to combine the democratic system with the imperial position of their country, the Poles believed that de-imperialisation of Russia was the only to bring it the democracy and freedoms of Westerners.

This article is a contribution to the biography of the Polish diplomat Kazimierz Papée (1889–1979), who was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Holy See
shortly before the outbreak of World War II. He continued his mission over the following decades, representing the Polish authorities in exile at the Vatican. This paper aims to show, from Papée’s perspective, the 1945–1948 crisis faced by the institution he led, which could have led to its dissolution. To that end, it uses not only official documents formulated by the ambassador but also a diary in which he regularly recorded personal reflections and which so far has remained largely unpublished. The article reconstructs the path taken by Papée, which eventually allowed him to overcome the crisis and continue his work. The factors he influenced in the process were identified, as were those he did not. This made it possible to identify two distinct phases of the crisis, which were linked to changes in the international situation. In this respect, the year 1947 was an important landmark. From that moment on, there were more and more signs giving hope that the Polish Embassy
to the Holy See, together with its head, would not cease to be recognised by the Vatican.

The article presents a page of Ukrainian history providing an insight into the life in exile of a historian– Marian Kamil Dziewanowski (1913–2005). On the basis of previously
unknown documents from Polish and Ukrainian archives in the United States as well as existing literature on the subject, a network of Dziewanowski’s Ukrainian connections was outlined, and his vision of the history and contemporaneity of Ukraine in the context of Polish political thought, the tradition of Prometheism and the stereotypes prevalent in the West with respect to Ukrainian history was analysed. By applying tools used in the history of ideas, the intellectual biography of the protagonist was presented against the post-war evolution of the Promethean movement, its tactics and modus operandi in the new geopolitical conditions determined by the Cold War. Analysis concerned the federalist vision of Central and Eastern Europe created by Dziewanowski, for which the
most important inspiration was the thought of Marshal Józef Piłsudski. This article is part of a broader study concerning the contribution of Polish historians in exile to the formation of Ukrainian studies in the United States after World War II.

The article presents the life and wanderings of Jewish Bund socialist Leon (Liber) Gotlob. They reflect the fate of many of his generation – who lived their youth before 1939. Using his example, the author proved that we do not always have a say in where we live and settle, and that certain decisions are forced on us by the political and social situation, as well as by third parties. The outbreak of war in 1939 forced Gotlob to escape from the German aggressor to the east, which subsequently led to his imprisonment and deportation to a labour camp in the USSR. The „amnesty” that came in the summer of 1941 gave the protagonist a chance to find a way out of the USSR and follow the combat
route in the ranks of the Anders’ Army. This is when the news of the deaths of his loved ones and the Holocaust caused him to tie his life plans to the United States, where he intended to continue his work with the Bund. Following the failure of his efforts to leave for the U.S., while in the UK as a demobilised soldier, he decided to return to Poland
with his new family, which happened in the autumn of 1947. He was actively involved in rebuilding the Bund committee and the life of the Jewish community in Tarnów until his
arrest in March 1949. Despite his previous harsh criticism of the USSR and communism, the experiences of losing freedom during the war and in post-war Poland, as well as the fact that he was under surveillance, Gotlob was still able to adapt to the political reality of the time. After his release from prison in November 1951, he was an active member of
the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland. It was not until the events of 1956 in Poland, and the consequent opening of the road to emigration, that he was able to
achieve the goal he set earlier. Together with his family and friends from Tarnów, he found himself in America and continued his work in the ranks of the Bund in the free world.

The following is a synthesis of the most important aspects of emigration and national relations in the context of the independent publishing activities in Poland between 1976
and 1989/1990. It describes how these contacts were shaped before the second circulation publishing circuit was established, how the foundations of independent printing in the country were built with the support of the emigrants, and what the selection of works published in the second circulation looked like. The role of emigration and its impact on the clandestine press in Poland was particularly emphasised. The refugee centres, which used to be in touch with the country, were not only informed about its current political, social and cultural situation, but also participated in the domestic conspiracy – at least to some extent. The emigrant periodicals commented on events, published programme documents of opposition groups operating in Poland, reprinted letters of protest, appeals,
statements, resolutions or declarations, while at the same time these periodicals affected the formation of opposition political thought in Poland.

The Polish-Bolshevik war, and in particular the defence of Warsaw in 1920, were of fundamental importance for the process of rebuilding an independent Poland after
the end of World War I. If Poland had lost the battle, it would have meant at best the incorporation of Polish territories into the Bolshevik state. In a much worse scenario, the Bolsheviks would have take control of the whole of Europe. This possibility was taken into account by western diplomats and officers who stayed in Poland in 1920 and left official documents, personal notes and letters. They presented not only the course of the war itself but also tried to reflect the social mood or the political situation of the country facing a deadly threat. The article shows how the representatives of Western countries described the course of the Polish-Bolshevik war at a key moment during
the defence of Warsaw. It answers the question to what extent the accounts of direct observers and participants in the events connected with this war influenced the policy
of their governments towards Poland, especially their readiness to help Poles; and, based on the analysed sources, presents social moods which underwent rapid changes during the war of 1920.

This article attempts to answer the question of what it meant to be a Piłsudskiite in the thought and political philosophy of Ignacy Matuszewski. The author omitted the
biography and political activity of the article’s protagonist as they are already relatively well known, and instead focused on his comments on the topic stated in the title of this article that can be found in Matuszewski’s enormous body of works, produced both in the inter-war period and in exile after 1945. The paper presents the attitude of Piłsudskiites towards Józef Piłsudski, the state, independence, and the phenomenon of dogmatism
in political thought towards which the Piłsudskiites, including Matuszewski himself, showed great reluctance. The author indicated that during the period in question, the
understanding of the term “Piłsudskiite” in Polish political thought evolved from the name of soldiers serving under Piłsudski’s command to a label denoting all Poles who shared the ideas guiding the First Marshal of Poland.

Ignacy Matuszewski declared himself a supporter of Józef Piłsudski’s political camp relatively late, namely at the turn of 1917 and 1918. He was quickly promoted in both the formal and informal hierarchy of this camp. As soon as in December 1918, he became an intelligence officer and little over half a year later, in July 1920, became the head of the intelligence. Thus, he turned into one of Piłsudski’s closest associates during the Polish-Soviet war and gained a trust loan for the future. After Piłsudski regained power by a coup d’état in May 1926, Matuszewski worked in responsible positions in diplomacy. In the years 1929–1931 he was the head of the Ministry of the Treasury.
His cooperation with Piłsudski was positive, even despite the ongoing great economic crisis. In the spring of 1931, however, Piłsudski ordered the removal of Matuszewski
from the government and refused him any opportunity to work in diplomacy. The reasons for this change of position are not entirely clear. Most likely, it was caused not so much by Matuszewski’s limiting the budget for the army as by his doing so in the absence of Piłsudski and without obtaining his consent. In Piłsudski’s opinion, this was a breach of the rules in force in his power camp and the highest expression of disloyalty. Despite this, Matuszewski remained faithful to Piłsudski’s ideals until the end of his life.

The critical attitude of Ignacy Erazm Matuszewski, the father of the colonel Ignacy Hugo Matuszewski, was hallmarked by ideological eclecticism and inconsistencies that sometimes resulted from it. His ideas can be considered as characteristic for a mind developed in the conditions of intense cultural changes of the late nineteenth century.
The author of the dissertation Devil in Poetry, educated in an atmosphere of respect for empirical inductivism, aesthetic and critical objectivity, modified his views such,
that they allowed both the analysis of literary works of positivists and the assessment of the works of romantics and modernists who focused on metaphysical values. This
flexibility let Matuszewski talk about art as a whole, regardless of established historical and genological divisions or differences between individual artistic disciplines. This flexibility also made his views universal, resistant to changing fashions in criticism. The writer’s
death on 10 July 1919, which was preceded by deceases of many critics and modernist artists during World War I, created a gap in the Polish literary life at the beginning of the interwar period. Due to this gap, Matuszewski is sometimes called the “great absentee” of literary criticism after Poland gained independence.

Contemporary literature on the subject predominantly regards German National Socialism as a “right-wing” or “radical right-wing” phenomenon. This trend is particularly
evident in German and Anglo-Saxon historiography. However, examples from the theory and practice of National Socialism show that this ideology was in many ways the opposite of the traditional right. Hitler’s programme pronouncements demonstrate that he himself
positioned himself outside the traditional right and left. Different understandings of rightism and leftism in different countries in Europe and in the United States result in misunderstandings in scientific and journalistic discourse. This is particularly evident in the case of Germany and Poland. A side effect of this phenomenon is the fact that some historians and publicists draw an analogy between German Nazism and Polish National Democracy, as allegedly two variants of nationalism, despite their polar opposite axiology.
The far-reaching goal of National Socialism was to overcome and overthrow Christian civilisation, which, to some extent, linked this ideology to the French Revolution and the Bolshevik Revolution.

The paper broadly discusses the circumstances of the establishment, ideological program, and the social-political role of four Polish-Slavic friendship associations from 1945 to 1951. A comparative analysis of the Polish-Soviet Friendship Society (TPPR), Polish-Yugoslav Friendship Society (TPPJ), Polish-Czechoslovak Friendship Society (TPPCz), and Polish-Bulgarian Friendship Society (TPPB) was conducted by a critical analysis of historical sources. As mass cultural organisations, they were perfect for disseminating political matters, and a hidden propaganda tool. In the given period all of them supported operations
of the Slavic Committee, which alone was an exclusive organisation based primarily on intellectual communities. Therefore, the real objectives, together with the connections of TPPR, TPPJ, TPPCz, and TPPB with the abovementioned Committee were reviewed in detail. The work also attempts to answer why the TPPR was the only friendship association which endured the changes of cultural collaboration oberseas, which took place in Polish
People’s Republic in the early 1950s.