Central and East European Research Centre

We promote and support research into Central and Eastern Europe at Cardiff University.

Engaging with the wider world, linking Cardiff-based research on Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia and Ukraine, with public impact and policy.

Featured news

• 3m euro grant for Cardiff University research team and collaborators to develop well-being programme for families in Eastern Europe
• Her name is Olena Znatkova – and her story reminds us why we cannot flinch against Putin
• Academic and community collaboration creates resources for families affected by war
• Czech Centre London podcast
• Jewish Country Houses project
• Generation89: Witnessing the Velvet Revolution 30 years on
• UCL Central European Symposium Roundtable: 1989 Catalyst of Change
• Goodbye to all that? From Lenin to Putin
• 70 Years On: Berlin Blockade remembered
• Hitler's Circle of Evil: a historian's perspective
• Czechoslovakia 100

SOS Ukraine

You may wish to donate to a charity working in Ukraine, among others:

• Médecins Sans Frontières
• UNICEF

If you are a scholar at risk, please see the following:

• Researchers at Risk Fellowships
• Society and partners award seven fellowships to Ukrainian scholars at risk

Meet the researchers

Director of the Centre

Academic staff

Past events

Václav Havel European Dialogues: Peace and Democracy in Crisis

Date: Tuesday October 10th, 2023
Time: 14:00 (closing discussions at 17:30)
Location: The Temple of Peace, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3AP

The Václav Havel European Dialogues is a unique opportunity to engage in thought-provoking discussions that focus on the issues of peace, democracy, environmental justice, and the crisis of our civilisation.

Hosted by the Centre of Law and Society in collaboration with the Central and East European Research Centre.

The Centre for Critical Global Politics invites you to a webinar: Critical reflections on Russia's invasion of Ukraine - one year on

Date: Thursday 9 March at 16:00

Panellists:

• Mick Antoniw - Senedd Constituency Member, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
• Mykola Davydiuk - Political analysts, writer and author "How does Putin's propaganda work?" and "How to make Ukraine successful"
• Valeria Kovtun - Founder and Head of Filter, National Media Literacy Project of Ukraine
• Bohdana Kurylo - PhD Candidate and Postgraduate Teaching Assistant, UCL
• Dr Jenny Mathers - Senior Lecturer in International Politics, Aberystwyth University

The webinar will be student-led and co-chaired by our Ukrainian students Anastasiia Dolhova (JOMEC) and Oren Keller (POLIR).

The event was organised in part by our very own Maja Davidović.

Cultural Heritage as the Target and Victim of War

Date: Tuesday February 14 2023

Venue: Society of Antiquaries of London, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BE

Professor Ronald Grigor Suny (University of Michigan) - Was Stalin a Marxist? And If He Was, What Does That Mean for Marxism?

Date: Monday 14 November 2022

Hear one of the world's foremost experts on the former Soviet Union speak about Stalin and his new, award-winning biography.

Polish resettlement in Wales: From the post-war period to the present

Date: Thursday 3 November 2022

In honour of the launch of the photography exhibition, ‘Grove Park Camp (1946-57): Polish stories of resettlement in Slough’, we invite you to join us as we spotlight stories of Polish resettlement in Wales since the Second World War and reflect on the rich legacy of Polish-Welsh cultural exchange today.

Peace and Democracy in Crisis: Václav Havel European Dialogues

Date: Wednesday 19 October 2022

Václav Havel called for 'living in truth' and 'an existential revolution' as a response to the crisis of our civilisation. The Ukraine War has been the most recent evidence of this crisis.

Another evidence is the climate change and growing state of environmental emergency which confront us with urgent questions of sustainable development, environmental justice, rights and inequalities as well as calls for global political actions to tackle grave risks.

The Centre of Law and Society, together with the Czech Centre in London and UCL, has organised two panel discussions focusing on the issues of peace, democracy, environmental justice and the crisis of our civilisation.

Panellists include Lenka Buštíková (Oxford University), Rob Cameron (BBC correspondent), Duncan Kelly (Cambridge University), Tetyana Pavlush (Cardiff University), Shalini Randeria (Central European University), Owen Sheers (Welsh novelist, Swansea University), Marci Shore (Yale University), Sam Varvastian (Cardiff University), Michael Žantovský (Knihovna Václava Havla).

Lidia Salvatori in conversation with Galina Miazhevich on the topic Historical Parallels and Transnational Feminist Mobilizations: Italian and (post) Soviet perspectives

Thursday 13 October 2022

Drawing from autoethnographic research within an Italian queer trans-feminist movement, Lidia’s talk will trace points of connection in the history of Italian and Soviet feminism to then point to commonalities in the terrain in which feminist mobilisations operate today in Italy and post-Soviet spaces. The focus will be on recent developments and common challenges presented to contemporary feminists. Firstly, the perception of Gorbachev's legacy for different feminist traditions in Italy is discussed. This is followed by the reflection on the rising anti-gender movement and the role of digital media in its diffusion. The talk concludes with the reflection on the resistance to the transnational ultraconservative backlash among Italian feminists.

Lidia Salvatori has recently finished her PhD in Media, Communications and Sociology at the University of Leicester with a project on the impact of digital technologies on transnational feminism (Feminism in transit). She combined researching alongside feminists within the Non Una di Meno movement with activism and teaching. Currently, while continuing to expand her publication record, she works as Policy and Communication Manager in a European health NGO in Brussels (Cystic Fibrosis Europe), developing research on quality of life and social determinants of health for people with rare diseases, focusing on issues of access and health equity from an intersectional lens.

Galina Miazhevich is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Journalism, Media, and Culture, Cardiff University, UK, PI of an AHRC Leadership Fellowship (2018−2020), exploring media representations of non-heteronormative sexuality in Russia. FEMCORUS project plan was conceived together with Dr Miazhevich. She worked on several projects dealing with media representations of Islam and multiculturalism in Europe and democracy in post-communist Europe.

More details on our website femcorus.org

If you have any questions regarding the event, please email alisa.virtanen@tuni.fi

Misinformation as a Tool of War: Past and Present

Date: Thursday 15 September 2022

Join us to explore how and why misinformation has been weaponised in conflict, using examples from both the past (e.g.: WWII) and present.

From the Trojan War to WWII, there are plenty of examples of governments spreading misinformation. Misinformation can be used to fuel propaganda, by attempting to push a narrative that may be far from the truth. Deliberately misleading your enemies has formed a crucial part of military warfare for thousands of years. Individuals may intentionally spread false information to further a narrative, or they may unintentionally spread misinformation by simply sharing a doctored viral video. The spreading of misinformation while engaging in conflict can take many different forms, for many reasons.

Watch a recording of this event on YouTube

How to overcome the difficult past? Reflections on the Polish-Ukrainian relationship in the 20th century and today

Date: Thursday 9 June 2022

A webinar with guest speaker, Dr Paweł Duber (Nottingham Trent University), co-hosted by the History and Heritage research theme the School of Modern Languages and the Central and East European Research Group at Cardiff University.

Watch a recording of the event on YouTube

Ukraine Question and Answer session

Date: Monday 21 March 2022

Ukraine update and question and answer with the Central and East European Research Group.

Crisis in Ukraine - Information and Question and Answer Session

Date: Monday 7 March 2022

Those of us with expertise in and personal connections to the region (Ukraine, Russia, and the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc) will not be able to provide comprehensive answers to all the questions you may have.

Few experts predicted that this invasion would happen, and nobody knows what the outcome will be. We may, however, be able to provide some context, background and understanding, from a variety of specialisms and perspectives.

Press

Our members are often asked for expert opinions in the press:

• Putin's re-election March 2024 - Sunday Supplement. James Ryan, BBC Radio Wales.
• Anti-Black racism is upending easy narratives about the exodus from Ukraine. Thom Loyd, The Washington Post.
• No hope for science in Russia: The academics trying to flee to the West. James Ryan, The Guardian.
• Russia invades Ukraine: Vladimir Putin's plan for swift victory has failed as Ukrainians fight to defend their freedom. Tetyana Pavlush, The Scotsman.
• Interview with Oliver Hides re: Russia and Belarus in light of the military operation in Ukraine. Galina Miazhevich, BBC Radio Wales breakfast show.
• Ex Libris: Československo Mary Heimann. Český rozhlas (Czech radio)
• Milos Jakes, Czech Communist Leader, Is Dead at 97. Mary Heimann, New York Times.
• BBC Radio 4 - Last Word. Mary Heimann, BBC Radio.
• Velvet Revolution 30^th anniversary - Sunday Supplement. Mary Heimann, BBC Radio Wales
• Czech DV TV news (30-minute interview with Professor Mary Heimann). Mary Heimann, DV TV.