In The Media
Lilia Shevtsova
{
"authors": [
"Lilia Shevtsova"
],
"type": "commentary",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Eastern Europe"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Democracy"
]
}
Source: Getty
Commentary
A Great Man Died
Tadeusz Mazowiecki, who was the first Polish non-communist prime minister, died on October 28. He will be remembered as a Man Who Helped to Open a New Era—and not only for Poland.
Published on Oct 29, 2013
Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the prime minister of Poland from 1989 till 1991 and the first non-communist prime minister in Central and Eastern Europe in the post-WWII period, died on October 28. He belonged to the same brilliant generation of courageous individuals always ready for sacrifice, also represented by Vaclav Havel and another Pole, Bronislaw Geremek.
Mazowiecki was one of the founders of the Catholic Intelligentsia Club and the highest moral authority for the Polish political and intellectual circles. After the martial law was declared in Poland in 1981, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Communist authorities. Yet he never tried to take revenge. He always believed that the power was to be taken from the Communist Party through negotiation. He became one of the key participants of the Polish Round Table Talks in 1988 that brought the landslide Solidarity victory on June 4, 1989. In August 1989, the Polish Sejm elected him prime minister, and his government carried out fundamental reforms, returning Poland to Europe.
I am proud that I knew Pan Tadeusz when he was the editor-in-chief of the Tygodnik Solidarnosc. He helped me a lot with his advice and with his ideas when I worked on my book on the Polish Catholic Church…
Now he is gone. But he will be remembered as a Man Who Helped to Open a New Era—and not only for Poland!
About the Author
Lilia Shevtsova
Former Senior Associate, Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program, Moscow Center
Shevtsova chaired the Russian Domestic Politics and Political Institutions Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center, dividing her time between Carnegie’s offices in Washington, DC, and Moscow. She had been with Carnegie since 1995.
- Putin Has Fought His Way Into a Corner
- How Long Russians Will Believe in Fairy Tale?Commentary
Lilia Shevtsova
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- When Do Mass Protests Topple Autocrats?Commentary
The recent record of citizen uprisings in autocracies spells caution for the hope that a new wave of Iranian protests may break the regime’s hold on power.
Thomas Carothers, McKenzie Carrier
- The EU Needs a Third Way in IranCommentary
European reactions to the war in Iran have lost sight of wider political dynamics. The EU must position itself for the next phase of the crisis without giving up on its principles.
Richard Youngs
- The Architecture of Digital RepressionArticle
Internet service providers can facilitate internet access but also draconian control.
Irene Poetranto
- The Kremlin Is Destroying Its Own System of Coerced VotingCommentary
The use of technology to mobilize Russians to vote—a system tied to the relative material well-being of the electorate, its high dependence on the state, and a far-reaching system of digital control—is breaking down.
Andrey Pertsev
- Indian Americans Still Lean Left. Just Not as Reliably.Commentary
New data from the 2026 Indian American Attitudes Survey show that Democratic support has not fully rebounded from 2020.
- +1
Sumitra Badrinathan, Devesh Kapur, Andy Robaina, …
