Eastern Europe

Polish school workers’ leaders retreat

A historic strike of teachers and other school and nursery workers has been unnecessarily ended by the leaders of the Polish Teachers’ Union (ZNP), the biggest union involved.

Schools out in Poland as 600,000 join strikes

Poland has been struck by the biggest all-out walkout in over 25 years, reports Andy Zebrowski

Biggest strike for decades rocks Poland’s government

Unions estimate that over 600,000 workers are taking part in an indefinite education strike - not just teachers, butcooks, cleaners, caretakers and office staff as well.

International round-up - protests in Togo while right makes gains in Czech election

Brutal repression by Togolese dictator Faure Gnassingbe’s regime has forced more than 500 people to flee the West African country for Ghana.

Protests in Romania call for the government to go

A government decree watering down punishments for corruption has sparked large scale protests with thousands taking to the streets.

Mass protests demand Romanian prime minister steps down over 'corruption law'

Over 200,000 people took to the streets of Bucharest in Romaniaon Sunday night.A further 300,000 marched in towns and cities across the country, including 40,000 in Timisoara and 45,000 in Cluj-Napoca.

World leaders look on as refugees drown

20 September 2016
Dave Sewell looks at a United Nations Refugee Agency report which details the scale of the crisis as world leaders plan a new clampdown on refugees

Populist right wins in Italian elections

07 June 2016
Italy’s populist 5-Star Movement moved one step closer to governing the capital Rome on Monday.

Lexit campaign to put workers and migrants at heart of Europen Union debate

28 April 2016

Protests grow across Europe as governments clamp down

20 October 2015
More refugees died trying to enter Europe last week.

Ukraine crisis deepens on anniversary of Maidan protests

24 February 2015
A blast ripped through a demonstration in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv last Sunday, killing two and injuring ten people.

‘We're not to blame’ - migrant workers speak out against racist lies

09 December 2014
In the freezing, dark winter mornings groups of migrants huddle together on Honeypot Lane in Stanmore, north west London.

Racism is not just about colour

04 November 2014
Some argue that discrimination against eastern Europeans is not racist because they are white. But, as Ken Olende explains, racism goes beyond colour prejudices

Revolutions of 1989: 'there was lots of shock and not much therapy'

04 November 2014
Socialist Worker spoke to Jane Hardy, a socialist activist and writer specialising in global political economy. Her book, Poland’s New Capitalism (2009) was translated into Polish and has been read by the new left there.

Revolutions of 1989: how the old regime was torn down

04 November 2014
Revolt swept across Eastern Europe 25 years ago, toppling the Berlin Wall and the Stalinists who built it. The real socialists were cheering, argues Tomáš Tengely-Evans

Votes make secession more likely in eastern Ukraine

13 May 2014
Two Ukrainian provinces voted for independence in a referendum last weekend.

Potential for conflict rises as Ukrainian military seal off town

08 April 2014
Ukrainian authorities sent security forces to clear government buildings in Kharkiv, the country’s second biggest city, of pro-Russian demonstrators on Tuesday of this week.

Ukraine caught in clash between powers as Crimea joins Russia

18 March 2014
Crimea has joined the Russian Federation as the Ukrainian crisis continues to be a faultline for the major powers. The outcome of a referendum in Crimea last weekend was a foregone conclusion.