WE ARE AGAINST. QUESTIONS ABOUT ANOTHER RUSSIA Books. Conversations. Performance 📅 September 26–28, 2025 📍 Big Book Cafe MDM, ul. Koszykowa 34/50, Warsaw A weekend inspired by books and stories of resistance will attempt to understand the reasons why Russia is currently an enemy of Ukraine, Europe, and freedom. It will also be an opportunity to ask questions about future scenarios, the inevitability of the course set by Putin, and the fate of those caught in the trap of power and great history. Program: - NAWALNY Performance 📅 Friday, September 26, 8:00 PM A theatrical story about a man who had the courage to stand against. A performance inspired by authentic statements, documentary materials, and biographical accounts. We explore the complexity of Alexei Navalny's life and choices. Through pivotal moments in his public activities and struggles with power, we seek answers to who he was and what motivated him. The performance includes excerpts from historical statements by the protagonists. The show is intended for adult audiences and includes multimedia elements. Duration: approx. 60 minutes. Text and direction: Anna Król Cast: Mateusz Janicki, Magdalena Koleśnik Multimedia and video: Jakub Pawlak Musical concept and selection of pieces: Anna Król Lighting: Bartłomiej Chrust (UpLive) Production: Joanna Tudek Free tickets for the performance are available at the Big Book Cafe MDM bookstore starting September 10 at 11:00 AM, until supplies last. Tickets are available, come and pick them up! - PHANTOMS OF THE PAST Conversation with Sergey Lebedev 📅 Saturday, September 27, 4:00 PM The long shadow of totalitarianism falls on contemporary Russia and its inhabitants. Sergey Lebedev, one of the most prolific and highly regarded novelists, has been confronting the legacy of the totalitarian regime with the collective image and poignant depictions of the inner lives of Russians for years. How can we define a place and justice for the monstrous past today? How does unnamed, forgotten history radiate into the lives of people, animals, and objects? Together with the writer and poet, we seek answers to whether community and democracy have proven to be merely an unrealizable fantasy, a kind of collective hallucination, for a society marked by a brutal regime. Moderator: Paulina Wilk Translator from Russian: Józefina Inesa Piątkowska Free admission - NEW EMPIRE? Conversation with Sergey Medvedev 📅 Saturday, September 27, 6:00 PM Is the collision course chosen by the Kremlin with the world of Western values a result of Russian mentality? Or is it merely the effect of an effective regime policy with imperial ambitions? Or perhaps an expression of the dreams, fears, and complexes of Russians? Sergey Medvedev, a Russian historian and political scientist living in exile, author of the books "The Return of the Russian Leviathan" and "War Made in Russia," explains how Putin managed to revive slogans from the past and what lies behind the decisions of him and the Russian elite. Moderator: Bartosz Kamiński Translator from English: Anna Rosiak Free admission - ART ON THE INDEX Conversation with Viktor Yerofeyev 📅 Sunday, September 28, 6:00 PM What is the fate and role of artists and writers opposing authoritarian power? Where do contemporary Russian dissidents live, and what do they write about? Who publishes their books, and who reads them? Viktor Yerofeyev, a writer and publicist who relentlessly confronts Russian history and national megalomania in his novels, and recently – also Putin's regime, discusses who needs resistance literature today and the voice of contemporary Russian opposition creators, as well as the global boycott of Russian culture. Considered a scandalist and provocateur in his homeland, Yerofeyev has lived, created, and published in Germany for years, constantly grappling with the myth of the "Russian soul" in his writing. Moderator: Anna Król Translator from Russian: Józefina Inesa Piątkowska Free admission Discussions with writers will be recorded and later published as videos and podcasts. The events inspired by the literature of authors opposing the Kremlin and the war in Ukraine are organized by the "Culture Doesn't Hurt" Foundation, which has been developing reading education in Poland since 2012 and presenting texts as key to the development of thought in the era of visual culture dominance. Co-financing partners of the event are the Julius Mieroszewski Dialogue Center and the Capital City of Warsaw. The event partner is the Polish PEN Club. The discussions are accompanied by EMPTY CHAIRS, symbolizing literary creators who cannot be present due to detention, persecution, imprisonment, or death. The events take place at the literary center Big Book Cafe MDM, ul. Koszykowa 34/50, Warsaw. More about the events: https://bigbookcafe.pl/repertuar/
