Peripheral Identities - Iberia and Eastern Europe Between the - clepul

Teresa Pinheiro 

Beata Cieszynska 

José Eduardo Franco 

(Ed.) 

Peripheral 

Identities 

Iberia and Eastern Europe 

Between the Dictatorial Past 

and the European Present 

Chemnitz-Warsaw-Glasgow-Madrid-Lisbon 

PearlBooks 

2011 

Peripheral Identities versão final v5.indd 1 31-01-2012 17:24:17

Title: Peripheral Identities - Iberia and Eastern Europe Between the 

Dictatorial Past and the European Present 

Review: Pearlbooks 

Editors: Beata Cieszynska, Teresa Pinheiro and José Eduardo Franco 

Layout: Pixelart 

Printed in Portugal by Agapex - Impressão e Imagem, Lda. 

1st edition: 2011 

ISBN: 9789899732803 

Legal Deposit: 333255/11 

Cover image: Vasco da Gama Bridge, by Jorge Teixeira, Lisbon 

Pearlbooks, Limited 


Acknowledgements 

The editors would like to express their gratitude to Dr Margaret Tejerizo 

from the University of Glasgow for her advices and support in editing the 

presented material. 



Contents 

Part I: Theoretical Approach 

Beata Elzbieta Cieszynska / José Eduardo Franco / Teresa 

Pinheiro (University of Lisbon / Chemnitz University of 

Technology): “Mapping National and European Identities. 

Eastern Europe and Iberia between Centres and Peripheries” 

11 

Annabela Rita (University of Lisbon): “Identity and 

Otherness: Coordinates of a Cartography of Identity” 

25 

Francisco Nazareth (Camões Institute, Sofia): “Occidentalism 

and Post-Empire(s) in Semi-Peripheral European 

Societies: Balkan and Iberian Cultural Parallels” 

35 

Part II: Representations of 

Iberia in Eastern Europe 

Fernando Cristóvão ( University of Lisbon): “Polish 

Travellers on the Iberian Peninsula” 51 


Beata Elzbieta Cieszynska (University of Lisbon): “The Myth(s) 

of Iberia in Poland and other Countries of the Former Eastern- 

Bloc” 67 

Anna Kalewska (University of Warsaw): “Portugal Stereotypes 

in Poland, or, The Pictures in our Minds. Long away from the 

Perils of Life” 87 

Jörg Seidel (Chemnitz University of Technology): “The 

Portuguese Carnation Revolution in East-Germany’s Neues 

Deutschland“ 99 

Luís Machado de Abreu (University of Aveiro): 

“Leszek Kołakowski’s Scepticism in the Age of 

Suspicion“ 111 

Olga Roussinova/ Kirill Titaev (European University at St. 

Petersburg): “Portugal in RuNet: Space of Descriptions, 

Space of Appearances” 123 

Part III: Representations of 

Eastern Europe in the Iberian Peninsula 

José Eduardo Franco / Paula Carreira (University of 

Lisbon): “The Slavic World as the Horizon and Frontier of 

Europe. Representations of Slavic Countries in the Jesuit 

Journal Brotéria” 139 

Carme Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián (University of A 

Coruña): “Soutelo and Potocky, or, The Fraternity of the 

Enslaved Nations” 219 

Maria Isabel Morán Cabanas (University of Santiago 

de Compostela): “Approaches to 21 st Century Slavic 

Immigration in Portuguese and Spanish Literature: 

A Comparative Analysis” 231 


Part IV: National and European Identity 

Wolfgang Aschauer (Chemnitz University of Technology): 

“Peripheral Identities in Hungary“ 249 

Sonja Koroliov (University of Halle / Wittenberg): “Balkan 

Visions: Conceptualisations of Europe in Contemporary 

Macedonia” 259 

Ulrich Best ( York University, Toronto): “Postcolonial 

Poland? Discourses on Postcolonialism between 

Nationalism and the Western Gaze” 271 

Miloš Havelka (Charles University, Prague): “Central 

European Constructions of Central and Eastern 

Europe, or, What is the Centre and who are the Central 

Europeans?” 289 

Teresa Pinheiro (Chemnitz University of Technology): 

“Iberian Identities between the Colonial Past and the 

European Present” 305 

Cláucio Serra Domingues (University of Münster): “In the 

Name of April – Building the Past around a Political Myth 

in Portuguese Democracy” 319 

Notes on Contributors 353 



Part I 

Theoretical Approach 



Mapping National and European Identities. 

Eastern Europe and Iberia 

between Centres and Peripheries 

Beata Elzbieta Cieszynska / José Eduardo Franco / 


(University of Lisbon / Chemnitz University of Technology) 

The contemporary map of Europe – multicultural and fluid, with its 

extremities moving ever closer and with the European Union expanding 

to the east and south-east, – reveals both Eastern Europe and the Iberian 

Peninsula to be at different yet in some ways truly similar stages in adjusting 

their collective memory and self-defining identity to the new European 

experience and opening up to the Other (Wagstaff 2004; Zarycki 2007). 

Previously represented in ambiguous dialogues, and conditioned by 

fear-inducing stereotypes, they were recently presented with new opportunities 

for experiencing fruitful encounters and comparisons. The end of 

the Eastern Bloc marked the beginning of a step-by-step convergence of 

the “Old Europe” and Central and Eastern European countries. In May 

2004 this convergence achieved institutional consolidation through the 

Eastern enlargement, which was further strengthened by Bulgaria and Romania 

joining the EU in 2007. Yet the growing integration of the former 

Europe of 15 and the 10 new Central and Eastern European countries is 

an asymmetric process. For example, economic investment has a tendency 

to be directed from west to east, in contrast to migration flows that follow 

a distinct westward direction. There is an old centre in the new Europe 

that attracts most of the attention: the triangle of Berlin, Paris and 


12 Beata Elzbieta Cieszynska / José Eduardo Franco / Teresa Pinheiro 

London, with Brussels at its centre, offers great political and economic 

attractions to the new and future members of the EU. The new members 

furnish the EU with new peripheries which communicate first and foremost 

with the centre, but which also have – less carefully attended – contacts 

and relationships with the other peripheries. The presence of Central 

and Eastern European countries among the 15 established members is, 

however, not widely recognised and they are still quite unknown in the 

collective perception of European imaginative geography (Said 1978: 49). 

Only recently has the increasing presence of migrants from Central and 

Eastern European countries influenced the collective views on the new 

EU members. The book Peripheral Identities intends to fill up the gap in the 

existing research on mutual readings and comparisons between Slavic, and 

other Eastern European countries, and the Iberian nations. One cannot 

find a similar up to date attempt on the proposed scale, although there are 

a number of surveys of comparisons on cultural relationships between 

both regions. This book will use both monographs and comparative approaches 

to show the changing relationships between centres and peripheries. 

The book examines also how Portugal and Spain have constituted an 

idea of Eastern European countries, just as Eastern European countries 

produced, through the centuries, several ideas of Iberia. The latest tendencies 

of European comparative research into contemporary Europe reveal 

the urgent need to bring together its opposite points through encounters 

and knowledge, at the same time referring to the recent methodologies 

concerning the Representation of Otherness, and to the opening up of 

new perspectives by redefining oneself through the recognition of the 

point of view of the Other. The editors hope that this present debate will 

be the next step towards a fruitful reassessment (and not only for both 

parts of Europe under consideration) of the traditional dualism of Identity 

and Otherness. Studies focused upon the systematization and categorization 

of Iberian-Slavic-Eastern European research issues tend to apply 

the most recent post-modern comparative methodologies of “Reading 

the Other” (Waldenfels 2007; Arenas 2003). Focusing upon the literary, 

historical, philosophical, psychological, political and linguistic aspects of 

Slavic, Eastern European and Iberian outlooks, the authors of Peripheral 

Identities examine the creation and fluctuation of national and cultural 

myths, ideas, models and forms of behaviour that have been prevalent 

in different periods, developing in step with interpretations of their own 

complex culture and of the culture of “the Other”. Moreover, the present 


Mapping National and European Identities 13 

volume aims to apply the traditional concept of identity to the present 

social conditions of the countries in question, which belong to a heterogeneous 

multicultural Europe. Our main goal is to achieve a synthesis of the 

perspectives of Iberian and Eastern European cultures, which are situated 

at opposite poles of Europe but are nevertheless moving ever closer. In 

the present day postmodern Europe it has become strategically important 

to research the cross-overs, encounters and views on those cultures, the 

various interpretations that existed and were elaborated in the period from 

the modern (sometimes also the early modern) epoch and are still evident 

in the variety of meanings and points of reference of post-modernity. The 

book limits the object of study to modern and contemporary History, and 

to what institutions, ideas and cultures have generated and made permanent, 

so as to identify the common traits and links to what we are today. 

The method of studying the two regions of Europe in question, in 

the various centre-periphery contexts partakes of a certain tradition with 

examples showing more or less successful attempts (Milton / Wiencek 

1980; Malowist 1967). The approach of Peripheral Identities gains its uniqueness 

by comparing the encounters of two regions, sometimes seen as opposite 

but sharing a common European experience. 

The proposed analytical method has much to offer in three respects: 

when focusing upon their European relationship as periphery-periphery 

encounters; when analysing their encounters in the context of the search 

for a particular place in the regional, local and European centre – periphery 

dynamics; 1 and when analysing their updating of identity selfdefinitions, 

which in a wider sense reveal traces of a struggle with the concept 

of peripherality. 

The proposed approach also allows one to observe some of the 

symbolic identity strategies adopted in order to compensate, or even to 

finally overcome, the sense of peripherality. This is the main focus of 

interest of the book Peripheral Identities: Iberia and Eastern Europe Between the 

dictatorial Past and the European Present. 

Whereas the relations between the centre and periphery dominate 

politics and the public perception of this historical process, insights into 

the direct relationships between the peripheries allow the identification of 

a different dimension of the dynamics of European integration. 

1 In this context one of the most useful categories to call upon is the sociological theory 

of capital as set out by Bourdieu, the concept of different capitals is one that enables a 

description of various self perceptions according to actual capital (Zarycki 2007). 



These inter-peripheral relations are to be discussed with regard to 

the cultural connections between the Iberian States and Central and Eastern 

European countries as well as to comparisons of the respective development 

of their identities. 

In defining a place on the European cultural and political map, both 

Iberia and Eastern Europe are constantly facing their own myths of origin, 

dreams of dignity as well as their complexes and the reappearing consciousness 

of their decadency and decline (Kalaga / Kubisz 2008; Quental 

1871). 

There is also a set of external categories belonging to the traditional 

eighteenth-century legacy of thought that affects their self-image 

and dialogues, as they are still struggling with two defining oppositions, 

the first dividing Europe into the west and east (with a special role for the 

Balkans), the second parting our continent into the north and the south. 

One may consider both European spaces as progressive liberal and willing 

or unwilling return to such “mythicizing traps” (Todorova 2006; Wolff 

2000; Staël 1800). 

Both regions respond to the necessity to apply the post-modern 

requirements of identity for Europe in their own ways, approaching the 

dominant determinants of their present state in terms of the historical 

past. Both twentieth-century totalitarian experience and postcolonial perspectives 

are the next set of parameters to consider as being still present 

in their collective memory and their interpretations of the Other. One 

of the most important focuses of Peripheral Identities is how both Iberian 

and Eastern European countries experienced totalitarian regimes in the 

twentieth century and their so called return to Europe as the one of the 

consequences. 2 Another issue is postcolonialism, that has been traditionally 

an important issue for the Iberian countries, but it is significant that 

recently it has also affected the former Eastern Bloc countries (Kelertas 

2006; Kovacevic 2008). Some recent studies point out that in those latter 

countries the only perspective that exists is that of an ideological choice 

between post-communism and postmodernism. 3 

2 Looking at that terminology one may see that as the Eastern Europe became a more 

ideologically based term, the terms related to the Iberian countries are more geographical 

and historically based. 

3 Some authors illustrate this by stating that in Poland there is no postmodernism, there is 

only post-communism. This choice appears to be most important for the Slavic cultures 

bringing also the possibility of playing a significant role in today’s Europe (Zarycki 2005). 



In such a context even the concept of pathology has been employed 

when speaking of the roots of national identity in the Slavic countries 

(Bobrownicka 2006). 4 

In the interests of the present book the Eastern European countries 

are involved in at least three points of cross-over, which also represent 

areas of mutual concurrence. From the cultural point of view we take the 

majority of the Slavic countries; their cultural heritage dividing them into 

two camps – Slavia Latina and Slavia Ortodoxa, which also form the main 

component of the former Eastern Bloc; the anti and pro-Habsburg’s 5 

struggle (Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia) and the former Yugoslavia. 

The points of cross-over in the Iberian region are various peninsular 

issues, such as the stronger discourse of national identity discourse 

in Portugal (definitively based upon its differing from Spain), both autonomist 

or, on the contrary, unifying perspectives for so called Iberia (such 

as the idea of the Iberian Union), as well as the different state of identification 

in the autonomous provinces of Spain. It explains cross-overs in 

the terminology and concepts that are discussed and referred to in course 

of the mapping that Peripheral Identities undertakes, which are above all, 

in terms of the east: Eastern and Central or Central-Eastern Europe, or 

Balkan Europe, or Eastern Bloc; and for the other part of Europe we have 

questions such as the Iberian Peninsula or Iberia, with at least three different 

perspectives: looking at two Iberian states separately or as complex 

regions, which applies to autonomous communities of Spain, recognised 

as historical nationalities. One of the aspects presented in the book’s research 

material is that the more recent years that coincide with the end of 

the Soviet Union and the new structure of European geography brought 

intellectual migration to Portugal and Spain. Coming from the centre of 

Europe – and many Slavonic countries – a cultural elite disseminated in 

the multicultural milieu, already very diverse, that existed in Portugal and 

Spain. From that new reality a set of cultural creations arose, which surely 

led to a cultural heritage in the medium term and must be born in mind, 

whose interpretations are now tolerated and that the University reflects as 

a meaningful example. 

4 In sum crossing transition categories presented in Europe: Lives in Transition edited by 

Bettina van Hoven in 2004 (Hoven 2004), showing the complex ethnic, national and cultural 

issues that prevent them from having the easy wave of mapping activity. 

5 For countries of Eastern Europe it was Spain that for centuries was identified with 

Habsburgs. 



Joining the EU, and the subsequent improvement in the standard of 

living and of the economic situation, brought about a change from Portugal 

being affected by emigration towards a growing influx of immigrants. 

The rise in immigration from countries such as Ukraine, Romania 

and Moldavia, as well as other Eastern countries since the late 1990s, has 

made Central and Eastern Europe an every-day reality in Portugal and 

Spain. Immigrants from former Eastern Bloc countries confront both 

Portuguese and Spanish society with social and cultural experiences that 

had been subsumed incorporated within the Soviet Union in Portuguese 

and Spanish mental mapping. Contemporary reflections upon this encounter 

are to be found in the literary studies present in this book. 

The book will fill a gap in research – our limited knowledge of the 

contemporary perception of the East European countries (above all those 

of the former Eastern Bloc) in Iberian countries and vice versa, as most 

works have been published in their respective local languages. The current 

perception of Central and Eastern European countries in Portugal 

and Spain is also one of the important fields of research to be addressed. 

On the other hand, negotiations prior to joining the EU, the encouraging, 

and at the same time worrying, example of Portuguese development, and 

experiences of Portugal as the host country of an emigrant Diaspora have 

exercised a great influence on contemporary representations of Iberia in 

the Central and Eastern European countries. Another important issue is 

the Portuguese and Spanish scientific and political discourse on the Eastern 

Enlargement and the presence of Eastern European migrants, which 

has brought about new experiences in Portuguese and Spanish everyday 

life. It is important to understand how the Iberian media reflect the new 

social and cultural reality in comparison to the traditional Lusophonic and 

Hispanic immigration from Africa and South America. However, the images 

of the Other are not only influenced by contemporary interactions, 

they also relate to older discourses. Therefore the historical perspective is 

taken into account as well as the present perspective. The 20 th century offers 

a particularly large number of mutual representations which still influence 

today’s perceptions. Journalistic and literary statements from former 

Eastern Bloc countries about the Portuguese Estado Novo and the colonial 

policies of Salazar and Franco, the Spanish Civil War and the Portuguese 

colonial war offer a good starting point for historiographic explorations, 

as does the dismissive propaganda describing the communist East in the 

ideological statements from the Estado Novo and Franco’s Spain. Of equal 



importance are mutual representations in political and public discourse 

during the Portuguese Carnation Revolution in 1974 and the following left 

wing revolutionary phase, as well as the democratisation and the restauration 

of the monarchy in Spain that ended the Franco’s era. 

Spanish and Portuguese views of protests and reform movements 

in the Eastern countries, above in all East Germany, Russia, Poland, Czech 

Republic and some states of former Yugoslavia, will also be considered. 

The issues mentioned above are also important with regard to the 

question of national identity construction. Portugal, Spain and the Eastern 

European countries experienced long-lasting totalitarian regimes and 

only turned to Europe after the collapse of their respective dictatorships. 

This implies that the creation of collective identity needs to address both, 

the dictatorial past and the supranational, European framework. The issue 

of collective memory in Europe gains more and more importance. To 

varying degrees and mostly related to a scientific discourse, the topic of 

the current treatment of the recent past is of great importance in Portugal 

and Spain, as well as in former Eastern Bloc countries and Yugoslavia, as 

part of their respective constructions of national identity. The contributions 

of the book Peripheral Identities are to demonstrate the importance of 

this topic in the respective countries and will therefore enable a discussion 

about similarities and differences as well as the reasons for these. The 

creation of identity in all of these countries is strongly influenced by their 

long experience of dictatorships during the last century and also by the 

European integration that followed the collapse of these authoritarian regimes. 

But a huge difference is the fact that the revolution in Portugal and 

the democratic transition in Spain came about out of themselves, whereas 

in Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania the advent of democracy 

was also the advent of political sovereignty. Because of this we may hypothesize 

that contemporary constructions of national identity in Eastern 

European countries are more strongly influenced by disassociation than 

in the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, Europe as a focal point for the 

creation of a national identity may be a more important factor, since orientation 

towards Europe also means a disassociation from the East. The 

new political, economic and social conditions exercise a great influence on 

mutual perceptions and representations, as well as the creation of national 

identity, in Portugal and Spain, as well as in the Central and Eastern European 

countries. These foundations of cultural phenomena are analysed in 

the book. The discovery of a national identity in the countries in question 



is based upon the perception of the self and on disassociation from other 

communities. Therefore it is necessary to adopt two analytical perspectives. 

On one hand mutual representations of the countries in question 

are analysed. On the other hand a comparative analysis will be undertaken 

of relationships with the recent past and with Europe, in regard to 

the construction of national identity in the respective countries. Since the 

process of European integration is in its early stages in the older Iberian 

member-states and in the new accession countries, Europe is an important 

test case of national identity. Because the dictatorships in these countries 

had maintained an isolationist stance towards Europe, the accession to 

the EU appears to be a re-discovery of or a return to Europe which tries 

to reconnect to older concepts of Europe. How is Europe remembered 

today in the different countries, which traditions of a theory of Europe do 

such designs relate to, and which role do they play in the construction of 

a national identity? Comparative analyses of memorial culture in Central, 

Eastern European and Iberian countries hardly exist (to date comparisons 

between Portugal and Spain are almost absent; concerning a Polish-Spanish 

comparison see Troebst 2003, 2005). The book Peripheral Identities provides 

new analysis enabling comparisons between the respective memorial 

cultures. It also serves as an interdisciplinary forum for discussions on the 

topic of European peripheral identities; encouraging an exchange across 

national borders and scientific boundaries. The articles presented contain 

cross-over contributions from law studies, political science, religious studies, 

cultural and historical sciences as well as well as Portuguese, Spanish, 

Slavic, Central and Eastern European literary studies. 

The collection starts with two general overviews of the basic questions 

that are in various ways addressed by the subsequent chapters. The 

first study from Annabela Rita (University of Lisbon) reflects the terminology 

connected to Reading the Other: “Identity and Otherness: Coordinates 

of a Cartography of Identity”. The article by Francisco Nazareth 

(Camões Institute, Sofia) provides useful comparisons between the two 

regions in question, above all referring to the cases of Portugal and Bulgaria: 

“Occidentalism and Post-Empire(s) in Semi-Peripheral European 

Societies: Balkan and Iberian Cultural Parallels”. Interpretations following 

mutual experiences and encounters appear in the next two parts of the 

book. Part II: “Representations of Iberia in Eastern Europe” and Part III: 

“Representations of Eastern Europe in the Iberian Peninsula”. The article 

by Fernando Cristóvão (University of Lisbon): “Polish Travellers on the 



Iberian Peninsula” offers an extended review of visions of Portugal and 

Spain by the Polish visitors in the Early Modern period. 

The two following chapters try to encapsulate the rules of Reading 

the Other, between knowledge and myth, taking as an example the 

Iberian countries in Poland and other countries of the Former Eastern 

Bloc, referring to the cross-over categories of mythologizing and stereotyping. 

In her study “The Myth(s) of Iberia in Poland and other Countries 

of the former Eastern Bloc”, Beata Elzbieta Cieszynska (University 

of Lisbon) provides a survey of myths and stereotypes together with their 

cultural impact in the countries in question from the Renaissance period 

onwards, focusing on the recognition of contemporary traps and the potential 

to overcome generalising by stereotype. A study by Anna Kalewska 

(University of Warsaw): “Portugal Stereotypes in Poland, or, the Pictures 

in our Minds. Long Away from the Perils of Life”, describes the typical 

and individual in the reception of Portuguese culture in Poland, including 

samples of art. The next case-study appeals to the political and cultural 

interpretations of German opinions of the collapse of the Portuguese 

Estado Novo. This issue is described by Jörg Seidel (Chemnitz University 

of Technology, Germany) in “The Portuguese Carnation Revolution in 

East-Germany’s Neues Deutschland”. The following analysis by Luís Machado 

de Abreu (University of Aveiro) concerns the critical reception of the 

epistemological routs of the Eastern Bloc philosophy. It focuses upon the 

case of the Polish Philosopher, Leszek Kolakowski. The chapter “Leszek 

Kolakowski’s Scepticism in the Age of Suspicion” demonstrates that the 

philosopher is very relevant to the Eastern European experience and is 

at the same time universal, as a guardian of critical reason and pedagogical 

scepticism in contrast to official unquestioning tendencies. The last 

Eastern European point of view is provided by Olga Roussinova’s and 

Kirill Titaev’s (European University at St. Petersburg) study: “Portugal in 

RuNet: Space of Descriptions, Space of Appearances”. The authors describe 

repesentations of Portugal on the Russian internet as a place to visit 

and as a place to live (potentially), including the reasons for immigration, 

always referring to two quite typical Internet tendencies: fragmenting and 

mythologizing. The third part of the book is devoted to the mutual experiences 

and encounters between Iberia and Eastern Europe, offering insights 

into representations of Eastern Europe in Portugal and Spain. This 

section starts with José Eduardo Franco’s and Paula Carreira’s (University 

of Lisbon) joint study on the reception of the Slavic countries in the 



Portuguese Jesuit Periodical Brotéria (issued since 1902) with special focus 

upon the communist era. This chapter is entitled “The Slavic World as the 

Horizon and Frontier of Europe. Representations of Slavic Countries in 

the Jesuit Journal Brotéria”. The study reveals an unexpectedly large reception 

of Eastern European issues in Twentieth-Century Portugal. 

In the next analysis, “Soutelo and Potocky, or, the Fraternity of the 

Enslaved Nations”, Carme Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián (University of A 

Coruña) refers to the roles played by the mythologized romantic heroes 

in the search for liberty and independence in Spanish Galicia, above all in 

the literary attempts of the so called group Nós. Maria Isabel Morán Cabanas 

(University of Santiago de Compostela) remains here in the sphere 

of literary receptions, however in her article “Approaches to Twentieth- 

First Century Slavic Immigration in Portuguese and Spanish Literature: A 

Comparative Analysis”, the focus is upon contemporary Iberian literature, 

looking at Reading the Other incarnated as a Slavic immigrant. The fourth 

Part of Peripheral Identities, entitled “National and European Identity” traces 

the differing processes of self definition and mapping by the Eastern 

European and Iberian countries from two perspectives: centre-periphery 

dynamics and their ideas about Europe. The case of the double peripheral 

discourse on Hungary is described in the chapter by Wolfgang Aschauer 

(Chemnitz University of Technology): “Peripheral Identities in Hungary”. 

The Post-Yugoslavian Macedonian Literature is analysed by Sonja Koroliov 

(University of Halle/Wittenberg) in “Balkan Visions: Conceptualisations 

of Europe in Contemporary Macedonia”. In the following chapter, 

by Ulrich Best (York University, Toronto) “Postcolonial Poland? Discourses 

on Postcolonialism between Nationalism and the Western Gaze”, 

the author reveals the interrelationship of categories of Eastern nationalism 

and postcolonialism in literary and academic discourses in Poland and 

Germany, beginning with the nineteenth-century but focusing upon the 

twentieth and twentieth-first centuries. A different approach is offered 

to the readers by Miloš Havelka (Charles University, Prague), who analyses 

issues of Central Europe, in his contributions he refers to “Central 

European Constructions of Central and Eastern Europe”. The Iberian 

way of redefining national identity and collective memory between the 

dictatorial past and the European present are to be found in the last two 

chapters of the book: Cláucio Serra Domingues (University of Münster) 

“In the Name of April – Building the Past around a Political Myth in 

Portuguese Democracy” and Teresa Pinheiro’s (Chemnitz University of 



Technology): “Iberian Identities between the Colonial Past and the European 

Present”. Thus, with its four parts: “Representations of Portugal 

and Spain in Eastern Europe”, “Representations of Eastern Europe in 

Portugal and Spain” and “National and European Identity” along with 

its “Theoretical Approach”, Peripheral Identities provides social scientists 

and the wider humanistic public new attempts to understand how Iberian 

and Eastern European countries are striving towards understanding each 

other and how that effort also helps them to make sense of their place on 

the new post-modern European map. 

The book brings together researchers from both parts of Europe 

under consideration, who have suggested a set of new approaches to the 

issues of social and cultural representation and communication, reading 

the Other, and national and cultural identity. By enhancing knowledge, it is 

possible to overcome the old stereotypes and demonstrate the characteristics 

of a new reading of the Iberian Other in its relations with Slavic and 

other East European cultures, which are entering contemporary Europe 

with a considerable strength. In this context the book rethinks the matter 

of the evolution of identity and places its ideas in the context of the 

multiculturalism and with reference to the changes that took place in the 

recent decades on both sides. 

The book intends to contribute to contemporary comparative studies, 

as well as epistemological and ethical debates about the question of 

otherness and centre-periphery dynamics, and would be of use for educational 

and research purposes. 

With Peripheral Identities the editors send an invitation to a wide readership 

to join in this collective effort towards the construction of new 

conceptions about relationships between “myself and others” in Iberian 

and Eastern European contexts. They hope that this book can contribute 

for an innovative understanding of various social and cultural ideas and 

practices in their historical context, eventually revealing of the potential to 

solve problems in today’s fluid and multicultural Europe. 

This also applies, if not above all, to the role played by the two cultures 

in question in Europe, their mission and a reflection of their values. 

With its various perspectives on Iberian and East European countries 

in encounters and comparisons, Peripheral Identities attempts to provide 

new ways of looking at contemporary Europe through its peripheries. It 

aims at contributing for a more central image of the analysed nations and 

cultures. 



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Identity and Otherness: Coordinates 

of a Cartography of Identity 

Annabela Rita 

(University of Lisbon) 

Perception is a result of multiple transformations, and is both a 

deformed and a deforming mirror. Visual images are initially twofold before 

undergoing successive inversions and processes of recognition and 

the mnemonic interpretation of those characteristics that have been recognised. 

In other words perception does not guarantee an accurate and 

trustworthy impression of reality, just a close representation. 

When two individuals meet, mutual understanding is subject to the 

preconditions of perception and culture experienced in the field of interaction. 

“Myself and the Other” occupy opposite places in the communicative 

process. I see myself in a certain way and I want myself to be seen 

in another way, believing that I recognise in myself yet another individual 

whose behaviour often makes me question my opinion of myself. The 

same happens with the Other, to whom I am the Other. In addition, each 

one of us is several many Others in the kaleidoscope of alien impressions, 

and even to ourselves. 

Reflections upon identity and difference are a challenge that appears 

to cross different cultures. The problem of cultural identity has been a 

constant over the course of time, as societies have questioned themselves 

systematically and obsessively about their cultural identity. 


26 Annabela Rita 

We try to define ourselves, and we look to history, ideology and language 

for the answer. As with any other fundamental question, the quest 

for identity is open and inconclusive due to the constant mutation of subject 

and object. Therefore, I do not intend to solve this collective problem. 

Instead, I will attempt to consider the motives for such questioning, 

and will try to explain its wider implications and meaning. 

We can argue that the collective experience shares some parallels 

with that of the individual: it is through our contact with the Other that we 

encounter difference and similarity and try to define them, defining us and 

defining the Other.The situation occurs naturally when somebody moves 

and is confronted with somebody else. The experience of displacement, a 

characteristic of most archaic nomadic societies, tends to originate in the 

journey itself, the place of departure being seen as the identifying homeland 

– a reference point. The greater the distance (in terms of geography 

and understanding), the higher the expectation tends to be regarding the 

encounter and the degree of strangeness felt before and during it. And if 

it is true that expectations decrease with distance, it must also be stressed 

that proximity is associated with emotions, which are very often negative: 

rivalry, jealousy and distrust alter ones relations with the Other. Nonetheless, 

in general the emotional features of close relationships occur due 

to a displacement of understanding: the religious or military aims which 

underlie the conviction of difference originate logically in problematic relationships, 

as evidenced by history. The strangeness of one’s original encounter 

with the Other is so overwhelming that it deserves to be minded: 

it is the subject of narratives from the most official or public to the most 

personal and autobiographic, from the most truthful to the most imaginary, 

from the individual to the collective. There is a vast and heterogeneous 

bibliography on cultural encounters, which results from a belief in the 

original strangeness of an encounter and the consciousness of its cultural 

meaning. Travel writing, either in the experiences it describes or the style 

in which it is presented, is the necessary framework for the analysis of 

cultural encounters. The journey therefore places two individuals face to 

face with everything that constitutes them culturally, two systems individually 

represented. The mutual approach is progressive: from the first sight 

to the attempt to communicate (dialogue, gesture, behaviour) and social 

intercourse (where the application of territoriality 1 conjoins with codes of 

conduct and values), everything continues to reveal and reflect the differ- 

1 About the importance of the application of that “hidden dimension” see Hall 1990. 

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Identity and Otherness 27 

ence of the Other. This is the reason for the importance of travel writing 

in its broader sense, and the fact that it permeates Western culture entirely. 

It is also the reason why this kind of literature imitates the above 

formula in terms of the discursive itinerary of each text, leading the dialogue 

and the reader towards the object of the narrative, a formula that 

other narratives also use: it is a parody in the sense proposed by Linda 

Hutcheon (Hutcheon 1985), which is strategically at the service of the 

enhancement of curiosity and of gaining the reader’s attention, and their 

understanding of the lesson it contains. 2 This is also the reason for narratives 

of imagined and imaginary travels, which are both enhanced by the 

strangeness of the original experience. In the case of travelling Europe has 

played a dominant role throughout history. Whether on official missions 

or individual initiatives motivated by military, religious, cultural, economic 

or adventurous goals, the Europeans attempted to widen the horizons 

of their world as much as possible. In doing this some nations achieved 

political and economic hegemony, as in the case of Portugal during the 

period of discoveries. I will refer to some examples of situations and texts 

that include descriptions of cultural encounters. It would be expedient 

to analyse both sides of the same coin – the Self and the Other – and to 

consider the circumstances that condition them: how does the newcomer 

see his interlocutor and how does the latter approach the traveller? It is 

this confrontation that matters and that will allow us our reflections to 

progress. However this method is also the most difficult. We find travel 

accounts that offer us an image of the Other, and possibly the image that 

the Other believes he presents of himself – through the reactions and information 

conveyed by witnesses, which will always belong to the domain 

of interpretation - but we rarely obtain direct access to both sides of the 

same encounter. Despite this limitation and the relative incompleteness 

that results, I will not resist the opportunity to analyse one point of view 

as an example - more specifically the Eurocentric point of view when encountering 

the Other - observing its features and its wider context. 

In its encounters with the Other the Eurocentric point of view is 

initially conditioned by the most important models of its own culture, 

those which stand out as reference points and are drawn from the most 

important texts of its cultural canon. These images shape its own interpretation 

of and behaviour towards the Other. 

2 I refer to what I said about this phenomenon regarding Júlio Dinis discourse in Os 

Fidalgos da Casa Mourisca (1871) in Barreto / Rita 2004: 57-68. 



Let us begin with the initial perception: the sight of the Other. I call 

your attention to the Letter from Pero Vaz de Caminha concerning the discovery 

of Brazil in 1500, highlighting his description of the travellers’ arrival, 

their initial impressions of the unknown land and their first contact with 

its inhabitants: 

“On that day, at vespers, we sighted land, that is to say, firstly a great 

mountain, very high and round, and southwards other lower and a plain 

hill, with larges groves. The admiral named that mountain Easter Mount 

and the place the Land of the True Cross. He ordered to drop the plumbline 

[…], and on Thursday, in the morning, we set sail and made straight 

for shore, the small ships going ahead for seventeen, sixteen, fifteen, fourteen, 

thirteen, twelve, ten and nine fathoms up to half league from shore, 

where we all cast anchors in the threading of a river mouth […]. From 

there we saw men that walked along the beach, about seven or eight, according 

to the small ships, for they arrived first. […] As soon as [Nicolau 

Coelho] began to approach the shore, men appeared on the beach, two, 

then three, and when the canoe arrived to the mouth of the river there 

were eighteen or twenty brown men, all naked, without any thing to cover 

their private parts. They carried bows and arrows and walked determinedly 

towards the canoe”. 3 

As the travellers approached the discovered land they acquired a 

greater understanding of its features and details (movement, number, size, 

colour, shape, practices, etc.). 

The description attains a truly cinematic effect. Continuing to read 

the letter we discover that they finally leave the boats, walk on the beach 

and send scouts to the natives, not to mention a description of the movements 

of the Indians towards them. 

In short, there is a progression from perception to interaction, 

marked in terms of image by a succession of descriptions that demonstrate 

this tendency. Interaction occurs when the travellers reach a new 

territory, a progression that is replicated in the cognitive process. 

From perception to interaction, two founding images dominate and 

condition the interpretations and emotions of that process: the image of 

paradise that is engrained in the imagination of collective history, and that 

of the child, which is engrained in the experience of every individual. 

3 Caminha 1500: 1 v. 



The spontaneous, exuberant nature and nakedness of the Other formed a 

scene that was considered to be similar to the original Eden. 

That is the reason for the fascination and enchantment with the 

Other, the conviction that he is an innocent version of the European that 

has been lost in time. 

As a newly-born child the Other is still unconscious of his acts and 

of reality – affections are then awakened. 

In the case of such forced encounters therefore, the recognition of 

the most obvious differences dominates: physical traits, clothing, behaviour 

and language. Let us now move forward to the first communication, 

for to a certain degree the linguistic barrier is overcome. 

When the Self and the Other manage to communicate, through 

translators, the newcomer is forced to introduce himself because it is he 

who has entered the foreign space and, being the foreigner, is expected to 

give an explanation. It is precisely at this point, and with a pragmatic aim, 

that the systematic attempt at self-knowledge begins. To present oneself 

is to explain oneself: the narrative corresponds to the image offered by 

the reality, subtitles it, interprets it and frames it discursively. It configures 

it within a common frame that belongs to the story, as relative and 

as dynamic as life in the opinion of the epistemologist Gregory Bateson 

(Bateson 1987), for whom the story is the most basic and elementary pattern, 

which explains the fact of its being so traditional and archaic, shaping 

the culture as a whole. That presentation is also the moment at which 

the need for self-promotion, for the construction of a convincing image, 

begins to open a gap between the I-myself and the I-other, hopelessly 

separating them and starting a trajectory of progressive and insurmountable 

problems. 

An example from Camões occurs to me: the episode from The Lusiads 

(1572) that describes the meeting between Vasco da Gama and the 

king of Malindi (Canto III). The navigator introduces himself to the latter, 

announcing that he is the envoy of the Portuguese whom he introduces 

through a historical speech, a collective biography, and pointing out 

personalities that express and symbolise the features and key experiences 

of the said people. The effect of this fictional presentation reaches us 

through an interpretation of a subjective perspective, that is to say a fiction 

of a fiction. 

Vasco da Gama provided a historical speech. However, epic involves 

the transition from chronicle to History, with a wider perspective that is, 



comprehensive and all-embracing, characterising History as the pre-eminent 

discourse for identity, a change marked by the strategic need for the 

construction of a collective identity, as shown in so many texts from the 

fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries all over Europe. In Portugal it is important 

to point out, among many others, the authors which provided that 

mystifying wider perspective such as Fernão de Oliveira (1507-1581), Bernardo 

de Brito (1569-1617), Sebastião de Paiva (1600-1659) or António 

Vieira (1608-1697) 4 . The Epic provides a unifying image that is comprehensive 

(and therefore totalitarian, all-absorbing and exclusive) therefore 

having a mystifying tendency. Other texts appear from the shadows that 

were relegated to the periphery of this luminous centre. For example, 

in Portuguese culture História Trágico-Marítima (1735-1736) by Bernardo 

Gomes de Brito, 5 describes tragedy, loss and mourning, the dramatic side 

that is hidden because of trauma and of the desire for glory. Between light 

and shadow, the dialogue between national song and counter-song that 

crosses Portuguese literature and culture is raised and developed, though 

sometimes disguised by fictional elaboration as in the case of Viagens na 

Minha Terra (1946) by Almeida Garrett, emblematically codified by the 

sentimental romance between Joaninha and Carlos, through the evocation 

of different aesthetic lineages and the rhetorical elaboration of parallelism, 

symbol, synecdoche and miniaturisation, the story of a national 

survival following Ksar El Kebir, the sunset of a people who wanted to 

dominate the world. Song and counter-song converge in some twentiethcentury 

texts. Especially Mensagem (1945) – to which its author, Fernando 

Pessoa, initially gave the title Portugal – the spectral impression of which 

may come in part from the tormenting amplification of the distance between 

the Self and the Other, light and shadow, unconnected images that 

run from each other, but are always bound by the magnet of identity. In 

this context the cartography of identity follows a similar itinerary. However, 

the route must progress according to the confrontational situations 

caused by the convergence of the perspectives of both parties. 

4 See Brito (1806); Franco (2000); Mourão and Franco (2005); Paiva (2006); Vieira (1953) 

[1664]. 

5 História Trágico-Marítima (1735-36) is a collection of narratives known as accounts of 

Portuguese shipwrecks that occurred between 1552 and 1602. These accounts were usu- usu- 

ally published in booklets after the shipwrecks by the survivors or by their contemporaries. 

In the eighteenth century, Bernardo Gomes de Brito collected these accounts in 

two books and, according to Diogo Barbosa Machado, three more volumes were ready 

for publishing but did not appear. 



This is similar to what happens with our own perception of an image, 

which conjoins and synthesises the double visual image that our eyesight 

provides, linking it with the information obtained by the other senses, 

but also with mnemonic information that informs it interpretatively. 

Firstly, the origins – where, how and in relation to whom was the 

nation built that is reflected in territorial geography? 

What imposed the delineation of political frontiers? Geographical 

conditions of isolation, specifically human cultural conditions (linguistic 

and ethnic differences for example) or economic ones? And how did the 

neighbouring nations react to that political situation? Furthermore, how 

were these phenomena and features viewed by others? 

Secondly, the physical, geographical and human image. If there 

were territorial changes with the dissolution of borders, how did they occur 

and how were they viewed? Were they abrupt or slow, imposed or 

desired, natural or artificial, significant or small? Were they accompanied 

by changes in the ethnic physiognomy of populations? If there was not 

a territorial change were there, on the contrary, changes in the population 

(due to a migratory movement)? In short, was the physical change 

psychologically internalised, absorbed and accepted or not? Similarly, how 

were these phenomena and features received by the others? Here we must 

introduce an important and complicated issue: in the case of the countries 

that expanded overseas beyond their European limits, how did they live 

in such far away territories and how did the inhabitants of such territories 

receive them in time? It is a two-sided history to ponder. 

In the Portuguese case, in spite of not having information about 

the perspective of the Other, who witnessed the Portuguese arrive and 

stay, I must describe the phenomenon in Brazil. From its discovery, as 

documented by Pero Vaz de Caminha (1500), to its description by Fernão 

Cardim in his Tratados da Terra e Gente do Brasil (1585-90), almost a century 

had passed, also a time of progress for standards of living in that territory. 

If we take this small corpus as an indicator of the historical and cultural 

path taken by the Portuguese in Brazil, from their arrival and brief stay on 

the coast to life in the interior, we can observe the metamorphoses of the 

traveller’s outlook and the images of Brazil that it reflects. 

A long time passed from the arrival to a permanent presence. The 

initial fascination of the encounter with the other, which was interpreted 

as a new version of the biblical archetype of Paradise, Adam without sin, 

gives way to the traumatic experience of hidden and confronted fears (the 



venoms, fevers and cannibalism), which were viewed with surprise and 

awe as manifestations of evil and signs of sin, and finally to the desire for 

and program of transforming the discovered territory into a well settled 

new Portugal. This toponymy unmistakably demonstrates the shaping of 

the Other in the service of the Self (i.e. of the original image that we wish 

to transplant over there), just like the descriptions of communal organisation 

and decoration that we find in the work of Fernão Cardim. 

Contemporary descriptions of the Brazilian Other will complete 

the act of putting in perspective the symmetries and asymmetries of the 

relationship. 

Between the two opposite sides of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula 

and Eastern Europe, there is an enormous number of travellers’ reports: 

those which observe while passing through and those which stay in those 

locations for some time. 

The latter refers to diplomats whose discourse is influenced by 

strategic theories that come from political programs: for example Lucian 

Blaga (a philosopher and poet), Mihai Zamfir or Gabriel Gafita (critics 

and writers), Theodor Baconsky (a theologian and essayist). This past is 

confronted by the present experience of immigration from Eastern European 

countries to Portugal and Spain, forming a complex puzzle and a 

hard daily life, sometimes marked by pain and tragedy, which art in general 

and literature in particular have already analysed in minute detail, for 

example in A Sopa (Porto 2004) by Filomena Marona Beja and in Ucrania 

(Barcelona 2006) by Pablo Aranda. 6 And we must not forget efforts to put 

events into perspective from a distance, as developed in Portugal since the 

beginning of the 20 th century by a cultural magazine with a Jesuit background 

(Brotéria) in relation to Slavic countries and the USSR, 7 or even the 

efforts made by authors from both sides (Pushkin, Potocky and Richard 

Ford; George Borrow, Prosper Merimée and Theophile Gautier, among 

many others). 

We must not forget the work of visual artists, for example the 1840s 

watercolours painted by two Poles living in Portugal: count Raczyński the 

Prussian ambassador in Lisbon (1842-1848), and Napoleon Orda, a Polish 

painter and composer. 

6 See the analysis of both novels in the article by Maria Isabel Morán Cabanas in the 

present volume. 

7 See the article on Brotéria by José Eduardo Franco and Paula Carreira in the present 

volume. 



Thirdly, (an artificial sequence because what we will now mention 

influences many of the examples previously mentioned) the “mental” image 

and its metamorphoses. 

Following the movement of ideas, the history of mentalities and 

the mystification of each one by the Other, or of certain historical events 

involving that Other; the sense that this evolution is conditioned by the relationship 

between its different encounters, which are internal or external 

catalysts. And confronting the image we have of ourselves in the present, 

configured from Others: the knowledge of the lived reality, what the mass 

media offer us and the way our rulers depict us. 

Finally, facing the image that the Others return of ourselves, a fragmented 

mirror of multiple origins and diversity, a metamorphic mirror 

and subject to the determining factors that continually change. 

It would also be interesting to observe how this was and is being 

put into perspective by the Others, an entity that encompasses the entire 

world by virtue of globalization, which enables us to communicate across 

great distances in real time. 

However, we must also pay attention to the images of themselves 

and of the different progenitors that these children of cultural miscegenation 

have. The mixed (direct descendent) and the half-breed (more immediate 

descendent) broke irrecoverably with their ascendency and with the 

models that dominated and identified it. 

It is a work plan that could last years and pass through several research 

teams. Analysis from both sides of the mirror, of its internal space 

and the transformations that occur within, considering the directions in 

these changes, the parallels, asymmetries and reasons, which are diachronic 

in origin. 

Allow me not to approach them, instead directing you to the following 

articles, but also, in my personal case, to other places offering reflections 

upon these matters, pointing out some problematic aspects. 

The examples I refer to are notes that concern the Portuguese case 

in particular, encouraging comparisons, the games of mirrors and images 

with which we try to know ourselves better; ourselves and the Others. 8 

Perhaps this volume will make a valuable contribution to this comparative 

project. 

8 See some texts in which I reflect on the different aspects of the problem of identity 

that I published in the first part of my book Breves & Longas no País das Maravilhas (essays) 

(2004: 237ff). 



Bibliography 

Barreto, Luís Filipe, Rita, Annabela (Eds.) (2004): Breves & longas no país das 

maravilhas. Lisbon. 

Bateson, Gregory (1979): Mind and Nature. A necessary unity. Cresskil. 

Brito, Bernardo de (1806 [1597-1609]): Monarchia 

Lusytana (parts I and II). Lisbon. 

Caminha, Pero Vaz de (1500): “Carta do Achamento do Brasil” in: Fountoura 

da Costa (Ed.), Os sete únicos documentos de 1500. Lisbon. 

Franco, José Eduardo (2000): O Mito de Portugal. A Primeira História de Portugal 

e a sua função política. Lisbon. 

Franco, José Eduardo / Mourão, José Augusto (2005): A Influência de 

Joaquim de Flora em Portugal e na Europa. Escritos de Natália Correia sobre a 

utopia da Idade Feminina do Espírito Santo. Lisbon. 

Garrett, Almeida (2004): Frei Luís de Sousa. Porto. 

Hall, Edward T. (1990): The Silent Language. New York. 

--- (1990): The Hidden Dimension. New York. 

Hutcheon, Linda (2000 [1985]): A Theory of Parody: The Teachings of 

Twentieth-Century Art Forms. Urbana. 

Paiva, Frei Sebastião de (2006 [1641]): Tratado da Quinta Monarquia. Lisbon. 

Rita, Annabela (2007): No fundo dos Espelhos. Em Visita. Porto. 

--- (2004): Emergências Estéticas. Lisbon. 

Vieira, P. António (1953 [1664]) : História do Futuro. Lisbon. 


Occidentalism and Post-Empire(s) 

in Semi-Peripheral European Societies: 

Balkan and Iberian Cultural Parallels 

Francisco Nazareth 

(Camões Institute, Sofia) 

“Can’t you see!? This country has only three types of people: Mafiosi, 

prostitutes and gipsies; there you have it! ... there’s no way this is 

Europe!” 

(Sofia taxi driver, April 2008) 

“Look Mariazinha, one sees so much misery around...! There is so 

much hunger, my God! Your son is where he should be: in the Germanies, 

earning good money!” 

(fruit seller, Aveiro, February 2009) 

“Portugal and Spain are, just like Russia and the Balkan countries, 

(...) one of the interfaces that link Europe to the other worlds. Thus, they 

are like borderlands, an area of transition. (...).” 

Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Raízes do Brasil (Holanda 1995: 13-14) 

This article discusses Occidentalism as a post-imperial fascination 

with a civilisation Europe-centred or, in more vague terms, in the West. 

It is argued that Westernism is a fundamental concept for understanding 

the European semi-peripheries, namely the Iberian Peninsula and the Bal- 


36 Francisco Nazareth 

kans. Resorting to the concepts of the “imagination of the centre” (Santos 

1993) and “self-colonization” (Kiossev 2006), this article re-interprets 

the cultural references of nineteenth-century elites, which weigh heavily 

on the formation of contemporary common-sense. It is also argued that 

these important notions stem from a legacy that is peculiar to the semiperipheries 

which emerged in geographical and historical contexts that 

predate modern ideas of nation and nationalism. 

Lastly, this article presents a plan for breaking these essentialist prejudices 

through the heuristic force of miscegenation and its power to create 

crossroads and interfaces, as inspired in the work of Gilberto Freyre. 

1 – Occidentalism and Semi-periphery 

In cultural studies, the concept of Occidentalism denotes contempt 

for the alienating and increasingly technology-centered, Western civilisation. 

Initially only popular with the elites, this concept has gained strentgh 

with the ascent of the clash of civilisations paradigm. Ian Buruma and 

Avishai Margalit define it as the “dehumanizing image of the West painted 

by its enemies” (Buruma, Margalit 2005: 13) and regard it as a counterpart 

to Edward Said’s Orientalism, the narratives and fantasies that denigrate 

the East. Following a different path from Buruma and Margalit, I will 

argue that just like Orientalism and its caricature of the easterner as a 

luscious, cruel and lazy savage 1 dominated for centuries the European imagination 

and justified its own superiority complex (based upon order, reason, 

progress, science, development, efficiency, etc.), Occidentalism is the 

source of what Homi Bhabha calls ambivalence. 2 According to Bhabha, 

Orientalist stereotypes were accepted by Easterners and became a stigma; 

this stigma results in a misguided attraction for a perfect West, whose absence 

is deeply felt and regarded as a lacuna. European semi-peripheries 

suffer from this type of Occidentalism and imagine a rather unreal Europe 

which possesses everything that these countries lack: development, 

normality, progress or, to sum up, civilisation. 

Europeans – most notably in their travel accounts – have always 

regarded its nearby others as an exotic mix of disorder and libido, of 

backwardness and joy beyond its mathematical, enlightened and civilised 

1 This also applied to the South, in the context of colonial history (Said 1978). 

2 This is taken from Bhabha’s very peculiar interpretation of Franz Fanon (Bhabha 2005: 

155-166). 


Occidentalism and Post-Empire(s) in Semi-Peripheral European Societies 37 

order. 3 Through this interplay between stereotype and stigma, the peoples 

of the Iberian Peninsula and of the Balkans imagine themselves as a minor 

Europe, that is to say, as a Europe that is only superficially European 

because it does not truly belong to the forefront of the continent. 4 Obviously, 

for historical reasons, this minimisation is felt differently in these 

two semi-peripheries. The countries of the Iberian Peninsula fell from the 

centre of the world system to its semi-periphery, whilst Balkans remained 

for centuries an imperial semi-periphery. However, despite this difference, 

these two regions display similar forms of resentment that combine Orientalism 

(which relates to the way the centre regard the periphery) with 

Occidentalism (in the sense adopted in this article, that is to say, in relation 

to the stigma caused by the seductive image of an absent centre). Thus, 

in this Occidentalism, Europe is a dream place; it stands for civilisation. It 

creates the desire of becoming like them and owning what they own, with 

the conviction that they are not afflicted by the same problems that we are 

(as if the leading European economies were immune to the corruption, 

nepotism or nouveau-riche mentality that proliferated in the semi-peripheries 

under the guise of entrepreneurship in emerging countries). This is 

the setting for a game that is neither completely real nor completely false, 

a game in which unruly sensuality, cruel intrigue or profound laziness are 

regarded with as much awe as and urbane individualism, intellectual cosmopolitanism 

or scientifically-based economic competitiveness. 5 In the 

case of the European semi-peripheries, this stereotyping dates back to 

the prejudices of nineteenth-century elites that re-emerged in the present 

as common sense. The semi-peripheral common-sense interprets the absence 

of its country from the elite of the “great nations” as a synonym for 

cultural decay, lack of significance, stagnation and backwardness. These 

feelings create a crisis of cultural self-esteem built upon provincialism, be 

it sectarian or proselyte. 

3 Most of the times, the literature on the encounters with “others” follows this pattern: 

the “others” are nearly always too sinful, dark, cruel and dissolute to resemble with “us”. 

4 For our purposes here, time and space are regarded not as absolute realities but social 

and cultural constructs, as demonstrated by Vinay Lal in his study on the exportation of 

Western categories (Lal, 2002: 50-57). 

5 In an apparent paradox, cultural studies notion of Occidentalism as an anti-Western 

psychosis is remarkably close to Orientalism. In this article, the term Occidentalism 

stands for the celebration of Western modernity by the semi-peripheral countries, even 

if this celebration is often limited to the ostentatious displaying of the iconography of 

this world, as suggested by Mia Couto (Couto 2005: 27-31). 



2 – The Concepts Imagining the Centre and Self-Colonisation 

and their Origins 

The concept of Occidentalism discussed here owes a great debt to 

the ideas of imagining the centre, coined by Boaventura Sousa Santos, and 

self-colonisation, as defined by Alexander Kiossev. 6 These concepts are 

powerful heuristic tools for understanding how the notions of the nineteenth-century 

cultural elites became embedded in contemporary popular 

imagery and resulted in a self-denigrating feeling. These ideas match Mark 

Mazower’s assessment that Europe brought to the Balkans the categories 

with which people define themselves as well as the ideological weaponry 

(namely, modern and romantic nationalism) that would cause such turmoil 

in the region (Mazower 2002: 17-18). 

In Portugal, to Santos, the imagining of the centre implies a set of 

norms created by the elites and the state in order that “Portugal looks just 

as yet another European country on pair with all the other” (Santos 1996: 

136). This ends up by creating “an imaginary universe in which Portugal 

is a European country, with its economic sluggishness deemed a merely 

transitory problem, soon to be overcome by state action” (Santos 1993: 

51). This concept forgets that: 

“Portuguese culture is a frontier culture. It has no content of its 

own; it only has a form: the frontier. National cultures, regarded as discrete 

substances, are a nineteenth-century invention; they stem from the 

tension between universalism and state-managed parochialism.” (Santos 

2002: 25) 

Portugal has always been “semi-peripheral” (Santos 2002: 27), even 

when, ambiguously, it took part in the European imperial disputes. In this 

specific context, imagining the centre is ambivalent: it accepts Portuguese 

absence from it but it also implies that somehow Portugal belongs to the 

centre. 

The centre is an imaginary place created by the nineteenth-century 

Western mind and by the coeval “nation-state”, identified by the notions 

of a “national history”, a national language, a nationwide education system 

and the creation of frontier. 

6 Like Occidentalism developed along the lines of Orientalism, these concepts further 

the notion of Balkanism as defined by Maria Todorova (imaginary or imagined Balkans). 



This recalls the insights of Ernest Gellner and Eric Hobsbawm on 

the nation-state. 7 For these authors, the nation-state is the product of the 

nineteenth-century legal and epistemological thought, combining the correspondence 

theory of truth, the notion of a universal civilisation, Herder’s 

concept of culture, Kant’s idea of progress and Hegelian interpretation of 

History. It proclaimed Europe as the frontrunner in the development of 

mankind, as the dynamic centre of this historical process and the standard 

through which peripheries (whose peoples lacked history, according to 

Hegel) would be assessed. The prevalence of the European standard led 

to stereotyping, to the exteriorisation of the stigma of inferiority and to 

an ambivalent process of conflict with local cultures. 

The world power of this European standard peaked in the Berlin 

Conference (1884). This meeting forced Portugal to assert its status as a 

colonial power and, coincidentally, it also announced the dissolution of 

the Ottoman Empire. The Berlin Conference was also important in checking 

the ambitions of the newly-independent Balkan nations, a source for 

much trouble throughout the twentieth century and the cause for a resentment 

that the national elites would carry to the whole of the Balkan 

peoples. Later, the 1890 British Ultimatum would cut short the African 

ambitions of the Portuguese Empire. 

The influential politician and writer Almeida Garrett accepted Europe 

as the civilisation and the standard by which Portugal ought to be 

considered. He regarded the Portuguese Empire as the symptom of “the 

drunkenness of decay”, as the source of the “venality” and “debauchery” 

that contrived to turn the country into a stage for “indecent Eastern despotism” 

(Garrett 1830: 56). The colonies, a burden imposed by the ruling 

dynasty, were turning Portugal into a new “sick man of Europe”. For Almeida 

Garrett, the empire was a source of distraction from the real centre. 

7 For Gellner nationalism created the nation and not the other way round. Modern nations 

were built mainly through modern means, namely a centralised education systems, 

intent on eliminating regional differences. “In spite of its self-representation, nationalism 

was not the emergence of latent, ancient force. It is instead, the consequence of a 

new form of social organisation, based upon an elitist culture that became embedded 

in the societies and that was dependent upon a state-run education.” (Gellner 1983, 48). 

Hobsbawm has an even more radical approach and stresses the invention of tradition, 

that is to say the implementing of certain values and norms. This was done through 

repetition, through the creation of legitimising institutions and of interpersonal relations 

based in desirable beliefs and values and through the formation of a “community that 

instils a sense of identification” (Hobsbawm 1989: 9). 



Portugal, lest it became a “colony of colonies”, should shift “to 

Europe, whose time has arrived” (Garrett 1830: 56-80). Observing Portuguese 

incapacity to respond to the 1890 British Ultimatum, Eça de Queiroz 

regarded Portugal as a dying empire facing an industrialised Europe. 

When he claims that it was urgent to “rebuild our fatherland” with the 

apparatus of modern civilisation, Eça de Queiroz is in the end “imagining 

the centre” and following the Occidentalist paradigm (Queiroz 1973: 

233-255). Antero de Quental dreamed of the Middle Ages (an idealisation 

that is also frequent in the Balkan intellectuals) as a time for “the expansion 

of the spirit”, as the berth of the “wave” that “broke in the shores of 

the New World” followed by a “dark, sluggish and poor” world, victim of 

“unavoidable decay” (Quental 1973). With his teleological view of history, 

Quental regarded his country’s “misery” and distance to the centre as a 

direct consequence of Inquisition, Absolutism and Empire. These institutions 

contrived to separate us from Europe and “while other nations ascended, 

we slumped”; the former ascending “by the force of the modern 

virtues”, while the latter decaying “by the force of old vices” (Quental 

1871). In sum, were the European semi-peripheries needed to catch the 

train of civilisation, they would need the noisy machinery that pervades 

the well-known Ode Triunfal by Álvaro de Campos. These countries needed 

to get it of their own backwardness, as measured by the unforgiving 

standards of an elite educated by the European thought. However, this 

trend was ambivalent, as much as it was countered by opposite, fervently 

traditionalist beliefs, as in the movement of Saudosismo, or in the notion 

of maritime identity by Jorge Dias or the appeal of the land, a subject 

that would lead us to another essay. In the Balkans, as the case of Bulgaria 

shows, the elites were seduced by foreign ideas, namely by the intellectual 

combination of Enlightenment and Romanticism. This acceptance is the 

source for the process that Kiossev labelled as self-colonization, a process 

that this article equates to imagining the centre and to Occidentalism. To 

Kiossev, self-colonization is manifest when Balkan nations on their way to 

emancipation search for being acknowledged as civilised by Europe, believing 

that this “constructed ghost” was indeed a “discernible” entity (Kiossev 

2006). The European answer to this appeal is negative, as shown by 

Balkanism, i.e. the use of the stereotypes of Orientalism for the Balkans 

that results in preventing a better knowledge and in ossifying these ideas 

(Todorova 2004: 1-24). For the Balkan mindset, European rejection is a 

powerful stigma that perpetuates self-colonisation, whereby these coun- 



tries feel “deprived” of Europe, which they imagine as the place which has 

all that they lack. Thus, their identity is inextricably marked by a “sense of 

lacuna”, “pain”, and “shame” (Kiossev 1999). One form of breaking away 

from this mindset is to create a national literature following European 

literary patterns. In this context, the very notion of literature as an instrument 

for claiming national legitimacy is a symptom of self-colonisation, 

as this notion was created by German Romanticism and Idealism which 

regarded the “writers” as the “the spirit of a people” (Kiossev 2004: 355- 

365). Because it was hegemonic and based upon a positivist, rationalist, and 

essentialist logic, this unifying nationalist discourse was extremely powerful, 

even if it lacked any empirical solidity. Self-colonization replaces the 

complexity and the multifaceted nature of history countries with historical 

concepts that are no more than foreign-inspired abstractions assumed by 

the elites. Semi-peripheries were fertile ground for such misleading representations. 

Just like the travel writers who spoke of the “luscious Turk” 

or who described the Indians and Africans with more or less imaginary 

stereotypes carried with them a “pre-textual” discourse on the reality they 

met, the semi-peripheral elites were misled in imagining their countries 

were just like any other “European” country, in spite of the abundant evidence 

to the contrary. This remains true to this day not the least because, 

in spite of all the progress in transport and in communication, Europe is 

more often imagined than experimented. In other words, there is a divorce 

between the concepts and discourses produced and the reality. This is 

the case of the Bulgarian nineteenth-century writer Aleko Konstantinov, 

who treats Bulgaria’s lack of perceived civilisation with self-irony in his 

burlesque, anti-mythical travel writings. On his way to Europe, he disdains 

the Balkans (Konstantinov 2004: 21), he mocks the Liberty Statue for being 

smaller than the Eiffel Tower (Konstantinov 2004: 32) and, still, he 

feels aggrieved by the Americans who ignored where Bulgaria was. He is 

frightened by the existence of black servants in a large American hotel, an 

experience he equates with a descent to Hell. (Konstantinov 2004: 36). In 

his work, Konstantinov the traveller indirectly shows that he is aware that 

Bulgaria is lacking Europe. He pretends to have a provincial mindset in 

order to use his irony towards civilisation, but one clearly can see his will 

to be European and to change himself. For the novelist and playwright 

Ivan Vazov, Ottomans are to blame for his country’s perceived distance 

from Europe. In his work, the Ottoman domination appears like a captivity 

that set Bulgaria apart from European civilisation (of which Bulgaria 



belongs to, that goes without saying) by villains who brought nothing but 

suffering, sorrow and iniquity cutting short the country’s glorious past. As 

Donald Quataert shows (Quataert 2000: 202-204), Vazov resorts to the 

discourse of Father Paissiy (the founder of Bulgarian nationalist historiography) 

and of the poet Khristo Botev, who constantly refer to the tyrant 

who hangs, tortures, impales and curses, to inhuman and cruel infidels 

and to repugnant barbarians. These discourses show how the stigmatised 

semi-peripheries colonise themselves by imagining a glorious centre of 

which they were deprived. One of the effects of the discourse is that it alienates 

the elites from the real problems of the countries and perpetuates 

the stigma and a notion of submission. The sense of incompleteness felt 

and fostered by the different national elites became embedded in the common 

sense fo the country. Eventually, the paradigm of a country afflicted 

by inextricable insufficiency and incompleteness vis-à-vis the European 

leadership became part of the common sense. This entailed the voluntary 

oblivion of problematic pasts, with the Balkans ignoring of the Ottoman 

period and with the Iberian countries extolling their former glories, with 

the former ignoring the more negative aspects and the latter omitting the 

more positive side of these imperial experiences. 

tier 

3 – Paradoxical Legacies: Post-Empire, Crossroads and Fron- 

European semi-peripheries have traumatic imperial pasts, whether 

of their own making (as in Portugal and Spain) or inflicted by others (as in 

Bulgaria). The official discourses on the imperial past stress the heroism 

(in Portugal and Spain) and the victimisation (in the Balkans), two idealist 

simplifications of two extremely complex processes. While the two cases 

widely differ, I believe it would not be outlandish to suggest that the Portuguese 

(like the Spanish) and the Ottoman empires were semi-peripheral 

empires. Encounters between different cultures always end up by cultural 

exchanges (be it through acceptance or denial). The subconscious sense 

of superiority that is manifest in the description of the first contacts with 

the Brazilian Amerindians, the well-known “Caminha Letter” (Caminha, 

2000: 18-34), is very similar to the European accounts of their travels to 

the Iberian Peninsula or to the Levant. By assessing whether the Indians 

are innocent, sinful or have some sense of modesty, Pero Vaz de Caminha 

joins the same tradition that would later describe the Turks as luscious and 



cruel and the Portuguese as ugly and dirty. 8 In this sense, European semiperipheries 

resemble each other: while regarding the Africans and American 

Indians as inferior, the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula were eventually 

regarded by Central and Northern Europeans as un-civilised. While 

they ruled over the Balkans, the Turks and their subjects were regarded as 

cruel and decadent by the Europeans. After the end of the Ottoman yoke, 

the Balkan elites imitated the European disregard for the Turks, not realising 

that they were not deemed European enough to belong to historical 

Europe. 9 These elites assessed themselves by European standards and assumed 

that they were sufficiently European. 

In sum, their self-assessment by Europeans standards led the peoples 

of the Balkans and of the Iberian Peninsula to, respectively, renounce the 

Ottoman past and ignore the wounds of a colonial past. This renunciation 

ended up by blocking the road to explore the history of semi-peripheral 

ambiguity, “halfway between Prospero and Caliban” (Santos 2004: 23). Just 

like Ottomans are blamed for the Balkans’ deviation from the European 

standard, some racist South-American elites regarded Portuguese and Spanish 

miscegenation as a symptom of backwardness, “something that would 

not have happened if the continent had been colonised by other, more civilised 

powers”, as reminded by Demétrio Magnoli (Magnoli 2009: 144-5). 

The Catholic, Iberian miscegenation responded most of all 

to the lack of settlers, although allowance must be made for theological 

issues (like the question of soul of the Indians and the blacks). 

The miscegenation resulted in a colonialism led by mixed-race populations, 

regarded as European in the Southern countries but, on 

the other hand, regarded as African in Europe (Santos 2004: 54). 

As Quataert shows, “bearing in mind the contemporary patterns”, 

ethnic relations in the Ottoman Empire were reasonably good 

and only “got worse” in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries because 

of foreign “interference”. This assessment, as claimed by Quataert, 

does not intend to “justify” injustices and atrocities but simply 

to “discredit stereotypes” (Quataert 2000: 202-04). Slavery is 

another important issue: while common to both empires, the condition 

8 The accounts of travels to the peripheries of Europe are extremely similar in the way 

they tell what they see with simultaneous delight and derision (Weathcroft 1995: 138-167, 

Santos 2004: 50-52). 

9 This occultation is visible in the work on Thessaloniki by Greek historians who ignore 

the city’s multifaceted, multi-ethnical and heterogeneous past (Mazower 2005: 10). 



of the slave in the Ottoman Empire was better than within the Western 

powers, which were extremely concerned by the religious conversion, by 

the existence of the soul and by their submission, as shown by Andrew 

Weathcroft (Weathcroft 1995: 32-33, 72-83). Ottomans were not so much 

focused with unifying as with exploring the diversity. On the other hand, 

only belatedly did the Portuguese, the “incompetent coloniser” akin to 

the Turkish “sick man”, become a systematic coloniser. They were forced 

to do so in the nineteenth-century scramble for Africa. Beforehand, the 

exploration lacked any coherent planning and involved the negotiation of 

identity, paving the way for the Brazilian miscegenation and the creation of 

fluid identities (just like Ottoman interracial marriages) (Santos 2004: 61). 

The acknowledgment of the merits of this miscegenation came very late, 

if at all, due to the divisive doctrines, like the notion of the “Clash of Civilisations”. 

Indeed, Europe opted for a rigid distinction between the subject 

and the object of knowledge, as shown by the doubts on the humanity 

of the slave by nineteenth-century secular “scientific racism” (Magnoli, 

2009: 22-36). 

Frontier cultures, in their role as cultural interfaces and crossroads 

of civilisation, have the potential for miscegenation (or, in the words of 

Gilberto Freyre, of miscibilidade, Freyre 1933: 22). They have the capacity 

for avoiding reductionism and simplification. Yet, this capacity is lost 

whenever they deny themselves and accept hierarchical criteria in order to 

incur in self-colonisation. Given that the celebration of miscegenation is 

the only antidote to this positivist taxonomy, Freyre pioneered the intermediate 

identities, despite his blatant idealisation of the Portuguese (Santos 

2004: 54). 

Freyre’s celebration of miscegenation is an extremely powerful example 

because it led the fight against the introduction of racist theories in Brazil 

and because it surfaced when the cultural centre advocated division and 

segregation (even if the doctrines of Freyre were used by the Salazar regime). 

What lessons does Freyre hold for the understanding of the European 

semi-peripheries? Most of all, Freyre celebrates miscegenation, without 

ignoring slavery and the inequality that stemmed from it. His perception 

of history has the virtue of celebrating mixture and of resorting to social 

and cultural factors, rather than to race. Influenced by German-American 

anthropologist Franz Boas (Magnoli 2009: 149-150), Freyre realised that 

nineteenth-century European anthropology with its complex of superiority 

took the cultures out of their context and failed to acknowledge their 


specificities, as it happened with the Portuguese, “an undefined people 

halfway between Europe and Africa” (Freyre 1933: 18-19). The hybridism 

of the Iberian Peninsula and of the Balkans resulted precisely from 

their condition as cultural crosswords. The acknowledgment that these 

places were cultural crossroads areas flies on the face of discourses that 

are based upon superficial criteria and intent on denying the semi-peripheral 

condition of these places. By denying the importance of crossroads 

(e. g. by evoking the Portuguese imperial heyday or by evoking blissful 

Europe), national elites deny the historical possibilities for the creation 

of intermediary identities, i.e. half-European, half-Afro-Brazilian, halfcentral 

and also half-Asian, resulting in realities like Afropa and Eurasia. 

Thus, the creation of a Iberian and Portuguese world in the crossroads 

of civilisations mirrors that of the Balkan and, more specifically, 

Bulgarian world insofar as both are based upon intermediary identities 

(instead of out-of-date essentialism). By avoiding exclusivist identities, this 

interpretation opens the way for a positive perception of mixture and for a 

U-turn on the processes of self-colonisation and of imagining the centre. 

It forces nations and space-based entities to acknowledge the value of hybridism, 

of mixture and of the interaction that occurred in time (history). 

Ultimately, the essentialist interpretations of Occidentalism end up 

by being parochial and limited insomuch as they reject the positives of 

heterogeneity, of diversity and of features like Portuguese ethnical indecision, 

to quote from Freyre (Freyre 1933:18-19). 

To see the Iberian Peninsula or the Balkans through purely European 

lenses is akin to reductionism: in the former, one risks ignoring the 

features of a very peculiar sort of imperialism, while in the latter, one 

risks ignoring the specificities of a very complex empire. Thus, we should 

take from Freyre his critique of divisionism. This is a dangerous creed as 

it assigns identities purely based upon difference (thus creating a global 

hierarchy) and rejects the non-possibility of non-hierarchical encounters. 

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(Ed.), Deslocalizar a Europa. Lisbon, 143-166. 

Buruma Ian, Avishai Margalit (2005): Ocidentalismo: Uma Breve História da 

Aversão ao Ocidente. Mem Martins. 



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Manuel” in: José Manuel Garcia (Ed.), O Descobrimento do Brasil nos Textos de 

1500 a 1571. Lisbon, 18-34. 

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Part II 

Representations of Iberia 

in Eastern Europe 



Polish Travellers on the Iberian Peninsula 

Fernando Cristóvão 


In western societies travelling has always been considered a fundamental 

requirement for an intellectual and political education. If we 

give credit to the comments of Jacob Sobieski, in Poland the tradition of 

a Grand Tour was also a condition sine qua non for the education of the 

social and economic elites: 

“The old tycoons of the republic of Poland had the habit of travelling 

frequently. One of the conditions for a good education required them 

to travel abroad to make it complete. After having enriched their knowledge, 

they would return to their motherland and dedicate themselves exclusively 

to its service.” (Sobieski in Liske.1996: 233) 

However, those journeys not only had consequences for the character 

development of the individuals concerned. In fact, they may even have 

been responsible for profound changes in politics, religion and European 

custom, as Paul Hazard demonstrates in La Crise de la Conscience Européenne 

1680-1715 (Hazard 1935). Politicians and intellectuals had good reasons 

to visit other countries, especially from the fifteenth to the seventeeth 

century, because great changes were underway in Europe at that time. 

During the Renaissance, especially in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, 

major changes were taking place in terms of lifestyle, culture, the arts, sci- 


52 Fernando Cristovão 

ence and the social order, largely due to travel reports which had helped 

to overcome political, social and religious barriers, through comparison 

and contrast. From a political perspective the conquest of Byzantium by 

the Ottoman Turks in 1453, and the contrasting episodes of the conquest 

of Granada in 1492 by the Catholic Kings, the establishment of the Inquisition 

and the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims, together with the 

new perspectives created in the centre as well as the west and east by the 

Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, everything appeared to have been reshaped. 

With the European voyages of discovery, which began in 1415 with the 

Portuguese taking of Ceuta, it became increasingly necessary to observe 

in order to understand. In this context the traditionally ignored Iberian 

Peninsula began to attract attention. Largelly due to prejudice, few Central 

and Eastern Europeans had ventured to travel to the far west. If one did 

so then it was only to visit the tomb of St. James in Compostela. Martinus 

Zeillerus complains about such prejudice and ignorance in his work 

entitled Hispaniae et Lusitaniae Itinerarium (Zeillerus 1656). According to 

Zeillerus, who expressed himself in Latin, people from northern and central 

Europe would not travel to the Iberian Peninsula because the former 

were said to be “vulgari mores, habitus, cibus, potus, officia et similia” 

(Zeillerus 1656), all of which was not conducive to good doctrine. 

According to Zeillerus not only prejudice but the danger and disease 

to which travellers were exposed, alongside the absence of noteworthy 

monuments, hindered travel. 1 

In spite of these obstacles, he concludes, there were good reasons 

to visit this peninsula. 2 

Among the travellers of that epoch who ventured to Portugal three 

famous Poles deserve our attention, especially for what they wrote in their 

travel accounts. 

1 “Hispaniae regnorum peragrationibus, earumque descriptionibus et operam et tempus frustra impendi 

arbintrantur haud pauci, quos sequentibus rationibus moveri audimus. Prima oritur ex singularibus 

periculis et molestiis, quibus ejusmodi itinera Hispaniam pervadentia obnoxia sunt. Alteram suggerunt 

mores, consuetudines ac ratio vivendi Hispaniorum, quae ad doctrinam parum aut nihil conferunt. Ter- Ter- 

tiam, pauca in iis regionibus visu subjiciunt” (Zeillerus 1656). 

2 The opposite situation was also true, although to a smaller degree: the Portuguese and 

the Spanish did not know much of the rest of Europe, although some honourable exceptions 

had much to say, for example Álvaro Vaz de Almada, a Portuguese knight, or the 

Infante Pedro, who had been in several countries in Europe and the east, and had served 

the Emperor Sigismund in the first quarter of the fifteenth century. 


Polish Travellers on the Iberian Peninsula 53 

They are Nicolaus Popielovo (1484), Eric Lassota of Steblovo 

(1580), and Jacob Sobieski (1611). The reports of the three travellers were 

translated from Polish into Spanish by someone identified by the letters 

F.R. and were collected and published by Xavier Liske of Lemberg University 

and a member of the Academy of Sciences of Krakow. 

The translation was entitled España y Portugal en los Siglos XV, XVI 

y XVII, and was published in Madrid by Casa Editorial de Medina (Liske 

1996). In the present paper I will quote all three authors from this source. 

Although separated by time and in spite of their differences, the three 

reports reveal the Germanised Polish culture that influenced the observations 

made – whoever discovers is also discovered. Assuming the risk of 

an over-simplified interpretation, it is possible to identify an epistemological 

shift in these works. Popielovo’s account represents a medieval point of 

view – formulaic, orthodox and of pretentious nobility, being very much 

aware of his status and personal habits. Almost a century later Steblovo 

demonstrates the characteristics of a humanist point of view. As a strict 

and disciplined soldier he is an unbiased observer, and is his descriptions 

are very objective. Finally Sobieski is more concerned with observing the 

activities of the court and enriches his account with the critical spirit of 

modernity, which is missing from the previous accounts. 

Popielovo: A Clash of Cultures or of Conceptions and Preconceptions? 

Of the three travellers mentioned above the most enthusiastic, who 

refrains least from comment, is Popielovo. The added value of his text 

arises from the contrast between his chivalric culture and that of the people 

he encounters. Nicolaus Popielovo, or Popplau, was a Germanised 

Polish knight from Silesia who had served under Frederic III, emperor 

of Austria, who came here from England via a stay in Santiago de Compostela, 

as did many who visited us (Liske 1996: 9). Although exaggerated, 

Popielovo’s text has great historical and anthropological value. Nevertheless, 

it seems to have fallen into oblivion, for it is not mentioned by 

Manuel Bernardes Branco in his systematic and informed work Portugal e os 

Estrangeiros (Branco 1879), and if Costa Lobo mentions it in História da Sociedade 

em Portugal no século XV (Lobo 1903), it is only to criticise the point 

of view of this presumptuous “German”. However, it is worth paying 



attention to the pompous knight decorated with several titles and medals, 

who came to Portugal accompanied by a small entourage and above all 

by a long and heavy spear, so heavy that he was the only one who could 

use it, which he used to exhibit at tournaments to general astonishment. 

Popielovo remained in Portugal for approximately two and a half months 

(from July 21 st to October 8 th , 1484) before leaving for Spain. He later 

devoted himself to recording his impressions of his journey through the 

Iberian countries. Nicolau Popielovo’s account is of great interest for its 

study of fifteenth-century Portuguese society. Together with the letters of 

Clenardus, published half a century later, it offers a form of articulated 

diptych, for the impressions of the humanist scholar complete those of 

the knight. 

According to his confessions the aim of the voyage was to visit 

and pay homage to some monarchs, mentioning nothing of the other 

intentions that he clearly had. He brought with him letters of recommendation 

from the Emperor to all of the kings he was to visit, and also to 

princes and eminent personalities. Safe-conduct and boarding rights were 

required, because at that time it was necessary to pay tribute in return for 

rights of passage as well as the taxes and the licences one had to acquire. 

In Portugal, after overcoming several obstacles, he managed to be 

admitted into the court of John II, then residing in Setúbal, and obtained 

from the king some support and privileges. 

In regard to Iberian customs and practices, Popielovo did not make 

much distinction between the Portuguese and people from other regions, 

considering them equally rude, lacking in character, ignorant and ugly. 

Only a small number of characteristics made a positive difference in some 

cases. 

Beginning with men from several Iberian regions, he is adamant: 

Galicians (usually considered alongside the Portuguese): “rude, silly, incapable 

of good manners, ignorant”; 3 Natives of Lozia Province: “rude, stupid, 

miserly and of little virtue”; 4 Sevillians: “I can say, truthfully, that I have 

never seen, anywhere else, people as ignorant and stupid as these”; 5 Andalucian: 

“they are even ruder than the Portuguese and Galicians, and any- 

3 Original: “groseros, tontos, incapaces de buenas costumbres e ignorantes“ (Liske 1996). 

4 Original: “grosera, necia, avara y poco dotada de verdaderas virtudes” (Liske 1996: 43). 

5 Original: “Puedo decir en honor de la verdad que no he visto o encontrado nunca en 

ninguna parte gente tan necia e impertinente como aquí” (Liske 1996: 48). 



where in the world one will hardly find others ruder”; 6 Barcelonese: “such 

rustics and Jews who, instead of valuing honour and delicacy, put all their 

efforts into gathering wealth and treasures”; 7 Catalans in general: “noblemen 

have the right to spend the first night with peasants’ brides, and in 

numerous families of ten, one of the offspring was given to them as a 

slave.” 8 In this context, the portrait he provides of the Portuguese is not 

the worst, and could be paraphrased as follows: As with Galicians, noblemen 

and plebeians alike, Portuguese are rude, silly, incapable of good 

maners and ignorant, although they pretend to be wise. Not being as cruel 

and unwise as the English, they are more loyal amongst themselves and to 

their king, if we exclude the noblemen, who are always conspiring. However, 

being dark-skinned and dark-haired they are uglier than the English. 

Lazy, they do not like working. For this reason they do not know how 

to make money by giving lodgings to their fellow citizens or travellers. 

Lacking kindness, these people have no compassion (Liske 1996: 31-32). 

Furthermore, women were not to Popielovo’s liking: 

“Few women are beautiful. They resemble men, rather than women, 

but usually having black and pretty eyes; in love they are as fierce as English 

women when in need of intimate confidence; they comb their hair 

without exaggerated adornments; the neck is covered with a small woollen 

ribbon or silk scarf. Their faces are uncovered and they wear dresses and 

blouses so low-cut that one can see half the breast. From top to bottom, 

they wear too many skirts: that is why the rear side of their bodies appears 

large and appealing, as in a Martinsgans party, and too voluminous. 

I swear, I have never seen anything so big. They are generally sensual and 

silly, just like men, and greed is their sole concern, day and night, and they 

are not as kind as the Lombards or the French.” 9 

6 Original: “La verdad es que los gallegos son groseros, los portugueses casi lo mismo; 

pero los habitantes de campo en Andalucía son aún más groseros, que dificilmente se 

encontraria en todo mundo” (Liske 1996: 56-57). 

7 Original: “rústicos y judíos, porque en lugar de apreciar el honor y la delicadeza, ponen 

únicamente todo so cuidado en amasar grandes bienes y tesoros” (Liske 1996). 

8 Original: “los nobles duermen la primera noche con las novias de sus campesinos; si la 

mujer de un campesino tiene diez criaturas, entónces entrega una de ellas en esclavitud à 

su señor” (Liske 1996: 65). 

9 Original: “Pocas mujeres tienen bellas, que parecen mas hombres que mujeres, pero con 

ojos generalmente negros y hermosos; en amores son ardientes como las inglesas cuando 

necesitan íntima confianza; peinan sus cabezas sin exagerados adornos; el cuello cubren 



He does not say much more about the women from the rest of the 

Peninsula, aside from his explanation for there being so much corruption 

on the Peninsula, which was due to the fact of their inhabitants living 

“[…] with the rude Saracens, trading with them, thus breathing their 

heathen and savage air, following at the same time their own customs (…) 

the fair sex having untidy customs; we can rarely find a virtuous and gifted 

young woman.” 10 

In short, Andalucia, Portugal and the Algarve seem to resemble 

each other. The main difference is observed between Saracens and Christians, 

the Christians being seen as poor followers of their faith. The only 

exception to this judgment appears to be the king. Indeed, our knight offers 

no complaints regarding John II, despite knowing that he had cruelly 

ordered the strangling of the Duke of Viseu and the Bishop of Évora and 

had imprisoned other noblemen. 

Nevertheless, Popielovo does not only pay attention to customs. He 

was attired in the splendour of all his noble and knightly apparel, from 

flamboyant garments to weaponry, which included a long spear and glittering 

medals of commendation, which made people laugh rather than 

gaining their respect, resulting in the conclusion that they were ignorant 

of chivalry and of courteous manners, especially as he was visiting King 

John II. 

He was also very concerned to write about everything he saw, especially 

in what concerned the military at that stage of the Portuguese expansion. 

The account of the Portuguese discoveries is long in comparison 

to other themes. 

con un pañuelo de seda. Dejan mirar libremente su cara, y llevan sus vestidos y camisas 

escotados de manera que se puede ver la mitad de sus pechos descubiertos. Desde el talle 

hasta abajo, llevan muchas faldas; por eso la parte de detras de sus cuerpos parece hermosa 

y grande, como à una Martinsgans, y tan voluminosa que, de veras lo digo, no he visto 

jamas en el mundo cosa más grande. Son, generalmente sensuales y tontas, lo mismo que 

los hombres, torpes para todo. La avaricia es la única preocupación que las persigue de dia 

y de noche: no son tan bondadosas como las lombardas ó francesas.” (Liske 1996: 26-27). 

10 Original:’’con los brutos sarracenos, se relacionan y comercian con ellos, respiran su 

aire pagano, salvaje y rudo, y en muchas cosas siguen sus costumbres y hacen à su modo 

sus negocios y tratos (...); el bello sexo es de costumbres muy relajadas, raramente se 

puede encontrar una jóven adornada de virtudes” (Liske 1996: 57). 



In one section the author informs his readers of the conquest of 

Ceuta, the wars against the king of Fez, the castles and strongholds that 

were built in Africa, the gold and slaves coming from Guinea and Mina 

(present-day Elmina in Ghana), and the discovery and colonisation of the 

Atlantic islands. Popielovo’s narrative of discovery ends with the following 

remark: 

“These are the reasons why the King of Portugal is having many 

large ships made – I had the opportunity to see some of them in Lisbon. 

He intends shipping thousands of men and horses, sending them to some 

points of the Barbary Coast where, along with his ally’s people, he wishes 

to drive out the usurper of Fez, in order to conquer Africa […]. The King’s 

uncle also travelled the seas in search of islands and lands, and he was in 

the Moorish countries fighting the infidels; this is why, nowadays, they are 

partly subjects of the King of Portugal. So, one can travel across Africa 

and through the properties of the king of Fez to Moorish countries.” 11 

He then enumerates the many castles built in Africa, nearby the 

goldmines, and on the Atlantic islands that the king became the owner of: 

Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Azores. He also mentions agricultural production 

and comes to the conclusion that: “[…] the king has his people 

constantly at sea looking for more islands; if he finds any […], he sends 

prisoners and other convicts there, where they stay for the rest of their 

lives”. 12 

If it is true that Popielovo’s narrative depicts some of the realities 

of fifteenth-century Portugal and the Iberian regions (the latter in a more 

11 Original: ‘‘Estos son los motivos porque el Rey de Portugal manda la construccion de 

muchos grandes navíos de los cuales yo he visto algunos en Lisboa. Se propone embarcar 

muchos miles de hombres con otro tanto de caballos, trasladarlos à ciertos puntos de 

Berbería, y reunidos con la gente de su aliado, expulsar al usurpador de Fez, y apoderarse 

así de África. El tio del Rey de Portugal se fué tambien à viajar por mar, en busca de islas 

y tierras, y estuvo en mis tiempos en los países de los moros, luchando contra ellos; de 

modo que hoy dia son en parte sujetos al Rey de Portugal. Se puede pasar tambien de 

África, y por las tierras de Rey de Fez, à los países de los moros.” (Liske 1996: 29). 

12 Original: “El Rey tiene constantemente su gente en el mar para buscar más islas, y si 

se encuentra alguna de provecho [...], entónces se embarca à los presos detenidos en el 

país, ó condenados por robos, que trasladan allí, donde quedan por toda su vida” (Liske 

1996: 31). 



general narrative with little detail), he also reveals something of his mentality. 

His depictons make clear the cultural frontier separating the Iberian 

Peninsula from other nations. The Iberian peoples are already mixed with 

Jews, Moors and pagans, who have different customs from other Europeans. 

That fundamental difference influences Popielovo’s interpretation 

of the Iberian mentality, which he regards as corrupt and degenerate. To 

his judgment of a degenerate society Popielovo also adds what he calls the 

false conversion of new Christians who “have accepted the holy Christian 

faith, in order to keep their belongings and wealth; but among one hundred, 

there is only one who truly professes it”. 13 However he also takes 

the opportunity to criticise not only the false conversion, but also the 

methods of the Portuguese Inquisition, reporting that if the new Christians 

are caught practicing non Christian rituals “they are arrested and 

burned horrifically”. 14 Regarding the Portuguese-Castilian relationship, he 

remarks cleverly that both kings and peoples hate each other rancorously. 

Erich Lassota de Steblovo, an Objective but Naïve War Correspondent 

If Popielovo’s account reveals an extravagant character ready to 

proclaim a clear and simplicistic judgment on people and society, Steblovo, 

another Germanised Pole, has the opposite temperament. A noble, discreet 

and disciplined officier, who is an appreciator of wealth and may 

even be a little naïve, is revealed in Steblovo account of the Iberian Peninsula. 

These characteristics are reflected in the form of his narrative, which 

is arranged as a journal or a roadbook, with a precise record of the year, 

month and day, and of the distances between localities; all of this is done 

without any commentary and in an objective style. He came to Portugal in 

July 1580, together with the rest of the Castilian invasion forces that were 

attempting reclaim the crown for Felipe II. The invasion forces gathered 

in Badajoz and conquered Elvas on the 21 st of that month. In successive 

campaigns, usually lasting two days each, the troops moved forward to 

Lisbon and afterwards marched to the north. In two or three lines he describes 

soberly the many occupations, noting that towns surrendered and 

13 Original: “para conservar sus haberes y fortunas, aceptaron la Santa Fe cristiana; mas 

entre ciento, apénas se halla uno que la practique verdaderamente.” (Liske 1996: 55). 

14 Original: “los cogen presos y los queman miserablemente“ (Liske 1996: 55). 



accepted the situation without resistance. Progression was swift: Elvas, 

Estremoz, Setúbal and Palmela surrended without resistance. 

The troops encountered some resistance in Sesimbra, Cascais and 

Oeiras, and faced strong opposition in Lisbon. 

In 1581 Steblovo travelled by boat through Sacavém, Santarém, Almeirim, 

Tomar and Coimbra up to Braga, having visited Porto and entered 

Spain as far as Compostela. He limited himself to describing landscapes 

and monuments, as any tourist of our time would do. A heavy silence appears 

to permeate his whole itinerary; there are few comments, just several 

occasional lines, which mention resistance by the population. For example, 

he writes that on 11th September “country folk insulted the soldiers 

who had stayed behind, and even hanged some of them”. 15 Occasionally, 

he would report news that he had been told about the whereabouts of 

Dom António Prior do Crato and his allies, and their attempts to resist. 

His objective style is most noticeable in his descriptions of the several attempts 

to occupy the Azores islands, which did not capitulate until 1583. 

Some of these were successful, others failed, and the author does not omit 

a risible episode of the Azorean resistance: they unleashed bulls upon the 

Castilian troops, which caused mayhem. Likewise Steblovo – being scholarly 

and keen on transcribing written documents and tombstones, which 

he did in several places – wrote down King Philip’s decree of forgiveness 

for those who had laid down their weapons, and recorded the dignified 

and proud response of the island of Terceira’s governor. 

To the royal proposal, “I the King […] not only forgive past guilt 

[…], but also will be glad to compensate you for the services that I expect 

from you, so that great damage to the island and its inhabitants can be 

spared”. 16 Cipião de Figueiredo de Vasconcelos answers: “This island and 

those living here are the King Dom Antonio’s, whom they have paid hommage 

as their king and natural master.” 17 

Afterwards, having already threatened the king with God’s punishment 

on Judgement Day, he adds: 

15 Original: “La gente del campo insultaba à los soldados que se quedaron atras, y hasta 

ahorcó à algunos.” (Liske 1996: 126-127). 

16 Original: “Eu el Rey (…) nao soamente perdoo as culpas passadas, mas que folguerei 

de uos fazer merce, pelo seruizo que de uos nisto espero, para que se escusen os grandes 

damnos dessa Ilha e dos moradores e pouo della” (Liske 1996: 167). 

17 Original: “Esta Ilha e moradores della, sao de el Rey Dom Antonio, a quem juraron por 

seu Rey e natural Senhor.“ (Liske 1996: 168). 



“Let our Lord take your Majesty back to His kingdom and give 

Portugal back to its beloved king and lord Dom Antonio, as we truthful 

and loyal Portuguese desire so much, from this noble and forever faithful 

city of Angra, on the island Terceira of Jesus Christ”. 18 The outcome was 

the predictable one: after a pledge of allegiance in the courts of Tomar, 

on 16 th April 1580, a “List of the most notable individuals excluded from 

the general amnesty that the King Felipe II had published in Tomar” 19 

was released. It included 32 laymen, headed by the Prior do Crato, and 16 

clergymen, headed by D. João de Portugal, Bishop of Guarda. 

Steblovo was an educated man who, in contrast to the sobriety of 

his war reports, describes a great number of monuments meticulously, 

from the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon to the Cathedral of Santiago de 

Compostela. He gives details on form and function, even to the point of 

carefully marking tombstone positions and Latin inscriptions. 

He was not only a sensitive man, but also a devout Christian, reporting 

miracles and simple mirabilia without adding personal comments, like 

someone who piously believes in legends. 

Therefore it is symptomatic that in describing the Cathedral of Santiago 

de Compostela he reports, with the greatest candour, all the legends 

that have been told, especially those connected with the large stones 

that had been used by the apostle: the bed of Saint James in Padron, the 

preaching stone, the altar stone, the shield of the saint, the well stone, the 

famous stone boat that he used several times to cross the river, the pillar 

stone, the hole in the stone wall; not to mention the countless relics, such 

as the head of Saint James the Lesser, the head of Paulina, a thorn from 

the Saviour’s crown, three pieces of the Holy Cross, Saint Paul’s tooth, 

and one arm of Saint Christopher, etc. All of these are recounted with 

the same level of credibility, making no distinctions or attempts at authentication. 

Aside from his description of Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, 

Steblovo reproduces the Latin inscription on King Manuel I’s tombstone, 

and does the same for that of King John III, without omitting the line 

honouring D. Manuel’s memory that was enscribed on the monastery’s 

18 Original: “Nosso Senhor leue a Vossa M. pera o seu Reyno, e restituya a o de Portugal 

o seu amado Rey e Senhor Don Antonio, como os seus verdadeiros e leiais portugueses 

desejamos. Desta muy nobre e sempre leal Citade de Angra na Ilha Terceira de Jesu Cristo”. 

(Liske 1996: 171). 

19 Original: “Lista de los más notables individuos excluidos del indulto general que el Rey 

(Felipe II) mandó publicar en Tomar” (Liske 1996: 144). 



tower (Liske 1996: 115). His scholarly taste for Latin is taken even further, 

because he also notes the curious document given to him at Compostela 

when he went to confession: A letter or passport from the superior Cardinal, 

printed on parchment with printed insignias, for which one must pay 

two reales, and on which a small paper for confession is attached, costing 

one quarter. 20 The letter read as follows: 

“Universis et singulis praesentes litteras, inspecturis Bonifacius de Almonacir 

Cardinalis Major ac Penitensiarius almae Ecclesiae Compostellaneae […] cum itaque 

sicut accepimus devotus Ericus Lassota Diocesis Alemonensis Ecclesiam beati Jacobi 

personaliter visitavit, confessusque et absolutus fuit, Dominicum que corpus receipt.” 

(Liske 1996: 138) 

These two pages in Latin were dated 25 th January 1581, and the document 

also mentions that he has paid a Deo bonis elemosinas. This surprising 

revelation of personal sacrament would certainly have been used for safepassage 

on special and difficult occasions. His taste for latin, which was 

a characteristic of Polish travellers (Popielovo censured the Portuguese 

nobles for not knowing Latin, complimented his own knowledge of the 

language, and also reproached Sevillian clergymen for their ignorance latin 

in the liturgy.) to the point that this travel narrative dedicates eleven closely 

written pages transcribing the report sent from Lisbon to King Stefan 

Batory by the Polish ambassador, describing the campaign of the Azores, 

together with the Latin excerts already quoted. 

This aristocratic taste for Latin was quite common at the time, and as 

Costa Ramalho’s studies demonstrate (Ramalho 1994), it was also popular 

among the Portuguese nobility at the beginning of the sixteenth century. 

One of the few examples in Steblovo’s report of a more personal 

and subjective nature is worthy of note, as it is so precise, sober and erudite, 

describes a weakness: his taste for food. 

It is surprising that within such formal prose, which neglects many 

details of war, he includes the expression “where we ate”, in the singular 

or in the plural “where I ate”, on at least 13 occasions; without describing 

other natural situations of military campaigns, for instance camps. 

20 Original: “Una carta ó pasaporte impreso en pergamino, con insignias atadas del cardenal 

superior, por la cual se pagan dos reales; añaden tambien una pequeña papeleta de 

confesion, por la cual se paga un cuarto“ (Liske 1996: 138). 



This subject is absent from the narratives of the Polish accounts 

of Popielovo and Sobieski. He does not give any further details of his 

gastronomic experiences. With one exception when he soberly, but irresistibly, 

praises in Latin the oysters and clams he had eaten somewhere on 

the outskirts of Pontevedra: locus abundans ostreis et conchis, Steblovo does 

not reveal what he had to eat. Food was clearly his aristocratic petit plaisir! 

Jacob Sobieski: Culture between Criticism and Ingenuity 

In the typology we have established for a better understanding of 

the different motivations for travelling, I now draw attention to a particular 

kind of travel that is scholarly and educational. Sobieski’s travels are 

included in this category. As Sobieski demonstrates, this kind of travel is 

defined by the acquisition of scientific and artistic knowledge, for practising 

and perfecting the arts of diplomacy and leadership, and for taking 

place within Europe. During such travels one would get to know and establish 

friendships with great masters, artists and princes. 

This is how Sobieski, King John III’s father, travelled around France, 

Italy and England. He then ventured onto the Iberian Peninsula, taking 

special care in his descriptions of the wealth and grandeur of the courts, 

monasteries and churches. 

He was especially interested in everything to do with culture. He 

referred to and described Navarra, which he found a sad place, and Pamplona, 

where he remarked upon the cathedral’s beauty and the admirable 

riches and art that it possessed. 

He notes that Logroño was built in a high place as a way of avoiding 

the heat. He also visited Burgos, Valladolid and Léon, the latter being in a 

bare and dry region, and Oviedo and Compostela, about which strangely 

he does not provide any further comment. He held a generally positive 

opinion of Portugal: “This kingdom is different from those I have just 

visited: it is fertile and better populated”. 21 He thought that the Portuguese 

were witty, while the Spanish were severe. The former were also blessed 

with “a good disposition for commerce and navigation”. 22 

21 Original: “Este reino varía de los que acabo de atravesar: es fértil y mejor poblado” 

(Liske 1996: 248). 

22 Original: “muy buenas disposiciones para el comercio y la navegacion“ (Liske 1996: 

248). 



Of the Portuguese towns he describes he says of Ponte de Lima: 

“Here there is a stone bridge so wide and large, and so beautiful, that 

I think there is none like it in all of Christendom in magnificence and 

beauty”. 23 Lisbon is regarded as 

“[…] famous in all of Christendom. Expeditions to the East Indies 

depart from here, and here Europe’s frontiers cease. A highly populated 

city, rich, commercial, with many streets and buildings reach to the 

mountains.” 24 

According to the author Lisbon has pleasant surroundings, gardens 

and orchards. This description extends to three pages and is only surpassed 

by that of Madrid. 

It is possible that this preference for Lisbon also resulted from the 

hospitality of wealthy Portuguese tradesmen, “[…] who prepared me such 

precious quarters, carpeted and scented by the most pleasing perfumes, 

and fit for the king himself, besides all the attention and care that not even 

my own parents could have devoted to me.” 25 

Despite being so well accommodated he lost no time and walked 

around the city, writing down all he saw: “[…] a countless number of 

rare and precious things from the Indies. In all truth I say, the shops and 

houses of commerce were so abundant in such objects that anyone entering 

them would swear to be in those foreign countries”. 26 

This great appreciation of wealth and precious objects is reinforced 

by Sobieski’s remarks on the state of the monasteries and churches. 

23 Original: “Tiene un puente de piedra, bastante largo y ancho, y de tan grande hermosura, 

que, segun mi parecer, no se encontraria otro en la cristiandad de igual obra, beldad 

y magnificiencia“ (Liske 1996: 248). 

24 Original: “[…] celebre en en la cristiandad. de aquí se hacen expediciones à las Indias 

Orientales. Aquí termina sus fronteras la Europa. La ciudad es populosísima, rica, comercial; 

sus calles y edificios numerosos se extienden hasta las montañas” (Liske 1996: 

249-250). 

25 Original: “...me preparó un aposento tan precioso, tapizado, aromatizado de agradabilísimos 

perfumes, que el mismo Rey de Portugal hubiera podido ocupar. Tanta aficion me 

manifestaron, tanto cariño y cuidado, que ni siquiera mis propios padres hubieran podido 

hacer más por mí” (Liske 1996: 251). 

26 Original: “[…] un sinnúmero de preciosidades y cosas raras de las Indias. En verdad lo 

digo, las tiendas y casas de comercio estaban llenas de semejantes objetos, y al entrar uno 

dentro se figuraba vivir enmedio de aquellos países” (Liske 1996: 251-252). 



According to him, there were many churches in Lisbon of great 

value and monasteries gifted with opulence (Liske 1996: 251) and among 

the merchants one could find overwhelming fortunes. He was surprised by 

the richness of the tapestries and silverware in the interior of the houses. 

He also found the same amount of wealth in the churches of Spain: “[…] 

the inner and outer dome of the Cathedral of Burgos is extremely precious, 

the main altar exceeding all possible thought”. 27 The Archbishop 

of Toledo’s income amounts to some 300.000 gold ducatti. The treasury 

of his Cathedral is also worthy of note, especially the golden reliquaries, 

precious gems and garments (Liske 1996: 245). This detailed account 

of the wealth he encounters contrasts with the moderation, so unlike his 

other reports, with which he describes the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. 

He did not fill a whole page, and what he praises most is a very 

expensive and typical pharmacy, with doctors and surgeons, even rivalling 

the better city hospitals (Liske 1996: 248). Sobieski adds his fondness and 

acknowledgement of culture and cultural objects to his appreciation of 

fine arts and riches, thereby setting himself apart from other travellers. 

His journey is the journey of a cultivated man, and he therefore highlights 

his visits to universities and libraries. He observes students and communicates 

with the grand masters that he encounters, showing a preference for 

Philosophy. In Coimbra he enjoyed the Academy and Jesuit College above 

all, which he named Conimbricense and refered especially to its Philosophy 

course, valuing the Aristotelian body of philosophical doctrine, which was 

published up to 1600 and would become known as Conimbricensis, or more 

specifically Comentarii Collegii Conimbricensis Societatis Jesu (Liske 1996: 249). 

He also noted in his journal that there were two libraries in Escorial. 

One of which was located in a large room with many books on the sciences 

and containing portraits of literary celebrities, besides many other 

good books. 

He laments that “my short amount of time was insufficient to 

see them. It would have been necessary for me to stay there at least one 

week”. 28 The other library, smaller and more reserved, contains many 

manuscripts with famous feather-painted illustrations (Liske 1996: 264). 

27 Original: “La catedral es grande y majestuosa, con una cúpula exterior e interior preciosísima, 

y el altar mayor excede a toda ponderación posible” (Liske 1996: 245). 

28 Original: “mi corto tiempo fué insuficiente para consignarlos; hubiera sido preciso 

quedarme allí a lo ménos el espacio de una semana.” (Liske 1996: 266). 



Another matter that attracted his attention must have been a great 

novelty at that time. In the middle of the room there was a large sphere 

and two globes, one celestial and the other terrestrial. The representation 

of the earth by globes and celestial orbs had been recently created by Mercator. 

Often during this kind of scholarly travel, besides visits to students, 

universities and libraries, there were encounters with fellow scholars and 

academics. In his account of Coimbra, he says: 

“There I met a famous knight, hair as white as a dove, the elder 

Soares, whom I visited in his own cell; despite his advanced age his spirits 

were high and it was worth talking with him”. 29 

No doubt, this was a meeting with the philosopher and Jesuit theologian 

Francisco Suarez, who lived in Coimbra from 1611 on, because his 

Superior had forced him to take the Theology chair at the University. This 

had been of great benefit to Suarez’s health, which had been quite shaken 

by the attacks of his opponents and the charges made by the Inquisition. 

Another important meeting took place at the Jesuit Church in Toledo 

with the historian Juan de Mariana whose books, according to Ravaillac, 

King Henry IV’s murderer, were being burned in France (Liske 1996: 

255). He had been imprisoned because of what he had written about the 

crown, involving a reproach to the king, but Sobieski considers him a great 

and illustrious man who wrote, among many things, a history of Spain 

(Liske 1996: 256). Sobieski therefore refers to the accusations being made 

against Mariana, surely those about his book De Rege et Regis Institutione 

(1599), which were interpreted in France especially as an appeal to tyrannicide, 

and was eventually answered by Ravaillac. 

This educational journey required a personality blessed with an instinctive 

critical spirit, and was adverse to superstition and mirabilia, which 

Sobieski noted but distanced himself from, unlike Steblovo, a naïve traveller 

who seemed to believe everything he saw or heard. This attitude can be 

seen in the well-known episode of Sobieski’s pilgrimage to Compostela, 

where people told him about the miracle of the chicken that says “give at 

the church door”. 

29 Original: “Me encontré allí con un célebre caron, de canas, como una paloma, el anciano 

Soares, que he visto en su propia celda; apesar de su avanzada edad, estudo todavía 

bastante animado, y ciertamente valia la pena entretenerse con él.” (Liske 1996: 249). 



On Sundays, pilgrims waited there to feed it, otherwise they would 

die before completing the pilgrimage. Sobieski’s commented that he 

couldn’t even bear looking at such superstition. 

The same reaction can be found regarding the miraculous crucifix in 

the Cathedral of Burgos, which was said to perspire and to grow nails and 

hair, which according to tradition was the work of Saint Nicholas. Sobieski 

comments: “I confess that I have seen nothing like it in all my travels 

across the Netherlands, France and Germany”. 30 According to the compiler 

of these texts, Xavier Liske, Sobieski’s account of the Iberian Peninsula 

is indifferent to the psychology of human life, and the characteristics 

and customs of nations do not particularly interest him (Lieke 1996: 236). 

I do not think that this statement is fair, because Sobieski is interested 

in a different kind of conceptual and social plan. He holds deeper critical 

opinions, as opposed to the superficial or picturesque. Furthermore, 

he sometimes risks political and religious animosity, either by reproaches 

or by doubtful comments regarding miracles and the tensions between 

peoples. For instance, he reveals that there was a quiet revolt across Portugal 

against the Spanish occupation after the Philippians (i.e. Phillipine) 

invasion, also insisting that “between the Portuguese and Spanish, there 

is a deep hatred: the foremer dislike the latter” (Liske 1996: 248). It is not 

difficult to conclude that the various observations of these Polish travellers, 

of different styles and cultures, contributed to a greater knowledge, 

and surely following their publication, to a more fruitful understanding in 

the future years. 

Bibliography 

Branco, Manuel Bernardes (1879): Portugal e os Estrangeiros. Lisbon. 

Hazard, Paul (1935): La Crise de la Conscience Européenne 1680-1715. Paris. 

Lobo, A. De Sousa Silva Costa (1903): História da Sociedade em Portugal no 

século XV. Lisbon. 

Liske, Javier (1996): Viajes de Extranjeros por España y Portugal. Madrid. 

Ramalho, António da Costa (1994): Latim Renascentista em Portugal. Lisbon. 

Zeillerus, Martinus (1656): Hispaniae et Lusitaniae Itinerarium. Amstelodam. 

30 Original: “Confieso no haber visto cosas parecidas en todos mis viajes de los Países 

Bajos, de Francia y Alemania” (Liske 1996: 245). 


The Myth(s) of Iberia in Poland and other 

Countries of the former Eastern Bloc 

Beata Elzbieta Cieszynska 


The following review of the main ways to mythologize and stereotype 

the Iberian peoples in post-Soviet countries – now mostly on their 

way to reassessing their relationships with the European Union – responds 

to recent appeals to create the necessary conditions for overcoming traditional 

views of the Iberian peoples. 1 The multiculturalism and mobility of 

contemporary Europe considerably increases the need for a self-reflective 

and discerning attitude towards cultural otherness. Although it would be 

wrong to claim the end of the era of mythologizing and stereotyping, the 

consciousness of being “all multicultural now” (Glazer 1997) enhances 

opportunities for a better understanding of the historical ways of applying 

myths and of their limitations. It may create more favorable conditions 

than ever for the general acceptance of both the fragmentation and the 

merging of the epistemological, improving the post-modern (meaning: 

open, constant and locally negotiable) reconstruction of otherness, in this 

case of Iberian culture. 

With this in mind the following review of the basis for the myths 

and stereotypes of Iberian countries that have appeared throughout the 

1 See the activity of CompaRes – The International Society for Iberian-Slavonic Studies 

is the direct response to that need, manifest in all Slavonic and Iberian countries. Refer 

to: www.iberian-slavonic.org. 


68 Beata Elzebieta Cieszynska 

centuries may prove useful, despite its emphasis upon the 20 th and 21 st 

centuries. Mythologizing and stereotyping, two essential categories/processes 

that are complementary and overlap, have already been referred to. 

Alluding to the former in his Mythologies, Roland Barthes describes myth 

as a language; a form of speech with a historical foundation. He underlines 

insistence and repetition as the links between its different diachronic 

stages. Barthes provides a relatively wide cultural perspective, in particular 

his surprising yet pleasing belief in the significance of thoughts that are 

repeated (Barthes 1989). 

When speaking of what is repeated, the phrase ‘making into myth’ 

also refers to the mythical dimensions of historical facts and events, regarding 

them as stories which have an important explanatory and symbolic 

role for a culture. The phrase ‘making into myth’ is mostly used 

pejoratively in reference to the common knowledge and opinions of one 

culture towards another. 

There is a frequent overlap between the mythologizing and stereotyping 

processes – particularly in regard to ethnicity and nationality; a 

generalised, over-simplified, and therefore false, representation of the 

typical features of a particular group. 

Even when the features are considered positive, the use of ethnic 

stereotypes usually carries the risk of diminishing them, because they tend 

to discount the importance and uniqueness of the individual. Furthermore 

it is tempting, psychologically and socially, to feel satisfied with limited 

knowledge in response to the question: What do the Portuguese / 

Spanish / Iberians look like?; even though the answers should be applied 

to the new circumstances of today’s multicultural Europe, perspectives of 

which are conditioned ever more by mobility and migration. 2 

In terms of the creation and evaluation of myth, the relationship 

between Iberia and the former Eastern Bloc countries is marked by the 

geographical distance between them; enabling stereotypes to become easily 

and strongly embedded, as the lack of sufficient direct experience results 

in fewer opportunities to obtain up-to-date impressions. 

One must acknowledge that the tendency to turn a story heard 

about the Iberian countries into cliché is stronger in Eastern Europe than 

2 For the newest approach to the stereotype see: Tyler / Petersson 2008; Fuligni 2007; 

see also e.g.: Belova 2005; Ambrosewicz-Jacobs 2003; Maison 1997; on the strengh of 

sterotypes see the excellent essays of Leszek Kołakowski 2002. 


The Myth(s) of Iberia in Poland and other Countries of the Former Eastern Bloc 69 

in countries that are geographically closer, and ‘therefore’ have more opportunities 

for interaction. 3 

One also has to take into account the complexity - ethnic, national, 

religious, linguistic and cultural – of the Iberian countries when seeking 

the reasons for the creation and permanence of the historical myths from 

the Eastern Bloc. The complexity referred to is connected to the different 

ideological backgrounds of the two countries. 

Some myths or stereotypes refer to both, Portugal and Spain, although 

one myth often serves only to construct a clearer contrast between 

the two countries (for example the corrida 4 ). This first group of myths 

consists mostly of those based upon the shared responsibility of Portugal 

and Spain for the achievements and transgressions of the Black Legend, 

together with their membership of the southern countries. Other myths 

have been created that concern the two countries individually, being devoted 

to particular aspects of their history or character. 

For example, the frequent references to Portuguese melancholy, or 

the coutry’s tendency to re-live its imperial past instead of focusing on 

the European present. Spanish examples include the excess of conflicts 

inspired by their code of honor, 5 romantic exoticism and the myths of the 

Spanish Civil War that surfaced after the fall of the Soviet Union. One 

should also bear in mind that the Eastern European myth creation often 

mirrored the Iberian process of self-mythologizing, for instance Sebastianism 

and the reductionist but famous concept of the ‘Three Fs’ (Fado, 

Fátima and Football) in the case of Portugal, or Don Juanism and Don 

Quijotism in Spain. 6 This also includes images of a decadent Spain and 

Portugal that have been created by themselves, beginning with elements 

of the Black Legend, but particularly evident from the romantic period, 

culminating in the announcement of their decline by Antero de Quental’s 

3 For more on how the rules of stereotyping work for distant countries see Klienberg 

(1951: 505). 

4 The corrida came to be seen as characterising the very nature of the Portuguese and the 

Spanish. In his recent play Portugal (1997) the Hungarian author Zoltan Egressy introduces 

the difference between the Spanish and Portuguese corrida as an ontological one. 

5 For instance, the Polish book based on that stereotype is the Pamietnik znaleziony w Saragossie 

[Memoir found in Saragossa] by Jan Potocki, Paris 1815, (originally written in French 

and widely known). 

6 A quick search of the official websites on Spanish and Portuguese cultures confirms 

that this kind of stereotyping is offered to tourists. 



Causes of the Decline of the Iberian Peoples (Quental 1871; see also Sawicki 

1995: 19-27; Posadzy 2003: 13-25). 

This perspective should also be seen in the context of the various 

Eastern European peoples’ 19 th century search for a role and destiny. 7 

There are two main reasons for Central and Eastern European stereotypes 

of the history of the Iberian peoples. 

One of them concerns political or ideological matters, treating the 

Iberian countries as a point of reference for their own historical changes. 

The other refers to the traditional European division between the North 

and the South (Staël 1800). 

Between the Black and the White Legend 

Historically, for the countries of the former ‘Eastern Bloc’, the Iberian 

countries shared the image of Imperial excess based on overseas conquest. 

During the early modern period a particular mixture between affirmation, 

towards the Iberian discoveries in the New World, and accusation 

based upon the leyenda negra, was noticeable in Eastern Europe. 

The Black Legend became stronger in regard to Spain following the 

wide dissemination of Las Casas’ famous report, that became the main basis 

for dogmatic responses to the situation of the Spanish American colonies. 

Mythical tendencies appeared when for different reasons, political or 

religious, the Portuguese and Spanish achievements came to be perceived 

without any objectivity as either the vanguards of Christian civilized Europe, 

or as absolute proof of the destructive and inhuman characteristics 

of the Spanish and Portuguese, regarded in general as conquistadores. 

Even in the Catholic countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the 

idea became popular that the Iberian religious missions were just a pretext 

to undertake merciless conquest. 8 Portugal and Spain shared the image, 

7 Following Herder´s initial opinion, the Slavs began to consider themselves Messiahs of 

Europe, who should take the place of the so called western cultures, whose time of greatness 

and productivity had already passed. The first strong manifestation of this opinion 

appeared in the 19 th century, when all Slavic countries with the exception of Russia and 

Montenegro had already been deprived of their independence. The first instance of the 

Slavic messianic concept being derived from Herder`s ideas is the work of the Slovak 

poet Jan Kóllar. See Herder 1962; Kollar 1830. 

8 For more details on the reception of the Black Legend and its implications in Eastern 

and Central Europe, see Tazbir 2001. 



brought upon themselves by the Black Legend, of Catholic monarchies 

filled with invasive and senseless conquistadores. 9 

Throughout Central and Eastern Europe identification with the colonisers 

as the vanguards of Europe usually coexisted with a critical view 

of the cruelty and devastating politics of the Spanish and Portuguese; 

revealed by the moving descriptions that had been translated or were read 

in the original, that were increasingly available from the Enlightenment 

period onwards. Orthodox Russia provided a good example of a country 

where descriptions of the colonisation of the Americas were very unwelcome 

and highly inconvenient, as they could be read as a critique of the 

authoritative Russian state, whose cruel methods were regarded as analogous 

to those used in the New World. It is significant that a country as 

despotic as 18 th century Russia should receive so poorly Raynal’s Histoire 

philosophique et politique des etablissements (1770); a moving description of the 

colonial system in the New World that was also popular in Eastern Europe. 

The Russian edition of that book was prohibited, because the censor 

felt that it showed too many similarities with the tyrannical and feudal 

Russian system, which almost treated villagers as slaves. Finally published 

between 1805 and 1811, its length was cut by a half and its ideological 

content reduced (Tazbir 2001: 24-25; Sur 1960). 

Hence the partial threat posed by the closeness of the Spanish Black 

Legend to the Russian experience was neutralized. Some political and religious 

factors that affected the opinions of the former ‘Eastern Bloc’ 

countries should be noted. 

The proximity of the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty to the Eastern 

European countries was one of the most influential factors from the early 

modern period up to the 18 th century. 

The experience of countries such as Bohemia and Hungary, defeated 

by the Habsburgs in the 17 th century, played a considerable role. This 

was soon followed by the struggle for independence of other countries, 

for example Poland, in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. 

Such historical routs made the inhabitants of Eastern European 

countries act with some reserve and skepticism towards the methods 

used by Spanish and Portuguese to impose their dominance over the New 

World (Tazbir 2001: 31). 

9 Las Casas became very well known in Central and Eastern Europe through western 

sources. 



However, Spain’s involvement with the Habsburg Dynasty also had 

the potential to draw the Spanish closer to the Eastern European countries, 

particularly during the political, religious and ideological struggle of 

the Counter-Reformation period, which caused very serious divisions in 

that region. The marks left by the Spanish origin of the Habsburgs should 

be seen in the context of the complicated national interrealtionships of 

the 17 th and 18 th centuries, when alliances frequently referred to both the 

religious as well as the political affiliations of the monarchies in question. 

The rise of the Habsburg Empire also influenced Eastern European 

opinions of the relationship between Spain and Portugal. Often regarded 

as one, Portugal and Spain were now represented as being fundamentally 

different. A ‘making into a myth’ attempt to separate Portugal from Spain 

exploited the hostile attitude towards the Habsburgs in order to differentiate 

between the two countries. 

In 1705, a famous debate was organised in Gdansk by the Protestant 

College Professor Pawel Pater (Kubik 1964: 159-162). In Pater’s view 

Portugal and Spain were not just two countries of the Iberian Peninsula 

that had colonised the New World. 

The debate was clearly designed from the point of view of Protestant 

doctrine, and was arranged in order to celebrate the 65 th anniversary 

of the Portuguese Restoration. It consisted of a highly detailed analysis as 

to whether or not the Portuguese were right to seek independence from 

Spain in 1640. 

It would appear that its participants were trying to represent the 

different historical opinions of the Portuguese attempt to regain their independence, 

to the extent that their debates were analysed very carefully. 

However, from the outset there was an underlying belief that all factors – 

moral, economic, political and military – not only justified the Portuguese 

secession, but also singled that country out as a perfect example to others 

in Europe and the New World who sought to regain their independence 

from the Habsburgs. 

The above contributed to the long-lasting belief that the case of 

Portugal was never as grave as that of Spain in regard to the Black Legend 

and their imperial actions, supporting the Portuguese self-mythologizingprocess 

that was based upon the famous Letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha, 10 

10 Written in 1500 and sent to the Portuguese King, but only discovered as a literary and 

cultural text in the Romantic period of Brazil. 



which described the first contacts between Portuguese and the natives of 

Brazil as truly exceptional – both peaceful and productive. 11 

Gold of India vs. Polish Golden Virtue and Liberty 

Critical interpretations of the Black Legend`s motifs from the 16 th 

to the 18 th centuries served well within the context of Christian virtues, 

such as modesty or increasing sympathy with the colonised native Americans. 

In that respect the Eastern European countries did not offer much 

that was new, instead following Iberian self-criticism and other European 

works. 

However, there was also more specific cultural perspective, linked 

to the idea of the perfect existence. Since the Renaissance and Baroque 

times the image of the Spanish and Portuguese risking their lives in their 

search for gold and fame, in contrast to the ideal of a peaceful agrarian 

existence, became a topos in Eastern European countries, which remained 

largely rural. 

This image was strongest in the the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 

in particular, where from the 16 th century onwards the middleranking 

landed gentry became the most important social group. 

The group´s ideological program - presented in a separate genre 

named the ‘literature of the landed gentry`s ideals’ - initiated an ideological 

struggle between the treasures of Lusitanian India and Polish golden 

virtue. 

These works compared the situation of the conquistadores with the 

landed gentry’s own underlying ideals, which valued a stable and modest 

existence on the land. To judge from their literary works, this existence 

provided the gentry with the opportunity to avoid the unstable conditions 

encountered by adventurers and mariners, who were considered to be ‘led 

by the wind’. 12 

The Iberian countries therefore became a component of the strong 

social and ideological response. 

11 For more on the early modern impressions of Portugal in Poland and Eastern Europe 

see Rok (1995: 177-192). 

12 That terminology was created by the Renaissance poet Jan Kochanowski, one of the 

first of the landed gentry`s idealists, in his XII Song of the series Pieśń Świętojańska o Sobótce 

(Krzyżanowski 1978). 



The authors in question – Waclaw Potocki, Kasper Miaskowski, 

Wespazjan Kochowski and others – were systematically highlighting the 

cultural and existential gap between their own ideals and the way of life 

for the Iberian conquistadors, praising the peaceful and natural life as an 

existence that provided the opportunity to avoid the condition of soldiers, 

merchants and above all sailors. 

This clearly influenced their opinion of the Portuguese and Spanish 

as sailors, discoverers and conquerors of the New World (Tazbir 1967). 

Therefore, the mythical image of the Spanish and Portuguese entered 

Polish national opinion as an antithesis, the opposite of their own ideal 

life. The landed gentry had to disassociate their ideals from those of the 

leaders of the New World, who had been successful in obtaining money 

and status. 13 

This clearly influenced Polish attitudes, particularly in the Baroque 

period when they felt that they were loosing political status and becoming 

impoverished. The poorer they became the louder they praised their modesty 

and ‘golden liberty’, the last bastion of their pride. As the 17 th century 

progressed and the new century began, some elements of the Portuguese 

and Spanish way of life could be regarded as controversial and inconvenient. 

Baroque literature contains various examples of that process, but that 

attitude may already be found in 16 th century Polish texts, as in the following 

opinion of Joachim Bielski on the superiority of the Polish way of 

life over the Spanish and Portuguese ‘hunting for gold’: “Poland possesses 

the superior liberties, above their [Spanish and Portuguese] gold waters.” 14 

That rejection of the Lusitanian or Spanish ‘way of life’, and their 

accumulated treasurers, was encapsulated by the word fraszka, meaning 

less then ‘meaningless’ in Polish. The favourite genre of the middle-ranking 

Polish gentry, a paradigm for various noble poets, was called Votum 

and soon became a literary cliché. It was based upon the belief that Polish 

golden liberty made them richer and luckier then the Spanish and Portuguese 

overseas treasures could ever make them. 

13 ‘Reading the Other’ in the attitudes of the nobility and the literature of Poland in the 

period from the first free election (1573) up to the end of the Baroque period is a very 

complex issue. The best introduction is a chapter by Janusz Tazbir: “Początki polskiej 

ksenofobii” (Tazbir 2001: 384-406). 

14 Original: „Ma Polska nad nie, ma nad złote wody, Droższe swobody” (Sokolowska 

1959: 154). 



The Spanish Civil War and the Dual Colonial Discourse 

In the 20 th century some elements of the ‘Black Legend’ supported 

the official socialist interpretation of the Spanish Civil War, which was 

also mythologized in the manner of the crusades and the colonial period. 

Two images of Spain were presented. The forces of rebellion on 

one hand, and Franco`s crusade on the other, which corresponded to 

stereotypical aggressive attitude of that nation. Later, during the period 

of dictatorship, Spanish stereotypical aggressiveness was opposed the 

so-called proletariat, which communist propaganda regarded as cosmopolitan, 

respectful, open and progressive. That mythical image has a long 

tradition and, as Wojciech Tomasik recently proved (Tomasik 2007: 131), 

has never been truly de-mythologized within the post-Soviet bloc. That 

tempting ‘black and white’ image, shaped by the exoticism of Spanish culture, 

is a historical myth that continues to permeate ideology. Of course 

this is not only the case for the Spanish Civil War, but also for general attitudes 

towards Iberian dictatorships, which have been labelled fascist on 

occasion, including the Portuguese New State of Oliveira Salazar, though 

never to the same extent, as Wojciech Tomasik argues: 

“It should be emphasised that studies of colonialialism have only 

recently expanded their approach, embracing the more subtle kinds of 

domination. The most promising studies, which concern the less discernible 

forms of hegemony, analyse the influence of Russia and the Soviet 

Union commonly labelled russification or sovietization. Therefore the 

myth of the Spanish Civil War enters into colonial discourse in two senses: 

the imperial legacy of the Iberian countries, especially Spain; and the interpretative 

framework dictated by the Soviet empire. In the wider sense 

that has been applied more recently, the latter could be also regarded as 

colonisation by the dominating Soviet Union” (Tomasik 2007). 

It is significant that the propaganda campaign of the communist 

ideologues was so successful, and that for decades scholars wrote books 

and articles depicting the Spanish War as the culmination of the struggle 

between the progressive forces of social reform and the ‘dark’ reactionary 

forces of ignorance and backwardness. Paul Johnston’s opinion, that 

no episode of the 1930s has been lied about more than the Spanish War 



(Johnson 1983: 326), is wholly applicable to the the Polish analysis. In the 

common view of the post-Soviet bloc, the conflict in Spain from 1936 

to 1939 was a simple war between good and evil: progressive, democratic 

forces vs. stagnating and limited nationalism. 

Film and literature cultivate a corresponding ‘photographic image’, 

and the famous Spanish phrase No pasarán! still awakens feelings of romanticism, 

heroism and solidarity. A brief look at the recent anniversary 

publications on both versions of the myth of ‘The two Spains’ still shows 

that this view of the Spanish Civil War has never been truly de-mythologized. 

However, it is at least the possibile to follow the different lines of 

argument that are now being offered to the wider public. 

These recent publications repeat and refer to the original myths of 

the Spanish of the Civil War, and we even find attempts to re-define myth 

through analogies with the author’s own mythic national background, although 

these are mostly translated works. 

A good example in the case of Poland is the recently translated Last 

crusade of Warrel Carrel, which identifies a parallel between the heroic defense 

of Alcázar and the defense of the Catholic Czestochowa Convent 

300 years earlier, during the Swedish Deluge (1655-60). 

Another example is Mity Wojny Domowej [The Myths of the Civil War] 

by Pio Moa, who uses the myth of the ‘revolutionary butchers’ in order to 

defend the image of the communists. 

Despite the new studies that highlight the complexity of the Spanish 

Civil War and its mythical heritage, the myth of ‘The two Spains’ is 

still present in the former ‘Eastern Bloc’ countries. It is significant that 

the propaganda campaign of the communists was so successful that for 

decades scholars wrote books and articles depicting the Spanish War as 

the culmination of the struggle between the progressive forces of social 

reform and the reactionary forces of ignorance and backwardness. An 

objective analysis of the Spanish Civil War, which would enable us to overcome 

simplistic and mythical interpretations, remains a work in progress. 

Iberian Parallels and Examples to Follow 

The rejection and condemnation of the Iberian countries, based 

upon the disgraces of the Black Legend, was never absolute despite the 

official religious interpretation and the ideals of the Polish gentry, as it 



always had to work against a number of opposing factors. There were always 

two sides to the Iberian coin. In the early modern period there were 

undeniable instances of jealousy and admiration towards the Portuguese 

and Spanish determination, courage and the goods obtained by them as 

they sought to dominate the New World. The most open declaration of 

the desire to share in the “Spanish gold and pearls” was not to be found 

in the literature of Polish gentry, but in the Baroque court literature of the 

poet Jan Andrzej Morsztyn. He felt freer to express his thoughts, and less 

limited by the need to praise the mediocre middle-ranking gentry of his 

own country (Morsztyn 1971). What seems to become more important is 

that the ‘Black Legend’ was often standing next to the ‘White legend’. The 

process of mythologizing the Iberian countries became different when, 

for example, the idea of a Christian Europe was considered, united by its 

greatness and superiority. Furthermore, the creators of the ‘Black Legend’ 

never stoped using both Iberian countries as an example to follow 

in their own colonial expansion towards the ‘barbarian’ eastern regions 

(Tazbir 2001: 532). Considerable efforts were made to treat the Spanish 

and Portuguese as exemplars for their own exploration and domination 

of new lands and their inferior inhabitants, regarded as barbarous, pagan 

and fundamentally different. A number of Central and East European 

sources proves that the nobility found the Iberian example very attractive 

and worth following. It would appear that in Poland the Spanish elements 

of the ‘Black Legend’ influenced the nobility more than those of Portugal, 

to whom less blame was attached because the Polish expansion towards 

the East had more in common with Vasco da Gama’s missions, the Portuguese 

acquisition of the inhabited Pacific islands, and was not only concerned 

with colonisation of South America. At the advent of humanist 

movement the first account appeared of early Polish history, written by 

Marcin Miechowita in his Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis Asiana et Europiana et 

de continentis in eis. 15 It was later overtaken by Baroque interpretations, for 

example the satires on Polish attitudes towards the lands situated towards 

the east. Those texts abundantly provided examples of excellent Lusitanian 

economic and migration policies, which was demonstrated by with 

the successful colonisation of every land met on their expansionist travels 

(Krzysztof Opaliński). These authors encouraged the nobility to follow 

15 See Miechowita: Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis Asiana et Europiana et de continentis in eis 

(1517). 



the Portuguese example and settle the ‘Wild Fields’, the huge and almost 

uninhabited steppe to the south-east of Poland. 16 

In another example the theme of the Iberian colinisation inspired 

and encouraged the Polish nobility to challenge Russian Orthodox Church, 

particularly at the time of the Dymitriads (1602-1614), when they entered 

into the competition for the Muscovite throne (Andrusiewicz 1990). 

This is described by the nobleman Pawel Palczowski in his poem 

Koleda moskiewska of 1609. Palczowski includes an account of the spectacular 

success of the few Spanish conquistadors in ‘West India’, his heroic 

and prophetic description revealing his belief in the future success of 

the renowned Polish ‘hussaria’ in Russia. Two main reasons underlay the 

construction these convenient parallels and the treatment of the Iberian 

countries as exemplars: religion and culture. The former was most apparent 

in Christian and particularly in Catholic countries (Poland, Hungary), 

who believed themselves to be the ante murales of Christianity, and who 

frequently combined the roles of missionaries and colonisers. The colonisation 

of the barbarous east was regarded as a having God’s blessing. This 

common belief created such analogies that as the Spanish and Portuguese 

gained their reward for their fight with Moors, the eastern ante murales, 

who were fighting with Tatars and Turks, believed that they were to be 

rewarded with the conquest of those eastern ‘barbarians’. In Poland it 

was applied to the ‘Wild Fields’ and to Russia, and for example in Russia it 

influenced the expansion into Siberia. The Catholics of Eastern Europe, 

who regarded themselves as missionaries in the face of the paganism of 

the countries which lay further to the east, also believed that they were 

following the Iberian example. In the second half of the 16 th century the 

Polish King, Stefan Batory emphasised that analogy in his speech to the 

Jesuits: “Do not envy the Portuguese and Spanish the strange worlds of 

Asia and America... There are Indians and Japanese nearby in the Russian 

nation”. 17 

These historical parallels were not restricted to specific use in the 

Central and Eastern countries, but also inspired more general comparisons. 

16 The extended comparison of the colonization made by Spain and Poland (and in the 

wider perspective by the Iberian countries and the Eastern European) was prepared by 

Malowist (1965). 

17 Kronika z czasów króla Stefana Batorego (1575-1582), [The Chronicle from the days 

of king Stephen Batory-1575-1582] (Barycz 1939). 



For example, one may take the Historical parallels between Poland and 

Spain in XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries (Lelewel 2006), that was edited by 

the famous Polish historian Joachim Lelewel. 

Written in the romantic period (in 1820, but published only in 1831), 

at a time when Poland did not exist on European maps, the Historical parallels 

identified some elements of the Spanish ‘Black Legend’ in support of 

his belief that Poland would overcome the loss of its independence. 

For the above reasons Spanish history had to be mythologized. 

Over-simplifications were used in support of the general thesis that the 

bad condition of the Spanish state should be a warning to the Polish and 

encourage them to avoid its errors and bad habits. 

That is why Lelewel is today known as an exponent of the negative 

stereotyping of the Spanish in Polish culture (Sawicki 1995). 

The Recent Process of Democratisation 

Parallels between Eastern Europe and the Iberian countries, in particular 

between Poland and Spain, have also appeared in contemporary 

Soviet and post-Soviet studies (Zamojski 2004). 

Spain and Portugal have come to be considered as exemplars, particularly 

in some of the post-Soviet Bloc countries that joined the European 

Union in 2004. 

However, the interest of the democratic Iberian states in the ‘Eastern 

Bloc’ countries goes back to the 1970s, when the Portuguese Carnation 

Revolution took place, together with the peaceful transition to democracy 

in Spain. Spanish acknowledgement of its links to Poland occured in two 

phases. The first was full of optimism, but lacked genuine parallels after 

the arrival of the new Polish socialist regime of the 1970s. 

The second began after the breakthrough year of 1989, when round 

the table talks began the democratization process in Poland and other 

countries of the post-Soviet Bloc (Kieniewicz 2001: 8). 

However, in Poland the consequence of such attractive but often 

mythical parallelism and simplification – on occasions the analogies were 

imposed, despite the significant differences between both countries – was 

the appearance of protests from politicians and researchers in the field. 18 

18 The huge and informative efforts of Stefan Kieniewicz (Spain) and Maria Danilewicz 

Zielinska (Portugal) are worth mentioning. 



In the latter case Dariusz Filar insisted that “Poland is different”, and 

Jan Kieniewicz concluded that “[…] more than an analogy, Spain became a 

challenge for Poland” (Kieniewicz 1986: 36-49). With the aforementioned 

accession of some states to the European Union both Iberian countries 

became an important point of reference. In Poland the European Union 

inspired a new wave of detailed studies on Spanish and Portuguese economic 

progress, focusing more on agriculture in the case of Portugal, and 

on the modernisation process in the case of Spain. 19 However, at the same 

time the general opinion, expressed in mass media`s debates on the common 

currency, held that Spain and Portugal had had it much easier. 

Southern “Others” 

The post-Soviet Bloc countries of the today made various attempts 

through the centuries to create myths of Portugal and Spain, which were 

also inspired by the division of the European cultures into north and 

south, which began in the romantic period. Their view followed Madame 

de Staël`s interpretation. Her essay On Literature, written in 1800, analysed 

newly-born romanticism, and identified a clear division between the 

North and the South. Madame de Staël described the South as based on 

classical ideas – static, harmonious, affirmative, closed and finite,declining 

after past greatness, sunny and pleasure-seeking. In contrast, the North 

is presented by Madame de Staël as being focused on infinity and disharmonious, 

dark, and filled with existential suffering. To an extent this 

interpretation contributed to the process of stereotyping the qualities of 

the Iberian peoples. Almost all of the characteristics gathered above became 

the subject of various interpretations, depending on the context of 

the country in question, and according to its relationship with the Iberian 

states or with the religious and political groups to which they belonged. 

The following list outlines the main positive and negative characteristics 

found in the literary and cultural thought of the post-Soviet 

countries. Positive qualities included: 1) romantic, heroic and honorable 

knights, who ‘fought until the end’ 2) optimistism and happiness 3) representatives 

of Europe in colonising and converting the ‘barbarous’ 4) 

bulwark (ante-murale) of Christianity 5) peaceful builders of democracy and 

economic success. 

19 See Misala (1992); Müller (2005); Taracha (2001). 



The negative qualities included: 1) bound within the paradox of 

an archaic codex of honor 2) imperialist, agressive and destructive 3) 

unsuccessful and decadent 4) lazy and greedy, fool of vanity 5) fanathic 

Catholics 6) melancholic 7) divided anarchists (the ‘Carlist war’ in Lelewel 

perspective and in the awaken polemics) 8) representatives of the new aggressive 

capitalism. 

These different stereotypes have been operating in various combinations, 

inspiring new interpretations of the Iberian countries. 

In the early modern period Spain appears to have been the more 

influential of the two, as a result of its Habsburg connections, which 

have also proved useful for contemporary searches for political and social 

points of reference. Today, Portugal has become more visible in literature 

and reality, in the context of lifestyle and economics in particular. 

Portugal has become an inspiring new topos for the post-Soviet bloc 

countries. The new ‘existential’ myth of the ‘distant-close Portugal’ is 

worth noticing. 

The clearest example of this myth is the play Portugal by the Hungarian 

author Zoltan Egressy. Written in the year 1997, the play soon became 

widely known and was staged and filmed in almost all of the countries of 

the post-Soviet Bloc. In the play Portugal is presented as peripheral, poor 

and antiquated, a place where people still follow their dream, happy to 

live in a state of natural sadness and melancholy, leading their simple life, 

free of the inconveniences of capitalism, and appears to be the last such 

country in Europe. 

Portuguese melancholy was mythologized as a way of life for all of 

the Portuguese. The play basically describes all of the Portuguese inhabitants 

as fishermen, who spend every sunset on the seashore, ‘where there is 

no land to follow, staring at the ocean, always very sad, like when one says 

‘goodbye’ to his beloved, as the main protagonist says. 20 

The play`s main protagonists are Czarus (Charming), an intelectual 

in his early thirties who sets out for Portugal and visits a small village on 

his way, and the villager Myszka (Mousy), filled with love and sensuality, a 

barmaid in her father’s pub who dreams of changing in her life. 

The protagonists meet in a fictional village in a desolate, a recent 

consequence of capitalism in the former ‘Eastern Bloc’ countries. What 

does Portugal mean to them? 

20 The Polish version of the play in question was printed in the magazine Dialog 4, 2004. 



Portugal represents the ideal of the lost authentic life that was free 

from civilisation, rural and, more significantly, always associated with 

dreams. In the play ‘being on their way to Portugal’ means searching for 

the authentic life and following one’s dreams instead of being involved in 

the ‘rat race’, which had emerged with the introduction of capitalism causing 

many inhabitants of the post-Soviet bloc countries to feel adrift, and 

this did not just apply to intellectuals. 

On reaching Portugal, Czarus loses his chance and is forced to return 

to his old life in the capital, however this introduces another interpretation 

of Portugal: a metaphor for the persistent pursuit of dreams and 

imagination. 

Thus, Portugal is not a country but a form of life that can be reenacted 

in the hopeless village where the protagonists meet. Curiously, 

this idealistic view of Portugal, mostly Salazarian in origin, promoted by 

Egressy’s play, a poor, rural and melancholic paradise, has finally been 

confronted with its opposite, the idea of a modern capitalist Portugal that 

invests in the post-Soviet Bloc countries. On this occasion the source of 

the stereotype is real life. Above all, this new interpretation affects Poland, 

the post-Soviet Bloc country with the largest Portuguese investment. The 

new opposing stereotype of Portugal presents it as a symbol of aggressive 

capitalism; a country that in Poland became known as a symbol of 

the new capitalistic treatment of workers. This new image appeared with 

the arrival of the Jerónimo Martins Group, known in Poland as Jeronimo 

Martins Distrybucja, which owns a large number of discount supermarkets 

named Biedronka (Ladybird). 21 In Poland the stereotype emerged in 2004, 

when a number of some tribunals were initiated and won by a group of 

poorly paid and badly treated workers. Therefore, another stereotype was 

established. The Americans initially introduced the ‘capitalistic style’, but 

Portugal has become a master of aggressive employment policies. However, 

it seems that this aspect of Portuguese capitalism has been overcome 

recently. The employees situation has improved considerably in the 

last four years, without affecting the profits gained by the group from its 

Polish business. 22 

21 As a result of the large profit made every year in Poland, the group is considering its 

expanding towards the other post-Soviet countries, such as Ukraine and Romania. 

22 The mass media discourse relating to this topic since 2004, may be found at: http:// 

szukaj.gazeta.pl/portalSearch.do?&s.si(navigation).navigationEnabled=true&s. 

sm.query=biedronka (in Polish). Concerning the relationship between Poland and Por- 



Potentially there are two determining factors behind interpretations 

of the Iberian countries in the former ‘Eastern Bloc’ countries, alongside 

the former’s tendency to compare themselves with others. Firstly, the Iberain 

region is referred to in a political and ideological sense, being treated 

as a point of reference for the Eastern Bloc’s own historical changes. The 

second factor relates to the reservoir of traditional European stereotypes 

of the divisions between the southern and the northern countries. In each 

case it is clear that the simplified images of both Iberian countries are 

carefully orchestrated, building freely upon critical or positive analogies 

and opinions, depending on the changing perspectives of the country in 

question. This was particularly true of the Eastern countries, which circulated 

historically between the ‘Black Legends’ and the ‘White Legends’ 

of the Iberian countries. From medieval times to the present day both 

Iberian countries served as a basis for political, religious, cultural and economic 

parallels and analogies. For some post-Soviet countries particular 

historical periods and circumstances resulted in a greater need for the mythologizing 

of the Iberian countries, which acted as a clear point of reference 

for their own actions and ideas. On entering post-Soviet Europe the 

former ‘Eastern Bloc’ countries had to endure a democratic shock, together 

with new globalising and liberal reforms. This encouraged them to 

paint older myths and stereotypes in a new light, and at the same time they 

created the conditions for new myths to emerge. The revived myths of old 

have gained their own lives, and today coexist with an increasing number 

of direct observations, although sometimes they are ‘myths in-progress’ 

themselves, and are also at risk of generalisation, creating a melting pot of 

different ideas of what is to be Iberian or Portuguese / Spanish. 

These mythical interpretations of Portugal and Spain coexist with 

interpretations of the Iberian Peninsula as a whole, exist together, and are 

called upon when required. Up to the 18 th century the Habsburg dynasty 

drew the Eastern European countries closer to Spain. 

Today Portugal has become more influential, especially in the fields 

of business and literature, inspiring some new paradigms in the countries 

of the post Soviet Bloc. 

tugal, the last official visit of the Portuguese delegation to Poland (at the beginning of 

September, 2008) seemed to mark a new phase that was wider, more complex and dedicated 

to encouraging progress in the following fields: economic and cultural exchange 

and cooperation. 



The present study reveals the particular position of Poland, a country 

that has created negative and positive analogies with the Iberian countries, 

especially Spain, throughout history. 

Today Poland also appears to be the cradle for modern myths of 

Portugal – devoid of its Salazarian scars and seen as a capitalistic investor 

from EU. 

The final question of this study relates to the possible relationship 

between myths and knowledge in the new Europe: what are the best and 

most natural ways of substituting myth with experience and knowledge? 

It seems that the new European mobility policy, and growing tourism 

in the countries of the former ‘Eastern Bloc’, contributed to the substitution 

of myth and stereotype by informed opinion. 

The new phase started with the most recent pieces of European 

integration policy, but these new perspectives have not yet entered into the 

general discourses or even stereotypes. This will be easier for the younger 

generation, which has been granted the opportunity to experience Portugal 

and Spain at first hand. The recent reawaking of research, particularly 

in the field of Iberian-Slavonic comparative study, leaves some hope for 

the continuation of the de-mythologizing and de-stereotyping processes. 

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Portugal Stereotypes in Poland, or, The Pictures in 

our Mind. Long away from the Perils of Life 

Anna Kalewska 

(University of Warsaw) 

To Professor Halina Janaszek-Ivaničkova 

The pictures inside the heads of this human being [other human beings], 

the pictures of themselves, of others, of their needs, purposes and 

relationships, are their public opinions (Lippmann 1965: 18). 

How do the Poles construct their image of Portugal? How do they 

perceive Lusophone culture in general? In answer, through institutional 

and unofficial interactions, university courses, films, plays and azulejo exhibitions, 

books and (mis)readings of history. The Polish stereotype of 

Portugal is constructed from vague images of a country that is a long way 

away from the perils of life, a fabulous ‘Oceania’ or a (regained) paradise 

of wines and fine beaches. In the past the images of Portugal in our heads 

praised fearless sailors, explorers and missionaries; in the present day they 

establish a link between elite culture and the phenomena of mass culture, 

which boil down to the ‘Three Fs’: Fado, Fátima and football. Gilbert Durand’s 

mythocritical approach and his scrutiny of basic anthropological 

structures (the maritime ethos, religion, messianic and irrational beliefs, 

and the stereotyped notion of ‘paradise on earth’) have enabled us to identify 

a Portuguese image in Poland, and to reassess the myths that surround 


88 Anna Kalewska 

Lusitania. However, the images of Portugal in the Polish minds still fall 

half-way between myth and reality and they remain a long way from attaining 

the objectivity that Poles yearn for. 

The Sources 

In the early 1990s one of the eye-catching titles among the books of 

the Warsaw street bookstalls was Porto – Sardines – Fado by Janina Pałęcka 

and Oskar Sobański (Pałęcka / Sobański 1990). Do the Poles really construct 

their image of Portugal from these three stereotypes alone? Atlantica 

handles the distribution of Portuguese wines in Poland; sardines, 

cod and Portuguese delicacies are served at the restaurant Portucale; Misia, 

Mariza and the Madredeus ensemble also give frequent concerts in 

Poland. The Portuguese language is increasingly popular in the academic 

circles of Warsaw, Lublin, Kraków and Poznań, where the universities offer 

courses in language and literature as well as in Lusophone culture. The 

largest of the institutions that promote the Portuguese language is the 

Camões Institute for Portuguese Language at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska 

University (UMCS) in Lublin. The cityscapes of Lisbon inspired a young 

Polish painter, Agnieszka Kicińska, who between 2003 and 2004 produced 

thirteen oil paintings based upon the world exhibition Expo ‘98. The first 

of her series of paintings, Lisbon, depicts the red bridge ‘25 de Abril’, a 

monument to geographical exploration. The last painting of the series also 

depicts a bridge: the seventeen-kilometre Ponte Vasco da Gama, which 

winds like a snake. Kicińska’s canvases constitute a form of travelogue. 

As she says: 

“The majority of visitors to Portugal associate Lisbon with Alfama, 

the mystery of its street corners, the sight of washing hanging on lines 

outside windows, unique churches and scenic views”. 1 

A bird’s eye view of Portugal is depicted on tourism posters in Poland, 

particularly the popular region of the Algarve and the island of Madeira, 

which is advertised as a ‘Portuguese Wine Paradise’. 

1 Agnieszka Kicińska’s Lisbon paintings (thirteen oil-paintings on canvas), together with 

commentaries, are available on the painter’s website: http://www.agnieszkakicinska.com 

(25.01.2008). 


Portugal Stereotypes in Poland 89 

Since the mid-1990s Polish tourists have been frequent visitors to 

Portugal.What of Polish stereotypes of Portugal in the wider fields of 

history, society, politics and culture? Images of Portugal and of the Portuguese 

have resulted from individual acts rather than officially backed 

collective action. 

Various obstacles have affected the image of Portugal in Poland: the 

large distance between the two countries, limited commercial and political 

contact, the language barrier and the shadow of powerful Spain, which is 

identified erroneously with Portugal. 

Following the accession of Portugal (1986) and Poland (2004) to 

the European Union both countries have undergone the effects of civil 

progress and mutual stereotyping between regions situated at the opposite 

ends of united Europe. 

The goal of mutual relations and contacts is tangible. However, it 

lacks focus and is incomplete, consisting of national and international 

travel agencies (Triada, Neckermann, TUI), supermarkets (Biedronka/ 

Jerónimo Martins), banks (Milennium), fado and Portuguese guitar concerts, 

language courses and university classes. 

In consequence, general notions of Portugal in Poland are limited 

to a small number of terms and concepts that are stereotypical 2 : fado and 

saudade (Portuguese yearning for the past or nostalgia), football, Fátima, 

folk religion, Port, grilled sardines and the many varieties of cod. 

Older images and descriptions of Portugal – an unfamiliar country 

to nineteenth-century Polish writers, travellers and artists – did not produce 

a clear-cut paradigm or definition of Portuguese national characteristics 

that could be reagarded as a stereotype. 3 

However, towards the end of the twentieth century some films and 

plays on Portugal (such as Wim Wenders’s Lisbon Story), and literary works 

2 “Stereotypes Stereotypes are images that characterize groups. They do not usually refer to individu- individuals, 

but describe members of collective bodies instead. Therefore we have the stereotype 

of a Pole, the stereotype of a Jew, stereotypes of a teacher or a barrister [...]. Stereotypes 

therefore have characteristics that are social in two respects: (1) because they are created 

and accepted by a particular community and (2) because they refer to a community” (Ossowski 

1967: 39). 

3 “The fact that such texts exist proves how widespread the popular schematic visions of 

the nation are [...]. It seems that all expressions such as ‘French charm’, ‘English phlegm’ 

or ‘thinking German’ follow these patterns, the power of which resists the pressure of 

historical events and individual experience.” (Mitosek 1974: 57-59). 



translated from Portuguese, created a distinct picture of Portugal that became 

established in Polish circles of the educated and the worldly wise. 

They discovered the history of Portugal from Polish translations 

of books 4 by Henry Hersch Hart (Sea Road to the Indies. An Account of the 

Voyages and Exploits of the Portuguese Navigators, Together with the Life and Times 

of Dom Vasco da Gama, Capitão-Mor, Viceroy of India and Count of Vidigueira, 

1958), José Gentil da Silva (Histoire Maritime des Portugais – Maritime History 

of the Portuguese, 1987), Damião de Góis (Crónica do Felicíssimo Rei D. Manuel 

– The Chronicle of Manuel I’st Reign, 1989), Alvise da Ca’ da Mosto (Le navigazioni 

di Alvise da Ca’ da Mosto e Pietro de Sintra – The Voyage to Africa, 1994), 

Álvaro Velho (Roteiro da Primeira Viagem de Vasco da Gama – An Account of 

Vasco da Gama’s First Voyage to India, 1996) and works by a number of eminent 

Polish historians, literary historians and diplomats, including Marian 

Małowist, Jan Kieniewicz, Tomasz Wituch, Ewa Łukaszyk and Wojciech 

Chabasiński. 5 

According to the descriptions in these texts (the canon of Portuguese 

studies in Poland), Portugal is a country and a people with a turbulent 

but exemplary Christian past that has been acknowledged as unique 

due to its fearless sailors and explorers, who are rarely described as conquerors 

6 but are associated instead with the historic mission to emancipate 

from neighbouring Castile (Fernão Lopes, Crónica dos Reis de Portugal 

– Chronicle of the Kings of Portugal, 1983), and with the subsequent discovery 

and conversion of the New World (the theme of the national epic Os 

Lusíadas, published in Portugal in 1572, and known in Poland during the 

ages of classicism and romanticism). 

Therefore, historiography has been a major influence on the development 

of the first clear-cut stereotype of the Portuguese as sailors and 

explorers. To a lesser extent literature has been responsible for fostering 

the image of the Portuguese frame of mind: ‘a sad Portuguese’ pondering 

the loss of the East Indies and the overseas empire and immersed in 

saudade. Fernando Pessoa’s The Book of Disquietude is a modernist example 

4 The dates following the English titles are those of the first publication of the Polish 

translations. 

5 I discuss these works and the translations mentioned above in my introduction to Historia 

kultury Portugalii (Kalewska 2007: I-IX). 

6 For an exception to this rule see: Marian Małowist, Konkwistadorzy portugalscy [Portuguese 

Conquistadors], 1976. 



of such melancholy, which has been published in two Polish translations 

(1995 and 2007). 

During the last decade eight of José Saramago’s novels have been 

translated into Polish. Let’s stress that Polish translators of the Portuguese 

Nobel laureate (1998) are often young academics or elder scholars. 

However, it would be far-fetched to claim that Portuguese literature 

is well-known in Poland. 

The Stereotypes 

In order to analyse the stereotypes of Portugal in Poland we will 

adopt the methodology that Gilbert Durand proposed in his Imagens e 

Reflexos do Imaginário Português (2000). Durand uses his ‘mythocriticism’ to 

identify the anthropological structures in Portugal that could be applied 

to similar ‘imported’ issues which relate to developments in Polish culture. 

We should therefore be able to identify a Portuguese imaginarium in 

Poland. We will attempt to identify and classify the cultural trends (historical, 

sociological, geographical and mythological) coming from Portugal 

– Lusitanian mythologemes – which the Polish collective consciousness 

has accepted, assimilated and treated as its own. Is the stereotype of the 

Portuguese in Poland the precise opposite of the stereotype of the Polish 

in Portugal? Whereas the former emerged in the nineteenth century, the 

latter remains in statu nascendi. While images of the Portuguese are being 

constructed in Poland a stereotype of the Polish hardly exists in Portugal. 

The Portuguese still regard Poland as a former state of the Eastern, i.e. 

soviet political system, as do most Western Europeans, and it will require 

a long period of positive mutual relations in order to change that situation. 

Together with other European countries, prior to 1800 Poland’s intellectual 

discourse on Portugal was regarded as ancillary to that on Spain. 

It was viewed as a region without a specific culture or language (Atlantic, 

Celtic or Romance). In her Związki kulturalne i literackie polsko-portugalskie w 

XVI-XIX wieku [Cultural and Literary Relations between Poland and Portugal in 

the 16 th -19 th centuries], Elżbieta Milewska reveals that our contacts with Portugal 

were much less extensive than those with other Romance countries: 

“It was the linguistic barrier and ‘the stigma of Iberianism’ that reflected 

negatively on the dissemination of Portuguese culture in Europe. 



Loose political ties and limited diplomatic relations rendered commercial, 

or indeed any other kind of travel, difficult” (Milewska 1991: 153). 

In his diary Portugalia. Listy z podróży [Portugal. Letters from a Journey, 

1881], Adolf Pawiński hoped that his reminiscing would dispel the thick 

fog that he saw enveloping Portugal, especially at the mouth of the River 

Tagus and the Atlantic Ocean, which is described in places as a ‘fairy-tale 

Oceania’. Therefore, the first Polish Lusitanian mythologem focused upon 

Portugal’s Atlantic location and the maritime ethos of its inhabitants. It 

also shared much in common with The Lusiads, a forgotten epic of the 

Portuguese voyage to the East Indies led by Vasco da Gama (1479-1499), 

that has been translated into Polish three times over three centuries (1790, 

1890, 1995), but has never been fully acknowledged by Polish literature. 

The poem’s author Camões stresses the ethos of the Portuguese explorer 

and traveller, which was very different from that of the Polish, who were 

used to a settled and defensive existence. 

Nevertheless, biographies of Camões inspired some writers of 

Polish romanticism. 7 Over the last three hundred years the Polish have 

become increasingly fond of the Portuguese for a number of reasons. 

Chief among them is the idea of solidarity between the two nations which 

have not lost their former glory despite foreign invasions and dictatorial 

regimes. 

It would not be an overstatement to suggest that Portuguese history 

to some extent mirrors the history of Poland. For example, the loss of 

independence during the period of the Iberian Union (1580-1640) was 

reflected by the partitions of Poland by Russia, Prussia and Austria (1795- 

1918); and there were ominous parallels between the dictatorial regimes 

of the twentieth century: Salazar’s Portugal (1928-1974) and communist 

Poland (1945-1989). 

A variety of tourist guides available in Poland (published by the 

American Express, Rough Guide, Wiedza i Życie and Gazeta Wyborcza) 

emphasize the traditional religiousness of the Portuguese, in particular 

those living in rural areas, and ascribe it to the legacy of Salazar’s dictatorship. 

Similar opinions have been formed about Polish religiousness. A 

Portuguese guide to Poland, another guide from the American Express 

series, announces that: 

7 For the inspirational role of Camoenian thought in Poland see Kalewska 2007: 27-45. 



“[…] as in Spain and Ireland, the fact that the majority of its [Poland] 

society is still Catholic has a considerable impact upon the moral 

values accepted in this country, as well as being a factor in its policies.” 8 

Therefore, the culturally defining role of Christianity is another 

shared myth between Poland and Portugal. In the case of Portugal it is 

viewed as popular, spontaneous and unorthodox. In the case of Poland it 

appears to be politically, socially and ideologically charged. 

The average Polish pilgrim regards the neo-baroque basilica in Fátima 

as a replica of the Jasna Góra monastery in Częstochowa, the most 

important Catholic sanctuary in Poland. 

Mass media portrayals of social reality, in particular those of the 

press, have emphasized two characteristic traits of the Portuguese: their 

hospitality and their gentle manners. However, the national characteristics 

of the Portuguese and the Poles still betray traces of both xenomania and 

xenophobia. 

The Polish media also point out the specific Portuguese attitude 

concerning time. Portugal is perceived as a country where time is measured 

in a different way. The Portuguese are seen as cheerful, smiling, slower-paced 

than in Europe and unpunctual, which is occasionally construed 

as a sign of Lusitanian liberty, itself a remnant of Roman liberty (liberdade 

romana), and is actually a form of anxiety or an inherent inclination to 

messiness as opposed to individualism, a characteristic that many regard 

to be shared by the Polish nation. Despite a lack of focus, the collective 

portrait of Portugal in Poland partakes of the myth of paradise. At this 

point it is useful to draw a parallel between Polish and French images of 

Portugal as a vision of Eden. In 2001 Zbigniew Brzoza, a Polish theatre 

director, staged Portugalia [Portugal] by Zoltan Egressy, a Hungarian playwright, 

which became known in Poland through frequent theatrical TV 

productions and the Poznan Teatr Polski’s popular production (2004). 9 

The play depicts Portugal as a promised land, a place to which the protagonists 

wish to escape, particularly the main character Czaruś, for whom 

Portugal has become a symbol of freedom. 

8 Original: ”(...) Já à semelhança da Espanha e da Irlanda, o facto de a maioria da população 

ser católica continua a exercer uma enorme influência nos valores morais do país, assim 

como na sua vida política” (Czerniewicz-Umer 2006: 12). 

9 See also the article by Beata Elżbieta Cieszyńska in this book. 



This is precisely how the authors of a tourist slogan, which appeared 

on billboards throughout Poland in 2003, saw Portugal: a safe haven, 

peaceful, almost paradise-like, promising a dream holiday that is also 

safe in the age of world terrorism. These posters advertised “Portugal 

away from the perils of life”. Therefore, the image of Portugal in Poland 

remains under the influence of the characteristics mentioned above - melancholy, 

sadness and moderation - which are also prevelant in the tourada, 

the bloodless Portuguese version of the corrida. It differs from Spanish 

bullfighting. The tourada is to a large extent a show of horsemanship, a 

horseman’s struggle with a bull. Some advanced Portuguese techniques of 

horse training were popularised by the Marquis of Marialva, the Crown 

equerry between 1770 and 1799. Secondly, the killing of the bull is not a 

violent show performed in front of the audience, a form of death which 

was banned in 1799 after one animal attacked and fatally wounded the 

Earl of Arcos, the son of the Marquis of Marialva, and was witnessed by 

the entire court. Portuguese corridas have nevertheless become bloodier, 

with occasional killings of bulls, as Portuguese customs increasingly reflect 

changing fashions and are regressively ‘leaning’ towards Spain and 

responding to the tourist market. The outlooks of social groups or individual 

artists have been subject to cultural homogenisation. In a relatively 

popular series of Iberian interpretations the Polish do not feature as 

mass consumers, but are instead considered as sophisticated people who 

are drawn to the idyllic scenery of traditional, if slightly quaint, Portugal. 

Stereotypes of Portugal are therefore not so much a separate national construct 

as a reflection of how the Poles see themselves (as sophisticated, 

worldly wise amateurs of fine wines and choice foods), as well as of the 

changes that occurred in Poland after 1989. Thus, far-away Poland has not 

become accustomed to Portuguese national usual behaviours, language or 

their outlook. This level of erudition is not reflected in the popular notions 

of Portugal represented by the tourist poster. We are still lacking a clearcut 

contemporary paradigm of Portugal in Poland, which could compete 

with the historical stereotype of a brave sailor or the literary portrait of 

an introverted intellectual. How do we address the simplified image of 

Portugal in Poland and replace it with reasonable and objective content? 

The self-stereotyping of Portuguese people has been deconstructed in the 

novel As Naus [The Return of Caravels] by António Lobo Antunes. 10 

10 Which I translated into Polish and published in 2002 (Antunes 2002). 



Rotten caravels brought only a corroded trunk, covered with seaweed 

and molluscs, from former Portuguese India, and the Portuguese 

heroes of that epoch – King Manuel, Vasco da Gama and Diogo Cão – returned 

to the metropolis demoralised and with sunken cheeks, like ghosts 

demanding a second funeral and final burial in the Cemetry of Prazeres 

in Lisbon. 

The novel’s last sentence about some madmen “awaiting […] the 

neighing of the white horse that was never to be”, 11 sounds as if it were a 

call for an imaginative shift in the stereotype of the Portuguese in Poland, 

and perhaps for a deconstruction of the epic of Portuguese exploration. 

This seems to be as impossible as the fulfilment of the prophecy of 

Bandarra, a Portuguese counterpart of Polish Wernyhora, about the coming 

of a new Messiah who would be able to transform the Portuguese nation 

morally, to lift it from material decadence and lead it towards a bright 

future. However, as Maria Danilewicz Zielińska states, 

“[…] both the Portuguese Bandarra and the Polish-Ukrainian 

Wernyhora evoke the origins of widespread irrational beliefs that increasingly 

appeal to historians of ideas and sociologists” (Zielińska 1992: 251). 

Messianism and Polish Towianism, together with Portuguese Sebastianism 

– the hope for the return of King Sebastian (who went missing 

after the battle of Alcácer Quibir, 1578) – sustained national belief in 

historical misfortune. Perhaps they continue to enjoy a following, having 

been transformed through art or ideology in works that exhibit tangible 

and significant relations between Portugal and Poland. 

Agnieszka Kicińska’s comments upon her Lisboa series and in particular 

on the last painting, a misty, romantic vision of the bridge Vasco da 

Gama, link Portugal to Europe, and therefore to Poland: 

“Contrary to former declarations that I live in the contemporary 

world and time I embrace the modern aesthetic, one of my paintings 

shows a romantic face of the city. But looking at the entire series my fascination 

with abstraction and the Constructivist movement must be quite 

obvious. 

11 “I czekaliśmy (…) na rżenie białego konia, co nigdy się nie miał pojawić” (Antunes 

2002: 269). 



I reduce the number of elements on the canvas to the point that 

reality becomes a spot, a line, almost an abstract shape, while at the same 

time trying to avoid a sense of cold, excessive objectivity or aggressiveness 

– these are the concerns of my art. Strong contrasting colours, pure logical 

constructions approaching geometrical shapes; reducing any excess, distilling 

the object into the simplest form – this is the shortest definition of 

my painting, although in Lisboa 13 I disposed of stark contrasts, instead 

introducing some subtleties, such as the light and nostalgia for Lisbon. 

Only in that city can I feel the joy of life, be at peace with myself; 

and when I’m not there, I miss it terribly.” 12 

Could nostalgia be the common ground between Poland and Portugal? 

Capricious fortune has not endowed the Polish people with overseas 

colonies; something that contributed to national pride in Portugal, and 

to the Portuguese sense of historic mission on a global scale. Oppressed 

Poles awaited a better future, being less passive than the Portuguese, and 

working more actively towards improving their own fortunes. 

The “Portuguese paradise” seems to be within easy reach today. 

A qualitative change in our mutual relations is still required. Today, we 

have Agnieszka Kicińska’s attractive Lisbon paintings, the meditations on 

dreaming and human consciousness in Fernand Pessoa’s The Book Of Disquietude, 

and the Azulejos Art exhibition, organised by the Institute of Iberian 

and Ibero-American Studies of the University of Warsaw. However, 

the English captions under the Portuguese tiles shown in Poland, alert us 

to the fact that interaction between the cultures of North and South-West 

Europe is perhaps possible in the language of Lord Byron, who in his 

Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage considered Sintra near Lisbon an earthly paradise, 

“glorious Eden”. The trials and tribulations of the explorers and the sailors; 

Portugal’s picturesque location, which earned her a name “Atlantic 

beauty” in the speak of tourist advertising; the treasures of the Templars 

and all those delicacies from the vineyards and the rocky seaside have 

fascinated the Polish, inspiring them to learn Portuguese and study Lusophone 

culture to a much greater extent than in the past. 

But are we going to fill the remaining lacuna with some coherent, 

sensible content? 

12 Free English translation from the manuscript by Agnieszka Kicińska offered to the 

author of the present text, unpublished. 



In 1922 Walter Lippmann already observed in Public Opinion that 

“[…] modern life is hurried and multifarious, above all physical distance 

separates men who are often in vital contact with each other, such 

as employer and employee, official and voter. There is neither time nor 

opportunity for intimate acquaintance. Instead we notice a trait which marks 

a well known type, and fill in the rest of the picture by means of the 

stereotypes we carry about in our heads” (Lippmann 1965: 59). 

These stereotypes or ‘pictures in our heads’ – which are increasingly 

attractive – begin to lead their own lives and replace the painstakingly recorded 

visions of literary work with colourful visual mirages. We interpret 

them, as Lippmann suggested, depending on our point of view and our 

viewing habits. There is still a chance that we will become participants in 

or creators of Portuguese culture, instead of being mere observers. Because 

Poland, as Halina Janaszek-Ivaničkova has rightly points out, 

“[…] was associated with the West from the earliest times and, having 

a strong feeling of her own cultural distinctness based on latin culture, 

was never drawn into the spiritual sphere of Slavia Orthodoxa (Orthodox 

Slavdom), even in its later Soviet version (…)” (Janaszek-Ivaničkova 

2007: 12). 

This Polish feature does not necessarily prevent us from constructing 

a valid intercultural discourse between Poland and Portugal, which is 

still long away from finding a balanced view through a recontextualisation 

of Portuguese mythologems or the Lusitanian pictures in our heads. 

Bibliography 

Antunes, António Lobo (2002): Karawele wracają. Warsaw. 

Czerniewicz-Umer, Teresa et al. (2006): Polónia. Guia American Express. Porto. 

Durand, Gilbert (2000): Imagens e Reflexos do Imaginário Português. Lisbon. 

Janaszek-Ivaničkova, Halina (Ed.) (2007): The Horizons of Contemporary 

SlavicComparative Literature Studies. Warsaw. 

Kalewska, Anna (Ed.) (2007): Historia Kultury Portugalii.Antologia tekstów pomocniczych 

dla studentów I roku portugalistyki w ISIiI UW [A History of Portugue- 



se Culture: An Anthology of Texts for First-Year Students of Portuguese Studies at 

the II and IbS UW]. Warsaw. 

Kalewska, Anna (2007): “Camões as a Romantic Hero: biography as 

the ‘model for heroism’ in the literature of Romanticism in Poland” in: 

Cieszyńska, Beata Elżbieta (Ed.), Iberian and Slavonic Cultures: Contact and 

Comparison. Lisbon, 27-46. 

Lippmann, Walter (1965): “The World Outside and the Pictures in Our 

Heads” in: Public Opinion. London, New York, 3-29. 

Milewska, Elżbieta (1991): Związki kulturalne i literackie polsko-portugalskie w 

XVI-XIX wieku. Warsaw. 

Mitosek, Zofia (1974): Literatura i stereotypy. Wrocław. 

Ossowski, Stanisław (1967): Z zagadnień psychologii społecznej. Warsaw. 

Pałęcka, Janina, Sobański, Oskar (1990): Porto, sardynka i fado. Kuchnia portugalska.Warsaw. 

Pawiński, Adolf (1881): Portugalia. Listy z podróży.Warsaw. 

Zielińska Danilewicz, Maria (1992): Próby przywołań. Szkice literackie. Warsaw. 

Internet Sources 

http://www.agnieszkakicinska.com 

http://www.atlantika.pl 

http://www.camoes.umcs.lublin.pl 

http://www.iberian-slavonic.org/Books 

http://www.iberystyka.uw.edu.pl 


The Portuguese Carnation Revolution in 

East-Germany’s Neues Deutschland 

Introduction 

Jörg Seidel 

(Chemnitz University of Technology) 

The Portuguese Carnation Revolution of April 1974 was much 

lauded in the Eastern Bloc for its apparent left-wing and Marxist orientation. 

Although the revolution eventually led to the advent of democracy, 

in the early post-Estado Novo days it was not clear which path the country 

would take, especially since most of those involved in the coup d’état expressed 

views on the future development of the country that were commonly 

regarded as pro-Socialist or even Communist. The present paper 

will analyse and interpret the representation of the Carnation Revolution 

in the East-German state-run newspaper Neues Deutschland, as well as the 

degree and influence of propaganda. The following questions are to be 

answered: What was the official opinion towards this change in Portugal’s 

political landscape? How was the change-over appreciated by the government 

of the German Democratic Republic and therefore represented 

in the media? What views were presented regarding Portuguese future 

development? Why was the Carnation Revolution of such interest in the 

German Democratic Republic? 

The primary sources are Neues Deutschland articles published between 

May and September 1974. 


100 Jörg Seidel 

The Press in the German Democratic Republic 

As with any other part of society in the German Democratic 

Republic, 1 the press was under the total control of the one-party government. 

The Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands 2 (German Socialist Unity 

Party) exercised strict supervision over all press releases. Although during 

the 1980s the church and private artists managed to print and publish 

underground Samizdat releases (Kowalczuk 2002), the state-controlled 

press was the most influential tool for conveying the official ideology of 

Marxist-Leninist doctrine. This was even more so during the 1970s, when 

any opposition voices were silenced either by imprisonment or involuntary 

expulsion from the country (Meyer 1991). The Berlin-based Neues 

Deutschland was the biggest and most important newspaper as it had the 

most readers throughout the country, and was considered to be closest to 

the ruling party and its Zentralkomitee. It served as a direct point of communication 

between the Zentralkomitee and its readers. Assuming that the 

press served a well-defined purpose in the GDR, 3 one can safely assume 

that the articles about the political situation in Portugal fall into the category 

of persuasive communication. 

According to the rule of thumb for press releases in the GDR, all 

articles were intended to educate and inform the reader about their subject-matter 

in the manner wished for by the government. As in any other 

Eastern Bloc country, there was no neutral coverage of national or international 

events. 

The coverage of critical events that were of great political importance 

and of international reach was especially scrutinised by Zentralkomitee 

watchdogs (Holzweißig 1991). The means of control were installed in the 

very early stages after the founding of the GDR, and functioned so as to 

guarantee harmony between the official standpoint and the press coverage 

(Politbureau Resolution, SED Zentralkomitee, 29 April 1959, printed in: Hermann 

1963). Discrepancies between interpretations were to be avoided, 

and great efforts were made in order to achieve this. Press releases were 

designed to be in concurrence with the official Marxist-Leninist state doctrine 

and the state ideology (Ludz 1977: 231-282). 

1 In the following referred to as GDR. 

2 In the following referred to as SED. 

3 For the purpose of supporting and strengthening the SED-regime, see Schlosser 1990. 


The Portuguese Carnation Revolution in East-Germany´s Neues Deustschland 101 

The persuasive intention of coverage comes in different guises, as 

it is subject to a number of rules that determine its chances of success 

(Kopperschmidt 1976). Open and unbiased arguments do not have to refrain 

from measures typical for persuasive communication such as: onesided 

presentation of facts; strong emphasis on certain aspects of the 

news and the omission of facts, therefore providing an incomplete picture 

(Tappe 2001). Although the above methods were manifold, they almost 

certainly provoked a critical awareness among readers, therefore undermining 

its own reliability as a means of persuasion. GDR press releases 

were known to be biased among the GDR population. 4 As a general rule 

press coverage in the GDR depended on rules and guide-lines set out by 

the Zentralkomitee, and was never free from ideological restrictions. Instead 

it was an exact reflection of the official stance as communicated by the 

Zentralkomitee. In the example highlighted by this paper the following has 

to be kept in mind: statements made about the political situation in Portugal 

during the spring and summer of 1974 are not the opinions of independent 

correspondents (Grashoff / Muth 2000), but are premeditated 

statements intended to convey a certain image to the readers of the Neues 

Deutschland newspaper (Otto 1979). Furthermore one must not consider 

all of the articles’ content as having been censored and approved by Zentralkomitee 

officials. 

The Portuguese Carnation Revolution 

Before beginning an analysis of the Neues Deutschland articles it may 

be helpful to provide a short overview (Birmingham 2003; Anderson 

2000) of the order of events which took place in Portugal in spring 1974, 

and today are commonly referred to as the Carnation Revolution. 5 

4 This resulted in the growing popularity of West-German TV despite the ban on receiving 

it on GDR territory. 

5 The role of the carnation during the revolution in Portugal in April 1974 is subject to 

a number of different narratives. The tale that is agreed upon by most is that during the 

course of events on 25 April 1974, when the situation in Lisbon was rather uncertain, 

women who worked in the market place selling flowers began to put carnations into the 

barrels of the rifles of passing soldiers. This is said to have spread until at the end of the 

day the large majority of revolutionary soldiers had carnations in their equipment. Thence 

came the name of what happened in Portugal in April 1974: the Carnation Revolution. 

The flower has long been a sign of peace and non-violence. 



The Portuguese Carnation Revolution toppled the Caetano government 

and laid the foundations for the democratic development that Portugal 

was about to undergo. Military personnel who were appalled by and 

opposed to the bloody colonial wars in the African colonies of Mozambique 

and Angola met for the first time on 9 September 1973 to discuss 

the state of the nation. This meeting resulted in a document signed by 400 

active, high-ranking officers expressing the view that measures needed to 

be taken in order to improve the state of the nation and, as a logical consequence, 

the colonial wars had to be concluded with a full retreat from the 

colonies. In early March 1974 another meeting took place where a constitutional 

programme was drafted named ‘The Movement, the Military and 

the Nation’. This requested the abolition of the colonial wars and called 

for the government to accept these political demands. The government 

reacted immediately and transferred a number of the officers involved 

in order to break up the group. During the next weeks the Movimento das 

Forças Armadas 6 (Movement of Armed Forces) developed plans for a coup 

d’état and deliberately provided misinformation about a political demonstration 

on 2 May. At the same time their political demands were developed 

and completed. The MFA called for the abolition of censorship, the 

dissolution of the secret police PIDE and for the right to foundpolitical 

parties, among other demands. The plan of operation included the concentration 

of troops loyal to the MFA in Lisbon, the take-over of TV and 

radio stations, of the airport, of the military head-quarters and the arrest 

of president Caetano and his ministers. During the night of 24-25 April 

1974 the MFA played two previously forbidden songs on the radio. These 

songs had been chosen to signal the start of the revolution. Everything 

went according to plan and most of its elements had successfully been 

fulfilled by midday of 25 April. By the evening the MFA controlled and 

had kept in check the country. General Spínola, whose theoretical work 

had laid the foundation for the revolution, but who was not actively involved 

in the operation, attempted to take-over events and to dominate 

the ensuing discussions about how to continue. He and the right-wing 

officers did not accept the MFA’s demand to give up the colonial wars and 

therefore provoked a further radicalization of the MFA whose members, 

traumatised by the war, had developed a strict anti-imperialist stance in 

stark contrast to Spínola. 

6 To be referred to as MFA in the following discussion. 



During the next three months the political fight between General 

Spínola and the MFA continued over how to proceed. A number of different 

political groups, among them the Communist and the Socialist Parties, 

participated and attempted to succeed in the power struggle. Half 

a year later General Spínola stepped back from all his positions and the 

MFA promised that democratic elections were to be held in April 1975. 

It would actually take another two years before the first truly democratic 

elections were held in April 1976. These resulted in a stable government 

under President Mário Soares. The driving force of the revolution in April 

1974, the MFA consisted of a number of different interest groups who 

supported a broad range of political points of view. Some wanted to install 

a democratic system following the western European model; others 

wanted to continue the revolution, dispossess land owners and install autonomous 

communities. In summary, the overthrow of the dictatorship 

would not have occurred if it had not been for the MFA. 

The Carnation Revolution from the Perspective of the GDR 

The Carnation Revolution was of special interest to the Zentralkomitee 

for a number of reasons. First and foremost it was the first time in 

Europe since 1945 that a right-wing regime had been overthrown. Given 

the self-proclaimed left-wing viewpoint of the GDR, and its solidarity 

with the suppressed people of the world, the apparent concurrence of 

events with predictions about the political development of the world according 

to the state ideology of Marxism-Leninism was most welcome. 

Secondly, the revolution was peaceful. Finally there were no major external 

forces involved. These points set the parameters of interpretation 

as they enabled the Zentralkomitee to side with the revolutionary forces 

and use the revolution for ideological purposes. However problems arose. 

Taking into account the universal claim of official Marxist-Leninist doctrine 

(Ludz 1977) it was assumed that the Carnation Revolution adhered 

to the pattern described by Marxism-Leninism. According to Marx, any 

revolution bringing about a system change towards communism could 

only be based on the revolutionary mission of the working class and be 

executed by the working class. The doctrine held that only the working 

class had sufficient motivation to bring about such a change. Marx’s assumption 

was later altered by Lenin who said that the working class would 



not be the revolutionary force, and that instead it would be the so-called 

‘elite’ of the working class: the party. This alteration of the rule enabled 

him to take into account that there are social movements in favour of 

the working class that do not need the support of the working class. The 

driving force of the Carnation Revolution was the Movement of Armed 

Forces, as has been already outlined. Members of the army were not considered 

part of the working class by Marxist-Leninist definition, belonging 

instead to the bourgeois class and serving as tools for the suppression 

of the working class. Although the MFA followed a leftist orientation, 

their actions contradicted Marxist-Leninist doctrine as they could not be 

explained by revolutionary theory. Bearing this in mind, one should recognise 

the problems of the Zentralkomitee in interpreting what had happened 

in Portugal in April 1974. The fact that a western European quasi-Fascist 

regime had been overthrown in a military coup d’état posed a number 

of problems for the Zentralkomitee. Firstly, the incongruence with official 

doctrine, which could not provide a sufficient explanation for the role 

and involvement of the military forces. Secondly, the question arose of 

how to communicate the military coup to the people in a way that did not 

threaten the universal claim of the Marxist-Leninist state doctrine. Thirdly, 

the stance adopted towards a highly dynamic situation that might have 

had positive results, as it may have proved what Marxist-Leninist doctrine 

stated: that any political revolution in a capitalist country will inevitably 

lead to a socialist or even a communist society. Yet there remained the risk 

that the situation in Portugal could turn around and expose that doctrine 

as wrong and untruthful. 

The Carnation Revolution in the Neues Deutschland 

The articles published on Portugal in the Neues Deutschland in 1974 

reflect the fear that events in Portugal might take an unexpected turn.The 

coup d’état in Portugal took place on 25 April. Yet the first reference in 

the Neues Deutschland to what had happened in Portugal can be found in 

the issue of 4 May. There had been a delay of ten days before the state-run 

press in the GDR devoted an article to the event. When looking at the type 

of article one cannot help but notice that it is a form of special press release, 

and by definition not even an article. The issue of 4 May reproduced 

two telegrams from Berlin to Lisbon: one addressed to the Communist 



Party, the other to the Socialist Party. They are almost identical in content. 

The telegram to the Partido Comunista Português 7 (Portuguese Communist 

Party), signed by First Secretary of the Zentralkomitee Erich Honecker, is 

addressed to the General Secretary and ‘Dear Comrade’ Álvaro Cunhal. 

Honecker sends brotherly salutes and best wishes on the occasion of the 

over-throw of the fascist regime by the Portuguese people and “[…] its 

seasoned Communist Party which had fought so hard” (ND, 4.5.74) for 

this. It is important to note that Honecker refers to the Portuguese people 

and its party, thus following the doctrine of Marxism-Leninism that the 

elite of the working class, the party, is the revolutionary driving force. He 

continues to express his “[…] satisfaction that the anti-fascist, democratic, 

progressive and patriotic forces have taken this opportunity to lead the 

country to the path of democracy and social development” (ND, 4.5.74). 

The next mention of the revolution in Portugal is in the issue of 19 

May. The Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund 8 (Free German Federation of 

Trade Unions) is reported to have sent a greetings telegram on behalf of 

its approximately 8 million members to the free Portuguese trade unions. 

It expresses “its heart-felt congratulations on the successful overthrow 

of the dictatorship” and “wishes all the best for the development of the 

country” (ND, 19.5.74). The chair of the FDGB is quoted acknowledging 

that this “important event in Portuguese history was the result of 

the sacrificial struggle of the Portuguese workers, anti-fascists, patriots 

and democrats” (ND, 19.5.74). The introduction to the article is in the 

same vain as that of 4 May, although in this case it is the trade unions 

sending salutes to the comrades in the class struggle. By then the Neues 

Deutschland had not revealed any details on what had occured during the 

revolution, nor had there been any in-depth coverage of events. The only 

information that readers of the Neues Deutschland could obtain was from 

the reproductions of the telegrams sent to Portugal. These telegrams are 

perfect examples of the propaganda discourse in the Neues Deutschland. 

The excessive use of Marxist-Leninist keywords is as telling as the absence 

of any information. The overall tone of the telegrams is very official and 

repeats Marxist-Leninist doctrine with regard to revolutionary theory, as 

it acknowledges the protagonists (the PCP, the socialist party, all “workers, 

anti-fascists, patriots and democrats”) but deliberately does not men- 

7 In the following referred to as PCP. 

8 To be referred to as FDGB from this point forward. 



tion the MFA, which actually implemented the revolution. This was not 

enough to warrant an appearance in the Neues Deutschland articles. 

The MFA was deliberately left out because the role it played did 

not adhere to Marxist-Leninist principles, and therefore coverage would 

provoke questions among the readers. Due to the omni-presence of the 

doctrine there was no tolerance for any divergence from the rules it set. 

Therefore the MFA’s role was not officially acknowledged in the press 

releases of the Neues Deutschland. A third article appeared on 9 June. In 

the main quotes the Avante newspaper, which was close to the PCP. The 

article features the first in-depth explanation of the political situation in 

Portugal. However it was not independent, nor does it provide an objective, 

neutral opinion. Instead it describes the PCP point of view with regard 

to the situation and the future of Portugal. It acknowledges the “[…] 

programme of the MFA in order to remove fascism and to prepare free 

elections” (ND, 9.6.74) yet it says that solutions for the great problems of 

the nation cannot be provided by the current government alone. Continuing 

it states that “it is not enough to strive for the democratic ideal” but 

that the movement of the people needs to “enforce efforts to organize itself 

” (ND, 9.6.74). That is Marxist-Leninist jargon meaning in translation 

that the PCP has to assume power over the country. The Neues Deutschland 

uses the expression “movement of the people” (ND, 9.6.74) to denote 

the working class. According to the doctrine, the elite of the working class 

is the driving force behind any progress, and the elite can only be the 

Communist Party, i.e. the PCP. Following this reasoning, no democratic 

alliance would be able to truly change the country, or to introduce progressive 

measures to improve the situation, because it consists of a broad 

range of people with different interests, united for the time being by the 

rejection of the old fascist regime. Due to country’s political plurality an 

alliance could never solve the great problems at hand. This could only be 

achieved by the PCP as it is the only group representing the working class, 

the majority of the Portuguese people. This article in the Neues Deutschland 

conveys the impression that the results of April are in danger because 

Portugal appears to be drifting off in the wrong direction, away from the 

true revolution which would place the working class and its elite, the PCP, 

in charge of the country. The article ends by saying that for the time being 

the working class will have to accept the situation and co-operate with the 

MFA, but that democratic forces but must not make the mistake of letting 



the situation get out of hand. From an outsider’s perspective one has to 

question whether the PCP ever had the situation under their control. After 

all, it was only one of the groups who participated in the shaping of a new 

political landscape after April 1974. However, it never was as powerful as 

the coverage of the Neues Deutschland attempted to suggest. On 10 June 

a short article revealed that the provisional government of Portugal and 

the USSR had established diplomatic ties based on the UN Charter and 

in favour of the “[…] strengthening of peace and security in Europe and 

in order to increase cooperation in Europe” (ND, 10.6.74). The article 

also announced the dispatch of ambassadors to the respective partners. 

The incorporation of the USSR into the coverage was very important, 

since it served as the undisputed political role model in almost every aspect 

of international relations. During the early years of the Honecker era 

(Meyer 1991) the Zentralkomitee supported any foreign policy arrangement 

the USSR ventured into and adhered to the rules set by the USSR for the 

entire Eastern Bloc. Straying away from the course set by the USSR was 

not an option for the GDR. 9 

In 1974 the USSR represented a fixed point of political orientation, 

and therefore the establishment of diplomatic ties was not to be omitted 

from news coverage regarding Portugal in the summer of 1974. On 11 

June an article appeared under the title “The voice and standard-bearer of 

the Portuguese workers” (ND, 11.6.74). Written by special correspondent 

Dr. Klaus Steininger, 10 it introduces the fellow political organ Avante and 

its history as an underground resistance paper now freed from suppression 

and ready to “participate in the everlasting fight for freedom” (ND, 

11.6.74). 

The author quotes extensively from interviews with important 

Avante officials and tells the story of the fight against the regime and the 

sacrifices of those who had worked hard to continue the illegal publications 

of the PCP. In general tone it is a eulogy of the PCP and its work 

in overthrowing the regime. Yet, it does not mention the MFA and unilaterally 

promotes PCP and Avante resistance fighters as fit to continue the 

transformation of Portugal into a communist nation. 

9 Only the advent of Perestroika in the early 1980s under Gorbachev caused Honecker 

to pursue a political line of greater independence from the USSR and of greater rigour 

and severity. 

10 It is important to note that this article was the first to include the name of the author. 



This article also demonstrates the same signs of a biased focus on 

the PCP and its environment, as those which preceded it. The coverage 

continued in the same vein. An overview of the titles of the press releases 

which followed during the next four months should prove this point: 

“Diplomatic relations between GDR and Portugal agreed upon ” (ND, 

20.6.74), “GDR-ambassador accredited” (ND, 9.8.74), “‘Avante’: danger 

and trust” (ND, 28.8.74), “Portuguese diplomat welcomed in Ministry of 

Foreign Affairs” (ND, 5.9.74), “‘Avante’: counter-revolutionaries need to 

be stopped” (ND, 28.9.74), “‘Avante’: resolutely continuing to walk the 

path” (ND, 5.10.74). As can be seen, the Neues Deutschland largely drew 

upon the Avante newspaper as a source of information and copied the 

content of its press-releases. It should not be forgotten that the Neues 

Deutschland was a propaganda tool and its readers were not supposed to be 

informed but to be indoctrinated. The Neues Deutschland used a number of 

different strategies for this purpose. As has been shown, Marxist-Leninist 

doctrine was omni-present in the articles and was employed in order to 

place events into perspective. The first reaction to the revolution appeared 

after a delay of ten days and only printed the telegram sent by Honecker 

to the PCP and the Socialist Party. There was no information given on 

exactly what had happened. The second reaction, another five days later, 

was a short report on the telegram the FDGB had sent to the Portuguese 

unions, congratulating them to the successful overthrow of the regime. 

Again, there was no information about what had happened. These first 

two articles only served to confirm the connection between those groups 

that were considered like-minded: the leftist parties and the unions. The 

telegrams themselves were not particularly informative; they consisted 

mostly of Marxist-Leninist catch-phrases familiar to the readers of the 

Neues Deutschland. Only on 19 May Neues Deutschland printed an article that 

provided some information. However, this release also reinforced the impression 

that the PCP was the sole agent of the interests of the working 

class, and therefore all the other groups were tolerated but not accepted. 

From the Zentralkomitee perspective the regulation of the press coverage 

on the Portuguese Carnation Revolution was inevitable. Coverage had to 

maintain the validity of the official Marxist-Leninist state doctrine. Therefore, 

coverage was one-sided and in favour of the PCP and its environment, 

rewarding it with the role of the force which single-handedly over- 



threw the regime; dismissing the MFA and stripping it of the merit it had 

earned as the actual protagonist of the revolution. 

Summary 

Neues Deutschland was not able to provide its readers with information 

free of propaganda. Anything written on the subject was heavily 

charged with Marxist-Leninist doctrine. The intention of the press and 

media in the GDR was clearly defined as supporting the Zentralkomitee and 

to uphold the values set by state doctrine. As with any other topic that 

appeared in the news, the Carnation Revolution was also presented in the 

light of Marxism-Leninism. The problems inherent to this doctrine when 

covering the events in Portugal, which became apparent to the Zentralkomitee 

officials during spring and summer of 1974, were solved with the 

help of tried and tested strategies of deliberate misinformation (Lüdtke 

1997). 

Events and background information were not presented in an objective 

and comprehensive manner, but were manipulated and censored. The 

reader was not provided with an extensive representation of the events 

and their background, but only with the bare minimum of information. 

Today it is almost impossible to pinpoint exactly the persons responsible 

for this. The great majority of press releases cannot be traced 

to individual journalists; instead they appeared without naming the author. 

Today research can only resort to to previous findings (Traumann 1971): 

intricate measures were taken to ensure that the press media followed instructions 

from the Zentralkomitee and could be depended upon as firm 

support for the GDR political system. 

Hand-picked students of journalism had to undergo rigorous training 

in order to be allowed to work in the media sector. The GDR regime 

created an unbroken chain of command to make sure that Zentralkomitee 

guidelines were passed on to the journalists and would finally reach the 

reader. 

The coverage of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution serves as 

an example of how the official Zentralkomitee standpoint was conveyed to 

readers, and how the representation of Portuguese events in the releases 

of Neues Deutschland was steeped in Marxist-Leninist state doctrine. 



Bibliography 

Primary sources: 

Neues Deutschland (ND), Berlin (Ost) 

Date of issue Name of Article 

4 May 1974 “Telegram to Alvaro Cunhal, telegram to the Socialist Party, 

by Erich Honecker” 

19 May 1974 “Telegram to Portuguese Trade Unions, by FDGB” 

9 June 1974 “’Avante’” 

10 June 1974 “Diplomatic relations between USSR and Portugal” 

11 June 1974 “The voice and standard-bearer of the Portuguese workers” 

20 June 1974 “Diplomatic relations between GDR and Portugal agreed upon” 

9 August 1974 “GDR-ambassador accredited” 

28 August 1974 “’Avante’: danger and trust” 

5 September 1974 “Portuguese diplomat welcomed in Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs” 

28 September 1974 “’Avante’: counter-revolutionaries need to be stopped” 

5 October 1974 “’Avante’: resolutely continuing to walk the path” 

Secondary Sources: 

Anderson, James M. (2000): The history of Portugal. Westport. 

Birmingham, David (2003): A concise history of Portugal. Cambridge. 

Grashoff, Eberhard / Muth, Rolf (Eds.) (2000): Drinnen vor der Tür. Berlin. 

Hermann, E. M. (1963): Zur Theorie und Praxis der Presse in der sowjetischen 

Besazungszone Deutschlands. Berlin. 

Holzweißig, Gunter (1991): DDR-Presse unter Parteikontrolle. Bonn. 

Kopperschmidt, Josef (1976): Allgemeine Rhetorik. Stuttgart. 

Kowalczuk, Ilko-Sascha (Ed.) (2002): Freiheit und Öffentlichkeit. Politischer 

Samisdat in der DDR 1985-1989. Berlin. 

Ludz, Christian (1977): Ideologiebegriff und marxistische Theorie. Opladen. 

Lüdtke, Alf / Becker, Peter (Eds.) (1997): Akten. Eingaben. Schaufenster. Die 

DDR und ihre Texte. Berlin. 

Meyer, Gerd (1991): Die DDR-Machtelite in der Ära Honecker. Tübingen. 

Otto, Elmar Dieter (1979): Nachrichten in der DDR. Köln. 

Schlosser, Horst Dieter (1990): Die deutsche Sprache in der DDR. Köln. 

Tappe, Silke (2001): Formelhaftigkeit in der Sprache. Wiesbaden. 

Traumann, Gudrun (1971): Journalistik in der DDR. Berlin. 


Leszek Kołakowski’s Scepticism 

in the Age of Suspicion 

Luís Machado de Abreu 

(University of Aveiro) 

“The jester’s philosophy always has the same role: it reveals the 

shakiness of the seemingly unshakeable and casts doubt on the seemingly 

certain; it exposes the contradictions of the seemingly obvious, the 

self-evident, the incontrovertible; it ridicules accepted common sense and 

discovers truths in absurdities.” 

Leszek Kołakowski 

“Le scepticisme pose le doute comme moment indépassable de la 

pensée, non au sens où il scellerait sa mort, mais en le désignant comme 

son origine autant que son horizon, condition des émergences et résurgences 

à travers lesquelles elle se métamorphose sans fin. ” 

Frédéric Cossuta 

Introduction 

Throughout the history of philosophy scepticism has appeared in 

many guises. In the quest for truth the sceptical attitude is the daughter 

of disenchantment and despair, as it was fated to fall into contradiction, 

behaving as the bearer of the certainty when nothing is absolutely certain. 

In order to be coherent scepticism must remain completely silent. Scepti- 


112 Luís Machado de Abreu 

cal interpretations share common ground in denying the existence of a 

pedagogical dimension. They refuse to cast doubt over any positive meaning, 

ignoring for instance the fact that doubt is a tool that lucidity resorts 

to when critically approaching knowledge of reality. Leszek Kołakowski 

(born in 1927) never intended to be part of the history of scepticism, 

let alone to confirm the place of sceptical scepticism in the theory of 

knowledge. Notwithstanding this, he rehabilitated the sceptical attitude 

and included it as a positive component in many of the different fields of 

philosophical reflection. 

The thread of scepticism that crosses his works adds a tone of wisdom, 

leading a critical awareness to the heart of absolute scientific, political, 

religious and philosophical beliefs. Thanks to his attitude of permanent 

and universal vigilance, Kołakowski practices a rationalist form of 

analysis and criticism that is always open to any problems that may arise in 

theory and social practice. This latter feature explains the value this author 

attaches to what goes on in everyday life, and one could apply the subtitle 

of one of his books Essays on everyday Life to a great part of his work. This 

also reveals the ethical aspect of his philosophical analysis of individual 

behaviour and of life in society. His studies respond to the challenges of 

responsibility that emerge in diverse situations. The sceptical element of 

this combative thinker’s work cannot be fully understood if one does not 

relate it to the political experience endured by post-war Poland under the 

communist regime. 

The following account documents the lucid and persistent ways of 

someone who experienced at first hand the ‘captive mind’, 1 and is still trying 

to come to terms with it. Of the many different themes in Kołakowski´s 

work where sceptical tension stands out I will discuss the following: the 

search for certitude in Husserl, Pascal’s ‘sad’ religion, and the connection 

between scepticism and mysticism. 

The texts on these topics demonstrate how the Polish philosopher 

transcends the borders of his motherland long before he leaves it for political 

reasons, and how he interacts with the works and the testimonials 

of existence where some of the greatest voices of the European spirit are 

gathered. 

1 Another Polish dissident, Czeslaw Milosz, provides an account of the many forms of 

the ‘captive mind’ - thought governed by the centralizing power of the Party - in La Pensée 

captive. Essai sur les logocraties populaires (1953). 


Leszek Kolakowski’s Scepticism in the Age of Suspicion 113 

Husserl and the Search for Certitude 

Husserl and the Search for Certitude (Kołakowski 1983) is the title of 

a series of lectures given in Yale, in February 1974. One might think 

that this is another study on a subject that has been well-documented as 

present in all of Husserl’s complex work. However it is not one of those 

studies. 

The Polish philosopher does not want to be a Husserl expert and 

the theories of Husserlian phenomenology do not interest him a great 

deal. He does not even conceal his belief that phenomenology is a method 

in need of continuous improvement and that will never be put into effective 

practice. The major obsession of Husserl’s tireless and thorough spirit 

was to argue resolutely against sceptics and relativists, and to discover the 

unshakable foundations of knowledge. Kołakowski’s view of this founding 

objective is direct, clear, and final. 

In the 20 th century Husserl was the philosopher who continued the 

search for the ultimate goal of human knowledge, but he did not reach it. 

The major question left unanswered must therefore be an enquiry as to 

the reason for the failure of that objective and, as Kołakowski believes, 

the answer is that failure was inevitable. That answer can be found in the 

history of theories of knowledge, particularly after the advent of modernity. 

The philosophers’ pursuit of certitude consistently encountered difficulties 

which fall into two main categories: the vicious circle and transcendental 

consciousness. Submerged in an ocean of universal doubt, 

where all knowledge drowns, the subject can only find certitude if it imposes 

itself through evidence. For Descartes, the validation of the criteria 

for accepting evidence supposes the existence of God. It so happens, 

however, that Descartes’ proof of the existence of God is based upon 

the same criteria of evidence. This circularity destroys the logic of the 

much-sought after proof of the certainty of knowledge. We may therefore 

understand why Descartes is considered a promoter of scepticism. In 

the history of modern thought, the Cartesian principle of doubt prevailed 

over his intended contribution to the establishment of truth and certitude. 

The transcendental consciousness outlined by Husserl results from a 

process of reduction or, in simple terms, from the reality and substance of 

the subject. At the end of this process only the transcendental ‘I’ remains 



as a guarantor of knowledge, a pure vessel for the universe mensages and 

for the psychological ‘I’ whose reality dissolves in pure consciousness. 

At stake was the discovery of the foundations of the universal validation 

of logical thought. The attempts to locate these foundations in 

empirical reality proved to be unsuccessful. That was the path followed 

by psychologism, specifically its interpretation of the laws of logic, which 

was an abstraction of the empirical psychological processes. Because Husserl 

considered psychologism to be a threat to European philosophical 

culture, for it subverted the autonomy and universality of logical thought, 

he tried hard to show that it was self-contradictory and fed scepticism. 

In order to overcome the flaws of psychologism and all empiracl compromises, 

Husserl developed a programme of pure logic; a logic whose 

universal value results only from its own categories. 

The core of this logic was to be founded upon an original insight 

that satisfies two conditions: that the ‘I’ was to be independent from the 

psychological subject, and that the objects presented themselves as universal 

truths. The fulfilment of this objective was to be the responsibility 

of the epoché and transcendental reduction, maintaining in suspension all 

things concerning worldly existence and the subject’s historical and psychological 

reality. In this way, one reaches a form of act without actor, in 

which absolute knowledge is reached because it is empty of reality, which 

has to be regarded as cunning fiction. 

However, according to Kołakowski, Husserl’s arguments were not 

the decisive factor in the failure of discovering the foundations of truth 

and certitude. In the outcome greater emphasis was placed upon the relativist 

tendencies of western culture, which have explored the meaning and 

universal value of intellectual standards, and the overall relevance of the 

concept of truth. 

To the successive trends of relativist authors, we can add the Popperian 

theory of falsifiability, which argues that it is possible to determine 

what is false, but not to establish what is true. 

Pascal’s Sad Religion 

Pascal’s encounters with Pyrrhonism, as in Entretien avec M. de Sacy, 

do not draw Kołakowski’s attention. Instead he focuses upon what the author 

of Pensées has to say that is radically contrary to scepticism. Pyrrhon- 



ism is embraced by Pascal with clarity and naturally, as a pagan doctrine, 

it had to be placed at the service of the Word of Christ. By revealing the 

extent to which human reason is incapable of safely reaching the knowledge 

of truth, the extreme frailty of humanity is ultimately uncovered. 

Here, Pascal demonstrates a degree of scepticism but he is not satisfied 

with that. For him scepticism is nothing more than a deconstructive stage 

which has to be included in a wider question: the meaning and destiny of 

human existence and its relations with nature. 

The contribution of the sceptical school to the existential problem 

of humanity’s presence in the world is to demonstrate epistemologically 

that humankind alone does not have the rational means to solve that problem. 

Therefore, the role attributed to scepticism reflects a peculiar perception 

that reality turns life and the world into something unreal, illusory 

and without substance. 

Pascal admits truth to another dimension, around which he bases 

his entire discourse, but it does not depend at all on the forces of humanity 

and its ability to aquire knowledge. It is the dimension of faith, the 

pure gift of grace handed down by God. This alternative point of view 

links the fragments collected in Pensées, in which the author addresses the 

sceptics and all those experiencing doubt, placing at their disposal the 

elements of a defence of the Christian faith. Doubt-proof truth, that no 

effort of intelligence or ability can ever guarantee, can only be found in 

the gift of faith. 

Only faith allows us to avoid the threat of misery, error and illusion 

in which man lives, in his guilty and sinful condition. Only those chosen 

by divine grace can be freed from the sinful and guilty condition shared 

by all humankind. 

Once here, questions and hints of uncertainty reoccur, once the 

dramatic dimension of religious consciousness is reintroduced to deal 

face to face with the experience of faith in Pascal’s Augustinian-Jansenist 

world. In this world, where divine justice judges the guilty man, it is the 

very nature of justice that becomes incomprehensible. 

We find no reason or criteria whatsoever to make it understandable 

to us, except the will of God. In the eyes of faith everything is subject to 

the unfathomable mysteries of divine salvation. However, because divine 

justice applies to the eternal and temporal aspects of worldly existence, 



this incomprehensibility affects every aspect of human experience. On the 

plane of inquisitive intelligence, where Kołakowski stands, Pascalian faith 

deserves respect as a source of global meaning, certitude and guidance for 

believers. 

However, in dealing with believers and non-believers alike, humans 

cannot comprehend how it can make sense. Therefore, the cycle of sceptical 

investigation starts over again, gathering the doubtful questions which 

Pascal failed to provide an answer to. Can a man be sure of belonging to 

those elected to receive the gift of grace? If so, how can he be sure that it 

is not self-delusion? Assuming that someone is certain of living in faith, 

can he convince others of this, and that the content of his belief is true? 

Because it is an intimate way of relating to God, faith is not recognised as 

an unshakable certainty by any institution. 

Therefore, Kołakowski stated that Pascal’s religion was intended for 

those capable of standing in endless suspense and uncertainty on the only 

serious matter (Kołakowski 1997: 259). Although faith promises the bliss 

of a meeting with God, that brand of uncertainty renders Pascal’s religion 

a ‘sad religion’. 

Scepticism and mysticism 

Among the religious phenomena studied by Kołakowski, over a 

wide range of thematic contexts, we encounter a form of intellectual fascination 

with the mystical lifestyle and its language. It is understandable, 

for instance, that Kołakowski identifies connections between the attitude 

of mystics and the intellectual methods of the sceptics in dealing with 

knowledge. 

In both cases there is, a more pragmatic use of language, in which 

words describe everyday situations and communicate with others in a 

practical way, aiming at a harmonious management of life. For the mystics 

it is not so much the intention of transmitting theological knowledge that 

determines the use of language, but more the willingness to lead others to 

experience faith, and to worship and praise God. 

Mystics value the inner experience of being at one with God more 

than they value speeches explaining what we think we know of Him. Part 

of the attitude of the sceptic is caution about the pretension of obtaining 

ultimate and certain knowledge, for he finds no reason to be interested in 


, 

, 


higher skills than those necessary for the management of a humble life. 

Bearing in mind the limitations of language, and assessing the validity of 

the discourse with caution, what truly makes sense for both the mystic and 

the sceptic is silence. 

However, silence never seems to be a continuous practice or such 

an obvious procedure that it finds itself excused from justification. The 

recourse to arguments to explain the adoption of epistemological caution 

makes the contradictions of the sceptical attitude even more apparant. 

Despite declaring itself unable to establish certainties, it makes an effort 

to obtain and justify them. 

A similar thing occurs with mysticism, in that the inconceivable nature 

of the one and the multiple is existentially supersed in the unifying 

experiences of the mystic. Transposing that experience to the theological 

discourse opens the doors to many questions and uncertainties that are 

capable of feeding the doubt of the sceptic. We are forgetting one crucial 

difference. Whereas the sceptic is not sure of anything, the mystic lives in 

the most perfect of certainties, his unifying encounter with God. We must 

not forget, however, that this belief is of a purely practical nature; from 

an epistemological point of view it does not enjoy a more solid foundation 

than the non-certainty of the sceptic. It is clear that in both situations 

the organisation of everyday life, for the sceptic and mystic alike, is not 

concerned with epistemology or philosophical speculation. 

Another aspect of mystical experience assimilated by Kołakowski’s 

philosophical attitude is his awareness of the limitations of language to 

express reality objectively. 

The limitations of verbal communication demonstrate the impossibility 

of reaching the absolute, ultimate and final certainty about what 

we know. In speaking of God mystical language constantly uses paradox, 

asserting and denying at the same time the categories that we use to account 

of our experience in the world. We are before a dialectic movement 

which, by proximity, reduces ignorance but never assures us possession of 

absolute knowledge. One can understand now what Kołakowski meant 

when stating that: 

“[…] thanks to a coincidence in opposites (coincidentia oppositorum), 

one verifies that the mystic and the sceptic are twin brothers at the 

epistemological level.” (Kołakowski 1985: 181) 



Orestes’ Lesson 

The debate that surrounds the meaning of rationalism is among the 

most significant aspects of Kołakowski’s sceptical outlook, especially its 

positivist version. 

There is a presupposed belief in positivist rationalism in what it 

defends, and in what it omits. Under the pretext of possessing unwavering 

epistemological legitimacy, positivist rationalism comprises a great deal of 

intolerance and dogmatism. 

The pretentiousness of possessing absolute truth places it at the 

same level as any other form of belief or faith. The nature of the epistemological 

absolute on which it is based matters little. It can be cogito, 

revelation, pure phenomena, sensorial perception, or everyday life. In 

every case the surrender before an absolute stands out as truly important, 

as a boundary beyond which we cannot go. Because of this Kołakowski 

feels entitled to talk about the “irrationality of positivist rationalism” 

(Kołakowski 1970: 75). 

Kołakowski proposes the emancipation of rationalism, as argued by 

Kant and his Aufklärung, regarding it as way out of the ‘self-imposed state 

of tutelage’ of which man is guilty. This does not mean that Kołakowski 

accepts the Kantian system as a whole. He accepts it from a theoretical 

point of view and for its agenda of liberation from a dogmatic sleep. He 

does not support Kant’s political views, for he believes that they represent 

a contradiction, resulting in the lessening of Man. On this subject, and 

without any hesitation, he states that 

“[…] whoever declares himself follower of the thesis of God’s existence, 

conscious of his statement’s irrationality but compelled by an inner 

need he does not wish to resist, that is, not accepting the existence of 

God in theory, but embracing it as a practical postulate of consciousness 

or as wishful object, highlights its weakness in another ideological plane. 

He shows he is not able to accept the true situation of man in the world, 

not able to leave his childhood…” (Kołakowski 1970: 92) 

The intellectual battle fought by Kołakowski was not against rationalism. 

He only rebelled against its reasoning at the theoretical and practical 

levels, because such reasonings did not radically assume the intention 



to destroy the idea of absolute at those levels. In this context both the 

language of science, canonised by logical empiricism, and the Absolute, 

to which the religious man is devoted in a different way, are unworthy of 

radical reasoning. 

In deconstructing all forms of rationalism, where a fixation with 

epistemological absolutes can be largely mistaken for ideologically-based 

irrationalism, whether religious or lay, the search for a rationalism capable 

of doubting everything, of facing life, society and the world as problematic 

realities, of assuming an attitude of permanent criticism, is in action. 

It is not a matter of arbitrarily establishing doubt for the sake of doubt; 

disregarding everyday existence as if judgement of things and situations 

were no longer possible. That is not the issue. 

“By doubting, rationalism demands discipline in doubt, without 

wanting to turn discipline into metaphysics; the same way, it is not going 

to give a metaphysical dimension to the act of doubting. Rationalism demands 

that there would be no point of view recognized with any validation 

other than a temporary one” (Kołakowski 1970: 95). 

One cannot abandon intellectual subordination without decision, 

firmness and a persistent commitment. The consequence of this process 

is traumatic: matricide. 

The tragic figure of Orestes represents the conflict that we must 

face and triumph over. At stake is the conviction that man should be led 

by reason and that reason alone should guide him through the world and 

life. 

Orestes is censured and pursued by the gods for having committed 

matricide, defying ancient divine laws. He is also censured, accused and 

condemned by men. Orestes explains himself to the gods and to men, offerring 

explanations that justify his actions in his opinion. 

Neither the absolute of the will of the gods, nor the absolute of 

man’s opinion, stop Orestes from maintaining the course of thought that 

is dictated by his own reason. 

Taken before the judges at the Areopagus, who rule against him, 

he manages to gain the vote of the goddess Athena and is acquitted. Although 

this acquittal does not save him from the huge suffering he went 

through, at least it makes that suffering mortal. Instead of being an end 



point, the tale is a purifying symbol of the struggle and effort that will always 

accompany the task of overcoming the subjugation of reason. 

It is in this sense that “Orestes’ legend gives us the right explanation for 

what we understand as radical rationalism. 

A rationalism that only apparently is a critique of all absolute exterior 

to man. Its essential content is, in fact, self-critique” (Kołakowski 1970: 113). 

It is a matter of pulling man out of conformity with static situations and 

a conservative attitude, and to awake in him the liberty and creativity he bears. 

When placed before the conflicts and contradictions of existence, as an 

individual and citizen, no matter how high the values in conflict are, no matter 

how valid and respectable the litigating motivations seem to be, Orestes must 

judge and decide using his own heart and head. If there are gods to comfort 

him, like Athena and Apollo, together with some mortals who support the 

same line of deliberation, all the better. 

However, the final decision is not for them to make, the choice will 

always belong to Orestes. As we can see, the major narratives of the last centuries 

that contain a certain belief in humanity’s triumphal march towards 

universal happiness, are completely absent from Kołakowski’s thought. 

The dominant tone of his analysis of doctrines, beliefs and cultural 

movements, is negative. Instead of engaging passionately with their propositions, 

he persistently questions them, uncovering their flaws and inconsistencies. 

The result is not defeatism but the demolition of great certainties.The 

void of absolute truths is filled by the choice of small truths, which results 

in a philosophical way of life, characterized by paying attention to the most 

ordinary things in everyday life, and what we may call the social function of 

inconsequence. 

In the late 1950’s the Polish philosopher elaborateed upon this function 

in a highly ironic essay entitled “In Praise of inconsequence”. After all, if the 

principle of consequence were to be always put into practice, we would hardly 

survive. 

The obligation to respect the life of one’s neighbour, expressed in the 

commandment “Thou shall not kill”, is still valid even if a soldier defending 

his country regards himself to be killing in order to survive. 

Therefore, when facing a conflict of values “the breed of inconsequent 

men will remain one of mankind’s main sources of hope to carry on living” 

(Kołakowski 1970: 271). 


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The provocative tone of “In Praise of Inconsequence” is superceded 

by the author’s adoption of the jester’s philosophy in “The Priest 

and the Jester” (Kołakowski 2004: 239-262), an essay of roughly the same 

period. If the priest is the guardian of the absolute, then the jester is the 

man who, through doubt, questions all evidence. 

The jester unmasks the solemn and definitive appearance of the 

certainties that nourish all orthodoxies, investigating the reasons for which 

they are established and the reasons behind their insufficiencies and 

weaknesses. 

He practices the dialectic method, refusing to accept a static and 

definitive world, and making an effort to analyse its contradictions, and 

the way they can be overcome. 

In terms of 20 th century philosophical thinking Kołakowski represents 

a form of sic et non intelligence, cultivating an understanding of opposites, 

which he weaves into his intricate analysis, never giving in to the 

temptation to identify in those opposites the semblance of a coincidence, 

or to provide a definitive claim. 

Much of that which is debated on a strictly theoretical plane ends up 

coexisting in practical reasoning and everyday life. 

The most demanding and rigorous queries made by this rationalistbased 

philosopher are nurtured by the never-ending challenge posed by 

myth, theology and mysticism. 

In the age of suspicion Kołakowski’s pedagogical scepticism, more 

than a game of deception, proclaims the strength of critical reason and 

canonises vigilant citizenship. 

Bibliography 

Kołakowski, Leszek (2004): The Two Eyes of Spinoza and Other Essays on 

Philosophers. South Bend, Indiana. 

---- (1999): Freedom, Fame, Lying, and Betrayal: Essays on Everyday Life. New 

York. 

---- (1997): Dieu ne nous doit rien. Brève remarque sur la religion de Pascal et l’esprit 

du jansénisme. Paris. 

---- (1985): Philosophie de la Religion. Paris. 

---- (1983): Husserl y la búsqueda de certeza. Madrid. 

---- (1970): El hombre sin alternativa. Sobre la posibilidad e imposibilidad de ser 

marxista. Madrid. 



Milosz, Czeslaw (1953): La Pensée captive. Essai sur les logocraties populaires. 

Paris. 


Portugal in RuNet: Space of Descriptions, 

Space of Appearances 

Olga Roussinova / Kirill Titaev 

(European University at St. Petersburg) 

The aim of this paper is to describe the standard interpretations of 

Portugal in the Russian segment of Internet and to set the stage for possible 

future research in which the logic of everyday history and everyday 

geography in Portugal and Russia will be compared. 

RuNet as Source of Information 

Specialists believe that the World Wide Web is too wide and amorphous 

to enable any effective research on its material. Yet the Russian 

Internet is a special case that permits us to exclude RuNet from that 

commonly-held opinion. Firstly, with its use of Cyrillic it is possible to 

distinguish RuNet from the non-Cyrillic Web. In this regard technical limitations 

make Russian segments of the Internet sufficiently homogenous. 

Furthermore the internet is used widely throughout the countries of the 

former USSR. In the case of the Russian Federation, more than 25% of 

its population use the internet (29.4 million for the autumn of 2007), the 

majority coming from Moscow, St.-Petersburg and surrounding area (13.7 

million). 

They are mostly senior students and employed people (up to 44 

years old) with a good educational background (48% and 36% corre- 


124 Olga Roussinova / Kirill Titaev 

spondingly, in comparison with other users in the region) (FOM 2007). 

The average RuNet user is a person of active age and highly educated, 

with special needs and demands particular to the developed regions of the 

great cities and their surrounding areas. 

What information on Portugal can this contemporary Russian user 

find in RuNet? How does the user imagine Portugal and how are these 

images represented in RuNet? And finally, by what means are those stereotypes 

established as opposed to others? 

Portugal and Russia: Background 

What is the motive for examining the image held by one country of 

another? Firstly, it is important in studies of neighbouring countries (Russia-Finland, 

Russia-China, etc.); it is also necessary for countries that are 

economic partners (Russia-Germany, Russia-India, etc.) (Bothwell 1992); 

finally, it is helpful for studies of historical unions (Russia-Kazakhstan). 

In these cases the main context of their relationships determines the need 

for research. 

Yet, the mutual image of distant countries is often ignored. However, 

that image of a far away imaginary relationship helps us to understand 

the principles of the vision itself in its pure form. 

Research, Aims and Methods 

The research aims are extremely simple. Firstly, we will pick out 

contexts relevant for the topic of discussion. We will then focus upon the 

stereotypes that exist in these contexts. 

We define a context as a field producing social meaning. For example 

it could be the fields of tourism or economics. 

A stereotype is the consistent image presented within a context. For 

example Chinese diligence and capacity for work has become a stereotype 

in the context of Chinese migration. 

It is important to note that preconceptions (stereotypes) only obtain 

their meaning in a specific context, and that one image may have different 

interpretations. 

For example, in the context of tourism the Indian people are regarded 

as naive and ‘wise children of the Orient’. But in the context of 


Portugal in RuNet: Space of Descriptions, Space of Appearances 125 

economic partnerships they have another reputation: ‘they are very bad 

workers’. 

That is why we take cross-context stereotypes into account; we examine 

their meaning in different contexts. 

The best method to select and study texts, which we will adopt, is 

the grounded theory developed by Glaser, Strauss and Corbin (Glaser / 

Strauss 1967, 1990). We have settled on this because it enables us to work 

with heterogeneous material. One can say against it that web-publications 

do not seem to be so different but we must remember that today the space 

of the web is so developed, that it offers all forms of communication. 

Therefore, the web has already become a medium of publication 

and it does not determine the genre of publication. Besides, the aim of 

grounded theory is not so much to explain social reality but to understand it. 

We will deal with two samples generated in two different ways. 

Firtsly, in order to determine existing contexts we analysed 100 

sources named as the most popular by the Google and Yandex web search 

engines in the Russian-speaking area of the internet. In order to examine 

the basic stereotypes, we then picked out 30 texts at random – one from 

each of the 10 titles among the first 300 links. It is clear that here we cannot 

make a detailed quantitative analysis of the ways in which contexts 

are realised as well as the contexts themselves. One may consider each 

description to be a form of pilot case study (Yin 1984). 

The Main Contexts and the Ways by Which they are Realised 

The Popular contexts mentioned below condition general perceptions 

of Portugal. Less popular but no less integral contexts also exist, which 

are worthy of brief mention. For example, professional contexts such as 

societies specially devoted to Portuguese language studies, or societies of 

economists dealing with the problems of partnership. 

However, they occur in RuNet in such a small number that each 

could be understood as a separate case and nothing more. We also had 

good reasons to eliminate web sites with student papers devoted to Portugal 

from our investigation. 

It is clear that these papers are not meant to be read but are intended 

to receive a grade; therefore they do not give any valuable information for 

people who are interested in Portugal. 



Tourism in Portugal 

The context of Portugal as a country in demand for tourists is clearly 

set in Russian Internet 2 (RuNet). In the first case it is produced by professional 

promotions and advertising. 

Official discourse exists side by side with personal tourist experiences, 

which we will not take into consideration but leave for future research. 

We also leave the very interesting comparison between the image 

of Portugal and the images of other tourist destinations. 

What are the elements of the virtual image of Portugal in the 

context of tourism? In RuNet the country is principally represented as 

a country of entertainment and sightseeing. Descriptions on web sites 

adopt these stereotypes, that set out the image of Portugal in Russia. It 

is important to note that the information given by different tourist agencies 

usually contains the same pictures and words. One can find them 

constantly repeated from one web-site to another. It is not important who 

became the first plagiarist, but today this method of spreading information 

about Portugal has obviously become standard practice. For example, 

one can find the same map in the first 10 web pages that mention the 

word Portugal. As for current stereotypes, the first among them is a tourist 

infrastructure. It is the easiest way to represent Portugal as a country that is 

comfortable for tourists. 

This stereotype is not about descriptions of hotels, or of possible 

excursions. Instead it is a general belief in a tourist infrastructure – universal, 

general and used as a term. One can find it in the first 5 web sites 

of tourist agencies, in the first lines, even if the texts do not replicate one 

another. 

It provides the image of a country that is generally comfortable for tourism 

without any specificity, and it seems to be the most important of the 

images that have been created. Immediately after these sentences we are 

told that Portugal is a provincial country, almost a non-European country, a 

country on the edge of the Europe. 

The image of a narrow piece of land on the very edge of Europe migrates 

from one electronic text to another, and this image should be recognised 

as a key point. 

2 Portugal does not actually play a major role in the Russian tourism market, for example, 

the four greatest tourist operators do not suggest tours to Portugal. 



We are presented with a country of our dreams which, from the 

point of view of a tourist, contains all the positive features of ancient Europe 

(history, architecture, cuisine, culture and civilisation) but without its 

negative aspects (industrial or post-industrial civilisation). 

As for cuisine, it has stable representations and detailed descriptions, 

always with certain examples. The attention is usually focused upon 

seafood. Web sites suggest cuisine as a form of a supplement, or an additional 

bonus, to the main benefits of Portugal (which are provinciality and 

ocean). Port wine is an important element of Portugal’s image. It is represented 

in such a way that one can hardly find special information: there is 

not a list of the varieties, or the days of wine tasting. As well there is also 

no comparison with similar wines from Greece or Taurida. Furthermore, 

the visitors to these Russian web sites are not told that this wine first 

acquired its popularity among the British and later became fashionable 

throughout the world. 

Ignoring these facts, all information about port wine is limited to 

general references to it and on the origins of its name. Therefore, port 

wine is a stereotype per se, a purely textual image that has nothing in common 

with real wine, or with Portugal either. The ocean, together with 

other natural beauties, plays the most important role in the structure of 

the image of Portugal in RuNet. It is that aspect of recreational tourism, 

which comes in first, in part, because the customer is now more interested 

in learning (excursions) than in recreation. However, this element is more 

important in the contexts of aesthetics and relaxation than in that of ecology. 

The supposed laziness of the Portuguese is another stereotype that 

appears in more than one text in RuNet. Once again, it draws attention 

to the relaxing aspect of a visit to Portugal. The country is presented as 

a place where it is impossible to live in any other way. It is not necessary to remind 

us that this image of idleness corresponds strongly to the notion of 

provinciality. On occasions both stereotypes produce a single narrative. In 

these cases the authors of advertising texts use laziness and provinciality as 

synonyms. Affordability is another important element of the virtual image 

of Portugal, and it is one of the few, together with the myth of tourist 

infrastructure, that appeal to the rationality of the visitor. However one 

does not find price-lists or comparisons with other countries for example. 

Finally, the city of Lisbon is the last background preconception. 



It is usually described as an untouched European city, as the culmination 

of stories about merry old Europe, which contradicts the belief that 

Portugal does not belong to Europe. Lisbon often appears in these texts 

in a significant position (at the same end or as a central piece among others), 

which shows the clearest orientation of recreational tourism. 

How is iconographic information presented? In the large part these 

virtual tourist images of Portugal resemble maps in a children’s encyclopaedia. 

The map is painted with colours convenient for visitors. 

There are depictions of Lisbon (as a pretty small house), a bottle of 

port wine, and lounging Portuguese with long moustaches. Somewhere 

on the coast, ocean waves wash large plates of grilled fish ashore upon a 

sandy beach. 

The image of mountains is incorporated somewhere on the other 

side. Under the picture there is a comment: Portugal is the most provincial 

country in Europe. It is not possible to describe the stereotypes presented in 

the Cyrillic Internet in any other way than preposterous and absurd. 

Above all, these descriptions remind us of the Europe described by 

Americans in travel journals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, an 

epoch when excursions through Europe were very popular in the USA; 

these excursions were clearly underpinned by a belief in national superiority. 

The Context of Regional Geography 

This context addresses for the first turn to the panoramic vision. As 

in the previous case, the authors look at Portugal from a birds-eye view, 

and do not trouble themselves or the reader with any details, exact dates, 

names, etc. These texts start with forms of academic description such as 

encyclopaedia articles, and give only the most general information. However, 

when authors supply us with additional information, their selections 

are very telling. The history of Portugal departs from the Roman buildings 

on the Douro river estuary and stretches until the present with the 

acceleration of a fast train rushing at full speed, directly and without any 

conflicts or difficulties. Even the collapse of the colonial empire appears 

not to have been a problem. On occasion it seems that the authors of 

encyclopaedic articles are infected with the touristic image that has already 

been described. From their point of view every turn of Portuguese his- 



tory inevitably resulted in its contemporary image as a tourist Eden (into 

which the snake of Russian tourism has yet crept). 3 As a general rule the 

climate is also mentioned in academic texts. The description of the climate 

always follows the historical overview. The academic reference is 

then translated and adapted to everyday language in terms of agriculture 

or tourism. Once more we encounter an image of comfortable recreation 

or with a context of grape growing. The development of tourism is described 

as an important discovery of the government, which has brought 

prosperity to the country and to its guests. Our texts describe this fact in 

detail. In general, the geographical context is not interesting due to the 

information provided but for its absence. We find nothing on the economics 

of Portugal (besides of tourism and alcohol); no more about the 

Portuguese, their origin, and their language. 

However, the political system of the country seems to be the least 

worthy of attention. 

For example, it is not possible to find any information about political 

parties, parliament, etc. Therefore, Portugal is again presented as a 

form of universal sanctuary. 

Crossing Contexts 

Three stereotypes are presented in both contexts that have been 

mentioned. Firstly, the perceived laziness of the Portuguese; in the geographical 

context this feature has some negative connotations and is used 

to explain the slow development of the country. In the tourist context the 

same feature becomes a model to follow. 

Affordability is glorified in the tourist context and turns into the 

poverty of citizens in context of regional geography. It highlights the inner 

contradictions of both contexts, because it is quite impossible to imagine 

a developed “tourist infrastructure” and such a poor population as 

is described. Of course the topic of tourism permeates all contexts. It appears 

to be extremely dominant, but sometimes tourism is even described 

as a threat. 

Provinciality appears to be the topic which unifies all of these contexts. 

It is important, both for the tourist industry, and to point out the 

integrity of the environment and the ecological purity of the vine. 

3 Advertisings interpret the absence of Russian tourists as additional bonus. 



Doubts as to, whether or not it is possible to consider Portugal 

European permeate these contexts totally: the most significant here is 

the absence of a Great European history in the descriptions of Portugal. 

Therefore, for Russian readers the country stands beyond the space 

of European shared memory and past (Hutton 1993), as if Russia itself 

belongs to this history but refuses to acknowledge the fact that Portugal 

belongs to it too. Hence Russian readers may conclude that Portugal exists 

in its own historical universe. The latter statement is never clearly articulated 

but becomes one of the fundamental features in the background of 

provincial issues. 

Other Contexts 

The passion of the Portuguese for football is also widely described 

within RuNet. One of the reasons this topic became commonplace in the 

Russian Internet is not only the powerful teams but the fact that some 

Portuguese players entered Russian football clubs. 

Portuguese football in RuNet is described separately from Fado and 

Fátima. The historical combination of the “Three Fs” is not articulated in 

RuNet; each seems to represent a separate feature of the country. 

This topic is rarely used in the tourist context that has been mentioned; 

except for the statement that Portugal is a country of football. 

The last context deals with real estate images. Here, Portugal appears 

to be a rival for the Balkan countries (for example Croatia and Macedonia), 

which offer cheap but European real estate. 

Real estate in Portugal is described as the most inexpensive in Europe 

and at the same time as the most European among cheap countries. 

Calls for Information 

It is interesting to compare the supplied information with that 

which is demanded. In general, it appears that there is a certain interest in 

Portugal. 

The Russian search engine Yandex registered 28,740 enquires in one 

month in 2007. But detailed statistics show that more than a half of the 

visitors were satisfied with answers when they just requested Portugal. 5% 

are calls on real estate, less than 2% are requests made by pupils of schools 

Peripheral Identities versão final v5.indd 130 31-01-2012 17:24:24 

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and colleges. Another 5% of visitors make requests on regional geography 

– for instance 1.5% ask about the capital of Portugal. 4 27% of all visitors 

show an interest in football, although this does not mean an interest in the 

country in general. 41% of Russian Internet users are interested in tourist 

services. It means that tourist context prevails. But enquires are mainly for 

cultural tourism and not for recreation. It proves our assumption of a lack 

of balance between demand and supply in the information market. 

Portugal in Visual Representation 

Traditionally a country represents itself on the Internet with the following 

popular images: symbols of state (state emblem and national flag), 

tourist photos on web sites, images of a regional geographic character (maps 

and tables), 5 photos of political leaders, sportsmen, actors, photos of real estate 

for sale (villas and apartments), and products in stock, as well as national 

arts and crafts, and artefacts of national heritage and of the present (art museums 

and galleries). Here, we examine only the largest and the most popular 

group of images representing Portugal in RuNet – tourist photos. This 

whole visual text supplies us with images of history (photos of architectural 

heritage), exotic images (photos with national colour taken in Portuguese 

towns), and images of wild nature and unexplored wilderness (an Ocean). 

Scenic roads, usually passing through the central area of the country, determine 

the set of topics. Among these photos one rarely sees the sights of the 

Algarve and never the sights of Braga town or Monsanto village (voted the 

most Portuguese village of Portugal in 1938, as it is well known). It is important to 

note the specific character of these pictures: they leave off-camera all marks 

of modernity and Europeanism. 

Hence, modern buildings, buses, cars and airplanes are absent. For 

example, one rarely sees pictures of the Gulbenkian museum and gardens 

(the museum is incorporated into excursion programmes). Possibly for the 

same reason there are almost no people in these photos – they are eliminated 

as they symbolise the present and a European lifestyle. 

Actually we might say that Russian photographers are obsessed with 

the idea of an uninhabited, solitary countryside. 

4 That is quite topical, considering that only 24% of Russian people know the name of the 

capital of Portugal (by FOM survey). 

5 It is interesting that it is almost always one and the same map from the PTS Geo. 



Symptomatically, they almost never download pictures of everyday life 

(so called genre pictures) in their web-albums. 6 Exoticism is symbolised by 

brightly painted houses in Portuguese countryside towns. 

It is interesting that narrow streets, flowers and plants, and drying linen 

are not considered exotic enough images. This idea of exoticism is usually 

expressed in something general, for example unusual combinations of colours 

of houses: white with blue, yellow or brown. Frequently one finds pictures 

of the ocean in RuNet. In the context of excursions, the ocean symbolises 

the wild nature of Portugal. Russian tourists clearly fix their attention upon the 

wild character of the ocean. Therefore, in pictures of Cabo da Roca we rarely 

see the stone monument with the words of Camões, or the view towards the 

horizon. The main part of the picture area and the foreground will be given to 

water for sure. As one Russian put it: 

“[…] by no means do I like to take photos there [in Portugal] without 

people, when you stand on the brink of a precipice, and you wish to fix this 

feeling when faced with the ocean, wind, wave” (web-forum message). 

In other words, the image of Portugal in terms of its special geographic 

location is not clearly reflected by RuNet (though Cabo da Roca is the most 

western point of Europe). 

It is just a country of the Ocean. In the context of recreational tourism, the 

ocean aquires the opposite meaning as a symbol of relaxation on the beach 

and of water sport. 

Therefore, Portugal is no longer a country of exotics, ancient history 

and untouched nature but is instead a civilised country with European levels 

of comfort. As a country for relaxation, Portugal is represented with photos 

taken on the seashore, often with people (portraits, self-portraits, sometimes 

genre sketches). In RuNet, tourist photos, which produce a certain image of 

Portugal, can be found on promotional web sites of tourist agencies or independently. 

As a rule, photos are gathered in series, so called albums, often 

with comments. An examination of the albums permits us to conclude that 

Portugal is mainly represented through the stereotypes of excursions rather 

than those of recreation. Furthermore, tourist agencies’ web sites present the 

collections of different photos out of the series on their pages. 

6 Compare, for example, Portuguese amateurs on the web site www.olhares.com who often 

show a wide variety of the people of their country, in terms of ethnic type and character. 


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From what is mentioned above it is clear that tourist agencies are 

mainly responsible for promoting a certain image of Portugal. In the first 

case this image is distant: panoramic views, landscapes, and views of the 

cities in general. These panoramas are unusual for tourist albums and they 

symbolise a view from afar, in which Portugal seems to be a form of 

Universe. The majority of these glamorous pictures migrate here from 

the old tourist guidebooks. Their perpetuation proves the stability of the 

stereotype of Portugal as a faraway country. Agencies that specialise in Europe 

borrow one and the same set of images without any special additions. 

Beside panoramic views they also use certain pictures of Lisbon’s 

historical buildings (for example the tower of Belém and the bridge over 

the Tagus). It is interesting to note the frequent view of Rossio Square 

taken from the upper position of the Elevator. It is simultaneously the image 

of historical Portugal (a visual reference to the history of the capital) 

and of modern Portugal, the European and tourist country (the everyday 

life of the square). As for the agencies that deal specifically with tourism 

in Portugal, their web sites present the information in another way. They 

use personal photos from European photo-sites, and present them under 

the title ‘Portugal in the view of Travellers’. The image of Portugal held 

by people from Central Europe spreads itself over RuNet, though it is 

adapted to Russian vision. Images that can be instantly recognised are 

selected for this, and their topics are of the most universal and timeless 

character. Nevertheless, panoramic and solitary landscapes of Portugal 

obtain additional connotations when they are displayed on the web sites 

of tourist agencies. Essentially, such images signify the space which people 

have not yet grasped, in every sense of the word. On one hand we have 

the idea of a certain hidden soul of Portugal. On the other hand it is the 

idea of a literary grasping – as ownership. Therefore it is not surprising 

that real estate companies prefer to advertise themselves on the web pages 

of tourist agencies.It is evident that the poetics of the images of real estate 

influenced the photographic images of the country (though with an 

additional romantic tint). The seductive sight of the space offered for sale 

and inhabitation (grasping) has the same characteristic features: for example 

the hypnotic distant views, the melancholy of the lonesome house 

without the owner, the solitary space (here – the modern comfortable 

space). Therefore, the viewer enters into the space of the image, inhabiting 

it. And together with this space the spectator becomes a metaphorical 



possessor of the entire country. In the same way the real client is encouraged 

to acquire a villa or an apartment, receiving as a gift the passport to 

Portugal. I would like to stress that the key point is possession, the real 

reason to look at the country in one way and not another, and to see (or 

not to see) it in a certain manner. The majority of images of Portugal in 

RuNet demonstrates this special view of the potential owner. Or rather, 

such photos demonstrate the pure intention of possession, and nothing 

can oppose this longing. 

Conclusion 

With every unsaturated image of the country, Portugal is presented 

to us as a sum of fragments, resembling a sixteenth-century map of 

America. It is a wasteland of empty space limited by its coastline (the outline 

of which has gaps that are extremely far from reality) and only a few 

areas are developed in detail. All details are to provide the traveller with 

some important information – important for the traveller personally. One 

is told about the dangerous rocks or the fresh water, or about the customs 

of inhabitants there, but not about the languages they speak, or about 

plants and so on. 

Nevertheless, in sum these fragments produce an image called Portugal, 

a set of myths, which determines the vision of the country from 

Russia. 

Firstly, we are asked to look at Portugal from a bird’s-eye view, and 

to evaluate it in general as a single space. This image cannot be divided 

into parts.Secondly, there is a certain imbalance between demand and supply 

(as was clearly pointed out). The tourist consumer seeks excursions 

but receives offers for recreation. Portugal is also presented as a provincial 

country, ready to be owned. 

Furthermore, provinciality is understood to follow the traditions 

of Russian classical literature. Portugal becomes a form of countryside 

somewhere near Moscow, a village with small and pretty houses, but also 

an European village. At the same time Portugal is the last piece of merry 

old Europe (not the Slavonic Balkans!) which is still available for ownership. 

Finally, the heterogeneous image of Portugal is based on a play of 

notions. One is the idea of the last frontier of Europe, its edge, and province. 

Another idea states that Portugal is the most authentic country of 



Europe, which has remained untouched by modernisation and Americanisation 

for example - the real Europe which still keeps what was for many 

centuries the spirit of Pax Europeana. 

Bibliography 

Bothwell, R. (1992): Canada and the United States: The Politics of Partnership. 

Toronto. 

Corbin, J. / Strauss, A. (1990): Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory 

Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park. 

Garnett, S. / Legvold, R. (2000): Belarus at the Crossroads. Washington DC. 

Glaser, B. / Strauss, A. (1967): The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for 

Qualitative Research. Chicago Ill. 

Hutton, P. (1993): History as an Art of Memory. Hanover and London. 

Luostarinen, Heikki (1989): “Finnish Russophobia: The Story of an Enemy 

Image” in: Journal of Peace Research, 26/2, 123-137. 

Yin R. (1984): Case study research. Design and Methods. Newbury park. 

Internet sources: 

FOM (Public Opinion Foundation) (2007): Internet in Russia. October 

2007, issue 21. 

URL: http://bd.fom.ru/report/map/projects/internet/internet0704/int 

07 04#Abs3. 

Geoproject: Portugalia. 

URL : http://bd.fom.ru/report/map/dd014032. 

Web-forum message. 

URL: http://vkontakte.ru/board.php?act=topic&tid=577104. 



Part III 

Representations of 

Eastern Europe in the 

Iberian Peninsula 



The Slavic World as the Horizon and the Frontier 

of Europe. Representations of Slavic Countries 

in the Jesuit Journal Brotéria 

José Eduardo Franco / Paula Carreira 


Preliminary Considerations 

Few people are aware of the interest shown by the Portuguese Jesuits 

in the cultural and political universe of Russia and in the political system 

that the communist revolution brought about. 

Such interest is reflected by the most important and prestigious 

press organ for the scientific-cultural news of the Society of Jesus and the 

Portuguese Catholic Church – the journal Brotéria. 

In Portugal, no other scientific-cultural publication of Catholic and 

anti-communist ideological character gave as much attention and offered 

as much specific information about the Slavic world as this Jesuit journal. 

We can even state that Brotéria was a window to the Slavic world during 

a period of more than four decades of dictatorship in Portugal. 

Brotéria remodelled itself in the twentieth century, first as a scientific 

journal of Natural Sciences (Botany and Zoology), and from 1925 onwards 

as a interdisciplinary magazine (Franco 1999), with a specific new 

series dedicated to human sciences, aiming simultaneously at the educated 

public opinion and at a more scholarly public. 


140 José Eduardo Franco / Paula Carreira 

Published by scientists and writers of the Society of Jesus since 

1902, Brotéria boasts more than one hundred years of almost uninterrupted 

publishing. 1 The Jesuit journal became a good barometer of the concerns 

and debates about the dominant topics of the scientific, cultural, political, 

and religious establishment at different moments in history. During 

the dictatorship of the New State (port.: Estado Novo), a period that is of 

particular interest to this study, the magazine reflected the concerns of the 

country and of the dictatorial system. That is done despite having made 

some daring attempts at openness, especially in the last years of Salazarism, 

that escaped the surveillance of the state censorship commission. 

Slavic Europe and the greater area popularly known as Eastern Europe, 2 

especially those countries that had experienced Marxist regimes, at first 

under the influence of the Soviet Union and later under its rule, was one 

of the main concerns of the anti-communist Portuguese New State. In its 

cultural series Brotéria, which dealt with subjects of a very broad thematic 

range, from literary criticism to international relations, was not indifferent 

to this and described attentively and analytically what was happening during 

the expansion and transformation of the ‘red empire’ and its influence 

upon the world. 

Brotéria as a Window to the Slavic World During the New State 

The eastern world, regarded as a different world, interested the Jesuit 

editors of Brotéria, who ascribed to it an unusual importance because it 

1 Its publication was initially annual, eventually progessing to a monthly issue that is still 

maintained, and was only unpublished in the year 1911 as a consequence of the third 

expulsion of the Society of Jesus from Portugal, this time by a decree of the 1 st Republic 

implemented in 1910. See Franco 2003: 89ff. and Franco 2007: 230ff. 

2 ‘Eastern Countries’, ‘Europe of the East’, ‘Eastern Block’, ‘Eastern Wave’, ‘Eastern 

Influence’, ‘Eastern Politics’, ‘Red East’ were expressions, more ideological than rigorously 

geographical, that spread in Portuguese culture to designate the group of European 

countries and territories within the sphere of ideological influence that emerged after 

World War II in the context of the so-called Cold War. This sphere of Marxist influence 

spread under Russian leadership through the processes of anexation and/or integration 

that was consolidated by the military alliance that was known as Warsaw Pact. Therefore, 

the adjective ‘eastern’, when joined with the noun ‘countries’, became a phrase that reflected 

much more than a well-defined geographical area. This expression was therefore 

more a reference to the universe of European peoples and territories politically influenced 

by Marxist ideology and less a rigorous geographical concept. 


The Slavic World as the Horizon and the Frontier of Europe 141 

was being invaded by a new ideological wave, the experience of politically 

institutionalised militant communism. 

An international bloc began to assert itself intensely after the Bolshevik 

Revolution of 1917, and imposed itself as a movement under the 

aegis of Russia but embodied in the federalising super-State referred to 

by the acronym USSR. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed 

on December 30 1922, quickly affirmed itself as a political system with a 

Marxist ideological base that expanded, seducing neighbouring countries 3 

or federalising them under the rule of the new power of the Soviet super- 

State, or after the Second World War adding them to the new Military 

Alliance called the Warsaw Pact, that confirmed the the Soviet Union as a 

world power in competition with America. However, the interest, perhaps 

even the cultural espionage, of the Jesuits regarding that new world which 

represented communist power as a whole, rested precisely in the fact that 

it presented and affirmed itself as the antithesis of Catholic ideal and 

the enemy par excellence of Western civilisation, which was intrinsically 

Christian. 

As is known, the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact 

adopted the radical new ideal of a configuration of atheist States, which 

aimed at the creation of a new man under the guidance of science and free 

from any religious influence, strictly faithful to the Marxist conception of 

religion as ‘the opium of the people’. 

Within the framework of the Catholic Church the Jesuits, being one 

of the more intellectual orders with a vocation for the fight against contemporary 

atheism, gave special attention to the spread of communism 

on an international level and especially in the Slavic world, not only in 

Portugal but also in the other European countries in which they were 

represented. 

3 The USSR, the first Marxist State in the world, was created in that year by the Federalist 

Socialist Republic of Russia and by the Soviet republics of the Ukraine, Belarus and the 

Federation of Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). Afterwards, it incorporated 

other countries until its full constitution in 1940 as the largest State in the world in terms 

of territory, with a surface area of 22,300,000 km 2 . In 1924 it included Uzbekistan and 

Tajikistan and in the following year Turkemistan. In 1936 Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan increased 

this super-State. When World War II broke out in 1939 Moldova (Bessarabia) was 

added, and then in 1940 the Baltic States of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The USSR 

therefore consited of more than a hundred ethnic groups and would reach a population 

of 280 million inhabitants. 



Through their communities of international writers the Jesuits created 

a network of magazines of Catholic culture in the second half of 

the nineteenth century in the several countries where their presence was 

significant (Franco 1999); they also started to pay great critical attention 

to the phenomenon of communism, which was believed to be the great 

contemporary enemy of the Catholic Church. We can go even further 

and argue that through its cultural magazines the Society of Jesus (metaphorically 

called ‘the Church’s elite troop’) created a true ideological battleground 

in order to block the expansion of communism. 

Brotéria began to regularly publish articles about the Slavic world in 

1925, the year in which the first number of its cultural series was published. 

The magazine editors used their international information network of the 

Society of Jesus, receiving information and translating texts from other 

journals and publications to later elaborate their articles in the form of 

chronicles, news or comprehensive studies. Articles concerning the Slavic 

world were signed by its most important directors and columnists, such as 

Agostinho Veloso, Domingos Maurício, Francisco Pires Lopes and especially 

Manuel Antunes. However, they also counted upon the cooperation 

of Slavic correspondents connected to the Jesuits, such as Ivan Kologrivov, 

Nicolau Belina-Podgaetsky and Miroslaw Drzewiecki who, knowing 

the reality from the inside, presented it to the Portuguese readers from a 

Jesuit perspective. The type of published texts ranges from simple news 

and brief critical opinions to articles of deep analysis on the most diverse 

subjects, the following being the most frequent: Russian communist internationalism; 

religious questions, religious persecution; pedagogic, agrarian, 

social and economic reforms; atheists; social and family analysis; the 

situation of the Orthodox Church; Soviet-sponsored penetration of communism 

in Western Europe; political persecutions and torture; political 

figures (namely Stalin and Lenin); the Soviet threat to Europe; geopolitical 

analysis; Fátima and Russia, religious currents in the Slavic world; military 

expansion; political alliances; the Red Army; the Cold War, censorship of 

the press, military and scientific espionage; the Catholic church and the 

Slavic world; Slavic cultural institutions; scientific progress; literary works 

and writers (with prominence given to Fyodor Dostoyevsky); the exile of 

outstanding intellectuals who opposed the communist system; Protestantism; 

anti-Semitism, Freemasonry; the Fifth Column of Communism in 

the Church and the communist martyrdom of Catholics for example. 



In regard to the underlying ideology of the information published 

on the Slavic world in Brotéria (that configures this knowledge through 

the sign of a specific ideological orientation, particularly until the fall of 

the so-called Iron Curtain in 1989) we may characterise these articles as 

texts that reveal a cultural and social world little known to the Portuguese 

public; as texts that condemn communist political and social actions which 

are considered oppressive and criminal; as texts that seek to deny the enchantment 

of the Marxist political model of the East, which had seduced 

some intellectual circles in Western Europe; as well as texts that criticise 

the communist system and its ideology. In essence the texts of Brotéria belong 

to the vast group of combative literature against communism, which 

explains why the Slavic world is of fundamental interest to it. 4 

When the Berlin Wall fell the Cold War ended, and communism no 

longer represented the ‘world danger’ that had deeply worried the Catholic 

Church for decades. The production of texts on the Slavic world diminished, 

and those that do appear assume a more cultural dimension and 

are less ideologically marked by preventative ideology against Slavic communism. 

The Dominant Place of Russia and Poland in Brotéria 

Following an analysis of the themes and popular interests of the 

articles published in Brotéria that concern the Slavic world, we are able to 

identify two countries which dominate the information produced and that 

represent antithetical paradigms and experiences: Russia and Poland. 

Russia is by far the most discussed country in Brotéria, together with 

the Soviet Union of which Russia was the leader. Its image is that of 

4 Although few, there were cases in which Russia was presented as a model that Portugal 

should follow, when its policies coincided with the ideas of the Jesuits. Here, we can 

point out for example Russia’s defence of Latin. In the mid-fifties, in an article entitled 

“The Resurgence of Latin”, the world-renowned Jesuit Latinist António Freire argued 

against those voices of education, culture and pedagogy that opposed the teaching of 

Latin, and presented an exemplary case in order to persuade “certain groups of contrary 

thought” of the merits of teaching the language: the reintroduction of the study 

of Latin in the programmes of secondary schools in the Soviet Union, as a pedagogic 

measure complementary to teaching and global understanding, mentioning afterwards 

the example of “illustrious communists who had used and studied the language such as 

Lenin” (Freire 1955: 518). Therefore, he predictsa revitalization of Latin in Portugal, as 

in the USSR. 



the mother-country of the new atheistic and radically anti-religious states, 

and for being the centre of influence for the imperialistic and totalitarian 

expansion of international communism. Russia is the leading enemy that 

must be avoided at all costs. The antithetical country is without a doubt 

Poland, to which Brotéria will also pay growing attention. A Catholic and 

Marian country devoted to the Christian Faith and to the cult of the Virgin 

Mary, and a form of alter Portucalis or twin brother to Portugal, Poland 

is presented as a martyr to communism and Russian imperialism, as had 

already happened with other imperial exercises in history. If Brotéria carried 

out a mystifying process of demonisation in relation to Russia, in the 

case of Poland we identify a form of canonisation process, describing 

the country as a model of a faithful Catholic people. In fact, Catholicism 

operated as the representative religion of Poland. The Church allowed the 

Polish nation to guarantee referential unity and to affirm itself distinctly 

in spite of imperial ambitions, either from the Orthodox side or from the 

Protestant side. The Soviet Union was therefore presented as an usurpor, 

of whom Poland was a victim through the imposition of a ‘limited sovereignty’ 

in the guise of the Warsaw Pact, into which Poland was incorporated 

in the post-war period. Therefore, as the Portuguese Jesuit, Pires 

Lopes, proclaimed at the beginning of the eighties: “Poland is alive! Martyred 

but alive. In its permanent challenge to history. In its continuous bet 

on freedom!” (Lopes 1982: 263). During that decade Poland was beginning 

to stand out because of its Solidarność movement, which opposed the 

communist regime, and with international assistance from the Polish Pope 

John Paul II, nicknamed the pope of the ‘other world’ by Brotéria (Pires 

/ Lopes 1980: 55-74), stressed the distinction between the two cultural, 

political and ideological worlds separated by the Iron Curtain. Poland is 

presented by Brotéria as the hope for the internal transformation of the 

totalitarian regimes of the Eastern Bloc. 

Russian International Politics and the European Question 

In the present section we would like to draw analytical attention 

to the texts published about Russia, particularly those written by one of 

the most important editors of Brotéria and, from a cultural point of view, 

of the outstanding twentieth-century Portuguese intellectuals, the Jesuit 

Manuel Antunes. 



All of Manuel Antunes’ judgements regarding the Russian regime 

were made according to his perception of its strategy towards Europe and 

the great rival power, the USA. In fact, for Antunes all Russian activities 

offer Europe a central place in its global political strategy. More than other 

continents, Europe is always the axis point on the horizon of Russian 

policy. In 1973, under the pseudonym Manuel Avelar, Manuel Antunes 

offered a retrospective view of the tense East-West relations after the Helsinki 

Accords and the compromise made to reduce the nuclear arsenals 

in America and Russia. Distinguishing the key interests of the USA and 

of the Soviet Union when they complied with the historical compromise 

of reducing their acquisition of weapons of mass destruction, Manuel 

Antunes described Europe as a strategic region was fundamental to the 

signing of the agreement. The American motivation is linked to matters 

of economical containment, while Russia has concerns of an ideological 

nature and of political strategy. With this agreement Russia intended to 

demonstrate that it was a European country, something that the USA was 

not. Russia is always represented as an imperial entity, “of subtler rule, 

because it is less visible from Western European countries” (Avelar 1973: 

194-197). The expansionist aspirations of Communist Russia are regarded 

as another major obstacle to the formation of a Western European Bloc 

that would be a democratic and ideologically-free space. Manuel Antunes 

was convinced that the coalition of the communist countries led by Russia, 

the USSR, would do anything to prevent a united Europe that would 

constitute an intermediate power between America and the countries of 

the Warsaw Pact. The author was convinced that Russia would do anything 

to hinder this unity to the point of starting a new world war if necessary. 

In effect, he feared the mobilising capacity of the ‘men in the Kremlin’ 

and their imperial ambitions. He believed that the Russians would do anything 

to “assert their privileges and aspirations. Privileges and aspirations 

of a third Rome, we must remember. That is: an empire, an enterprise, a 

church” (Cruz 1972). 5 

The metaphor of the communist church is taken from the historian 

Arnold Toynbee, who saw in communist ideology and in its civic liturgy, 

void of transcendence, a form of secular, social and state copy of a religious 

institution. 

5 See also Luís Sobral Nunes (Pseudonym of Manuel Antunes S.J.) 1965: 223-231; Cruz 

1972: 209-213. For a critical study about comunist mythology and utopias see Boia 2000. 



In fact, communism demanded the same fidelity and the same levels 

of devotion for worshipped leaders and heroes as a church in the traditional 

and religious sense of the term (Toynbee 1948). 

However, for Manuel Antunes the fear of the ‘red threat’ coming 

from the East should have been an incentive for the unity of Europeans, 

because from that moment they were able to distinguish their enemies 

from their friends.From this analyst’s perspective the Marxist revolution 

of 1917 and the regime it created and expanded did not suffer anything 

other than superficial change. 

The psychology of the new political elite that started to command 

the Soviet political scene remained Russian through and through. The socialist 

cause and the imperial mentality were merged into the new expansionist 

ideology of communism. 

Of the Untenability of the Perennial Revolution 

Under the pseudonym M. Veiga da Ponte, the Jesuit offers a sharp 

analysis in an article that evaluates Russia and the process of the edification 

of the political project that constituted the USSR from 1917 to 1967. 

His starting point is the idea of the Russian empire and its transmutation 

into an original cause of an ideological and utopian character. Nevertheless, 

the consolidation of the Russian imperial project, contradicted by the 

ideal of Marxist humanist universalism, is done in a technocratic way that 

simplifies and relativises the ideological axioms professed by Karl Marx’s 

socialism and his ideological companions. 

Manuel Antunes begins by advocating the practical untenability 

of the idea of a ‘permanent revolution’ that was defended by the communist 

regime in the manner maintained by some of its theorists, particularly 

Trotsky. Illusion, defeat and nonfulfilment are the key-words 

of the Antunian diagnosis, which refutes those who state the possibility 

of a continuous revolution for half a century. In fact, he belives that a 

people cannot tolerate the spectre of a revolution for 70 years, unless it 

becomes the target of a very well assembled propaganda machine that 

maintains the illusion that the revolution is being fruitful, and continues 

to promote the promised new society and the new man, solving his problems 

and needs, and happiness is shining on the horizon. Knowing the 

Marxist theories well, Manuel Antunes does not hesitate to consider that 



“[…] the permanent revolution is either the ideologists’ dream 

(Trotsky), or the imperious virtue of not dying so fast (Mao-tse-tung), or 

the belief that the work of the revolution has failed or at least is not yet 

finished” (Ponte 1967: 552-552). 

Here we should recall the warning of Lucian Boia in his study of 

the scientific mythology of communism. He warnes scholars against the 

illusions which may influence the analysis of that system: 

“The first, after a long period of yearning to sustain the perfect implementation 

of utopia: the communist world will be or will become just 

as it was described by Marx. 

The second illusion proposes the opposite in fact: once liberated 

from ideological oppression and control, “communist” societies will become 

natural and normal societies. Communism will not be more viable 

than the famous hybrids of Lynenko” (Boia 2000: 211). 

In the Jesuit’s perspective the theory of the failure of the soviet 

project is the most solid. The system was showing signs of crisis and even 

collapse. 

However, the ruling elite were better off maintaining the idea of 

continuous revolution, because “when the dominated become dominators 

they do not want to lose their privileges” (Ponte 1967: 553). The crush of 

opponents and enemies initiated by Stalin is recalled in order to prove the 

contradictions between the regime, the ideology that supports it or that 

it claims as its own, and the utopian ideal of humanist cooperation that it 

was supposed to have accomplished: 

“And in the immense fields of silence, cold and shady, where not 

long ago millions of men lost their lives or left their energies, rises an 

enormous and affecting appeal to peace and to a certain stability” (Ponte 

1967: 553). 

Therefore the regime produced by the Leninist revolution of October 

1917 is, according to Ponte alias Antunes, the clearest demonstration 

of the impossibility of the permanent revolution. Moreover, the system 

was the conversion of the revolution ‘into its opposite’, denying in the 



application of political praxis, the principles it proclaimed and that justified 

the creation of the Soviet state system. That denial occured due to 

a succession of betrayals: “Lenin betrayed Marx; Stalin betrayed Lenin, 

Khrushchev betrayed Stalin” (Ponte 1967: 553). Manuel Antunes also 

continues to identify the continuous succession of betrayals, announcing 

that the troika which then ruled the Soviets would also have betrayed what 

Khrushchev would have accomplished and proposed. His final appraisal 

is therefore implacable: 

“through a series of betrayals linked, on the other hand, to certain 

fidelity, a situation was generated in which the end denies the beginning 

and the beginning denies the end in one of those passages towards the 

limit or from pole to pole in which revolutions are fertile (Ponte 1967: 

553).” 6 

The Soviet system would therefore have betrayed the content and 

the motivating reason of the communist regime. If the system of principles 

and ‘transformist mythology’ that underlay it, idealized by Karl Marx, 

defended the construction of a ‘new society’ based on a new model of 

man as a final product of the widespread implemenation of Communism 

(Bóia 2000: 131), the betrayal of that ‘original idealism’ and of the will 

of the ‘radically new’ jeopardised the desired effect of the revolution. In 

what way why did the betrayal happen? The ‘organizing realism’ and the 

‘opportunists’ selfishness’, which Russian leaders in some way displayed, 

caused a metamorphosis of the revolutionary ideal that, in contrast what 

they proposed, only transformed the surface of Russian society and of its 

annexed neighbours, whether allied or integrated. 

The Psycho-sociological and Cultural Anatomy of the ‘Russian 

Empire’ 

Manuel Antunes believes that after the revolutionary storms “there 

are more things that continue than the ones suppressed” (Ponte 1967: 553). 

The regime that rules the USSR is characterised as a regime of the ‘newly-entitled’ 

that did not transform but inverted the Russian social fabric. 

The dominant elite having been defeated by the dominated strata 

6 To justify his analysis, the author follows the work by Berdiev 1963. 



gave way to a new, dominant elite born from the strata that had previously 

been subdued. The methods of domination and the exercise of power 

did not change. There was only an adaptation to the ideology and psychology 

of the new masters. The political actors changed, but the monolithic 

structure remains unaltered. The old tsarist Russian aristocracy was 

replaced by the hegemony of a single party and their supporters, led by 

the omnipotent Secretary-General, together with its small oligarchy. He 

compares the power exercised by the Secretary-General of the Kremlin to 

that of the absolutist masters of the Russian empire, whose most representative 

icons were Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great. After a critical 

diagnosis, his objective is to discredit those who represent the consolidated 

Soviet regime, which has a large expansion capability and plays an 

even more decisive role in the transformation of international relations in 

the context of increasing globalisation. 

The ideal of a messianic character, that consisted in a belief in the 

arrival of “new men that will live in a new land” (Boia 2000: 166), in which 

humanity will be absolute master and effective controller of all nature, 

gave place to the average or mediocre objectives that were possible in the 

real world. Ideology was therefore replaced by technocracy. Technocracy 

organised ideology and fulfilled it in a practical but not ideal way, in a cold, 

calculating and sometimes cruel way (Ponte 1969: 557). 

The great master of the technocratisation of the Soviet empire was 

Stalin, who created a new age in the construction of the communist State 

and its expansion: “The era of Stalin was dominated by Realpolitik, that 

is, the strict alliance between grand-Russian nationalism and imperialism” 

(Freitas 1968: 615-623). 

Concerned with the weakening of the USA during the Nixon presidency, 

which showed symptoms of fragility at the beginning of the 1970s 

as a consequence of the disaster in Vietnam, Antunes believes that a progressive 

deconstruction of the American empire would leave room for 

a “slow and progressive expansion of the USSR” (Cruz 1972: 210). He 

feared that this could spread and inaugurate a new age of terror for the 

entire planet. Although the Pax Americana raised concerns and had limitations, 

in the author’s opinion the alternative ideal for the organisation of 

the global order would be even more fearsome. However, Manuel Antunes 

warned of the potential for that new emergency: 



“On the horizon, magnificent and authoritarian, overcoming all 

contradictions, drying every tear, killing all famines, satiating thirstiness, 

the Pax Russa” (Cruz 1972: 210). 

It is known today, in hindsight, that his worst fears were not realised. 

Russia and the Rule of Europe 

The expansion of the Russian empire through the political project 

that was realised in the USSR and in the Warsaw Pact, uniting a large 

number of countries under the influence of the socialist ideology of the 

October Revolution, made significant progress after World War II and 

the weakening of Western Europe. However, Manuel Antunes also believes 

that the secret of such a political expression of the expansionist 

mentality was facilitated by the condescending attitude of the USA, which 

would later endure the consequences. The mistakes of the USA are, in 

fact, praised by the Jesuit thinker. America suffered the consequences of 

its incorrect political appraisal of the Soviet drift after the war (Freitas 

1968: 617). He considers Stalin to be the great architect of the expanding 

Russian empire, ignoring the principles that inspired the Russian socialist 

revolution and the expectations of those who gave their lives for the cause 

of a Marxist utopia. 

The criticism of Stalin is brief: “faced with a choice between being 

the ‘liberator’ of oppressed people or the architect of the widest empire 

of history, he chooses the second with conviction” (Freitas 1968: 617). 

Through what he Antunes calls ‘technocratic revolution’, Stalin and the 

political system that he had established started to follow the most genuine 

traditions of “tsarist imperialism” (Freitas 1968: 622). 

Antunes denounces Russian expansionism, which nobody had dared 

to stop, through an internal policy that by the end of the 1960s continued 

to support “the Stalinist motto” as a model. It followed his political modus 

procedendi that had accomplished “all of the aims of realism, opportunism 

and machiavelism”. 

The Russian empire justified its invasions and annexions in this way, 

as in the case of the invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 21 of 1968, 

creating a new concept in terms of international relations: the concept 



of “conditional sovereignty” as justification for the advancement of his 

“limitless imperialistic project” (Freitas 1968: 621). 

These and other signs of the soaring ambition of Soviet imperialism 

led the author to consider the imperial behaviour of Russian politics, 

a concern for democratic Europe because in his view Europe was the 

horizon of his deepest hopes; because the USSR sought to include what 

remained of free Europe in its imperial project. And it was in the so-called 

‘quadrilateral of Bohemia’ where the key to Europe resided, at that moment 

as in the past, as acknowledged in Bismarck’s famous declaration that: 

“Whosoever possesses the quadrilateral of Bohemia will become master 

of Europe”. 7 Besides the territories that had been annexed and incorporated 

into the Federation of Soviet Republics, the celebrated military 

alliance signed in Warsaw placed East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, 

Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Mongolia in the dependence of the 

Russian Empire and, to a certain degree, its orbit of external ideological 

influence which included the People´s Republic of China, North Korea 

and North Vietnam. 

To be precise, regarding the immensity of the communist zone in 

the field of global relations, Antunes reminds us that almost 30 million 

km 2 of this whole area is included within the Russian sphere of influence. 

The Jesuit expert in political sciences argues that in his view ‘the myth of 

Moscow’ as the third Rome 

“[…] never stopped being alive and active in the history of Russia 

during the last centuries. Having crossed, unharmed, the age of tsarist 

decadence, it reappears, metamorphosed, with the Revolution of 1917” 

(Freitas 1968: 622). 

But it is not only the real extension of the circle of Russian influence 

that is regarded as a symptomatic illustration of Russian imperial 

ambition, camouflaged by the aim to construct a community of socialist 

peoples, but also the attention that Soviet historiography devotes to the 

great empire of the ancient world. 

Historiography is never politically innocent. In fact, history can become 

a prostitute to ideology, changing perspectives, analyses and interpretations 

of the past at the service of regimes and model societies. 

7 Quoted by Carlos do Amaral (Pseudonym of father Manuel Antunes) 1969: 508. 



The active construction of an interpretation of the past has been 

affected by the present in regard to its foundations and motives, for example 

the vindication of certain eras, figures and events of the past, as an 

ideal or model, or as an inspirational guide for the transformation of the 

present and the orientation of the future. 

Manuel Antunes sagaciously recognises the significant role that history 

can play as a subsidiary but not irrelevant factor, due to its methods 

of recovering the past in regard to a particular political system, in terms 

of the expectations of a people or of a governmental elite in relation to 

the process of tranforming contemporary history in favour of a certain 

future that is idealised for a given society. Therefore, what Lucien Febvre 

described as the ‘social function’ of History: “To organize the past in the 

service of the present: that is what we can call the social function of History” 

(Febvre 1989: 258). Hence, the socialist revolution of October 1917 

ended more than a half century of lethargy in Russia, of decayed empire, 

of an outlawed state governed by a ‘regime of pariahs’, attacked by everybody, 

exhausted by anarchy and civil war, at serious risk of fragmentation. 

Suddenly, the revolution rose from the ashes. The imperial dream did not 

die; it only transformed itself by constructing a strong state with a ‘mission’, 

a mission with a prophetic tone, of being ‘liberator and redeemer 

of the oppressed classes and people’. It re-established the ideal of empire, 

metamorphosed into a “universal and universalist state, with the intention 

of abolishing borders and resuscitating fraternity among the people of 

the whole world” (Freitas 1968: 623). It was this prophetic-messianic byproduct 

of Marxist ideology that rediverted the materialistic utopia and 

recalled the old religious and spiritualistic utopias. Therefore, it managed 

to carve a new path of history and to re-establish Russia as the leader 

among the countries of its region of the globe: 

“Today USSR is the first, in time and importance, of the fourteen 

socialist states of the Earth, whose population include approximately one 

third of mankind, but its relations with those States are dictated by animosity, 

or by the affirmation of superiority, or by distrust or even by oppression 

and exploitation.” (Freitas 1968: 623). 

Therefore, he concludes that Russia used ideology more as an instrument 

than a final objective. In doing so it stretched the proclaimed 



principles, “of equality in the cooperation between states that have the 

same or similar socio-economic structures of production, the same or 

similar structures of political power, the same interests at an international 

level” (Freitas 1968: 622). 

The Crisis of the Utopia and of the Empire 

Under his aliases Manuel Antunes did not tire of proclaiming, at the 

end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, the long-term unfeasibility 

of the Soviet regime. 

The crisis of the socialist system that became an empire is analysed 

in light of the concepts of ‘tension’, ‘conservation’ and ‘reform’. Internal 

tension - latent, deaf or silent - was identified in the midst of society and 

of some Russian intellectual elites. Conservation of ideology and the gagging 

of the critical intelligentsia; reform: the need for economic reform, 

which the Russians wanted to undertake. But as a whole the author believes 

that “the crisis presently suffered by the Soviet regime is, above 

all, the ankylosis of its system” (Ponte 1969: 235-242), although he also 

recognizes that the symptoms could be simply growing pains. This sums 

up the alarming warnings of ruin that he outlines. However, as a dominant 

trend he values the symptoms of tension more and they allow him to 

identify the appearance of a “new Russia side by side with several different 

Russias: Russia of Kiev, Tartarean Russia, Moscow Russia, Petrovian Russia, 

Soviet Russia” (Ponte 1969: 235). 

The collegiate government in power at that time, the troika comprising 

of Brezhnev, Konignine and Podgorny, maintained the previous 

policy of restoring the ‘Stalinist flag at half mast’. 

Herefore, a government at half term, whose “global progress consisted 

of two steps forward and one back” (Ponte 1969: 237). Due to Antunes’ 

continuous analytical observation of Russia’s evolution, he is able 

to predict, at mid-term, precisely what would happen before the year 2000, 

the fall of the present Soviet regime through a democratic revolution: 

“Certain symptoms make it foreseeable, of course not soon, but probably 

before the year 2000” (Fortes 1971: 75). 

His prediction of a third Russian revolution in the twentieth century 

was based not only upon an analysis of the symptoms of the present crisis 

and of the anchylosing political system, but proceeds from an interpreta- 



tion of the ‘seismic character of Russian history’, due to the polycentric 

exercise of power, as well as an analysis of the possibile factors of spirituality 

and the Russian character, and the mentality of that octopus that 

knew how to resist, wait and at the opportune moment to demonstrate its 

nonconformism, changing the present state of things (Fortes 1971: 75). 8 

Manuel Antunes praises the character of the Russian people, seeing 

in its profound psyche the foundations that will allow the emergence of a 

revolution in the sense of an attack on the tyranny of the present system: 

“The humanity of the Russian people, its long suffering its still – 

fortunately – reduced in sophistication, its deep religiosity, whose foundations 

were not rocked by more than fifty years of a dominating system, 

its capacity of achievement, its asceticism, its strength of deliverance to a 

mystic, religious, profane or nihilistic, its love of the transcendent – either 

the transcendent in the form of the horizon of time, or the transcendent 

that is only perceptible to the eyes of a faith that crosses all frontiers and 

conquers all obstacles – its psychic universe attentive to the understanding 

of distance and diversity, all this can give to those who are worried and disturbed, 

at times even in anguish and despair, the destiny of the planet, in 

the next hundred years, some serenity and some hope” (Fortes 1971: 75f). 

Therefore, the Russian people hoped for a different revolution to 

the two previous ones: the liberal revolution of February 1917 which 

achieved mixed results, and the communist revolution in October of the 

same year that would create the Soviet system and that had persisted: 

“Those two revolutions brought Russia – ‘Mother Russia’ – from 

the middle ages into the twentieth century, almost without passing through 

the Renaissance and modern times” (Fortes 1971: 75). 

8 He remembers, as a symptom of short duration of the system, the critical winds created 

by courageous Russian intellectuals and scientists that were persecuted by the Soviet 

regime: André Amalrik, André Sakharov, Roy Medvedev and Valentim Turchine. A letter 

sent by the last three Russian men of science to the leaders of Soviet Union is quoted as 

a symptomatic clue to the prospective elations it takes. The Russian scientists declare: “A 

scientific treatment demands a complete confrontation, an impartial judgement and the 

freedom of creation. As long as these conditions aren’t assembled (and not only for some 

but for the masses in general) talking of scientific management won’t be anything but idle 

talk … Only democratization can cause the rebirth of an enthusiasm comparable to the 

one that existed in the twenties” (Fortes 1971: 81). 



And after this diagnosis he risks a prognosis: 

“The revolution that is prophesized within the interstices of a reality 

that seems solid, stable and even monolithic will see the opening of 

the largest continuous space known to universal history in the twenty-first 

century”. 

Therefore he believes that the promised opening will be “one of the 

hopes of the next century” (Fontes 1971: 75). 

We do not intend to present Manuel Antunes as a prophet who was 

right in his predicting the collapse of the Soviet regime before the year 

2000, as was verified in 1989 with the symbolic fall of the Berlin Wall; a 

consequence of the reform of the system that began with Michael Gorbachov’s 

Perestroika. However, the director of Brotéria was a sharp analyst 

of the dominant trends, from which he reached conclusions of a prophetic 

nature. Following an attentive and critical reading reveals that Manuel 

Antunes’interpretation of Russia had an accusatory tone. The production 

of continuous analytical reflection upon the Russian universe, apparently 

so distant from Portuguese reality, should be understood in the context 

of the anti-communist culture of prevention that developed in the midst 

of Portuguese Catholicism and especially in the period of the New State. 

Therefore, the interpretation of the Jesuit Manuel Antunes is first 

of all Catholic and western democratic. 

Antunes regarded the emergence and expansion of Russia as a 

threat that should be acknowledged and analysed. Thus, he strove to reflect 

upon Russia and to explain the imperial mindset of the communist 

political elite. 

The emergence and expansion of communist imperialism clearly 

appeared as a danger to western Europe, to the Catholic Church and to 

the regime of the Estado Novo, for reasons that did not always coincide: 

for Europe and the western world, due to its anti-democratic and anticapitalist 

character; for Catholicism due to its atheistic and materialistic 

beliefs; for the Estado Novo, which presented the Communist ghost as the 

greatest enemy of all, due to its Marxist aims that included the abolition 

of classes and the end of individual property. 

Manuel Antunes’ intervention in the area of political science, and 

his analysis of the new epistemological framework of international rela- 



tions, essentially aims to deconstruct the ideal of the complete fulfilment 

of the socialist utopia, which transformed the Revolution of 1917 into a 

political system. 

On one hand we can identify an effort to try to understand the aggressive 

expansion of the Soviet system and the enlargement of its sphere 

of influence in Europe. 

On the other hand he is concerned by the accompanying consolidation 

process of what he calls the tragic Russian empire of the communist 

system and its methods of political action. 

He also attempts to reveal the contradiction between the political 

praxis and the regime’s ideological principles needed for its justification 

and legitimation, and furthermore its genetic affiliation with the Russian 

imperial mentality and the old expansionist ambitions now metamorphosed 

into a universal humanist ideal. 

The Antunian objective analysis represents progress in that it acknowledges 

the continuity of an ideal of might and rule of Russian origin 

in the new communist ideology that governed the policy of the Soviet 

Union, after refuting the attraction that some Portuguese had for the step 

forward in the human cooperation that that social model represented. 

Finally, it is important to emphasise that one of the most surprising 

features that emerge from the analysis of what happened in Russia are 

the predictions made by the director of Brotéria, which achieved prophetic 

status, in particular the prediction of the third Russian revolution of the 

twentieth century which would pave the way to democracy. 

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Freitas, Luís de (1968): “URSS e a Realpolitik” in: Brotéria, 87, 615-623. 

Matos Ferreira, António (1999): “Catolicismo” in: Barreto, António / 

Mónica, Filomena, Dicionário de História de Portugal. Lisbon, 257-269. 

Pires Lopes, Francisco (1982): “Polónia, mártir da história” in: Brotéria, 

114, 263. 

--- (1980): “Um papa de ‘outro’ mundo” in: Brotéria 110, 55-74. 

Ponte, M. Veiga da (1969): “URSS 1969: A crise continua” in: Brotéria, 88, 

235-242. 

Ponte, M. Veiga da (1967): “URSS (1917-1967): da ideologia à tecnocracia” 

in: Brotéria, 85, 552-553. 

Sobral Nunes, Luís (1965): “Europa Oriental: Integração ou desintegração” 

in: Brotéria, 81, 223-231. 

Toynbee, Arnold J. (1948): Civilisation on Trial. London, NewYork, Toronto. 

Appendix 

Bibliographical references for the texts of the journal Brotéria about 

the Slavic world 

Taking as a base the numerous reports of emerging themes in this 

journal, we put together the articles concerning Slavic countries. We speak 

of countries and not of people (maybe the most accurate definition) because 

we limited our research target to the Slavic peoples that constitute 

the larger population of a certain political territory. 

There are eleven Slavic countries: Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, 

Slovenia, Macedonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Serbia and 

Ukraine. However, definitions appear such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia 

or U.S.S.R. precisely due to the chronological content of Brotéria. We did 

not only use the names of the countries as key-words, but also themes 



that are linked with some of those territories: Communism and Marxism 

for instance. 

The articles were divided into two parts: in the first case by country 

(we included in the group of U.S.S.R. the articles related to Communism, 

due to the influence of this ideology in the context of the Soviet Union) 

and in the second case by theme. 

From an observation of the titles alone, of the information that 

after a first attempt we could consider reducing, we noticed that, in spite 

of the fact that the dominant subject was the political and social context 

of those countries, in truth interests were revealed in areas as diversified as 

education, culture, literature, science and technology, among others. 

As the presence of these countries is not in any way residual, it is 

important to initially classify, and later to interpret and understand, the 

reasons that led the Portuguese (and not only the Portuguese) to write 

about the other side of Europe. 

What made authors from the western point of the old and tired 

continent reflect upon and write about such distant countries, located in 

the last oriental frontier of Europe? It is this the question that we tried to 

answer within the article. 

I. Index by Countries 

Czechoslovakia: 

1926: 

CARVALHO, A. P., “Reclamação do Episcopado a favor do ensino religioso”, 

in Brotéria, vol. 3, 1926, 93-94. 

1965: 

SOBREIRA, Alberto (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “ ‘O processo’ de Kafka”, 


1966: 

MORÃO, Artur, “Sentido e não-sentido em Franz Kafka”, in Brotéria, vol. 

82, 1966, 829-838. 


83, 1966, 87-96. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Tentativa para sedentarizar os ciganos na Checoslováquia”, 




1967: 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Novas disposições legais para encorajar o prolongamento 

da vida activa na Checoslováquia”, in Brotéria, vol. 84, 1967, 

115-116. 

1968: 

PONTE, M. Veiga da (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “O drama checoslovaco”, 


1971: 

LOBO, J. A. da Rocha, “Um crítico checo vê a Bergman”, in Brotéria, vol. 

93, 1971, 524-532. 

1972: 

LOBO, Rocha, “Situação na cinematografia checoeslovaca (II)”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 94, 1972, 92-101. 

1981: 

SILVA, Ribeiro da, “Kafka, vigilante da história”, in Brotéria, vol. 112, 

1981, 293-305. 

Yugoslavia: 

1946: 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. A religião católica na ‘democracia’ jugoslava”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 43, 1946, 680-682. 

1947: 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. A liberdade de ensino na Jugoslávia”, in Brotéria, vol. 

44, 1947, 841-842. 

1958: 

D., P., “Milovan Djilas e a sua ‘Nova Classe dirigente’”, in Brotéria, vol. 67, 

1958, 208-210. 

1967: 

LEITE, António, “A Santa Sé e a Jugoslávia”, in Brotéria, vol. 84, 1967, 

71-82. 

1971: 

LEITE, António, “O presidente Tito da Jugoslávia no Vaticano”, vol. 92, 

1971, 660-670. 

1992: 

MASY, Rafael, “Quem financiou a guerra dos Balcãs?”, in Brotéria, vol. 

134, 1992, 454-458. 



2000: 

LOPES, António Calado, “Modernidade e anacronismo da guerra na Jugoslávia”, 


USSR: 

1925: 

CARVALHO, A. P., “A volta a Roma”, in Brotéria, vol. 1, 1925, 563-564. 

PINHO, M., “Teosofismo. I — Três Fases na História do teosofismo. 1) 

— Aparecimento— M.me Blavatsky”, in Brotéria, vol. 1, 1925, 283-288. 


— Blavatsky na América: 1873-1878”, in Brotéria, vol. 1, 1925, 376-384. 

PINHO, M., “Teosofismo. I — Três fases na história do teosofismo. 3) 

Blavatsky na Índia: 1878-1884”, in Brotéria, vol. 1, 1925, 500-505. 

1926: 

CARVALHO, A. P., “Um diplomata russo jesuíta”, in Brotéria, vol. 2, 1926, 

p. 147. 

KOLOGRIVOV, Ivan, “O casamento e o divórcio segundo a legislação 

bolchevista”, in Brotéria, vol. 2, 1926, 59-69. 

PINHO, M., “Teosofismo. I — Três fases na história do teosofismo. Blavatsky 

na Índia 1884-1885”, in Brotéria, vol. 2, 1926, 63-70. 

CARVALHO, A. P., “Centenas de milhares de crianças ao abandono”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 3, 1926, p. 94. 


Blavatsky na Europa (1885-1891)”, in Brotéria, vol. 3, 1926, 281-286. 

1927: 

CARVALHO, A. P., “Actividade bolchevista na China”, in Brotéria, vol. 5, 

1927, p. 261. 

TAVARES, J. S., “O divórcio na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 5, 1927, p. 188. 

TAVARES, J. S., “O estado do comunismo actual na Rússia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 5, 1927, 188-189. 

TAVARES, J. S., “A primeira excursão latina à Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 5, 

1927, 189-190. 

TAVARES, J. S., “Os desempregados em Leninegrado”, in Brotéria, vol. 5, 

1927, p. 190. 

TAVARES, J. S., “O perigo bolchevista em França”, in Brotéria, vol. 5, 

1927, 190-191. 



1928: 

CARVALHO, A. P., “Comunismo em face da sciência”, in Brotéria, vol. 6, 

1928, p. 47. 

CARVALHO, A. P., “Após dez anos de bolchevismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 6, 

1928, 166-167. 

TAVARES, J. S., “O segrêdo do túmulo de Lenine”, in Brotéria, vol. 6, 

1928, 103-105. 

DIONEL, “O socialismo e o comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 7, 1928, p. 305. 

1930: 

S. A., “Na Rússia dos Sovietes”, in Brotéria, vol. 10, 1930, 375-380. 

PFEIFFER, Mons. Nicolau, “Influência religioso-cultural do bolchevismo”, 


1931: 

S. A., “Notas e factos. Socialismo e religião”, in Brotéria, vol. 12, 1931, 

313-314. 

S. A., “Notas e factos. A espionagem soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 12, 1931, 

118-119. 

C., L., “Notas e factos. A bibliografia do Instituto Scientífico Russo de 

Belgrado”, in Brotéria, vol. 13, 1931, 118-119. 

1932: 

LEITE, Serafim, “O salário na Rússia comunista”, in Brotéria, vol. 14, 

1932, 217-220. 

PORTOCARRERO, M. Pizarro de, “Aspectos sociais da organização soviética”, 


1933: 

LAET, Henri de, “Através da Rússia Soviética (Notas duma viagem)”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 16, 1933, 45-49. 

LENA, Allves de, “Ilusões e desenganos da pedagogia bolchevista”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 16, 1933, 368-376. 

R., A., “Notas e factos. A Ásia Central, os sovietes e o catolicismo”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 16, 1933, 185-186. 

ROCHA, A., “Dois internacionalismos”, in Brotéria, vol. 17, 1933, 333- 

341. 

1934: 

S. A., “Dezasseis anos depois. Industrialização à força”, in Brotéria, vol. 18, 

1934, 101-107. 

S. A., “Os algemados”, in Brotéria, vol. 18, 1934, 192-196. 



S. A., “Com o sangue dos lavradores”, in Brotéria, vol. 18, 1934, 248-252. 

MONTEIRO, Neves, “O cavalo de Tróia em Genebra”, in Brotéria, vol. 

19, 1934, 213-220. 

S. A., “Sob o sinal da cruz”, in Brotéria, vol. 19, 1934, 191-195. 

S. A., “Trotsky”, in Brotéria, vol. 19, 1934, 291-298. 

1935: 

S. A., “Sonho e realidade”, in Brotéria, vol. 20, 1935, 121-130. 

S. A., “Planos sangrentos. O exército russo tal como êle é. Seus fins e seus 

meios”, in Brotéria, vol. 20, 1935, 417-425. 

LIMA, J. da Costa, “A paz comunista”, in Brotéria, vol. 21, 1935, 293-301. 

S. A., “Planos sangrentos. O estado moral do exército soviético”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 21, 1935, 22-30. 

1936: 

LIMA, J. da Costa, “Descalabros soviéticos”, in Brotéria, vol. 22, 1936, 

277-285. 

S. A. , “Para onde caminha a Rússia Soviética?”, in Brotéria, vol. 22, 1936, 

72-79. 

LIMA, J. da Costa, “Pio XI e a traição comunista”, in Brotéria, vol. 23, 

1936, 114-122. 

MARTINS, Mário, “Gorki e Nietzsche”, in Brotéria, vol. 23, 1936, 208-216. 

MUCKERMANN, Frederico, “À volta do processo dos troskistas”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 23, 1936, 439-448. 

1937: 

ALMEIDA, A. Chaves de, “A falência do comunismo perante as realidades”, 


COIRARD, M., “Psicologia comunista, segundo André Malraux”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 701-702. 

JOLIVET, Régis, “A família na Rússia soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 

340-341. 

LIMA, J. da Costa, “A arte no comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 128- 

137. 

LIMA, J. da Costa, “Condenações fulminantes”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 

557-372. 

S. A., “A IV Internacional Trotzkista”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 654-659. 

S. A., “André Gide e a U. R. S. S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 93-94. 

S. A., “Catolicismo e comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, p. 218. 

S. A., “O Cardial Liénart e os comunistas”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 97-98. 



S. A., “O P. Gillet perante o comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 95-96. 

S. A., “U. R. S. S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, p. 596. 

CORRIGAN, Raymond, “A consangüinidade do comunismo materialista 

e do liberalismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 25, 1937, 462-463. 

LEÇA, Riba, “A situação religiosa da Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 25, 1937, 

444-461. 

LEÇA, Riba, “A situação religiosa da Rússia II”, in Brotéria, vol. 25, 1937, 

522-540. 

S. A., “A acção subversiva do ‘Komintern’ em Portugal”, in Brotéria, vol. 

25, 1937, p. 336. 

1938: 

BOVIS, André de, “Lenine, mestre deshumano”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, 

571-573. 

S. A., “A internacional das juventudes e da mocidade”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 

1938, 678-679. 

S. A., “A U. R. S. S. e o direito internacional”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, 

443-444. 

S. A., “Arquitectura bolchevista”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, 681-682. 

S. A., “Através das revistas soviéticas”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, p. 219. 

S. A., “Mais sôbre a juventude na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, 679- 

680. 

S. A., “Preparação das eleições na U. R. S. S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, p. 

105. 

S. A., “Uma curiosa emissora radiofónica de acusação”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 

1938, p. 684. 

JUNOSZA , J., “Os sovietes e a sciência”, in Brotéria, vol. 27, 1938, 216- 

217. 

LIMA, J. da Costa, “A ofensiva contra a juventude”, in Brotéria, vol. 27, 

1938, 160-170. 

1939: 

CARVALHO, A. P., “Novas modalidades do cristianismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 

28, 1939, 347-353. 

S. A., “A moral comunista, segundo a ‘Komsomolskaïa Pravda’”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 28, 1939, p. 361. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Como encaram os russos as negociações anglofranco-soviéticas”, 


S. A., “20 anos de comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 28, 1939, 651-666. 



BALOUEFF, J., “Revista de Revistas. Sentido e alcance da oposição na U. 

R. S. S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 29, 1939, 223-225. 

ESTÊVES, M., “O advento da parusia do Anti-Cristo. I — De Hegel a 

Lenine”, in Brotéria, vol. 29, 1939, 125-139. 

ESTÊVES, M., “O advento da parusia do Anti-Cristo. II — De Lenine a 

Estaline”, in Brotéria, vol. 29, 1939, 289-301. 

KAZANSKIJ, V., “A luta religiosa na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 29, 1939, 

462-464. 

S. A., “A situação profissional do operário russo”, in Brotéria, vol. 29, 1939, 

75-85. 

S. A., “A situação social do operário russo”, in Brotéria, vol. 29, 1939, 167- 

178. 

1940: 

AGUIAR, M., “A tragédia da idea socialista”, in Brotéria, vol. 30, 1940, 

547-558. 

MALAPARTE, Cúrcio, “Prisão gratuita”, in Brotéria, vol. 30, 19, 356-357. 

S. A., “Os Estados Unidos e a agressão russa à Finlândia”, in Brotéria, vol. 

30, 1940, 93-94. 

AGUIAR, M., “De Nietzsche a Solowiew”, in Brotéria, vol. 31, 1940, 241- 

253. 

1941: 

HISPANO, Pedro, “E a Rússia?”, in Brotéria, vol. 32, 1941, 273-283. 

ISWOLSKY, Hélène, “O despertar da Rússia cristã”, in Brotéria, vol. 32, 

1941, 94-96. 

LIMA, J. da Costa, “A guerra e o comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 32, 1941, 

636-644. 

S. A., “Os passos principais que a Rússia deu para a anexação dos países 

bálticos”, in Brotéria, vol. 32, 1941, 458-459. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. O problema operário na Rússia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 32, 1941, p. 591. 

S. A., “O ‘ataque a fundo’ do ateismo soviético”, in Brotéria, vol. 33, 1941, 

343-345. 

S. A., “Tribuna de consultas. Escritores russos”, in Brotéria, vol. 33, 1941, 

584-586. 

1942: 

LEÃO, Joaquim Ferreira, “Concepção do homem na filosofia comunista”, 




LEÃO, Joaquim Ferreira, “O materialismo histórico na filosofia comunista”, 


R., A., “Tribuna de consultas. Dostoiewski e o bolchevismo — Galileu”, 


S. A., “Das bandas de Leste”, in Brotéria, vol. 34, 1942, 321-326. 

S. A., “Do que se passa pelo mundo. Situação da indústria soviética”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 34, 1942, 338-340. 

1943: 

MARTINS, Abílio, “Tolstoi anarquista”, in Brotéria, vol. 36, 1943, 345-354. 

R., A.,“ Tribuna de consultas. I) Psiquiatria. II) Igreja e comunismo”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 36, 1943, 529-531. 

ROCHA, A., “Um suplemento de alma”, in Brotéria, vol. 36, 1943, 449- 

458. 

S. A., “Idéias e Factos. A fé religiosa na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 36, 1943, 

p. 321. 

S. A., “Idéias e Factos. Cem anos de sindicalismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 36, 

1943, 321-322. 

S. A., “Idéias e Factos. 25 anos de regime soviético na Rússia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 36, 1943, p. 318. 

S. A., “Idéias e Factos. 25 anos do Exército Vermelho”, in Brotéria, vol. 36, 

1943, 532-533. 

R., A., “Tribuna de consultas. Vária”, in Brotéria, vol. 37, 1943, 87-88. 

S. A., “Idéias e Factos. A vida musical na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 37, 1943, 

195-196. 

S. A., “Notas e Factos. A Igreja ortodoxa na União Soviética”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 37, 1943, 447-448. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Movimento sindical internacional”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 37, 1943, 559-560. 

1944: 

FALARDEAU, J., “Revista de Revistas. Comunismo e ideal marxista”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 38, 1944, p. 326. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Novo hino da URSS”, in Brotéria, vol. 38, 1944, 

p. 329. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Situação dos operários russos na Alemanha”, 


PATEE, Ricardo, “Revista de Revistas. Porque desconfiamos da União 

Soviética?”, in Brotéria, vol. 39, 1944, 578-579. 



S. A., “Revista de Revistas. A Rússia na hora presente”, in Brotéria, vol. 39, 

1944, 91-93. 

1945: 

GRAHAM, Robert A., “Revista de Revistas. Algumas perguntas feitas a 

Moscovo”, in Brotéria, vol. 40, 1945, p. 220. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. A nova política religiosa na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 

40, 1945, 682-683. 

DOHRN, Klaus, “Revista de Revistas. Stalin e a Alemanha vencida”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 41, 1945, p. 93. 

1946: 

BEERNAERT, Louis, “Revista de Revistas. Cristãos em face do comunismo”, 


DANIÉLOU, Jean, “Revista de Revistas. Tentação do comunismo”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 42, 1946, 704-705. 

ROCHA, A., “A religião na URSS”, in Brotéria, vol. 42, 1946, 251-260. 

ROCHA, A., “Imperialismo soviético”, in Brotéria, vol. 42, 1946, 361-370. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. A família na Rússia soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 42, 

1946, 584-585. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Rússia e Islamismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 42, 1946, 340- 

342. 

BONEE, J. Thomas, “Revista de Revistas. A mística de um engano”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 43, 1946, 474-475. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. O futuro da U. R. S. S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 43, 1946, 

334-335. 

1947: 

CEREJEIRA, D. Manuel, “Cristianismo e comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 

44, 1947, 325-333. 

GIACHERI, Raizo, “Revista de Revistas. O cristianismo em Dostoiewski”, 


S. A., “Idéias e factos. A situação da igreja russa ortodoxa na U. R. S. S.”, 


S. A., “Idéias e factos. A URSS e o futuro da Europa Central”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 44, 1947, 117-118. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Imperialismo soviético”, in Brotéria, vol. 44, 1947, 

224-225. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Propaganda comunista”, in Brotéria, vol. 44, 1947, 

600-601. 



S. A., “Idéias e factos. Propaganda comunista entre os jovens”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 44, 1947, 337-338. 

SILVA, A. Queiroz Ferreira da, “Ocidentalismo e eslavofilismo religioso”, 


VELOSO, A., “A tentação das esquerdas...”, in Brotéria, vol. 44, 1947, 318- 

324. 

MADUR, Barão de, “A actividade do Komintern”, in Brotéria, vol. 45, 

1947, 168-177. 

URBINA, I. Ortiz de, “Revista de Revistas. A manobra do cesaropapismo 

soviético”, in Brotéria, vol. 45, 1947, 500-502. 

1948: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Comunismo de batina”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 46, 1948, 740-749. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A Igreja ortodoxa de Moscovo ao 

serviço do ‘Komintern’”, in Brotéria, vol. 47, 1948, 273-282. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Estado actual do 4º plano quinquenal 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O cisma russo e o comunismo. Pavorosas 

declarações do Patriarca de Moscovo”, in Brotéria, vol. 47, 1948, 

399-409. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O recomeçar da ofensiva ateia na 

U. R. S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 47, 1948, 198-207. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os partidos políticos da emigração 

anti-comunista russa e suas posições frente a Moscovo vermelho”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 47, 1948, 571-579. 

CANADEL, José Oriol Cuffi, “Revista de Revistas. A U.R.S.S. e os judeus”, 


DAVID, Miguel, “Novas formas de penetração marxista”, in Brotéria, vol. 

46, 1948, 132-141. 

MADUR, Barão de, “Trinta anos de comunismo 1917-1947”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 46, 1948, 64-69. 

MADUR, Barão de, “Trinta anos de comunismo II”, in Brotéria, vol. 46, 

1948, 310-317. 

MADUR, Barão de, “Trinta anos de comunismo 1917-1947 III”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 46, 1948, 385-390. 

S. A., “Aspectos tácticos na campanha anti-religiosa da U. R. S. S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 46, 1948, 459-465. 



S. A., “Revista de Revistas. A desvalorização do rublo na Rússia: a linha 

recta de Estaline”, in Brotéria, vol. 46, 1948, p. 492. 

SCHWEIGL, G. M., “Revista de Revistas. Vida Católica na U.R.S.S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 46, 1948, p. 361. 

SILVA, Lúcio Craveiro da, “A actual política económica da URSS”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 46, 1948, 549-553. 

VELOSO, A., “As seitas protestantes, o comunismo e a maçonaria”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 46, 1948, 581-597. 

CABRAL, J., “Notas e factos. Depuração intelectual na Rússia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 47, 1948, 219-221. 

GURIAN, Waldemar, “Revista de Revistas. O manifesto comunista: cem 

anos depois”, in Brotéria, vol. 47, 1948, 359-361. 

MENDES, João, “Notas e factos. Ecos do livro ‘Escolhi a liberdade’, de 

Vítor Kravchenko”, in Brotéria, vol. 47, 1948, 648-649. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. As nossas relações com os partidos socialistas”, 

in Brotéria, vol. 47, 1948, p. 113. 

WILEZKOWSKI, C., “Revista de Revistas. Berdiaeff ”, in Brotéria, vol. 47, 

1948, 113-114. 

1949: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A ofensiva vermelha nos Estados 

Unidos e na Europa”, in Brotéria, vol. 48, 1949, 715-726. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A que ponto chegou o regime 

comunista na U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 48, 1949, 570-584. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Ainda os partidos políticos da emigração 

anti-comunista russa e suas posições frente a Moscovo vermelho”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os espiões de Moscovo em acção 

no Extremo Oriente”, in Brotéria, vol. 48, 1949, 326-337. 



Brotéria, vol. 48, 1949, 82-92. 

MARIE, J. de Sainte, “Os sovietes em Jerusalém?”, in Brotéria, vol. 48, 

1949, 338-343. 

MARTINS, Abílio, “Nova genética russa”, in Brotéria, vol. 48, 1949, 657- 

667. 

AGUIAR, E. de, “Notas e factos. Diplomacia russa”, in Brotéria, vol. 49, 

1949, 375-376. 



BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O poderio militar da União Soviética”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O potencial económico da 

U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 49, 1949, 479-495. 

EBERHARD, E., “Revista de Revistas. Campos de concentração em 

1948”, in Brotéria, vol. 49, 1949, p. 236. 

HERMANOWSKI, Georg, “Revista de Revistas. Está Deus ainda vivo na 

Rússia?”, in Brotéria, vol. 49, 1949, 621-622. 

MARJAY, Friedrich, “Visão trágica”, in Brotéria, vol. 49, 1949, 198-205. 

ZURARA, Gomes de, “A Igreja e o comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 49, 1949, 

313-323. 

1950: 

ANDERSON, Paul, “Revista de Revistas. A Rússia acusada de ‘genocídio’”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A revalorização do rublo”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 50, 1950, 573-580. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A U.R.S.S. preparando a agressão”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Anti-semitismo soviético?”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 50, 1950, 68-77. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Infiltrações soviéticas”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 50, 1950, 461-466. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os sovietes e a bomba atómica”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 50, 1950, 185-191. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A ‘questão real’ belga e o Kremlin”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Atrasos na realização do quarto 

plano quinquenal da U. R.S.S. 1946-1950”, in Brotéria, vol. 51, 1950, 209- 

215. 

ZURARA, Gomes de, “Táctica anticomunista”, in Brotéria, vol. 51, 1950, 

86-97. 

1951: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A imprensa soviética e os problemas 

cruciais da Ásia e da Europa”, in Brotéria, vol. 52, 1951, 185-195. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Do quarto ao quinto plano quinquenal 

na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 52, 1951, 466-473. 



BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O significado do ‘Apelo de Estocolmo’”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Que pensa o ‘povo’ na Alemanha 

Ocidental de 1951?”, in Brotéria, vol. 52, 1951, 685-697. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A baixa dos preços e o orçamento 

de 1951 da União Soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 53, 1951, 56-64. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A Rússia no banco dos réus, no 

Palácio de Egmont, em Bruxelas”, in Brotéria, vol. 53, 1951, 326-339. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os planos agressivos da Rússia no 

Extremo Oriente”, in Brotéria, vol. 53, 1951, 526-535. 

WILCZKOWSKI, C., “Revista de Revistas. Orientações actuais da pedagogia 

soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 53, 1951, 214-216. 

1952: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Mais planos agressivos da Rússia”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O orçamento de 1952 e a nova 

baixa de preços na U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 54, 1952, 699-707. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A guerra psicológica entre o Ocidente 

e a U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 55, 1952, 178-190. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Balanço definitivo do quarto plano 

quinquenal soviético”, in Brotéria, vol. 55, 1952, 424-430. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O XIX Congresso bolchevista de 

Moscovo”, in Brotéria, vol. 55, 1952, 559-568. 

FALK, Heinrich, “Revista de Revistas. Evolução do direito matrimonial e 

familiar na Rússia soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 55, 1952, 96-98. 

1953: 

ANTUNES, M., “Vida Literária. Aspectos da literatura europeia desde 

1945”, in Brotéria, vol. 56, 1953, 212-217. 



ANTUNES, M., “Vida Literária. Correntes da literatura europeia desde 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A luta pela herança de estaline na 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Actividades dos ‘Sem-Deus’ fora 

da Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 56, 1953, 317-327. 



BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “‘Campos de morte’ na U.R.S.S. e 

nos países satélites”, in Brotéria, vol. 56, 1953, 467-475. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Na morte de Estaline”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 56, 1953, 570-575. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ateísmo militante na U.R.S.S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 56, 1953, 63-74. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O papel dos sindicatos na U.R.S.S.”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os mistérios perturbantes do 

Kremlin”, in Brotéria, vol. 57, 1953, 331-342. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Que se passa na U.R.S.S. depois da 

morte de Estaline?”, in Brotéria, vol. 57, 1953, 180-190. 

1954: 

ANTUNES, M., “Vida Literária. Realismo socialista”, in Brotéria, vol. 58, 

1954, 198-205. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A espionagem soviética no mundo 

livre”, in Brotéria, vol. 58, 1954, 688-698. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A ‘Igreja das catacumbas’ na U. 

R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 58, 1954, 310-319. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A propaganda ateísta e as perseguições 

religiosas fora da U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 58, 1954, 464-472. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A situação económica na U.R.S.S.”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Manejos soviéticos na Ásia”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 58, 1954, 552-559. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Como o Kremlin paga aos seus 

servidores”, in Brotéria, vol. 59, 1954, 68-77. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Dificuldades económicas da 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Nova ofensiva ateia na U.R.S.S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 59, 1954, 560-570. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Realidade da U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 59, 1954, 428-436. 

BLOCK, Lionel S., “Revista de Revistas. A propaganda comunista na Universidade”, 


I., V., “Revista de Revistas. O comunismo na X Conferência interamericana”, 




S. A., “Revista de Revistas. O Centro ‘Soloviev’ de Fordham”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 59, 1954, 110-111. 

1955: 

ARCHER, Luís J., “A ciência marxista no mundo de hoje”, in Brotéria, vol. 

60, 1955, 645-657. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “As hipócritas ‘instruções’ de 

Khrouchtchev e a ofensiva ateia na U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 60, 1955, 

186-195. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Em torno do 2º Congresso da ‘União 

dos Escritores Soviéticos’”, in Brotéria, vol. 60, 1955, 294-303. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Na U.R.S.S.: promessas ‘tranquilizadoras’ 

e ameaçadora realidade”, in Brotéria, vol. 60, 1955, 540-553. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Palavras de paz e obras de guerra 

na U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 60, 1955, 57-66. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Novas orientações da genética russa”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 60, 1955, 218-220. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Costumes Soviéticos”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 61, 1955, 173-183. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Dos dois lados da ‘cortina de ferro’”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O Kremlin sorri...”, in Brotéria, vol. 

61, 1955, 404-413. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O Patriarcado de Moscovo e as 

suas actividades de espionagem soviética fora da U. R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 

61, 1955, 315-325. 

FREIRE, A., “O ressurgimento do latim”, in Brotéria, vol. 61, 1955, 512- 

519. 

1956: 

A., E. C., “Lobos com pele de ovelha”, in Brotéria, vol. 62, 1956, 722-723. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Amnistia à maneira comunista...”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os propósitos agressivos do Kremlin”, 


G., A. P., “O drama da coexistência”, in Brotéria, vol. 62, 1956, 223-226. 

L., A. de, “O cristão perante o comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 62, 1956, 

721-722. 



V., A., “O comunismo e o episcopado católico inglês”, in Brotéria, vol. 62, 

1956, 597-599. 

ANTUNES, M., “O marxismo na União Soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 63, 

1956, 591-592. 

ANTUNES, M., “Vida Literária. Berdiaev e a criação artística”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 63, 1956, 70-74. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Ataques comunistas ao Vaticano, 

ao ’Russicum’, aos jesuítas e à Igreja”, in Brotéria, vol. 63, 1956, 292-299. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Dificuldades económicas e as causas 

verdadeiras do pacifismo do Kremlin”, in Brotéria, vol. 63, 1956, 419- 

428. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Em torno do ‘pacifismo’ do Kremlin”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Fins agressivos da actual economia 


1957: 

ANTUNES, M., “Tomismo e marxismo. Confronto de dois humanismos”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A inteligência algemada na U.R.S.S”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A U.R.S.S. e os países satélites”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 64, 1957, 292-303. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A vida religiosa na U.R.S.S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 64, 1957, 424-432. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Como apresenta os factos o Kremlin 

comunista”, in Brotéria, vol. 64, 1957, 51-57. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “As investigações nucleares na União 

Soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 65, 1957, 174-182. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O festival de Moscovo e a Exposição 

de Bruxelas”, in Brotéria, vol. 65, 1957, 402-410. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O Patriarca ortodoxo de Moscovo 

auxiliar do comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 65, 1957, 549-554. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Situação económica na U.R.S.S. 

Resultados obtidos em 1956 e orçamento para 1957”, in Brotéria, vol. 65, 

1957, 33-41. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os últimos acontecimentos na 




1958: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Actividades da Academia de Ciências 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Do que se passa no Soviete Supremo 

da U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 66, 1958, 648-657. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Novo plano de fomento na 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Sputnik’”, in Brotéria, vol. 66, 

1958, 26-33. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Como se vive na U.R.S.S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 67, 1958, 51-60. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Sputnik III’ e outras actividades 

científicas da U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 67, 1958, 296-309. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Três acontecimentos importantes 


LENA, Alves de, “Católicos e socialistas no recente encontro de Munique”, 


1959: 

B., A., “Colaboração com os comunistas”, in Brotéria, vol. 68, 1959, 707- 

709. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A vida religiosa na Rússia”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 68, 1959, 416-426. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Actividades científicas na U.R.S.S.”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Aspectos da luta anti-religiosa na 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Espionagem e outras actividades 

comunistas”, in Brotéria, vol. 68, 1959, 668-674. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘caso’ de Bóris Pasternak”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 68, 1959, 49-52. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Três reformas na U.R.S.S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 68, 1959, 539-546. 

MENDES, João, “Vida Literária. ‘O Doutor Jivago’, de Bóris Pasternak”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A competição económica entre a 

U.R.S.S. e os E.U.A.”, in Brotéria, vol. 69, 1959, 311-320. 



BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A U.R.S.S. e a actividade científica”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A U.R.S.S. na conquista do cosmos”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os ‘Luniks’ II e III”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 69, 1959, 578-583. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Reformas judiciárias na U.R.S.S.”, 


1960: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A lição de dois recenseamentos na 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Ainda a perseguição religiosa na 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Ainda o ‘LuniK – III’”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 70, 1960, 45-51. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A propósito do lançamento de superfoguetões 

balísticos na U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 70, 1960, 448-453. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Recrudescência da perseguição religiosa 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Utilização da energia nuclear na 


VELOSO, Agostinho, “As lágrimas de Deus”, in Brotéria, vol. 70, 1960, 

292-303. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A ofensiva soviética na África”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 71, 1960, 469-474. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Sputnik - IV”, in Brotéria, vol. 

71, 1960, 78-82. 

1961: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A situação agrícola na U.R.S.S.”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 72, 1961, 442-448. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “As greves da Bélgica e a imprensa 

moscovita”, in Brotéria, vol. 72, 1961, 315-320. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Conferência de ‘alto nível’ dos partidos 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Divergências comunistas”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 72, 1961, 685-690. 



BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Respigando na imprensa soviética”, 


S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Uso da língua vulgar na liturgia bizantina”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 72, 1961, 100-101. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A tragédia de Catanga segundo a 

óptica soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 73, 1961, 452-459. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Ameaças de guerra”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 73, 1961, 320-326. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Ingerência do Kremlin no ex-Congo 

belga”, in Brotéria, vol. 73, 1961, 68-73. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Métodos soviéticos”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 73, 1961, 200-205. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “De Feuerbach a Carlos Marx”, in Brotéria, vol. 73, 

1961, 382-396. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “Raízes hegelianas do marxismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 

73, 1961, 120-133. 

1962: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Actividades soviéticas na América 

Latina”, in Brotéria, vol. 74, 1962, 675-680. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Catanga na imprensa soviética”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 74, 1962, 194-200. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Pontos de vista soviéticos. ‘Destalinização’ 

— Foguetão global —- A Argélia”, in Brotéria, vol. 74, 1962, 

561-566. 



VELOSO, A., “‘A Rússia de hoje e o homem de sempre’”, in Brotéria, vol. 

74, 1962, 469-470. 

VELOSO, A., “Do anarquismo de Stirner, ao comunismo marxista”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 74, 1962, 34-56. 

VELOSO, A., “‘Filosofia do Comunismo’”, in Brotéria, vol. 74, 1962, 589- 

590. 

ANTUNES, M., “A propósito do ‘caso Djilas’”, in Brotéria, vol. 75, 1962, 

86-89. 

ANTUNES, M., “Sartre e o marxismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 75, 1962, 540-550. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Actividade de Moscovo e de 

Pequim na Ásia”, in Brotéria, vol. 75, 1962, 192-195. 



BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Nova reforma agrária na U.R.S.S.”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Mercado Comum’ na óptica soviética”, 


CASTRO, L. de, “Católicos progressistas e católicos conservadores”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 75, 1962, 213-215. 

MENDES, João, “‘Inquérito ao Marxismo’”, in Brotéria, vol. 75, 1962, 210- 

213. 

OLEIRO, A. M., “Novembro 62: entre a guerra e a paz”, in Brotéria, vol. 

75, 1962, 581-582. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “Religião e comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 75, 1962, 

385-400. 

1963: 

ANTUNES, Manuel, “Marxismo ortodoxo”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 

513-522. 

ANTUNES, Manuel, “Situação actual do marxismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 

1963, 40-48. 

ANTUNES, Manuel, “Vida Literária. Um dia na vida de Ivan Denisovich”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A acção dos Sovietes em África”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 576-579. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Desacordo entre Moscovo e 

Pequim, ideológico ou apenas táctico?”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 456-459. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Comecon’”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 

1963, 328-331. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O Concílio Ecuménico na óptica 

do Kremlin”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 78-81. 

LEITE, António, “O Vaticano e o Kremlin”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 

475-477. 

LEITE, António, “Os cristãos orientais”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 523- 

533. 

MOREIRA, Adriano, “Os direitos do homem e a balança de poderes”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 385-399. 

OLEIRO, A. M. (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Horizonte do Mundo. A ressurreição 

europeia”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 338-344. 

OLEIRO, A. M. (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Horizonte do Mundo. A 

URSS dez anos depois”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 469-474. 



VELOSO, Agostinho, “Autópsia ao Manifesto de 1847”, in Brotéria, vol. 

76, 1963, 137-154. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “Esperanças traídas”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 49- 

58. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “O comunismo e as novas gerações”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 76, 1963, 282-301. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “O mito das classes sociais”, in Brotéria, vol. 76, 

1963, 662-679. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “Trabalho desportivo e trabalho forçado”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 76, 1963, 436-455. 

CASTRO, L. de (Pseud. António Leite), “Actualidade religiosa. O cinquentenário 

da sagração episcopal do Patriarca de Moscovo”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 77, 1963, 329-331. 

LEITE, António, “As Cristandades Orientais”, in Brotéria, vol. 77, 1963, 

64-75. 

VEIGA-BEIRIZ, M. (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Horizonte do Mundo. 

Relações sino-soviéticas”, in Brotéria, vol. 77, 1963, 219-224. 

VEIGA-BEIRIZ, M. (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “O Tratado Nuclear de 


VELOSO, Agostinho, “Do anarquismo revolucionário ao trabalho forçado”, 


VELOSO, Agostinho, “O mistério da proletarização forçada”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 77, 1963, 191-202. 

1964: 

CASTRO, L. de (Pseud. António Leite), “Cristãos perseguidos na U.R.S.S.”, 


I., M., “Revista de Revistas. Carlos Marx põe em guarda o Ocidente contra 

o expansionismo russo”, in Brotéria, vol. 78, 1964, 114-115. 

MOREIRA, Adriano,“ A autodeterminação e a guerra fria”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 78, 1964, 5-15. 

VELOSO, Agostinho, “Algo de novo sobre Estáline”, in Brotéria, vol. 78, 

1964, 46-55. 

ALMEIDA, D. Manuel d’, “A Rússia e o Ocidente”, in Brotéria, vol. 79, 

1964, 407-418. 

ALMEIDA, D. Manuel d’, “Sombras de 1914”, in Brotéria, vol. 79, 1964, 

129-140. 



CORTE, Marcel de, “Revista de Revistas. Haverá uma ‘quinta coluna’ na 

Igreja Católica?”, in Brotéria, vol. 79, 1964, 596-597. 

1965: 

CASTRO, L. de (Pseud. António Leite), “A III Conferência Pan-Ortodoxa 

de Rodes”, in Brotéria, vol. 80, 1965, 183-190. 

VEIGA-BEIRIZ, M. (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “A ‘reunião consultiva’ de 


MESSINEO, António, “A Organização das Nações Unidas”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 81, 1965, 63-71. 

NUNES, Luís Sobral (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Europa Oriental: integração 

ou desintegração”, in Brotéria, vol. 81, 1965, 223-231. 

VASCONCELOS, Evaristo de, “Becket — Os irmãos Karamazov — Há 

festa na aldeia”, in Brotéria, vol. 81, 1965, 405-410. 

1966: 

MAURÍCIO, Domingos, “Portugal e o primeiro tratado sino-russo de 

Nerchinsk (7-IX-1689)”, in Brotéria, vol. 82, 1966, 461-477. 

OLIVEIRA, J., “Um ano de refluxo das esquerdas”, in Brotéria, vol. 82, 

1966, 210-217. 

MENDES, João, “Uma grande biografia de Tolstoi”, in Brotéria, vol. 83, 

1966, 252-257. 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. A desumanidade do humanismo político”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 83, 1966, p. 688. 

SOBREIRA, Alberto (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Retorno ao homem na 

literatura soviética actual”, in Brotéria, vol. 83, 1966, 677-678. 

1967: 

CASTRO, L. de (Pseud. António Leite), “A Santa Sé e a Rússia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 84, 1967, 326-338. 

MARTINS, António Maria, “O padre Aparício e a consagração da Rússia 

e do mundo ao Imaculado Coração de Maria”, in Brotéria, vol. 85, 1967, 

746-755. 

PONTE, M. Veiga da (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “U.R.S.S. (1917-1967): 

Da ideologia à tecnocracia”, in Brotéria, vol. 85, 1967, 552-557. 

SILVA, Luís Peral da (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Passado, presente e futuro 

do comunismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 85, 1967, 658-670. 

1968: 

SOUSA, L. Pronto de (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “K. Marx: 150 anos”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 86, 1968, 851-853. 



FREITAS, Luís de (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “A URSS e a ‘Realpolitik’”, 


MORÃO, A.,“ Mikail A. Cholokov - Nobel 65”, in Brotéria, vol. 87, 1968, 

214-223. 

1969: 

MAIA, João, “Dois livros de ficção”, in Brotéria, vol. 88, 1969, 83-85. 

PONTE, M. Veiga da (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “URSS 1969: a crise continua”, 


AVEIRO, Luís Mendes de (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Carreira e consciência: 

o caso Sakharov”, in Brotéria, vol. 89, 1969, 95-96. 

AMARAL, Carlos do (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Satélites da URSS (1944- 

1969)”, in Brotéria, vol. 89, 1969, 503-509. 

PONTE, M. Veiga da (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “O documento de Moscovo”, 


1970: 

BRANDÃO, Fernando de Castro, “A acção em Espanha do embaixador 

russo Tattistchef segundo a correspondência diplomática portuguesa: 

(1816 a 1818)”, in Brotéria, vol. 90, 1970, 755-765. 

FORTES, Almiro (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Actualidade de Lenine?”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 90, 1970, 659-662. 

PENA, Nuno Vieira de (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Morta, a ideia da liberdade?”, 


SOBREIRA, A. (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Soljenitsyne, Prémio Nobel”, 


1971: 

FORTES, Almiro (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “O XXIV congresso do 

PCUS”, in Brotéria, vol. 92, 1971, 684-691. 

PIRES, Alves, “Solzhenitsin, Nobel da Literatura 1970”, in Brotéria, vol. 

92, 1971, 172-185. 

CLARO, Luís (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “A escolástica marxista”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 93, 1971, 239-240. 

FORTES, Almiro (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “A terceira revolução russa?”, 


PIRES, Alves, “O romance polifónico de Dostoiewsky (I)”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 93, 1971, 326-336. 

PIRES, Alves, “O romance polifónico de Dostoiewsky (II)”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 93, 1971, 612-625. 



SIMÕES, Manuel, “Poética da música”, in Brotéria, vol. 93, 1971, 603-611. 

1972: 

AVELAR, Manuel (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “URSS, 1972”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 94, 1972, 227-237. 

CRUZ, Orlando (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Nixon entre Pequim e Moscovo”, 


SOBREIRA, Alberto (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Soljenitsine: frente à esfinge 

e frente ao colosso”, in Brotéria, vol. 94, 1972, 618-620. 

CRUZ, Orlando (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Europa: da comunidade 

económica à comunidade política”, in Brotéria, vol. 95, 1972, 331-338. 

CRUZ, Orlando (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Globalismo russo”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 95, 1972, 209-213. 

PIRES, Alves, “‘Ressurreição’, de Tolstoi”, in Brotéria, vol. 95, 1972, 219- 

226. 

1973: 

SILVA, Isidro Ribeiro da, “Soljenitsin: Agosto catorze”, in Brotéria, vol. 96, 

1973, 550-558. 

AVELAR, Manuel (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “A ‘tournée’ ocidental de 

Brejnev”, in Brotéria, vol. 97, 1973, 50-53. 

AVELAR, Manuel (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “As relações Leste-Oeste 

após Helsínquia”, in Brotéria, vol. 97, 1973, 194-198. 

FILIPE, L. Sales (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “O estalinismo reconsiderado”, 


PEREIRA, Pedro (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “O cisma de Tito, 25 anos 

depois”, in Brotéria, vol. 97, 1973, 56-57. 

1974: 

CRUZ, M. Pinhal da (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “A Santa Sé e os países 

socialistas”, in Brotéria, vol. 98, 1974, 418-424. 

DOMINGUES, Bento, “Opção cristã pelo socialismo?”, in Brotéria, vol. 

98, 1974, 80-84. 

RIBEIRO, I. (Isidro Ribeiro da Silva), “Soljenitsin: o preço da liberdade”, 


SOBRAL, V. (J. Alves Pires), “‘Oblomov, o magnífico preguiçoso’ de Ivan 

Goncharov”, in Brotéria, vol. 98, 1974, 198-195. 

ALMEIDA, D. Manuel d’, “Rússia 1914-1917”, in Brotéria, vol. 99, 1974, 

173-184. 



COSTA, A. M. Amorim da, “Cristianismo e marxismo: colaboração ou 

oposição?”, in Brotéria, vol. 99, 1974, 289-304. 

COSTA, A. M. Amorim da, “Liberdade, alienação e fé”, in Brotéria, vol. 

99, 1974, 3-12. 

FERRAZ, A., “Convivência de católicos e marxistas”, in Brotéria, vol. 99, 

1983, 83-86. 

1975: 

BARATA-MOURA, J., “Para uma visão antropológica marxista — I (Alguns 

tópicos)”, in Brotéria, vol. 100, 1975, 331-348. 

BARATA-MOURA, J., “Para uma visão antropológica marxista — II (Alguns 


FERRAZ, A., “Liberdade religiosa e marxismo”, in Brotéria, vol. 100, 1975, 

165-177. 

PIRES, Alves, “Um revolucionário para o nosso tempo: Soljenitsine”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 100, 1975, 399-411. 

RIBEIRO, I., “Ernst Bloch: socialismo humano”, in Brotéria, vol. 100, 

1975, 443-467. 

1976: 

ESTEVAIS, Luís (Francisco Pires Lopes), “Socialismo do silêncio?”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 102, 1976, 391-412. 

HUBER, Eduard, “A libertação do homem em Marx”, in Brotéria, vol. 102, 

1976, 483-493. 

MORÃO, Artur, “Marxistas e Jesus”, in Brotéria, vol. 102, 1976, 432-440. 

MORÃO, Artur, “Humanismo socialista. Coordenadas e situação vital”, 


RIBEIRO, I., “Palavra de homem. Entre o cristianismo e o marxismo”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 103, 1976, 427-434. 

1977: 

ANTUNES, Antunes, “Do materialismo dialéctico”, in Brotéria, vol. 104, 

1977, 255-276. 

HUBER, Eduard, “Colectivismo marxista e solidariedade cristã”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 104, 1977, 363-374. 

LOPES, Francisco, “Bukovski, o contestatário”, in Brotéria, vol. 104, 1977, 

147-158. 

LOPES, Francisco, “Cristãos na luta de classes”, in Brotéria, vol. 104, 1977, 

286-304. 



HOTZ, Robert, “Os dissidentes de Leste. Querem falar, devem calar-se!”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 105, 1977, 265-278. 

RIBEIRO, I., “Marxismo, fé cristã e mundo operário. Intervenções do 

Episcopado Francês”, in Brotéria, vol. 105, 1977, 421-439. 

1978: 

ANTUNES, Antunes, “Marx reinterpretado”, in Brotéria, vol. 106, 1978, 

206-213. 

HOTZ, Robert, “Minoria olvidada: os católicos na União Soviética”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 106, 1978, 140-152. 

REPGES, Walter, “Marx, Deus e a liberdade”, in Brotéria, vol. 106, 1978, 

483-500. 

VALADIER, Paulo, “Opções socialistas”, in Brotéria, vol. 106, 1978, 413- 

427. 

HERRERO, Jesús, “Ortega e suas correcções ao marxismo”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 107, 1978, 43-61. 

HOTZ, Robert, “Igreja ortodoxa russa e a sua relação ao Estado”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 107, 1978, 531-550. 

KERBER, Walter, “As ‘democracias populares’”, in Brotéria, vol. 107, 

1978, 363-376. 

1979: 

GAMA, José, “À descoberta de Marx — fidelidade ou contestação?”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 108, 1979, 289-309. 

1980: 

LOPES, F. Pires, “Alternativa: libertar os comunistas”, in Brotéria, vol. 110, 

1980, 283-303. 

1981: 

MAIA, João, “A morte de Dostoievski”, in Brotéria, vol. 113, 1981, 483- 

485. 

PIRES, Alves, “Dostoievski ou o romance polifónico”, in Brotéria, vol. 

113, 1981, 486-514. 

VALADIER, Paul, “Marxismo e cientificidade”, in Brotéria, vol. 114, 1982, 

264-279. 

1983: 

HUBER, Eduard, “Estado e sociedade no pensamento de Karl Marx”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 116, 1983, 508-516. 



1984: 

LOPES, Francisco Pires, “URSS: omnipotência da omnifragilidade”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 118, 1984, 149-163. 

1985: 

HUBER, Eduard, “A análise marxista”, in Brotéria, vol. 120, 1985, 539-549. 

SILVA, António da, “Vitória de 1945 — vitória soviética?”, in Brotéria, vol. 

120, 1985, 564-570. 

SILVA, I. Ribeiro da, “Jankélévitch: a vertigem do instante”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 121, 1985, 216-222. 

1986: 

GRAÇA, B. da (Pseud. António da Silva), “O XII plano na política Gorbatchev”, 


LOPES, F. Pires, “Kolakowski, testemunha dum século. Do marxismo a 

Deus”, in Brotéria, vol. 123, 1986, 483-501. 

1987: 

GROTH, Bernd, “Educação para o ateísmo na União Soviética”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 124, 1987, 22-36. 

PIRES, Alves, “Soljenitsine, uma testemunha forte”, in Brotéria, vol. 125, 

1987, 40-49. 

GROTH, Bernd, “A União Soviética numa encruzilhada? A política de 

Gorbatchev e a situação das diversas religiões”, in Brotéria, vol. 125, 1987, 

133-144. 

MARTINS, J. Cândido, “Os demónios ou a mundividência dostoievskiana”, 


1988: 

ARRANZ, Miguel, “Sobre o baptismo de Vladimir (no milénio de Cristianismo 

Russo)”, in Brotéria, vol. 126, 1988, 547-553. 

CABRAL, João V., “A ortodoxia russa e a Igreja católica”, in Brotéria, vol. 

126, 1988, 37-44. 

HUBER, Eduard, “Ética no marxismo, ética na União Soviética”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 126, 1988, 123-141. 

MAIA, João, “Estranha ignorância”, in Brotéria, vol. 126, 1988, 345-347. 

MARTINS, J. Cândido, “Boris Pasternak reabilitado”, in Brotéria, vol. 126, 

1988, 533-546. 

MACHA, Josef, “União das Igrejas na Europa Oriental (por ocasião do 

Milénio cristão da Rus’)”, vol. 127, 1988, 85-90. 



MARTINS, Mário, “O crepúsculo de Schigalev”, in Brotéria, vol. 127, 

1988, 524-529. 

1989: 

ARRANZ, Miguel, “Catecumenato e baptismo na Rússia em tempos de 

Vladimir. Notas histórico-litúrgicas no milenário”, in Brotéria, vol. 128, 

1989, 3-22. 

HUBER, Eduard, “A Rússia e a Europa”, in Brotéria, vol. 128, 1989, 494- 

506. 

PIRES, Alves, “Dostoievski, Berdiaev e a ‘ideia russa’”, in Brotéria, vol. 

128, 1989, 517-526. 

KOPROWSKI, André, “Situação e prospectiva da Igreja na Europa de 

Leste”, in Brotéria, vol. 129, 1989, 380-389. 

SEBES, José, “Nos trezentos anos do tratado sino-russo de Nerchinsk 

(7.9.1689). Em memória do mediador Tomé Pereira, S.J.”, in Brotéria, vol. 

129, 1989, 123-129. 

1990: 

LOPES, F. Pires, “Cristianismo e nova face da Europa”, in Brotéria, vol. 

130, 1990, 45-60. 

CORRAL, Carlos, “A nova política da Santa Sé como factor de mudança 

na Europa de Leste”, in Brotéria, vol. 131, 1990, 306-322. 

MACHA, J., “Concepção soviética de democracia antes da Perestróika”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 131, 1990, 212-216. 

1991: 

LOPES, F. Pires, “Comunismo: qual segundo fôlego!”, in Brotéria, vol. 

133, 1991, 320-322. 

MACHA, Josef, “Glasnost e perestroika. Impulso para mudanças na 

URSS”, in Brotéria, vol. 133, 1991, 363-387. 

Croatia: 

1992: 

FUCEK, Ivan, “O trabalho dos bispos croatas no Sínodo Especial para a 

Europa no contexto global”, in Brotéria, vol. 134, 1992, 511-533. 

KOPREK, Ivan, “Frente ao mito da grande Sérvia: resistência da Croácia”, 


1996: 

TALAN, Nikica, “A recepção da literatura portuguesa na Croácia durante 

os dois últimos séculos”, in Brotéria, in Brotéria, vol. 143, 1996, 433-444. 



TALAN, Nikica, “Relações histórico-culturais croato-lusitanas”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 143, 1996, 33-56. 

1999: 

TALAN, Nikica, “A recepção da literatura brasileira na Croácia”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 148, 1999, 37-56. 

2003: 

TALAN, Nikica, “Sobre uma tradução croata de cinco sermões do P. A. 

Vieira do ano de 1764”, in Brotéria, vol. 157, 2003, 75-80. 

TALAN, Nikica, “História de Portugal escrita pelo croata Adalbert Adam 

Baric (1742-1813)”, in Brotéria, vol. 156, 2003, 489-496. 

2005: 

TALAN, Nikica, “Antónia Gertrudes Pusich: pioneira do jornalismo feminino 

em Portugal - I”, in Brotéria, vol. 161, 2005, 225-241. 


em Portugal - II”, in Brotéria, vol. 161, 2005, 353-365. 


em Portugal - III”, in Brotéria, vol. 161, 2005, 455-472. 

Poland: 

1926: 

CARVALHO, A. P., “A santidade do matrimónio”, in Brotéria, vol. 2, 1926, 

300-301. 

URBAN, J., “A Polónia católica”, in Brotéria, vol. 3, 1926, 69-82. 

BATTAGLIA, O. Forst de, “A rehabilitação da política interna e externa 

da Polónia”, in Brotéria, vol. 24, 1937, 341-342. 

1943: 

MAURÍCIO, Domingos, “O último Geral da Companhia de Jesus 

Vlodimiro Ledóchowski (1866-1942)”, in Brotéria, vol. 36, 1943, 81-88. 

1944: 

S. A., “Notas e comentários. Cuidados dispensados aos filhos dos refugiados 

polacos na Hungria”, in Brotéria, vol. 38, 1944, 321-322. 

ROMER, Adam, “Revista de Revistas. A imprensa católica na Polónia”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 39, 1944, p. 342. 

1945: 

S. A., “Idéias e Factos. Destino do episcopado polaco”, in Brotéria, vol. 40, 

1945, 462-463. 



S. A., “Idéias e factos. O que se passa na Polónia ‘libertada’ pelos russos”, 


ROCHA, A, “Um escândalo internacional”, in Brotéria, vol. 41, 1945, 497- 

507. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. A situação na Polónia”, in Brotéria, vol. 41, 1945, 

325-326. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. O martírio da Polónia”, in Brotéria, vol. 41, 1945, 

329-330. 

1946: 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Homens sem direitos humanos”, in Brotéria, vol. 42, 

1946, 580-581. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Relatórios dos que visitaram a Polónia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 42, 1946, 698-699. 

1947: 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. A Igreja Católica e as eleições na Polónia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 44, 1947, 472-472. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Actualidades católicas na Polónia”, in Brotéria, vol. 

44, 1947, 119-120. 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Como a Rússia quer bolchevizar a juventude polaca”, 


1948: 

S. A., “Revista de Revistas. Actualidades polacas”, in Brotéria, vol. 46, 1948, 

490-492. 

1956: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Agitação na Polónia e na Hungria”, 


1966: 

CASTRO, L. de (Pseud. António Leite), “O milenário cristão da Polónia”, 


1969: 

ALVES, Aníbal, MARTINS, Aurélio, VASCONCELOS, Evaristo, “A semente 

do diabo — de Roman Polanski”, in Brotéria, vol. 88, 1969, 531-538. 

1973: 

MARQUES, José Vieira, “Macbeth, de Roman Polanski”, in Brotéria, vol. 

96, 1973, 333-337. 



1979: 

GAMA, José, “Isaac Bashevis Singer — Nobel de Literatura, 1978”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 109, 1979, 83-89. 

1980: 

LOPES, F. Pires, “O Papa de ‘outro’ mundo. ‘Encontro com a minha 

gente’: Polónia, Irlanda, Estados Unidos”, in Brotéria, vol. 110, 1980, 55- 

74. 

1981: 

HOTZ, Robert, “A Polónia entre dois tempos”, in Brotéria, vol. 113, 1981, 

123-130. 

1982: 

DRZEWIECKI, Miroslaw, “Mercenários de Herodes na Polónia”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 114, 1982, 363-369. 

LOPES, F. Pires, “A Polónia da contradição”, in Brotéria, vol. 114, 1982, 

123-141. 

LOPES, F. Pires, “A Polónia, mártir da história”, in Brotéria, vol. 114, 1982, 

243-263. 

HUERTA, Alberto, “Czeslaw Milosz: contra a vertigem do tempo”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 115, 1982, 411-415. 

1983: 

S. A., “Entrevista com Czeslaw Milosz, Prémio Nobel de Literatura 1980”, 


1988: 

GRAÇA, Baptista da (Pseud. António da Silva), “Polónia: Perestroika em 

filosofia”, in Brotéria, vol. 127, 1988, 447-452. 

1989: 

SILVA, António da, “A Polónia e a guerra (1939-1989) (Alguns ecos celebrativos)”, 


1990: 

GRAÇA, Baptista da (Pseud. António da Silva), “Reconciliação germanopolaca 

e o Vaticano II (25 anos depois)”, in Brotéria, vol. 131, 1991, 579- 

584. 

1991: 

SILVA, I. Ribeiro da, “Václav Havel: o sonho realizado?”, in Brotéria, vol. 

132, 1991, 285-294. 

SILVA, I. Ribeiro da, “Na morte de Bashevis Singer (1904-1991)”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 133, 1991, 542-549. 



Russia: 

1992: 

OPIELA, Estanislau, “A Igreja e a Europa além dos 12”, in Brotéria, vol. 

134, 1992, 143-157. 

PIRES, Alves, “Graciliano Ramos e Dostoievski. Alguma aproximação”, 


SIMON, Constantino, “A cultura religiosa russa e a política religiosa russa 

recente”, in Brotéria, vol. 135, 1992, 201-219. 

1997: 

LOPES, António Calado, “O alargamento da União Europeia aos países 

da Europa Central”, in Brotéria, vol. 145, 1997, 27-37. 

1998: 

SILVA, Lúcio Craveiro da, “A língua latina num facto diplomático relevante 

do século XVII. Nas relações da China com a Rússia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 147, 1998, 352-356. 

2003: 

BARRETO, José, “Edouard Dhanis, Fátima e a II Guerra Mundial”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 156, 2003, 13-22. 

2004: 

FIGUEIRA, Paulo, “O infante D. Manuel na corte russa (1730)”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 158, 2004, 339-352. 

Ukraine: 

1940: 

KOROSTOVETZ, Vladimiro de, “O futuro da Ucrânia”, in Brotéria, vol. 

30, 1940, 94-95. 

1941: 

S. A., “Notas históricas sôbre a Ucrânia”, in Brotéria, vol. 33, 1941, 458- 

459. 

1947: 

S. A., “Idéias e factos. Os católicos ucranianos”, in Brotéria, vol. 44, 1947, 

334-336. 

1988: 

HOTZ, Robert, “A Ucrânia — calcanhar de Aquiles de Gorbatchev. Perspectiva 

ecuménica”, in Brotéria, vol. 126, 1988, 77-80. 



II. Index by thematic areas 

Arts and culture: 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A imprensa soviética e os problemas 

cruciais da Ásia e da Europa”, in Brotéria, vol. 52, 1951, 185-195. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Catanga na imprensa soviética”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 74, 1962, 194-200. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O festival de Moscovo e a Exposição 

de Bruxelas”, in Brotéria, vol. 65, 1957, 402-410. 




in Brotéria, vol. 74, 1962, 439-446; Brotéria, vol. 72, 1961, 315-320. 

CABRAL, J., “Notas e factos. Depuração intelectual na Rússia”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 47, 1948, 219-221. 

S. A., “Arquitectura bolchevista”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, 681-682. 

S. A., “Através das revistas soviéticas”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 1938, p. 219. 

S. A., “Idéias e Factos. A vida musical na Rússia”, in Brotéria, vol. 37, 1943, 

195-196. 

S. A., “Uma curiosa emissora radiofónica de acusação”, in Brotéria, vol. 26, 

1938, p. 684. 

SIMÕES, Manuel, “Poética da música”, in Brotéria, vol. 93, 1971, 603-611. 


em Portugal - I”, in Brotéria, vol. 161, 2005, 225-241. 


em Portugal - II”, in Brotéria, vol. 161, 2005, 353-365. 


em Portugal - III”, in Brotéria, vol. 161, 2005, 455-472. 

TALAN, Nikica, “História de Portugal escrita pelo croata Adalbert Adam 

Baric (1742-1813)”, in Brotéria, vol. 156, 2003, 489-496. 

TALAN, Nikica, “Relações histórico-culturais croato-lusitanas”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 143, 1996, 33-56. 

Science and Technology: 

AMARAL, Carlos do (Pseud. Manuel Antunes), “Satélites da URSS (1944- 

1969)”, in Brotéria, vol. 89, 1969, 503-509. 



ARCHER, Luís J., “A ciência marxista no mundo de hoje”, in Brotéria, vol. 

60, 1955, 645-657. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Actividades da Academia de Ciências 

na U.R.S.S.”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Actividades científicas na U.R.S.S.”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A propósito do lançamento de superfoguetões 

balísticos na U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 70, 1960, 448-453. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “A U.R.S.S. e a actividade científica”, 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Ainda o ‘LuniK – III’”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 70, 1960, 45-51. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “As investigações nucleares na União 

Soviética”, in Brotéria, vol. 65, 1957, 174-182. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Sputnik’”, in Brotéria, vol. 66, 

1958, 26-33. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Sputnik III’ e outras actividades 

científicas da U.R.S.S.”, in Brotéria, vol. 67, 1958, 296-309. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “O ‘Sputnik - IV”, in Brotéria, vol. 

71, 1960, 78-82. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os ‘Luniks’ II e III”, in Brotéria, 

vol. 69, 1959, 578-583. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Os sovietes e a bomba atómica”, in 

Brotéria, vol. 50, 1950, 185-191. 

BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Três acontecimentos importantes 


BELINA-PODGAETSKY, Nicolau, “Utilização da energia nuclear na 


C., L., “Notas e factos. A bibliografia do Instituto Scientífico Russo de 

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Frequency of articles on Slavic Countries in Brotéria 


Soutelo and Potocky, or the Fraternity 

of the Enslaved Nations 1 

Carme Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián 

(University of A Coruña) 

In Galician Literature, Grupo Nós is the well-known label for a group 

of authors who were the leaders of Galician cultural life in the 1920s and 

1930s. They were the active creators of novels, stories, dramas, designs 

and essays, as well as being politicians committed to a political paradigm 

that identified with Galiza. Europeanism was also one of the main elements 

of their ideology. 

One of their number, Ramón Otero Pedrayo (1888-1976), is a good 

example of an author that uses narrative discourse as a means to expand 

the debate over national identity. 

This paper will focus upon an analysis of interpretations of the 

Slavic world, the Baltic and especially Poland in one of his romances, Os 

caminhos da vida (1928). 

We will study how these images work as identifying references that 

serve the author as a way to maintain the debate over the affirmation 

of his country’s identity and, at the same time to denounce the political 

dependence, the peripheral situation and the marginalisation of these nations 

in comparison to the nucleus of traditional powers. 

1 The present paper was prepared within the Research Project: “Narrativa, discurso da 

historia e construción da identidade na Galiza” (PGIDIT07PXIBI04151PR) financed by 

the Consellería de Innovación e Industria (Xunta de Galicia). 


220 Carme Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián 

Finally, these interpretations allow Otero Pedrayo to assert the idea 

of Europeanism based on the similarities between Galiza and the other 

peripheral nations of Europe. 

Introduction 

Under the title of Grupo Nós, we associate a group of authors who 

took a leading cultural role in Galiza from 1920 until the military uprising 

in 1936 that gave way to the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent 

dictatorship of Franco. They were active creators as well as politicians 

committed to a political paradigm that identified with Galiza. Europeanism 

was also one of the main elements of their ideology. In addition, the 

main feature that characterises this group and explains its decisive influence 

upon the Galician cultural world was their determined support for 

the elaboration of an essentially cultivated, refined and modern artistic 

discourse that was directly related to the innovative aesthetic waves that 

circulated in Europe at that time. This combination of nationalism and 

universalism, respect for tradition, openness to reform, aestheticism and 

ideological compromise, resulted in wide productivity in various fields (literature, 

drama, essay, science, design, etc.), mainly characterised by formal 

accuracy and originality. The thematic repertoire increased and new genres 

were introduced. Certain elements that were present in the Galician literary 

tradition, such as popular topics and the use of nature and landscapes, 

were treated as a means to a new language, and were clearly influenced 

by the aesthetics of symbolism and expressionism that were fashionable 

in Europe at that time. Above all the most important contribution from 

this group of writers was the conscious and continuous effort that they 

devoted to the cultivation of prose in a literary context which was dominated 

by verse. They were the creators of the modern Galician prose 2 in 

the fields of fiction and essay, and the works belonging to these particular 

genres best reflect the ideological cause that motivated them. 

2 Their contribution has great value concerning the configuration of a model literary 

language. According to G. Sanmartín this period “is also defined as that in which the first 

serious attempt to provide writers with a cultured model for Galician, without which we 

would not write the way we do nowadays” (Rei 2002: 184-185). 


Soutelo and Potocky, or the Fraternity of the Enslaved Nations 221 

Their productivity therefore caused a radical reform of the Galician 

literary panorama at the beginning of the 20 th century, which provided 

them with an indisputable prestige in the eyes of their contemporaries 

(Carvalho Calero 1990: 231). In addition to the charisma that some of 

them undoubtedly had, this significant recognition explains the attraction 

that their cultural projects inspired among older and younger writers. 

Therefore, many initiatives favoured by the members of the Grupo 

Nós would end up influencing almost the whole of the pre-war Galician 

literary universe. One of the most influential authors from this period 

of Galician literature is Ramón Otero Pedrayo (1888-1976), a prolific author 

(narrator, essayist and playwriter), orator and politician. He is a paradigmatic 

representative of the intellectual elite that devoted its creative 

efforts to the literary codification of an ideological discourse that was 

concerned with the creation of an awareness of national identity. This 

discourse was characterised by its orientation towards the ideology, and 

the consolidation, of the cultural and symbolic references that were considered 

essential for the formation of the concept of a nation (Fernández 

Pérez-Sanjulián 2003: 74). This was a transnational process that was developed 

in a similar way in all those situations in which the opportunity arose 

to affirm a particular identity. We may refer to the situation of nineteenthcentury 

America, Galica, Catalonia, Ireland and postcolonial Africa. However, 

as A. Mª Thiesse asserted, the publication of a national literature 

can occur within an educational project focused upon uniting all of the 

social components of a nation into the consciousness of its community 

(Thiesse 2001: 63). An educational project that is going involve various 

means and genres - books, magazines, journals, comics and associated activities 

- as was explicitly outlined in political discourses and texts. All are 

going to be the means by which nationalist elites will develop a didactic 

discourse aimed at their fellow citizens, a discourse focused upon awakening 

their will to become a nation. Nevertheless, it was not in the literature 

of analysis and critical opinion, nor in the essays and the more clearly 

doctrinal, journalistic prose where this form of argument could be found. 

The authors participating in these processes (who included Otero Pedrayo 

and their contemporaries in Nós amongst them) turned narrative into a 

privileged vehicle by which they could present certain primary elements 

of the project to create a nation to a wide audience in a more accessible 

way. The authors intended to refer to identity by means of literary texts 



and, in turn, to create an imaginary ‘we’ 3 from a well-defined group of 

compatriots. In other words, these works intended to define, and thereby 

to affirm, the community to which the discourse was addressed. In other 

words, the narrative discourse was once again based upon certain thematic 

nuclei such as the representation of the symbolic value of the land and the 

landscape, the simulation of history, 4 the creation of a typology of main 

characters and heroes, and the frequent appearance of topics such as the 

Celtic world, Atlantism, and sentimental family relations, as allegories that 

created the idea of a nation. 5 

In this context, these themes, which we will call nationalist 

ideologemes, 6 had an ideological motivation linked to the nationalist 

project that was supported by the work of their creators. The starting 

point for our study must be placed within this theoretical framework. This 

paper proposes to attempt an analysis of the Slavic, Baltic and above all 

Polish interpretations of the work of Ramón Otero Pedrayo, the author 

chosen for the purpose of this analysis. 

Soutelo and Potocky, Two Convergent Careers 

As a starting point we will study the two scholars who give this 

paper its title, and who appeared in one of his Otero’s main works: Os 

caminhos da vida (The Paths of Life), a historical novel published in 1928 that 

takes place between 1836 and 1868. 

3 This concept is understood here in the same way expressed by B. Anderson in Imagined 

Comunities. For him a nation: “It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation 

will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet 

in the minds of each lives the image of their communion […]. It is imagined as a community, 

because, regardless of the actual inequality and exploitation that may prevail in each, 

the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship” (Anderson 1996: 6-7). 

4 Salinas Portugal offers an interesting overview of this issue in a section of his article: “A 

literatura galega e os contornos da identidade” (Portugal 2006: 355-358). 

5 We adopt this concept from D. Sommer who explains how political ideas were apparently 

based upon sentimental stories in the literature of postcolonial America in his Foundational 

Fictions. Therefore, he asserts: “The coherence comes from their common project 

to build, through reconciliations and amalgamations of national constituencies, a cast of 

lovers destined to desire each other. This produces a surprisingly consistent narrative that 

apparently suits a range of political positions” (Sommer 1991: 24). 

6 For a detailed study of the nationalist ideologemes in Otero Pedrayo’s narrative works, 

see Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián 2003: 125-255. 



We will then analyse how the narrative voice provides an ideological 

discourse with a clear theme of identity through the characters of two 

noblemen, the Galician Adrián Soutelo and the Pole Potocky, who were 

exiled in Paris in approximately 1830-1840. In fact Adrián Soutelo, one 

of the main figures in this romance, is a young nobleman who seems to 

be gifted with traits proper to the heroes in Otero’s narrative. Like the 

majority of the male heroes designed by the author, 7 he is an individualist 

young man; he is thoughtful and dreamy and undergoes a long and painful 

process in search of his identity. Therefore Adrián Soutelo belongs to Otero’s 

gallery of sensitive and hesitant individuals, who are aware of being 

different, who live their existence in a convoluted way and need a lifetime 

of searching in order to find their place in the world, their (personal and 

collective) identity, and their real interests. All characters are represented 

as well-aware of the importance that education has in their lives; a rigorous 

intellectual preparation combined with the improvement of sensibility 

and reflection. 

Therefore, the slow description of the formative process, both academic 

and vital, of the main characters has an enormous functional relevance 

in the romances of this author, especially in Os caminhos da vida. In 

Otero’s works the path towards self-knowledge culminates with the adoption 

of a commitment to Galica, with a proto-nationalist or even nationalist 

influence, on the part of their main characters. 

Therefore, that gradual awareness turns into a clear didactic solution 

that Otero Pedrayo uses to fix in his readers the key elements of the ideology 

that the author promoted in his writings. At this point it is important 

to note that travels, especially those that could be considered educational, 

play a fundamental role in the character’s development that the author 

meticulously describes. Encounters and contacts with new realities are essential 

for the formation of his characters’ personality and ideology. Metonymically, 

it explains the importance the author gives to the extension 

of that same educational process to the whole of the society, or at least to 

those who could afford it. In this case it is a trip to Paris and an encounter 

with the exiled that might stimulate the sensitivities of the Galician, and 

7 We find Adrián Solobio or Solovio, Xacobe Vilasantar, Paio Soutelo, Martiño Dumbria 

or Pauliños Fontela in Otero Pedrayo’s works, they are fictional characters who share 

many similarities, who are conceived as personifications of the author’s ideological discourse 

(see Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián 2003: 210-225). 



could make an essential contribution to the configuration of their ideology. 

Above all the figures of the Irish O’Bryan and the Pole Potocky, given 

special importance due to their situation as fighters for their respective nations, 

are presented as identifying 8 points of reference that will eventually 

lead to the political commitment of the Galician Soutelo. It will be Soutelo 

himself – transformed into an autobiographic narrator – who many years 

later, having become a form of paternal figure, will describe this experience 

to his nephew Paio Soutelo. This narration, beyond its apparent 

nostalgic evocation of a vital period of youthful enthusiasm, intends to 

transmit to the nephew the same initial feeling of national pride that the 

old Soutelo learnt from his European friends. Therefore, the reader encounters 

an instructive and founding discourse that can be inserted into 

the integral educational programme that the family designs for the young 

nobleman. Let’s return then to Adrián Soutelo’s story and see how he tells 

the story of his friendship with these men, and the significant effect that 

these encounters had upon his worldview: 

“It took me some time to find the city centre of Paris and company 

that suited my mood. One afternoon I went to Versailles. […] I walked up 

and down near a group of people I particularly liked. Soon I learnt their 

names: Potocky, O´Brian, with other two or three other emigrants, rushed 

through the tree-lined avenue, poorly dressed, their clothes not matching 

at all, as if they were being blown by the wind of the dead, just like dead 

leaves. But in their eyes there shone a calm, restrained, fatal light which 

sparkled every now and then like a gunshot! Their talk shone forth in bright 

pieces only to then drop into long silences ruled by a great fixed idea: the enslaved country/homeland. 

They were castaways saved from the disaster of their lands; and they 

focussed their passions into a yearning that was wholly chimerical at that time. Poland, 

Ireland, Hungary, ancient lands, keepers of the bones of the free races, were immersed 

in the three nets of foreign bureaucracy, militarism, justice and instruction. Potocky’s 

wide chest sighed heavily whenever he thought about his mother’s language 

being swept away from schools, dragged away from printing houses, 

expelled from the sacred chair like a cursed jargon. O´Brian, his grey eyes 

lost on the line of the horizon of sea and sky, thought he was hearing the 

beating of the Atlantic waters against the coastal cliffs of the sagas. The 

8 With regards to this, see the chapter “Os referentes de analoxía” (Beramendi 2007: 

586-589). 



white swans of Ireland were dying one by one in the warm lakes; year after 

year there would be a time where the children would fill the schools and 

churches singing in a strange, hoarse language. Maybe they would even 

doubt the national faith when the Protestant minister hammered out biblical 

passages over and over again. The emigrants did not ask about names 

or countries. They could read in my eyes that I was also an emigrant, 

and talking to them I felt that vision of Galica rising freely, which up to 

that moment had only appeared like a fog from childhood. […] Potocky 

remembered France’s old friendship with Poland, he was a white, strong 

man, a little round shouldered, shy like a child with people, a great hunter, 

so he said, in the melancholic fir forests. There he found, fighting against 

the Russians, a heroic death! Of an old, noble lineage, he suffered for the 

misery of emigration. Louis flew like water from his hands into the poor 

man’s purse or like the courtesan’s onto the gambling table. He had decorated 

pipes and rich, shiny fur […]. One night, O´Brian saved Potocky 

from death. He found him on a bridge; the huge Polish man was staggering 

with unshapely steps, falling on both sides; the fur on him, skinned and 

dirty, made his condition even worse. Drunk with spirits, he said: “What is 

the reason for living? I tried to look for comfort. Poland is dead, the last 

bands have crossed the border. Only a gun or the Seine will free me from 

this martyrdom”. The firm spark in the Celtic man’s eyes cured him and 

gave him hope. That was a short time, before I made acquaintance with 

them. In the poor restaurants, I told them about my vision of Galica”. 9 

9 Original: “Tardei en atopar en París o centro e a compaña doadas para o meu xenio. 

Un serán fun a Versalles. [...] Andei rondando un grupo de persoas que me interesaban. 

Axiña souben os seus nomes: Potocky, O’Bryan, con outros dous ou tres emigrados, 

alancaban polas alamedas, mal fateados, con indumentos contradictorios, como levados 

polo vento dos mortos igual que as follas murchas. ¡Mais nos seus ollos brillaba unha luz 

serena, contida, fatal, dando ás veces un brillar súpeto de pistolazo! A conversa estralaba en 

anacos labarecentes para caer logo en espaciados silenzos dominados polo aleteo da grande idea fixa: a 

patria escravizada. Eran náufragos salvados da catástrofe das súas terras; e xuntaban as súas paixóns 

nun arelar polo de entón practicamente quimérico. Polonia, Irlanda, Hungría, antergas terras gardadoras 

dos ósos das razas ceibes, ficaban envolveitas nas triples redes da burocracia, do militarismo, da xustiza 

e do ensino estranxeiros. O vasto peito de Potocky estralaba en salaios ó pensar na lingua da 

súa nai varrida das escolas, arrincada das imprentas, botada como unha xerga maldizoada 

da cátedra sagrada. O’Bryan, os ollos griseiros perdidos nunha liña de mar e ceo, pensaba 

ouvir o bater das augas atlánticas nos rochedos da costa das sagas. Os cisnes brancos da 

Irlanda morrían un a un nos lagos mornos; ano tras ano chegaría tempo en que os rapaces 

encherían a escola e o templo cantaruxando nunha lingua estraña e bronca. Quizais ata 

dubidasen da fe nacional diante do martelar das pasaxes bíblicas polo pastor protestante. 



Therefore, the character of Potocky is based upon the stereotype of 

the romantic hero, and more precisely upon the conventional literary images 

that were adopted as a model of the nineteenth-century liberal man. 

At the same time this character demonstrates some of the images 

of the Slavic world that had been developed in the literature of the peninsula, 

and had also been advocated by other art forms such as opera 

and the plastic arts. For example, the author first uses the patronymic 

Potocky (without any direct relationship with the figure of the writer Jan 

Potocky) due to its simple evocative power (which suggests an immediate 

connection with Poland’s history and culture) and because it reinforces the 

believability of the character in the eyes of his readers. Potocky’s character 

conforms to the stereotype of the slave, which helped to consolidate the 

cult of Western Europe in literature and the other arts. 

In this case, the nobleman is a strong white man, a good hunter in 

the melancholic fir forests, who when in Paris is dressed in shiny rich furs 

and smokes with decorated pipes. Being romantic, passionate and daring, 

while at the same time being a shy and sensitive man, he is described as a 

hedonist who is fond of drinking, is generous and wasteful, and enjoys his 

Ós emigrados non se preguntaban os nomes nin as patrias, Nos meus ollos coñeceron 

que eu tamén era un emigrado, e eu, falando con eles, sentín xurdir ceibe aquela visión da 

Galiza que ata entón soamente se me tiña presentado como unha néboa de rapaz. 

[...] Potocky lembraba a vella amizade de Francia por Polonia, era un home branco e 

forte, un pouco cangado de ombreiros, curto como un neno coa xente, gran cazador, 

segundo dicía, nos melancólicos bosques de abetos, ¡Neles atopou, loitando cos rusos, 

unha morte heroica! De caste antiga e fidalga, sufría coa miseria da emigración; os luíses 

decorrían como a auga dende a os seus dedos á faltriqueira do pobre ou da cortesá, na 

mesa do xogo. Levaba pipas adornadas e peles brillantes e ricas [...]. 

Outra noite O’Bryan salvou da morte a Potocky. Atopouno nunha ponte; o xigane 

polonés alancaba con pasos disformes, caendo para os lados; as peles que o cubrían, espelexadas 

e porcas, facían máis duro o seu estado. Borracho de augardente, falaba: -¿Para 

que vivir? Quíxenme consolar. A Polonia está morta, as derradeiras bandas cruzaron a 

fronteira. Só a pistola ou o Sena me ceibarán deste martirio”. 

O firme resplandor dos ollos do celta curouno e deulle esperanza. Foi pouco denantes 

de facer eu coñecemento con eles. Nos pobres restaurantes conteilles eu a miña visión de 

Galiza” (Otero Pedrayo 1985: 228-230) My italics ; unless otherwise stated, the translations 

are mine. 


Soutelo and Potocky, or the Fraternity of the enslaved Nations 227 

time visiting game rooms and courtesans while in exile. However, he never 

forgets that his life is completely focused upon saving his ‘enslaved nation’. 

This mission will even lead him to his death (he dies while fighting against 

the Russians), a tragic ending of which readers are informed thanks to a 

useful prolepsis. As mentioned above, Souleto’s awareness of his Galician 

national identity is insitigated by means of the characters of Potocky and 

the Irish O’Bryan. 

It is also important to note that comments and reflections by these 

characters also promote ideas that represent passages of genuine importance 

to the novel. For instance, they emphasise the role that language 

plays in any movement of national vindication, and the need to create a 

concept of national identity. For example, we read: “[…] Right now, in 

this Europe which boasts about being so cultivated, there are many races 

subjected to foreign tyranny. One might have thought they were dead if 

their soul were not speaking in the verses of various poets.” 10 

The author introduces another fundamental point: Galiza has the 

same problems – lack of political power, a peripheral location, the lack of 

leading elites – as other European nations in a similar situation. 

This would lead Otero Pedrayo to the most innovative idea within 

the Galician discourse up to that point: the importance of solidarity with 

other, not necessarily Atlantic, European nations. 

Therefore, the idea of Atlantism (linked to Celtism in the Galician 

cultural tradition) is related to Europeanism, a standard concept in the 

political and cultural work of the author 11 and his colleagues. 12 

By placing the situation of those European nations without official 

status alongside the development of Galician self-consciousness in the 

nineteenth century, Otero Pedrayo establishes a clear correlation between 

the birth of the first reflections upon the uniqueness of Galiza and those 

taking place across Europe at the same time: the emergence of nationalism 

10 Original: “[…] Agora mesmo, nesta Europa que se gaba de ser tan culta hai moitas 

razas que sofren baixo a tiranía estranxeira. Pensaríase que están mortas se non falara a 

súa alma nos versos dalgúns poetas” (Otero Pedrayo, 1985: 290). 

11 “Otero Pedrayo rejects the abstract and standardising cosmopolitism although he does 

not request a closure in the narrow limits of the culture itself, but universality based on 

plurality, on the free and peaceful harmony of people. This position puts into practice a 

disposition open to the world culture, too” (Quintana / Valcárcel 1988: 87). 

12 An approach to the concept of Europeism for the Galicianist movement can be found 

in Carro, 1985: 283-285. See also Villares (2006: 124f). 



in territories which would later achieve their independence from the states 

that had dominated them. Therefore, on one hand, in a dialogue concerning 

all matters Galician, he describes Galiza as equal with other nations in 

similar situations. On the other hand, he introduces a model of Europeanism, 

which is conceived from an open and integrated standpoint, in the 

line with the maxim of the Galician nationalist party Partido Galeguista, also 

used by the group Nós: “Galiza, cell of universality”. 13 As in many of his 

other works, the author depicts an idea of Europe that is closely linked to 

his vision of the Galician nation, and is far from the ideas of self-absorption, 

and of local reductionism. This is one of the fundamental themes 

of his best-known novel: Arredor de si (About Himself), published in 1930. 

In this novel we are told about the local and foreign travels (around Spain 

and Europe) of another Adrián. In this case it is Adrián Solovio, another 

of those paradigmatic heroes who, after a long period of searching, rediscover 

their homeland and embark upon a political engagement with it. 14 In 

the last chapter of this novel the reflections that the city of Santiago induces 

in the main character when he returns from his journey are described: 

“[…] [Santiago de Compostela] it didn’t give Adrián the impression 

of a cosmopolitan power. On the contrary, it affirmed the vitality of a 

small country, brilliant in spirit, necessary for the economy of the world. 

Only on the shores of the Atlantic can small countries live free, perhaps 

they are at the very centre of world events.” 15 

13 This maxim is also included in the “Programa de acción pra os Grupos Galeguistas 

aprobado na II Asambreia 1933” (Action Programme for Pro-Galician Groups as passed 

in the 2 nd Meeting 1933). 

14 The author himself talks about this work in an interview carried out in the last year of 

his life: “Adrián Solovio, the main character in the book, is me and all the young men we 

found in Galica at that time: Castelao, Lousada, Risco, Cuevillas, each of them having 

their differences […]. How long it took us to discover our land by going around the universe 

and through books! From time to time I came back to my hometown in Trasalba 

full of dilettante worries, and what did I find there? A rural and suppressed Galiza, ignorant 

people who were forgotten in a corner while I was searching for the truth in books, 

and it burnt into my chest more and more every time” (Freixanes 1982: 22-23). 

15 Original: “[…] [Santiago de Compostela] non lle daba a Adrián a sensación dun poder 

cosmopolita. Polo contrario, afirmaba a vitalidade dunha pequena patria, lucente de espírito, 

necesaria na Economía do mundo. Só nas beiras atlánticas poden vivir os pequenos 

pobos, ceibes, quizais precisamente por estar no centro das correntes do mundo” (Otero 

Pedrayo 1990: 172-173). 


Finally, in an even more explicit passage towards the end of the 

novel the narrator explains Adrián’s dream of Europe, his vision of what 

Europe should become in a near future: 

“[...] The novelty of Europe, the one she expects, the one she will 

always justify to the world [...] is nothing [...] but the discovery and the 

adult age of all the nations that it consists of, the emergence of all the collective 

national souls. [...] Adrián [...] imagined the future map of Europe. 

The borders were not customs lines but vital transition zones between the 

harmonious consciousness of the nations.” 16 

As stated above, Otero Pedrayo was already describing the concept 

later known as the ‘Europe of the nations’, as opposed to that of the 

states from an essentially literal point of view, in the first quarter of the 

twentieth century. 

Conclusion 

Soutelo and Potocky, or the Fraternity of the enslaved Nations 229 

The present paper reveals that the two characters in question, the 

Galician Adrián Soutelo and the Pole Potocky, are reference points for 

self-identification that enable the author to sustain his affirmation of selfidentity. 

That identity had been rejected due to his nation’s situation of 

political dependence and the marginalisation in regard to the traditional 

centres of power. At the same time, these images are used to insist on the 

necessity for spreading the idea of Europeanism, which must not be conceived 

from the perspective of national states – traditionally seen as central 

to the configuration of Europe – but from a different point of view 

that highlights the similarities between the peripheral European nations, 

with or without an official status. 

16 Original: “[...] A novidade de Europa, a que ela agarda, a que xustificará para sempre 

no mundo [...] non é [...] senón o descubrimento e maioría de idade de todos os pobos 

que a compoñen, o xurdimento de todas as almas colectivas, nacionais. [...] Adrián [...] 

imaxinaba o futuro mapa da Europa. As fronteiras non eran liñas de aduanas senón vitais 

zonas de transición entre as harmoniosas conciencias dos pobos” (Otero Pedrayo 1990: 

191-192). 



Bibliography 


Otero Pedrayo, Ramón (1990[1928]): Os camiños da vida. Vigo. 

Otero Pedrayo, Ramón (1985[1930]): Arredor de si. Vigo. 

Secondary sources: 

Anderson, Benedict (1996): Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and 

Spread of Nationalism. London, New York. 

Beramendi, Justo (2007): De provincia a nación. Historia do galeguismo politico. 

Vigo. 

Carro, Xavier (1985): O galeguismo na encrucillada republicana. Ourense. 

Carvalho Calero, Ricardo (1990): Do galego e da Galiza. Santiago. 

Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián, Carme (2003): A construción nacional no discurso 

literario de Ramón Otero Pedrayo. Vigo. 

Freixanes, Víctor F. (1982): “Ramón Otero Pedrayo, memoria de todas as 

cousas” in: Freixanes, Víctor F., Unha ducia de galegos. Vigo, 15-38. 

Quintana, X. Ramón, Valcárcel, Marcos (1988): Ramón Otero Pedrayo. Vida, 

obra e pensamento. Vigo. 

Portugal, Francisco Salinas (2006) : “A literatura galega e os contornos da 

identidade” in: Salinas Portugal, Francisco, Tavares Maleval, Mª Amparo 

(Eds.), Estudos Galego-Brasileiros 2. A Coruña, 349-364. 

Sanmartin Rei, Goretti (2002): Lendo nas marxes. Lingua e compromiso nos 

paratextos (1963-1936). A Coruña. 

Sommer, Doris (1991): Foundational Fictions: The National Romances of Latin 

America. Berkeley. 

Thiesse, Anne M. (2001): La création des identités nationales. Europe XVIIIe- 

XXe siècle. Paris. 

Villares, Ramón (2006): Fuga e retorno de Adrián Solovio. Sobre a educación sentimental 

dun intelectual galeguista. A Coruña. 


Approaches to Twentieth-First Century Slavic 

Immigration in Portuguese and Spanish Literature: 

A Comparative Analysis 

Introduction 

Maria Isabel Morán Cabanas 

(University of Santiago de Compostela) 

The aim of the present paper is to reflect upon literary representations 

of Eastern European immigrant communities in two recently published 

works: A Sopa [The Soup] (Porto, 2004), by Filomena Marona Beja, 

and Ucrania [Ukraine] (Barcelona, 2006), by Pablo Aranda. Through the 

life, work and sentimental outlook of two main characters, both novels 

offer a detailed observation of the multiple factors that currently shape 

the complex societies of the Iberian Peninsula. Both novels describe the 

struggle by individuals to face and overcome difficulties derived from laws, 

fears and diverse prejudices, which hinder their integration and coexistence. 

At the same time they introduce the reader to issues such as mixed 

couples; ‘transnational maternity’ and its potential costs for mothers and 

children respectively; the existence of mafias and their strategies in recent 

years; and the ‘ethnocentric perception’ of the societies that receive the 

immigrants – for example in both books Ukrainians are represented and 

generally designated as ‘Russians’, always ‘Russians’, despite certain voices 

pleading for respect for their own identity. 


232 María Isabel Morán Cabanas 

International migration has always been an important aspect of 

European history, having been of great importance in the formation of 

societies, in the development of markets and in the process of industrialisation. 

One of the most significant changes to the phenomenon of European 

migration in recent years took place in Portugal and Spain, which 

passed from being traditional points of departure for a significant section 

of their populations, who were in search of better economic conditions, 

into recipients of workers from other countries. In our discussion 

we will analyse the literary approaches to Eastern European immigrant 

communities in two recently published Portuguese and Spanish novels. 

In particular, we will analyse the treatment of certain characters in A Sopa 

and Ucrania, for example their lifestories, working conditions and personal 

relationships. Both novels provide an accurate observation of the multiple 

factors that make Portugal and Spain today: they describe behaviours and 

conflicts that refer to a bleak and difficult reality, showing us the struggle 

of individuals to overcome obstacles. 

Both books depict this new and complex reality that we have to deal 

with everyday in the streets and in the written and audiovisual mass-media, 

the latter being of particular influence in the configuration of the image 

of the immigrant. The approach of the two novelists may be regarded as 

courageous because the phenomenon of immigration – despite becoming 

increasingly visible – remains a topic that is relatively absent from contemporary 

literature. It seems that both Portuguese and Spanish authors try 

to avoid it, perhaps for fear of subscribing to what is derisively reffered to 

as ‘politically correct’, or perhaps for fear of being erroneously described 

as anachronistic due to following a neo-neo-realist discourse – “what is most 

certain is that the majority [...] flee from these topics as the devil flees from 

holy water” (Silva 2004), states journalist José Maria Silva. 1 

1 It is worth mentioning other works that, to a certain extent, have recently brought the 

issues relating to immigrant populations from Eastern Europe to the attention of Portuguese 

fiction. Above all note Pedro G. Rosado’s novel, titled as Ulianov e o Diabo [Ulianov 

and the Devil] (2006) written in the genre of detective fiction, whose main character is an 

Eastern European immigrant and former member of a Russian special armed forces 

(spetsnaz), who seeks justice and revenge in a dark and adverse Lisbon: hidden rooms, 

brothels, hooray Henrys, frustrations and crimes form the scene of such a narrative. Also 

think of Manuel da Silva Ramos’ novel, Sol da Meia-Noite [Midnight Sun] (2007), and of 

Manuela Gonzaga’s Meu único, grande amor: casei-me [My Only True Love: I got married] (2007), 

as well as the play Quarto Minguante [Last Quarter] (2007), with which Rodrigo Francisco 

began his career as a dramatist, and was already produced by Almada’s Theatre Company 


Approaches to 21st Century Slavic Immigration in Portuguese and Spanish Literature 233 

In this context it should also be noted that in several interviews Pablo 

Aranda has declared “if literature compromises, it runs the risk of being 

a pamphlet” (Cortés 2006), repeatedly affirming that he did not write 

a political book but instead narrated familiar stories with social characters 

of relevance to the present: 

“It tells of the story of a woman who arrives, as do many, in search 

of a job […]. I was even talking to a few of them, in order to understand 

the sensations caused by the change of country, and what things attracted 

their attention about Malaga.” (Cortés 2006) 

In terms of narrative technique in both works the approach to oral 

speech, the fractured structure, and the construction of images that move 

on from the linearity of previous realistic writing, is remarkable. Some 

critics believe that the characters’ diverse experiences, as well as their natures 

and their internal struggles, are better represented through dialogue 

and direct speech, which ignore the monomorphic configuration of other 

more traditional novels, which follow the conventions of written discourse 

accurately (Ibarrola-Armendariz 2006: 16-41). 

A Sopa 

In A Sopa, Filomena Marona Beja presents us with a selection of socially 

excluded persons whose lives revolve around an old coal warehouse 

in the Lisbon docks, which is run by a non-governmental humanitarian aid 

foundation. The staff and the president live on official subsidies and philanthropic 

donations from private companies. In effect, A Sopa appears 

to be a survey of the socially excluded of the new, early twentieth-firstcentury 

Portugal, revealing the dark side of Portuguese cosmopolitism 

through descriptions of the lives of certain individuals: the Ukrainians 

(generally referred to as ‘Russians’) belong to a group of other immigrant 

communities (those from Africa for instance) and to the community of 

non-integrated or socially unadjusted Portuguese nationals (former soldiers 

of the colonial war; repatriates who have failed to earn their living 

in France; expatriates who had to return to Portugal as a consequence of 

drug abuse and drug trafficking). 

in the Local Theatre of this city during the months of March and April 2007. 



The only differences by which the author-narrator identifies Eastern 

European immigrants from other marginalised groups within the host 

country are their working competence and their physical-mental characteristics: 

they are people of a blue, fixed and cold gaze; the colour of their 

face is always pale; they like hard liquor and have a ‘golden tooth’ popping 

through their lips; they do not look directly at the Portuguese or at the Africans; 

they do not protest, but seem to constantly display distrust towards 

everything. Not belonging to the Foundation in the novel, they are always 

expecting alms in form of soup served in plastic cups: 

“It was impressive that the Russians never said anything. One would 

have expected them at least to have exchanged some words between themselves. 

However, they melted into silence. Perhaps on account of distrust, 

they stayed out of the Foundation as if they did not exist. The stiffening 

wind coming from the river hit their bodies. They remained motionless, 

without making gestures. Nobody knew when they had begun to appear. 

‘It was sudden’, people said. And who had they possibly been? What had 

their lives been like before they had engaged with the passadores and paid 

for the illegal border crossing? 

As far as this last question was concerned, many versions were 

circulating, some amazing ones among them. But, with their visas overstayed, 

without work contracts and without a tax payer’s account number 

they were denied an identity. Now they were clandestines or ‘illegals’ as the 

authorities used to amend the term. 

Whatever they were called, everything indicated that they had become 

slaves. As the dining hall was the only reason for them to come 

there, getting [food] remains would humiliate them.” 2 

2 Original: “Impressionava aquilo de os russos não dizerem nada. Seria de esperar que, 

pelo menos, trocassem umas palavras entre eles. Contudo, fundiam-se no silêncio. Possivelmente, 

por desconfiança, deixavam-se ficar no exterior da Fundação como se não existissem. 

O vento que enrijava, vindo do rio, batia-lhes nos corpos. Continuavam parados. 

Sem gestos. Não se fazia ideia da altura em que aquela gente teria começado a aparecer. 

‘Foi de repente’, dizia-se. E quem teriam sido? Quais as suas vidas, antes de se arriscarem 

aos passadores? A esse propósito corriam muitas versões, algumas de espantar. Mas, 

com vistos caducados, sem contratos de trabalho nem números de contribuinte, sonegara-se-lhes 

a identidade. Agora eram clandestinos, ‘ilegais’, emendavam as autoridades. 

Chamassem-lhes como quisessem. Tudo indicava que se tinham tornado escravos. Sendo 

o refeitório a única razão de ali virem, receber restos [de comida] haveria de os humilhar.” 

(Beja 2004: 28). The author translates all quotes from this work within this paper. 



During the international conference of CompaRes in Lisbon in April 

2007, Miguel Real emphasised that these conditions evoke, in our [Portuguese] 

collective (sub)unconsciousness, “the humble, menial work done 

by the black and Moorish [sic] slave community until the late nineteenth 

century, when it was liberated from slavery under the governance of the 

Marquês de Pombal” (Real 2007). Of all the characters in the novel, Kiev 

sticks out most. He receives the name Kiev from the employees of the 

foundation because they do not know his real name. When Kiev starts to 

learn the Portuguese language and succeeds in getting his ideas across, his 

true name is revealed: Sergei. 

This circumstance makes the reader expect a transition from isolation 

to significant integration, but in the novel our expectations become 

progressively more frustrated: on the basis of its regulations the Foundation 

does not accept Sergei as a member, thus condemning him to existential 

and residential marginality, and he does not manage to acquire enough 

money for his monthly pay to the passadores, the mafia who menace and 

finally assault him – his compatriots actually distance themselves from him 

because they know he is ‘marked’, and the love between Sergei and Rosa, 

a social worker, does not turn out well in spite of their efforts. 

Everything appears to contribute to the dividing wall that exists between 

both characters: she departs to Madrid in order to further her studies, 

while he has to go through a series of difficult situations, and suffer 

hard physical aggression, until he finally dies after being poisoned by a 

homeless Portuguese woman: “Kiev was dead. Hair and pillow soaked in 

vomit. 

He lay openmouthed with his golden tooth visible”. 3 Integration 

does not occur, therefore encapsulating in fiction the situation that exists 

between Portugal and immigrants from East-European countries. To a 

large extent Sergei’s situation turns out to be a prototype representing the 

social and existential problems of the entire community. 

He has to endure employers who do not pay him fair wages, the 

overstaying of his visa, his ‘illegal’ situation, the food petition to the NGO, 

some poorly-paid side jobs contrary to his musical education. 4 

3 Original: “O Kiev estava morto. Cabelo e almofada empapados num vómito. Boca 

aberta, a ver-se o dente de ouro” (Beja 2004: 192). 

4 To study these circumstances in depth see – among many others – the collective study 

by Baganha, Marques, Góis (2003). In few years the Ukrainian population became the 

most numerous minority in Portugal, dislodging the Brazilian and Cape Verdians – two 



Ukraine 

The author of Ucrania describes the experiences of Elena, a woman 

who travels to Málaga in search of a better life. 5 

She gets to know her Spanish husband Jorge via the internet, and 

their relationship develops by email: he wants a woman to help him to 

escape from solitude and routine; she needs to leave her native country 

legally and to work abroad to be able to bring her son Viktor with her, 

which is her purpose, her main wish. A situation that creates a temporary 

rift between her and her husband, a man from Andalusia, who is always 

characterised as timid and uptight. One of his colleagues had insisted on 

him choosing a woman from the East from a series of foreigners who 

were advertised on the internet: 

“People talk about the Swedes and the Cubans or about the Brazilians 

who move their bums, but compared to a Russian they are worth 

nothing, I tell you that”. 6 

After looking at a number of photos he chooses Elena’s, and from 

then on stereotyped descriptions and attitudes follow each other in the 

form of alerts concerning the dangers of any emotional bond. With each 

step the reader encounters the host society’s prejudices relating to their 

belief that Eastern women are agents of flippancy and promiscuity: 

nationalities with a long tradition of migration to Portugal due to their postcolonial links. 

The impact of their arrival is also demonstrated by the fact that this group exceeds the 

second most significant community from central and Eastern Europe, the Moldovians, 

by nearly in five times in terms of quantity. For enquiries about data and percentages 

relating to the migrant situation in Portugal we follow Hellermann, Stanek 2007. 

5 Ukrainians are the most numerous European immigrant group living in Malaga’s metropolitan 

zone, totalling 2603 residents in this city (Ramírez 2007). Actually this minority 

it is not so pominent in the Spanish mass media, the Romanian presence being the most 

significant: by the end of 2003 more than one in three foreigners coming from this part 

of the continent were of Romanian nationality (37.8%). The second most important 

community in terms of quantity is the Bulgarian, followed by the Ukrainian. On the 

other hand we must remember that Polish immigration has fallen significantly lately. For 

more data, we still follow the information offered by Hellermann, Stanek 2007. 

6 Original: “la gente habla de las suecas y de las cubanas, o de las brasileñas esas que mueven 

el culo, pero al lado de una rusa no valen nada, te lo digo yo” (Aranda 2006: 19). The 

author translates all quotes from this work within this paper. 



“But no, man, damn, don’t you get it, Jorge? You meet a Russian or a 

black, you have your fun for a while, you screw her as often as you can, and 

that’s it. And if one day you fuck one of them and fall asleep before leaving 

and fuck her again when you wake up and you like it and you stay another 

day and remain like that for five years, fucking and talking afterwards 

about whatever, ‘cause that is what women like, then you get married, but 

its not like that – ‘cause you don’t know her […]; ‘cause the only thing she 

wants are papers, and as soon as she gets them she will confess that she 

has five children, and knowing you like I do, she will convince you to get 

them into your house and when she has bled you dry as much as possible 

she will tell you to fuck off, ‘cause Russian women are like that, and before 

telling you to fuck off, she will tell you that, besides, she’s messing around 

with her ex-husband, who is also Russian and has boxer’s arms and that if 

you don’t watch out he will smash your face in”. 7 

The reader follows Elena’s movements and finds in her a character 

situated between the categories of victim and heroine. She tries to keep 

her ‘deviations’ from the truth to as few as possible and she never forgets 

her duties as a mother. When the Spanish citizen offers her help she turns 

to marriage, but without illusion or hypocrisy: 

“I’ll be at Jorge’s mercy if he isn’t good, him accepting my proposal 

and me trusting his word, what else can I do [...]. I told Jorge: I need the 

papers. I am going to marry a man who didn’t exist some months ago”. 8 

7 Original: “Que no, tío, que no te enteras, coño, Jorge, que uno conoce a una rusa, o a 

una negra, se ríe un rato, se harta de follar si puede y ya está. Y si un día te follas a una y 

antes de irte te quedas dormido y te la vuelves a follar cuando te despiertas y te gusta y 

quedas para otro día y estás así cinco años, follando y hablando después de lo que sea, que 

eso es lo que les gusta a las tías, pues entonces te casas, pero no así. Que no la conoces 

[...] ; ella lo único que quiere son los papeles y en cuanto los tenga te confesará que tiene 

cinco hijos y conociéndote te convencerá para meterlos en tu casa y cuando ya te haya 

sangrado todo lo posivel te mandará a tomar por culo, que las rusas son así, y antes de 

mandarte a tomar por culo te driá que además es que ainda por aquí su antiguo mardio 

que también es ruso y tiene unos brazos así de boxeador y que como te descuides te 

abrirá la cabeza” (Aranda 2006: 160). Allow us to remember that in O Sol de Meia-Noite 

[Midnight Sun], one of the Portuguese novels previously mentioned, describing a trip to 

the depths of Lisbon’s night life, dominated by madness, sex and alcohol, a new word 

is created to denominate the sexual practice between Portuguese men and Ukrainian 

women: kievaginação [kievagination]. 

8 Original: “Jorge, que me tendrá a su merced si no es bueno, que accede a mi propuesta 



She reconsiders and accepts the hospitality of Jorge, who respects 

her wish to only sleep next to him in order to keep up appearances, without 

touching her, but feeling passionate and hoping for it to be returned 

someday. 

Elena actually feels the constant need to justify herself for having 

left her country: 

“I am looking for warmth in Spain, like pups […] searching for the 

warm haunches of their mother, the tit. Spain is a tit, a giant breast that 

I’m pleading for me”. 9 

Along Elena’s journey we encounter some of the basic factors associated 

with the question of the acceptance and integration of immigrants 

from the East, especially in her condition as a woman. 

Through characters comments, especially those of Jorge’s friends 

and family, the book reveals the difficulty of overcoming prejudices concerning 

people who try to improve their situation, which lack any kind of 

moral scruple. 

On the other hand we find allusions to the free help offered by 

NGOs. For example MÁLAGA ACOGE is mentioned several times, 

which promotes the cause of the immigrants and proposes respectful 

cross-cultural integration. 10 

Likewise the novel highlights the need of the immigrants to take 

jobs that are unworthy of their university education in order to survive 

and reach their objective of family reunification, as we can see in the following 

thoughts Elena has about her situation as servant and nanny, which 

involves living for twenty-four hours a day in the work place and an almost 

y yo confío en su palabra, qué otra cosa me puedo permitir [...]. Se lo dije a Jorge: necesito 

los papeles. Voy a casarme con un hombre que hace unos meses no existía” (Aranda 

2006: 121). 

9 Original: “Yo busco en España calor, como los cachorros [...] cachorros que pretenden 

el lomo cálido de la madre, la teta. España es una teta, un pecho enorme que yo reclamo” 

(Aranda 2006: 170). 

10 ACOGE´s net is a federation of several pro-immigrant NGOs that comprise several 

entities working in a coordinated way in different areas of the country, pleading for a 

sensitive society that is in favour of a coexistence ruled by mutual respect. It also intends 

to serve as a negotiator with different administrations, public and private agents involved 

in the management of the migration phenomenon. 



complete loss of autonomy and flexibility, having to be available to her 

employers at all times. 11 

Faced with the recriminations of her mother (still in Ukraine) and 

even herself, this woman tries to find a reason to explain and justify so 

much effort: 

“And she kept on walking, her mother’s words echoing in her ears, 

repeating, as a record automatically rewinds once it’s finished, to be reproduced 

in an undefined way, that’s what I paid your university for? How 

long without her mother scolding her, so much sacrifice for that? In recent 

years it had been the other way round, it was for her to scold her mother. 

You finished your degree to start cleaning floors, cleaning Spanish babies’ 

bottoms? And she wouldn’t stop talking, explaining, that it was a good 

family, that it was a decent job, that what was thought work consisted of 

for the thousands of Ukrainian women with whom she was sharing the 

city […]. Leaving the Ukraine to end up as a house worker, a live-in cleaner, 

only going out on Sundays, when she had probably read more books 

than both the master and the mistress of the house […] were ever going 

to read. While cleaning floors and preparing meals she soon found the 

answers herself, that this is not finishing, this is not the end, this is just a 

means, being a live-in servant involves not spending, just earning […] buying 

a plane ticket, a one way ticket and two returns, or three if my mother 

decides to come with us, looking for a school for Viktor.” 12 

11 It is precisely through this form of activity that immigrant women frequently gain 

access to remunerated work, which constitutes a continuation of the traditional gender 

role, as Carlota Solé and Sonia Paralla (2005) state when studying new experiences of 

motherhood from within the most recent migration flows. 

12 Original: “Y siguió andando, las palabras de su madre retumbando en los oídos, 

repitiéndose, como una grabación que una vez escuchada se rebobinara automáticamente 

para reproducirse de forma indefinida, ¿para eso te pagué la universidad?, cuánto tiempo 

sin que su madre le regañase, ¿para eso tanto sacrificio?, en los últimos años había sido 

precisamente al revés, era ella la que reñía a su madre, ¿terminas una licenciatura para 

ponerte a limpiar suelos, a limpiar culos de niños españoles?, y no le dejaba hablar, explicarle, 

que era una buena familia, que se trataba de un trabajo digno, que a ver en qué creía 

ella que consistía el trabajo de los miles de ucranianas con las que compartía ciudad […] 

salir de Ucrania, para acabar empleada en una casa de limipadora, interna, saliendo apenas 

los domingos, habiendo leído probablemente más libros que los que entre el señor 

y la señora de la casa […] fuesen a leer jamás, pero limpiando sus suelos, preparando sus 

comidas, aunque ella misma, menos mal, se topó rápido con las respuestas, es que esto 

no es acabar,esto no es el fin, este sólo es el medio, ser interna significa no tener gastos, 


240 María Isabel Morán Cabanas A 

A significant number of physical-mental characteristics used in the 

Potuguese novel to define the Ukrainian people can be found in the Spanish 

one: their light skin and their fixed stare, their penchant for vodka, and 

a certain attitude of distrust that serves as protective weapon and defence. 

However, Eastern immigrants receive much greater prominence in Ucrania, 

as the title itself indicates, taking us from Malaga to the city of Lvov, 

where Elena has her home and where her family lives. The readers also 

witness occasional trips made to other parts of Eastern Europe – both 

physically and through deep reflections about the most recent history of 

the nation – for example Kiev, Odessa, the phantom-city of Pripiat and 

the Chernobyl nuclear plant (originally called Vladimir Lenin). Circulating 

through the memory of this character without stopping, in an often 

feverish rhythm, and through speech influenced by a hard critical attitude 

to past and present: 

“The Ukraine disintegrated at Chernobyl, in that damned April 

when the Ukraine rose to the skies and burst into pieces, Ukraine, a broken 

cup when falling onto the ground. And now, the Ukraine is made up 

of pieces that bit by bit complete an artisan’s unfinished work, an extended 

carpet beaten by someone that, when one tries to put back, does not 

fit anymore, the Ukraine is now a different country. Lvov reaches out to 

the difficult European Union, while the East intends to stay connected to 

Russia. Kiev, in the middle, focuses its strengths on Brussels, but Moscow 

has immense political influence, and corruption: money represents the 

point of the string where those pulling from each side meet. So, meanwhile, 

the pieces settle, people leave, women [...]. I leave, too. It is a question 

of survival.” 13 

sólo ingresos, […] comprar el billete de avión, uno de ida y dos de vuelta, o tres si mi 

madre se decide a venir con nosotros, buscar un colegio para Viktor” (Aranda 2006: 223). 

13 Original: “Ucrania se desintegró en Chernobil, aquel abril maldito en que Ucrania se 

elevó hasta los cielos y estalló en pedazos, Ucrania un vaso hecho añicos al caer al suelo. 

Y ahora Ucrania la forman muchos trozos que poco a poco van encajando, un porducto 

de artesanía inacabado, una alfombra extendida que alguien ha sacudido y al ir a colocarla 

de nuevo ya no cabe, Ucrania es ahora un país distinto. Lvov se estira hacia la difícil 

Unión Europea, el este pretende seguir conectado a Rusia, Kiev, en medio, apunta sus 

fuerzas hacia Bruselas, pero Moscú pesa mucho, y la corrupción: el dinero señala el punto 

de la cuerda donde se encuentran los que tiran de ambos lados. Y mientras las piezas 

se colocan, la gente se va, las mujeres [...]. Yo también me marcho. Es una cuestión de 

supervivencia” (Aranda 2006: 120). 



Pablo Aranda also tells the reader about various means and ways to 

enter the host country: aside from the tourist visa with a validity lasting 

ninety days, and the negotiated marriage used by Elena, the author focuses 

upon the presence of mafias that search for more intricate ways of entering 

the Spanish state, as well as upon criminal gangs that specialise in bank 

robbery and in assaulting businesses. In this context Alexandrer, Elena’s 

ex-husband, plans to cross borders under the pretence of a fictitious fencing 

competition, a sport that appears to be a characteristic attribute of the 

eastern countries: “Five hundred euros for each member of the team. Our 

team may comprise twelve people, do you understand? Twelve people are 

six thousand euros. You just have to accompany me to the consulate.” 14 

The actions of the characters reveal the two sides of immigration: 

that of the worker as an individual who is fighting for a better life, and 

that of groups that intend to exploit human wants and needs, unscrupulously 

taking maximum economic advantage from the situation of the 

workers. In fact, in Alexandrer’s actual words, the character of the Ukrainian 

woman who is the (co-)protagonist in the novel is justified ethically, 

emphasising the difference between both characters: “She is stubborn. I 

offered to take her to the European Union, to the country she wants to go 

to, but some women think they can do it all by themselves, you know how 

women are, comrade.” 15 

Furthermore, when Elena recalls her efforts and the strategies she 

adopted in order to reach Málaga, she insists that staying away from the 

mafia was the most important. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion it is evident that both of the books analysed above 

are a product of an almost journalistic research that is in direct contact 

with the world they are depicting. We feel that at any moment prose may 

slide into a sweet, affected moralism, but both Filomena Marona Beja and 

Pablo Aranda succeed in avoiding easy, mild sentimentality. 

14 Original: “Quinientos euros por cada miembro del equipo. Nuestro equipo lo pueden 

formar doce personas, ¿comprendes?, doce personas son seis mil euros. Sólo tienes que 

acompañarme al consulado” (Aranda 2006: 56). 

15 Original: “Es terca, le ofrecí meterla en la Unión Europea, en el país que quisiera, pero 

algunas mujeres creen que pueden hacerlo todo solas, ya sabes cómo son las mujeres, 

camarada” (Aranda 2006: 55). 



Their strategy is clear and surprisingly efficient: instead of showing 

the problematic existence of individuals, who were angry at the world and 

at the situations they had to endure, from the outside, they insert readers 

among them, in the midst of their reflections and their dialogues. Both 

writers allow us to enter the day-to-day life of the characters, their confessions, 

their wishes, and frustrations, at the same time they put us in front 

of the imaginary space of Portuguese and Spanish culture through which 

Eastern European immigrants are perceived, in Lisbon and in Malaga respectively. 

In both novels interpretations of immigrants are depicted as a 

general ‘collectiveness’ (that of the ‘others’) and, particularly in the case of 

the ‘Russians’, are always merged together in an indiscriminate way, and to 

whom a certain lack of interest is always shown in terms of acknowledging 

their nationality and their identity. 

‘Russians or Ukrainians, it’s all the same’ – this statement encapsulates 

the thinking of the host country in A Sopa, and with even more 

insistence in the Spanish novel. The former insists on it: “By the store’s 

door, the queue of Russians. To set on one was the same as setting on all 

of them” 16 and in the latter the difference existing between Russia and the 

Ukraine is repeatedly made clear: “[…] you are Elena, aren’t you? Russian, 

aren’t you? And Elena explains that she is from the Ukraine and the lady 

doesn’t seem to focus on what Elena has said […] how good that you 

speak Spanish, and asked if Elena learned it in Russia, and Elena again – 

I’m from the Ukraine, and the lady – ah, the Ukraine.” 17 

It is clear that isolation and exclusion haunt the characters in both 

works. It now appears that the few years between publication of the two 

novels and time in which the narrated stories were set, is reflected in the 

wider presence, acceptance, and coexistence in the host society of the 

Spanish novel. 

16 Original: “À porta do armazém, a fila dos russos. Fixar um era o mesmo que fixá-los 

a todos (Beja 2004: 86). 

17 Original: “[…] Tu eres Elena, ¿no?, rusa, ¿no?, y Elena le explica que es de Ucrania y la 

señora parece no fijarse en lo que dice [...] qué bien que hables español y si lo aprendió en 

Rusia y Elena otra vez que soy de Ucrania, y la senhora ah Ucrania” (Aranda 2006: 225). 

As stated by Christiane Hellermann and Mikolaj Stanek, and repeatedly remarked in different 

sociological research, this perspective reveals the “ethnocentric perception” – or 

we could even say “ethnocentric blindness” – of nations receiving immigrants, which 

constitutes a barrier for integration and sharpens the feeling of having been uprooted 

(Hellermann, Stanek 2004). 



This fact is adequately represented through the conditions of characters 

playing the lead in the novel and in their environment: in A Sopa we 

scarcely witness the experience of a man who arrives – and please note 

this: he arrives alone. In A Sopa we observe the absence of women coming 

from the East, which is referred to explicitly in the discourse: “During 

a few months, the last of them, some had disappeared. Others arrived. 

There were never women or children among them. In fact, children had 

stayed in the East. Who looked after them? That question could not be 

asked in a country where there has always been emigration.” 18 

On the other hand in Pablo Aranda’s novel it is a woman who crosses 

the border and is able to enter the country without ever loosing the 

hope of meeting her son Viktor again. 

Therefore, within its pages this novel is able to fictionalise all of 

the problems associated with the situations of women working and living 

abroad, while their under-age children remain in the country of origin in 

the care of relatives. 

This phenomenon has received various appellations in sociological 

studies such as ‘multi-local home’, ‘transnational maternity’, ‘distance maternity’ 

or ‘globalisation of maternity’ and its immediate repercussions are 

represented through Elena, who is the protagonist of the Spanish story: 

the pain of separation, the feeling of self-accusation, the struggle to find 

social support in order to achieve a happy reunion with her son in the host 

country, and the important cost to the affections. 19 

18 Original: “Durante alguns meses os últimos, alguns tinham desaparecido. Chegado 

outros. Nunca mulheres ou crianças. Decerto, as crianças teriam ficado no Leste. Entregues 

a quem? Nunca se deveria fazer tal pergunta num país onde sempre se tem emigrado” 

(Beja 2004: 86-87). 

19 Due to the increase of these experiences of a mother and son living apart in the social 

reality that surrounds us, some lines of research have begun into its implications for the 

mental and physical health of mothers and children. For example, it has been demonstrated 

that people suffering such circumstances are at risk of suffering the so-called ‘Immigrant 

Syndrome with Chronic and Multiple Stress’ or ‘The Ulysses Syndrome’, referring 

to the mythical Greek hero who suffered countless adversities, and had to go through all 

kinds of dangers while away from his loved ones. For detailed information about these 

clinical symptoms that today appear as an emerging health problem in host countries, 

see Atxotegui Lozarte (2002 and 2003). On the other hand, relating to the behaviour of 

women in an era marked by a ‘risk society’, this society is characterised by an expansion 

of options, leading to the permanent need to chose ways never travelled before by her, 

we refer specially to Torrabadella, Tejero, Lemkow 2001. 



It appears that the difference of a few years that exists between 

the publication of the two novels and the dates of the stories narrated 

is reflected in the higher presence, awareness and acceptance of migrant 

phenomena in the Spanish text, which accords with social reality. 

This fact is expressed metonymically, for example, in the difference 

that may be observed between the amorous Ukrainian-Portuguese relationship 

in A Sopa, which does not bear fruit and only remains an unfulfilled 

project, and the outcome of the Ukrainian-Spanish union that 

ends satisfyingly for the two characters – they reach an open and honest 

relationship based on mutual confidence, and succeed in overcoming 

the social barriers they had encountered throughout the novel. Elena and 

Jorge even wish to get married again to confirm their mutual love. She 

even manages to bring her son, who starts to learn the Spanish language, 

while the process of his of adaption and insertion into society seems to 

develop in a simple and natural way. Therefore, to an extent we witness the 

simultaneous representation of a future of more harmonious coexistence 

for generations descending from immigrants, creating mixed identities 

on a personal and cultural level. Humour, irony and criticism combine in 

these two narratives, which eventually provide, through fiction, a thorough 

analysis of a current topic that is very often an object of debate in the 

street and in sociological studies, but has been almost absent from literary 

creations: immigration on Portugal and Spain at the end of the twentieth 

century and at the beginning of the next. And alongside this issue 

both authors address the eternal problems: love, indifference, loneliness, 

crime, personality complexes, traumas; involving us in the evolution of 

the thoughts, fears, desires, dreams and frustrations of characters arriving 

from the Ukraine, and of those related to them. 

Bibliography 


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Beja, Filomena Marona (2004): A Sopa. Porto. 


Atxotegui Lozarte, Josefa (2003): Ansiedad y depresión en los inmigrantes. Barcelona. 



--- (2002): “Los duelos de la migración: una perspectiva psicopatológica y 

psicosocial” [Migration Grieves: A Psychopathological and Psychosocial 

Perspective] in: Perdiguero, E., Comelles, J.M. (Eds.), Medicina y cultura. 

Barcelona, 88-100. 

Baganha, Maria Ioannis, Marques, José Carlos, Góis, Pedro (2003): “A Última 

Vaga: Imigrantes de Leste em Portugal”. Paper presented in the Seminário 

Internacional sobre Imigração do Leste – Uma Nova Realidade: Oportunidades 

e Desafios , International Seminar on Eastern Immigration – A New Reality: 

Oportunities and Challenges, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, 

14.10.2003. 

Cortés, Rafael (2006): “Si la literatura se compromete: corre el riesgo de ser 

un panfleto” [If literature compromises, it runs the risk of being a pamphlet]. 

Interview held with Pablo Aranda, in: SURDigit@l [Culture and 

Entertainment Guide],18.10.2006,URL:http://www.diariosur.es/prensa/20061018/cultura/pablo-aranda-literatura-compromete_20061018. 

html. 

Francisco, Rodrigo (2007): Quarto Minguante. Coimbra. 

Gonzaga, Manuela (2007) : Meu único, grande amor: casei-me. Lisbon. 

Hellermann, Christiane, Stanek, Mikolaj (2004): “Estudios sobre la inmigración 

de Europa Central y Oriental en España y Portugal – Tendencias 

actuales y propuestas” [Studies on Central and Eastern Immigration in 

Spain and Portugal – Current tendencies and Proposals] in: 4º Congreso 

sobre la Inmigración en España. Ciudadanía y Participación, 4 th Congress on Immigration 

in Spain. Citizenship and Participation, University of Girona 

(10-13.11.2004), URL: http://www.n340.org/txt_n340/downloads/12_ 

M9P-Stanek.pdf. 

Ibarrola-Armendariz, Aitor (2006): “Ampliando las fronteras de la ficción 

narrativa canadiense: la experiencia de los personajes inmigrantes en In 

the Skin of a Lion, de M. Ondaatje” [Widening the Borders of Canadian 

Narrative Fiction: the Experience of Inmigran Characters in In the Skin of 

a Lion, de M. Ondaatje] in: Santibáñez Gruber, Rosa / Maiztegui Oñate, 

Concepción (Eds.), Inmigacion: miradas y reflejos. Historias, identidades y claves de 

intervención social [Inmigration: Perspectives and Projections. Histories, Identities and 

Keys to Social Intervention], Bilbao,16-41. 

Ramírez, Mairelys (2007): “Los inmigrantes son el 61% de los nuevos 

malagueños” [Immigrants Are 61% of Malaga’s New Inhabitants], in 



20minutos.es, 07.06.2007, URL: http :// www .20minutos .es/ noticia/ 

244547/0/ inmigrantes/ nuevos/ malaguenos/. 

Ramos, Manuel da Silva (2007): Sol da Meia-Noite. Lisbon. 

Real, Miguel (2007): “Imagens de imigrantes eslavos na literatura portuguesa 

recente – O caso de A Sopa, de Filomena Marona Beja” in: Conferência 

Internacional “Culturas Ibéricas e Eslavas em Intercambio e Comparação: 

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/ artes/ uma _casa_onde_cruzam_muitas_vidas_es.html. 

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de las mujeres de origen latinoamericanas residentes en Barcelona” 

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y lucha cotidiana por el bienestar. Barcelona. 


Part IV 

National and European 

Identity 



Introduction 

Peripheral Identities in Hungary 

Wolfgang Aschauer 


When dealing with peripheral identities within a country it is clear 

that a psychological approach would be quite senseless, because peripheral 

identities involve societies and not individuals. Identity has to be understood 

therefore as the self-description of a society. At the same time 

it is clear that this does not mean the self-description of a society as a 

whole, because important subsystems of society, for example the economy 

or ‘the scientific community’, are parts of the global system and define 

themselves by functional rather than spatial criteria (Luhmann 1997). 

Self-description by means of the centre-periphery dichotomy is therefore 

limited to those subsystems of (global) society that are differentiated segmentally. 

The most important subsystem of this kind is the political system, 

which is differentiated into nation states (Stichweh 2000; Bahrenberg, 

Kuhm 1999). Within the nation states self-description can occur through 

the medium of culture, which achieves coherence in most of the Central 

and Eastern European societies. Culture defines social coherence within a 

nation-state and at the same time supports self-description within the criteria 

of centre and periphery, which results from the spatial differentiation 

of the political global system. 


250 Wolfgang Aschauer 

From this point of view periphery means the awareness of being 

determined by the special conditions of a spatially defined position within 

global society, or at least European society. Periphery is not only the position 

of a place but also, and perhaps even more so, the effect of being 

in a place. A regional or national group regards itself as deeply affected 

by living on a certain area of the earth’s surface. This position bears two 

aspects, according to the perpective one assumes towards periphery. The 

first form of periphery can be understood as looking to the outside of a 

core periphery relationship (periphery 1). Periphery is therefore the outermost 

part of the core periphery system, to which the periphery belongs by 

definition. Looking outwards the periphery’s situation is defined by being 

the most exposed part of the whole regional system; this may be related to 

the notion of being in danger to an especially great extent, or to the notion 

of representing the whole system to outsiders, and perhaps of building 

bridges or something similar. 

From this point of view the periphery plays an essential role for the 

whole core periphery system; it secures its existence and maintains its contacts 

with neighbouring regions.On the other hand, periphery means the 

view from the periphery towards the core (periphery 2), i.e. a comparison 

of one’s own situation against the situation in the core, or a discussion 

which reflects upon the special kind of connection with the core, which 

is normally interpreted as dependence. Therefore, periphery results in a 

never ending fight for equal relations and, in addition, simply to be recognized 

by the core (Gottmann 1980). 

In this paper the above aspects of peripheral identity will be demonstrated 

by the Hungarian example, with a focus on cultural issues. Therefore, 

the question is to what extent public discourses in Hungary talk of a 

special, unique role for Hungary in Europe. 

Firstly in terms of its uniqueness in itself; secondly in terms of its 

unique role towards the outside of Europe; and thirdly in terms of its 

unique relations with the core of Europe. I will discuss these points by 

interpreting official documents that have been published since the 1990s, 

irrespective of ruling party. 

These papers were published by conservative as well as by socialist, 

post-communist governments. One can assume that these papers, a large 

number of which can be found on the Hungarian government’s website, 

reflect the general position of the political elite in Hungary. 


Although this elite is deeply divided on most topics of public interest, 

this is clearly not the case with respect to the notion of Hungary’s 

position in the world. 

Periphery 1 

Peripheral Identities in Hungary 251 

Dealing with the role of states within a core periphery system first 

requires the identification a country’s peculiarity within the system. Therefore, 

the first point to be discussed is Hungary’s uniqueness as it is seen 

by itself. Sources that illustrate this point can be located with relative ease. 

One of the documents is titled: Hungaricum: all that is inimitable, unique, distinct 

– and Hungarian (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004b). 

The Latin word Hungaricum means Hungarian or – perhaps more 

precisely – the characteristics of Hungarian culture. The sense of such 

a phrase is best discussed a contrario: Hungarian cultural features that are 

imitable, widespread and ambiguous. It is clear that such a sentence makes 

no sense. Using a word such as ‘Hungarian’ means that something is distinguished 

from something else; using a word is always an act of distinction. 

If ‘the Hungarians’ were not distinct they would not exist. From this 

point of view the emphasis on the uniqueness of Hungarian culture is 

quite dubious, because it emphasises something that is already defined by 

the word ‘Hungarian’. 

If the sentence makes no sense as a grammatically correct arrangement 

of words in itself, we must look for the sense somewhere else. If 

the sentence is not a simple statement it can only be understood as a form 

of request for the reader to accept that Hungarian culture is inimitable, 

unique and distinct. However, such a request is based upon the fear or 

knowledge that the reader may not agree with this sentence. The sentence 

does not mean that Hungarian culture is unique, but that the reader should 

kindly agree with the writer that Hungarian culture is unique. It demonstrates 

the fear of not being noticed or, at least, being lumped together 

with other small and faraway countries. 

Despite meeting the request and accepting that Hungarian culture 

is unique, the concrete elements of the uniqueness are still missing. The 

sentence has to be filled with Hungarian characteristics that are different 

to those of other countries; this is achieved in two ways in this paper, firstly 

through visible examples of Hungarian culture, and secondly through 



historical and contemporary definitions of uniqueness. These arguments 

attempt to demonstrate the historical and geographical situation of Hungary. 

The former arguments are very simple and do not differ from the 

contents of tourist guides. Hungarian culture is unique, because of Tokaj 

wine and goulash, because there are special breeds of cattle or dogs for 

example, and because there are certain special occupations, mainly in agriculture, 

where people in special costumes deal with those animals and eat 

and drink the above food and beverages. In this instance, Hungarian culture 

is presented to tourists from inside and outside Hungary as folklore. 

This form of argument in favour of the uniqueness of Hungarian 

culture ignores a very important point: nobody would claim that these cultural 

elements are typical or at least widespread in Hungary. Goulash is not 

an everyday meal, and most Tokaj wine is exported. Looking at Hungary 

does not reveal any typical characteristics, everyday life does not differ 

from that lived by the citizens of other European countries. 

There is market economy and relatively well functioning democracy. 

How then is it possible to claim Hungarian uniqueness? If Hungary 

is unique, what does this mean with respect to neighbouring countries? 

What is the place of Hungary? 

The answer to this question is based mainly on historical arguments. 

A key sentence is worth quoting in full: 

“The Hungarians created their own national culture at the crossroads 

of two major cultures: they originated in the East, and originally 

derived their traditions from the archaic culture of the Eurasian steppes, 

while the true Christian devotion and acute political awareness of the first 

Hungarian kings led to the adoption of Western culture. [...] Under the 

strong influence of Western culture, and having adapted to the spirit and 

values of Christian civilisation, the cultural heritage, which the Hungarians 

brought with them from the East, lived on only at the deep structural level 

of culture” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2000: 2). 

The ‘deep structural level of culture’ means the language and 

the cultural elements connected with it. This formula – Eastern culture 

through language and language-based notions of the world, Western culture 

through Christianity and integration into the Western part of the 



world system – denotes the basic self-image, fostered by Hungarian descriptions 

of its place in the world. All historical and contemporary findings 

are typically organised in relation to this formula; only the evaluation 

of the respective aspects of this historical and geographical place differs. 

Some examples will help to illustrate this. 

Due to its special position, Hungary can be regarded as the most 

outward part of European civilisation (periphery 1): 

“Historical Hungary [...] was the borderline and last bastion of western 

civilisation: in the south it was bordered by the Byzantine Empire representing 

eastern Christianity, and later the Mohammedan Turkish Empire 

which grew up on its ruins, while to the east lay the Mongol khanates, and 

later the Russian Empire [sic]” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2000: 2-3). 

In the perspective of this text, Hungary is the last bastion against 

non-Christians and Eastern Christians, both of whom do not belong to 

Western civilisation. This antagonistic interpretation of world history, history 

as an everlasting battlefield of cultures and nations, can be regarded 

as a constituent element of nationalist thinking in general, but in the Hungarian 

case it is combined with its role as a nation fighting not only for 

itself, but representing the whole of Europe and beyond that, Western 

Christianity: “Hungary not only adopted the culture of Western Christianity, 

but also took upon itself the defence of its values, at great selfsacrifice” 

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2000: 4). 

There is no doubt that this bastion is not aggressive: “The Hungarian 

kingdom was important as a defensive bastion of Western Christendom 

during the Middle Ages” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2000: 3). 

Before this sentence the document quoted here notes: “Hungarian 

knights and kings participated in the Crusades to the Holy Land, and to a 

certain extent the country played the role of missionary and cultural mediator 

in relation to the east and south.” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2000: 

3). On the one hand, we have a purely defensive fight against aggressors, 

and on the other hand, the participation in the Crusades, which in the 

ministry’s opinion was a example of cultural mediation. 

Hungary regards itself as a peaceful outpost of Western Europe 

and of Western Christianity. But according to the texts, this situation is 

often represented as under threat due to its exposed position. Hungary 



was the first to be affected by aggressions from outside: “This difficult 

struggle [for the values of Western Christianity] led, on several occasions, 

to defeat at the hands of enemies from the East” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

2000: 4). These enemies were the Turks (in the sixteenth and seventh 

centuries) and the Russians (nineteenth and twentieth centuries). Between 

these two periods alone “Hungarian culture [was] able to catch up [...] with 

the culture of Western nations.” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2000: 6). 

The latter of these periods – the socialist era – drove Hungary into 

isolation from its ancestral place, a place at the “heart of Europe, right on 

the borderline between East and West” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004: 

1): 

“Hungary had observed the co-operation of other countries as well 

as the development, the prosperity and the advance of the Western European 

countries from the periphery of European development over several 

decades, but today Hungary is already a full member of this co-operation“ 

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004: 16). 

Being situated on the fringe of Western Europe, Hungary is always 

in danger to invasion; aggressors such as the Turks or the Russians can 

cause such a separation. 

Periphery means an everlasting uncertainty about the relationship 

with Western Europe, which is threatened by outside powers as well as by 

a lack of interest and engagement from within. 

For example when the Hungarians fought the Russian troops in 

1956 western countries did not intervene. 

To summarise these aspects of periphery (periphery 1), one can say 

that the relations between Hungary, as a part of Western Europe, and 

countries from outside demonstrate that the situation of Hungary is quite 

precarious. It is in a situation of danger, and in readiness for the fighting 

associated with its role as a representative of Western Europe, often without 

being recognised for these efforts. 

Periphery 2 

The second form of periphery mentioned above concerns the special 

relationship with the core. Periphery (periphery 2) means the specific 



place that a country assumes in the core periphery system; peripheral identity 

is the idea of having a special position that is not identical with that 

of the core, and moreover to define one’s own position by differing from 

other, more central parts of the system. In the case of Hungary peripheral 

identity it is the will to diverge from what is regarded as a homogeneous 

and homogenising European culture. 

This idea can be found in historical arguments as well as in today’s 

statements about cultural policy. In both cases the survival of a nation facing 

unifying tendencies is the main issue. 

“Hungary has safeguarded all the values which are the most important 

for any people: its culture, its mother tongue, its national characteristics 

and identity. Hungary, as opposed to so many oppressed nations, 

managed to stay on the historical scene, and did not get lost in the giant 

continental melting pot that came to be named Europe from the XII-XIII 

centuries” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004: 1). 

According to this text, similar dangers exist in the present, but could 

also be overcome: 

“Accession to the mainstream of European development, to the 

European Union, demanded serious studies and extensive preparations. 

This proved to be the only way for Hungary to preserve and strengthen 

its traditions, customs and culture” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2004: 4). 

The European Union is seen as a danger to the uniqueness of Hungarian 

culture mentioned above. In terms of core and periphery, the periphery 

fears becoming dominated by the core and has to fight for its different 

qualities, its uniqueness, which rule by the core is going to destroy. 

This cultural uniqueness is synonymous with the perseverance of the nation. 

Within the core periphery relationship the nation tends to vanish or 

at least to lose its relevance. Therefore, the task of Hungarian national 

policy is to work to maintain cultural uniqueness, thereby preserving the 

nation. 

This goal can be reached in two ways. The first, mentioned in all of 

the documents, begins with the notion that the core-periphery relationship 

depends on the respective strength of the core and the periphery, 

and that Hungary’s relative weakness results from the fact that it is rather 



small. This is the effect of the Trianon peace treaty after the First World 

War. However, efforts to combat the weak position of the Hungarian nation 

within Europe are not reduced to state borders. 

The Hungarian nation is much bigger than the state territory. Official 

policy is, of course, not openly revisionist; it does not claim back 

Slovakia, Croatia or parts of Romania. Instead it attempts to organize the 

‘big nation’ beyond the level of statehood by a sophisticated set of measures 

and minority policies. 

Hungarian minority policy works on integrating members of the 

nation that live in neighbouring countries into the whole nation. Increasing 

the size of the nation reduces the danger of being homogenised by 

Europe’s core (von Ahn 2004; Stewart 2002). 

The other way to preserve the nation is to emphasise and enhance 

differences with respect to the European mainstream. Today there actually 

seems to be a shift towards a more isolationist position, at least in public 

debates and public opinion rather than political action. Hungarian society 

tends to deepen the division between a part of society that is strongly orientated 

towards European identities, but lacks a publicly accepted justification, 

and a part of society that believes in the myth of the old and steadily 

renewed unique Hungarian nation.This latter position can be found in 

a vast bulk of literature, for instance the cover picture of the book Die 

Magyaren by György Balázs and Károly Szelényi (Balázs / Szelényi 1989) 

about the history of Hungary and the Hungarians, is a nineteenth century 

painting in which Árpád, the mythical leader of the Hungarian tribes in 

the ninth century, is accepting the subjection of the people in the newly 

conquered Carpathian basin. No modern or a late medieval Hungarian is 

chosen to represent the Hungarians, but a conjectural picture of a ninth 

century mythical figure. Another example is provided by architecture. 

Regarded as the master of contemporary Hungarian architecture, Imre 

Makovecz has been constructing buildings such as the Roman Catholic 

Church in Paks (1987) and the Hungarian pavilion at the World Expo in 

Seville (1992), using stylistic forms which are thought to refer to the arts 

of the ninth century Hungarians. Current right-wing politicians are also 

using these cultural signs to emphasise the difference to mainstream Europe 

and to Western culture. 

Right-wing politicians as well as cultural activists are promoting an 

increasing deviation from the European consensus and its cultural ele- 


ments, for example at the annual open air event called ‘Hungarian Island’ 

Siberian tents, Mongolian riders and bands with names like ‘Szkitia’ (which 

means the lands of the Scythians) represent the orientation towards the 

mythical past and the unreachable place of the nation’s birth in the East. 

In this universe Hun runes meet maps of the Hungarian territory 

before the First World War and a flag, which refers to the first flags of the 

Hungarian kings in medieval times as well as to the emblem of the Hungarian 

fascists in the 1930s and 1940s. 

In summary, it is clear that both aspects of peripheral identities that 

have been mentioned above can be found in Hungary: there is the periphery 

(periphery 1) which plays a role as a part of the centre periphery 

system towards the outside, which suffers while being a bastion defending 

the whole system. And there is also the periphery that has to defend itself 

against the homogenising tendencies from within the system and which 

threaten to break away if its special role is not recognised and rewarded 

(periphery 2). 

However, in both peripheral identities there is the same intention: 

to define the nation by defining its role in the world. In a globalised world 

society such a problem seems quite atavistic, but it is real and has to be 

observed and analysed. 

This short overview is only the first step towards that goal. 

Bibliography 


Ahn, Thomas von (2004): “Ungarn und sein Umgang mit den eigenen 

Minderheiten in den Nachbarländern. Das Statusgesetz und der Magyarenausweis” 

in: Das Parlament, 17, 19.04. URL:http://www.das-parlament. 

de/2004/17/Thema/019.html. 

Bahrenberg, Gerhard / Kuhm, Klaus (1999): “Weltgesellschaft und Region 

– eine systemtheoretische Perspektive“ in: Geographische Zeitschrift, 

87/4, 193-209. 

Balázs, György; Szelényi, Károly (1989): Die Magyaren. Budapest. 

Gottmann, Jean (ed.) (1980): Centre and periphery. Spatial variation in politics. 

Beverly Hills, London. 

Luhmann, Niklas (1997): Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft. Frankfurt a.M. 

Makovecz, Imre (2008): www.macovecz.hu (1.2.2008). 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary (Ed.) (2000): One 

thousand years of Hungarian culture. URL: http:// www.kulugyminiszterium. 



hu / NR/ rdonlyres/AA11A74A-CE78-4049-817A 878E8BBFAC5/0/ 

Kultura_EN.pdf 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary (Ed.) (2004a): 

Hungary in the European Union. Budapest. URL: http:// www.kulugyminiszterium.hu 

/NR/rdonlyres/F3C63FCB-8B7A-431E-910ACE5F7D4B- 

7C6F/0/EU_angol.pdf. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary (Ed.) (2004b): 

Hungaricum: all that is inimitable, unique, distinct – and Hungarian. Budapest. 

URL: http:// www.kulugyminiszterium.hu/NR/rdonlyres/56997B6D- 

A939-4ED6-91A7-5075718B6B61/0/Hungaricum_en.pdf. 

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a.M. 


Balkan Visions: Conceptualisations of Europe 

in Contemporary Macedonia 

Introduction 

Sonja Koroliov 

(University of Halle / Wittenberg) 

When we discuss centre and periphery, and in particular of peripheral 

identities, we tend to assume that being in the centre is better than 

being on the periphery, or that a peripheral identity may be lacking in 

features that a central identity, whatever that might be, would have. The 

meanings of the terms ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ shift in accordance with 

those who use them the points of view they express, the purposes they are 

used for and the metaphorical level on which they are located. 

However, when we apply these terms to regions of the world such 

as the Balkans, even though their meaning remains ambiguous, some general 

assumptions come to the fore, favouring certain contexts over others, 

and it is usually against this form of generalised background assumption 

that we can shed light on the more complex phenomena that influence 

the ways in which ‘centres’ and ‘peripheries’ are constructed within these 

regions, and by those who look upon them. 

In this instance, I would like to explore two mutually connected 

background contexts that are of particular importance: current politics 

and historiography. In the case of current politics, the background for the 


260 Sonja Koroliov 

literary production. I will describe below an opposition between ‘Europe’ 

as the centre, which in its current borders more or less overlaps with the 

European Union, and ‘those who would like to be part of Europe, but 

are not’. 

This first opposition already highlights certain specific features of 

the centre / periphery divide that go beyond a simple statement of political 

membership: the construction of the European Union as a centre to a 

periphery cannot dispense with the need to instil desire in those who view 

the centre from the periphery – the centre is only a centre to those who 

recognise it as such. 

The second opposition is similar in that it also rests on the original 

equation of the ‘centre’ with a region of political power, but here centres 

are multiplied in a historical perspective – this means that, in the case of 

the Balkans, we are dealing with a region construed as a form of ‘eternal 

periphery’ to centres such as Vienna or Constantinople. 

Of course, this raises questions concerning historiography and the 

persistence of its dominant narratives. The second opposition also points 

towards a problem within the first – for while any centre depends on being 

recognized by the periphery, this recognition is dependent on earlier definitions 

which may themselves be the result of centre governed narratives. 

Looking at present day discourses engendered by the arguments 

emerging from these two basic approaches, it is useful to trace some of 

the cultural and even mythological origins of the centre / periphery divide 

for two reasons – firstly, because it will enable us to understand the 

nature of this divide as a cultural construction, and secondly, because this 

will help to clarify the extent to which issues of identity in countries, that 

are widely considered marginal in relation to the political centre of the 

European Union, are determined by conformity with or dissent from this 

construction. 

After this general outline, I will go on to analyse the example of 

the Republic of Macedonia – a candidate for European Union membership, 

though not a very successful one, and a good example of how political 

marginalisation can affect identity discourses: Macedonian national 

identity has been the topic of age-old controversies, the most recent version 

of which began when Greece claimed an exclusive right to the name 

Macedonia and has ended in the seemingly final solution, still perceived as 

traumatic by some Macedonians, of the country being officially named the 


Balkan Visions: Conceptualisations of Europe in Contemporary Macedonia 261 

‘Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ or, as regularly appears on the 

Eurovision Song Contest results board, FYROM. 

I will analyse images of Europe and the European Union in the 

Macedonian media, and at the ways in which the centre / periphery opposition 

is incorporated into recent theoretical and literary publications. 

For the latter purpose I will examine two novels: Snegot vo Kazablanka 

(Snow in Casablanca) by Kica Kolbe, a Macedonian expatriate who now lives 

near Düsseldorf, and the award winning 20 Papokot na svetot (The Navel of 

the World) by Venko Andonovski, a writer and professor of Macedonian 

literature who currently lives in Skopje, looking for some mythological, 

religious and philosophical origins of the centre / periphery opposition. 

One of the main origins of the centre metaphor is to be sought in 

Neoplatonism and the manner in which it shaped western Christianity 

theoretically. In the Enneads Plotinus conceives the world as being composed 

of the One, a divine entity emanating reality, and a number of layers 

or orders of reality produced by this emanation. In this system the One 

and the layers of reality closest to it have a higher degree of reality, or being, 

than the outer layers. The peripheral forms of being are less real, but, 

given that the One is also an undivided unity of the Good, the True and 

the Beautiful, the periphery is removed from these values to the degree 

that it is removed from the One. While the relationship between the One 

and its emanations was not to be understood spatially, the Platonic and 

Neoplatonic use of the image of the Sun emanating light, suggests a circular 

and thus spatially determined setup. It is important to note, that in 

spite of Plotinus’ philosophical dependence on Plato, there is not a direct 

continuity leading from classical antiquity, or even Platonic philosophy, 

to Plotinian metaphysics. In the matter that concerns us ancient Greek 

thought is far more periphery friendly, as can be observed in the alternative 

modes of ascent to the divine, for example in Plato’s Phaedrus, where 

the soul ascends to the outer circles of heaven, and also in the pattern of 

departure and homecoming that underlies both Homeric epics and a large 

proportion of Greek tragedy, which suggests that it is the departure from 

the centre, whether this is conceived as the home, the Greek mainland 

or any other variant, and not the return that constitutes the essence of 

the hero (see the Greeks Odysseus, Philoctetes, Medea, and to a degree 

Oedipus). 

20 In 2001, Andonovski won the Balkanika Award. 



This is unlike the Aeneid, the Roman version of the Iliad and Odyssey, 

which is mainly characterised by a centre motivated movement of 

return. It is probably safe to assume, that the Greek classical model is 

in some sense responsible for the modern notion of the periphery as a 

sphere of innovation, as the place where important events occur and new 

discoveries are made that affect and change the centre itself. This conception 

of the periphery may therefore be regarded as the basis of both the 

colonial movement and its abolition, and as the foundation of Eurocentrism 

while bearing the seeds of its gradual displacement. 

The Balkans as a Peripheral Territory in the Macedonian 

Media 

The Balkans, formerly the periphery of the Byzantine and Ottoman 

Empires and now situated on the periphery of the European Union, have 

been compared to the Orient by Maria Todorova, who coined the term 

‘Balkanism’ as a extension of Saidian ‘Orientalism’ in her book Imagining 

the Balkans (Todorova 1997); the book became extremely popular in Macedonia, 

and although Todorova had identified several differences between 

Western views of the Orient and Western views of the Balkans, and had 

in fact argued that Balkan countries did not have a colonial consciousness, 

Macedonian writers soon began discussing the country’s postcolonial status 

and ways of overcoming it. The media have adopted the simplest position 

in this discussion, which on the one hand focuses upon the possibility 

and likeliness of joining the European Union and on the other oscillates 

between discussing what Macedonia has to do in order to become ‘worthy’ 

of Europe, and criticising Europe for having lost its clear and definable 

identity and finding itself unable to face global challenges in an adequate 

way. 

Therefore, in the political column of Dnevnik, one of Macedonia’s 

most popular daily newspapers, the commentator Radmila Šekerinska 

(Šekerinska 2006) defines Europe in accordance with Paul Valéry, who she 

quotes extensively, as the place where we witness the “maximum of needs, 

the maximum of labour, capital , and production, the maximum of ambition 

and power, the maximum transportation of external Nature, the maximum of 

relations and exchanges” (Valéry 1962), while more Eurosceptic authors such 



as Ljubomir D. Frčkoski point out that Europe was facing its Hegelian 

aufgehoben: 

“The internalisation of the enemy produces a schizophrenic stance 

and the crisis of an identity that used to offer protection … This leads to 

fear and disorientation, it questions the very basis of Europe’s identity. 

What is Europe now? Is it a real multicultural Babel, a superstructure of 

countless narrations?” (Frčkoski 2006, my translation) 

Among cultural theorists, critics and literary commentators, the debate 

centres upon Macedonia’s status as a ‘small culture’ which labours 

under its own peripheral, stereotyped and ‘colonised’ quality while at the 

same time facing ‘neo-colonial’ (Sheleva 2000) threats from its closest 

neighbours on the one hand and, less directly, from a globalised economy 

on the other. Having broken away from an initially symbiotic coexistence 

with a group of similarly affected ‘brother countries’ provided by the 

framework of the former Yugoslavia (Sheleva 2000: 60), it now faces a 

situation where the need to deal with the consequences of the break-up 

is suppressed by the more urgent need to struggle for a place ‘within’ the 

EU, NATO and the ‘civilised’ world. The predominance of these issues in 

the country’s cultural debate serves to exacerbate precisely what is being 

contested – the well-known image of the Balkans as an ‘outsider’ territory, 

a place and a form of existence on the other side of the symbolic boundary, 

which divides the realm of order, wealth and civilisation from the 

much larger ‘outer’ realm of chaos, poverty and ethnic violence (Sheleva 

2000: 62). 

The Slovenian critic Zoran Roško once summarised this development 

in his remark that the Balkan people “adopt the place of the Other 

in their own view” (Roško 1998: 182), and several Macedonian intellectuals 

have pointed out that this pronounced post-colonial focus masked 

genuine cultural difficulties – whether these be post-colonial phenomena 

or not – which prevent the successful establishment of modern, liberal 

societies in the region. For example, the strong role of family ties, limited 

opportunities for individual development (Manchevski, cited in Sheleva 

2000: 76-77) and the insufficient implementation of women’s rights. The 

critic Svetlana Najčevska also pragmatically remarked that: 



“[w]hile we are losing ourselves in the fundamental and traumatic 

questions of identity and the way towards it, in this onslaught of selfdiscovery 

we will forget our empty stomachs and fail to notice civilisation 

passing us by” (Najchevska, cited in Sheleva 2000: 84). 

In contemporary Macedonian fiction, however, the identity problem 

assumes a quite different angle, while always remaining present in 

the background. Here identity is sought and found, but is sometimes also 

lost through voluntary or involuntary exile. The literary tradition incorporates 

the trauma of exile from so-called Aegean Macedonia, which was 

annexed by Greece during the Balkan wars and remains a controversial issue 

between the two countries, and also the years and in fact centuries of 

emigration due to economic and political pressures upon the population. 

The latter is more interesting for us at present, as this form of emigration 

is interpreted as a reversal of the classical concept of exile, since it is 

presented as exile to the centre rather than away from it. In contemporary 

prose, these motives are transported into modern settings and become 

part of a post-modern analysis of how exile, as a change of orientation 

towards the Other and a redefinition of the Self, can influence a country’s 

identity and the ways individuals relate to it. 

It should be noted that, while more traditional types of prose appear 

to ultimately reinforce the centre / periphery divide, other authors, 

who still accept the divide as such, do not stop at this – some continue 

by asking why the divide is there and by at least trying to identify some 

aspects of what it is that makes the centre the centre and the periphery 

the periphery. 

Kolbe’s Snow in Casablanca 

In Kica Kolbe’s romantic novel Snow in Casablanca, the female protagonist 

is the young writer Dina, who has spent many years surviving on 

various scholarships in various European cities, most of them acknowledged 

cultural centres such as Paris and Florence. She returns to her hometown 

of Skopje and spends time in her old and abandoned family home. 

Her parents have recently moved to America, supposedly in fear 

of the Yugoslav war spreading, but no clear motivation is revealed by the 

narrative. The protagonist meets various old friends, most of whom are 



now well-established in their jobs, and also her old love, a Jewish painter, 

with whom she spent a very passionate night in her youth, but who left 

without an explanation and in the mean time has also spent many years 

abroad and has now returned to take care of his sick mother. Dina wants 

to leave almost as soon as she has arrived, but is kept in Skopje by a very 

unusual onslaught of snow which finally leads to her getting back together 

with her former lover. Dina’s life abroad is described in terms of a loss 

of identity. It is, in fact, not even a life in its own right: “I am the perfect 

onlooker into other people’s lives” (Kolbe 2005: 7). On her return to her 

hometown, she feels even more out of place, especially as she compares 

herself to her friend Nora, who seems to be unaware of any uneasiness: 

“Nora could behave here as if she was in Paris or London. She produced 

the world around her herself. Her motto was that the centre of the 

world is where I am.” (Kolbe 2005: 65) 

Yet over the course of the novel, most of which is set in artistic and 

intellectual circles, it becomes clear that a measure of success in any cultural 

undertaking can only be achieved outside of the country. The artists, 

directors and writers Dina meets, are all pursuing careers abroad and only 

come home to boast, and in the end the protagonist only achieves a homecoming 

on a private level, by becoming part of her boyfriend’s family, and 

even so an additional ‘centring strategy’ is required: The boyfriend’s family 

is Jewish, and therefore represents a long tradition of exile which gives a 

cultural, European and somehow more valid foundation to Dina’s own experience 

of exile, the apparent implication being that a purely Macedonian 

context would lack such a justification. 

However, while the constellations in Kolbe’s novel reflect cultural 

nuances and typical behaviours with some precision, the issues at stake 

are not brought into the open or elaborated in any depth, but merely form 

a background for nostalgia and the romantic love story with which this 

novel is ultimately concerned. 

Andonovski’s The Navel of the World 

In Venko Andonovski’s novel The Navel of the World the traditional 

conception of the centre’s function is set off by various episodes imply- 



ing the supremacy of the centre over the periphery by means of a power 

relationship that assumes quite specific and recognizable characteristics. 

The novel consists of three parts, with an introduction and additional 

appended materials. In the introduction, the narrator receives a coffin 

containing his brother Jahn’s dead body and a suitcase containing a 

manuscript (Andonovski 2005: 5). This manuscript is a novel about the 

Slavic apostle Cyril and forms part of the book in question. It is followed 

by Jahn’s diary, the centrepiece of the novel that focuses upon his 

youthful love for Lucia, a girl from his school. The latter section is complemented 

by a written sample of the testimony given by Lucia on Jahn’s 

death. We gather from the diary that the early love between Lucia and Jahn 

is overshadowed by the fact that she joins the newly formed party ‘of the 

People’s Spirit’, which is concerned with promoting folklore and, we are 

also led to believe, by her secret involvement with the sports teacher. Jahn 

rebels against both, gets into trouble for writing a rude essay, and finally 

leaves school to join a circus. 

Throughout the diary, an opposition is upheld between the physical 

forces of ‘real life’, which are seen as powerful and binding, but also 

brutal, primitive and limiting, and Jahn’s attempt to escape to an elusive 

world of liberty, art and cosmopolitism: as a very young man, he starts 

by playing jazz on his saxophone. Later, he discovers his acrobatic talent, 

which finally enables him to escape to a world that is as far removed from 

the physical as possible, insofar as his performances as a circus artist seem 

to defy the laws of nature. 

Therefore, the diary sets up a traditional dichotomy by opposing art 

and life and overlaying this by a more specific one in which art is equated 

to internationalism, lightness and a free-floating, elusive form of identity, 

while life is associated not only with the heaviness of physical existence, 

but also with parochialism, the political exploitation of folk culture and 

sexual corruption. 

However, the diary is contradicted by the introduction, which suggests 

that Jahn’s existence and his literary work is doubtful, as his brother 

lists the books he has found in his suitcase and voices the supposition that 

Jahn might have copied his work from these foreign books. Jahn even uses 

variations of the names he finds in one of these books, Milan Kundera’s 

Joke, for his edition of the complete material. The diary also appears to 

be contradicted by the fact that the mysterious manuscript is a rework- 



ing of the legend of Cyril, who is said to have deciphered a Hebrew and 

Samaritan inscription supposedly taken from Solomon’s cup and kept 

in the Hagia Sophia, and therefore, centres upon a story from the Eastern 

European cultural sphere, thereby drawing to our attention the fact 

that Macedonia, particularly the city of Ohrid, is considered ‘the cradle 

of Slavic written culture’, an expression widely used by the Macedonian 

Tourist Board to this day. 

However, the apparent affirmation of the cultural importance of 

eastern Christianity, the Byzantine heritage and the Slavic world in general, 

is consistently questioned in the novel’s sujet and episodes. These are narrated 

from the perspective of an Orthodox Father, who is himself both 

a central and peripheral figure. At the outset he is a subordinate figure in 

his community. He is of unknown descent, but enjoys a special regard as 

he had been left in the inner room of the Hagia Sophia by his mother as a 

baby and found there by the priests. The latter gave him the slightly deprecatory 

name of Skaznik: someone who tells made-up stories. 

The episodes related by this individual of the arrival of Cyril, alias 

Constantine the Philosopher, are in fact miniature discussions of the 

respective value of written and oral narration and communication. One 

rather exemplary episode is the tale of an old man, who remembers the 

history of the whole world until he is visited by a stranger, who persuades 

him that it will be good to write everything down. He tells the stranger all 

his stories and afterwards cannot remember them anymore, which is all 

the more tragic, because the stranger has taken the only written copy with 

him and disappeared (Andonovski 2005: 14-15). 

Another episode involves another priest, who had invented a special 

alphabet for his superior, as the latter was too stupid to learn the current 

one. The new alphabet is a script of only 32 characters denoting whole 

words or concepts. Characteristically, it contains signs for power, conspiracy, 

banishment, spying, army, but there is no sign for love (Andonovski 

2005: 30). The narrator lists the complete script, followed by his own reflections 

on how the people could use it, in that they would have to invent 

second meanings for the words so as to be able to communicate at all. In 

both episodes writing is associated with loss, but also with the power to 

change people’s perceptions by assuming the prerogative of definition. 

The people’s subversive ability to invent second meanings is bound to be 

defeated due to its fleeting, unfixed nature, whereas it remains the privi- 



lege of the powerful to affix names to things and persons without regard 

for their true nature: 

“The names were then printed at the King’s press, and the King 

would not check the correctness of each name, but would simply seal it 

with his ring, confirming that he agreed for that thing or that man to be 

called that name from then on” (Andonovski 2005: 36). 

These individual episodes, of which there are a considerable number 

in Andonovski’s text, merge into the main sujet, which is also set as a struggle 

for power over the signs. 

There is a conspiracy by twelve priests to prevent Cyril from deciphering 

the script from Solomon’s cup, which is said to have already killed 

two people in the attempt and is therefore considered poisonous unless 

solved. Gaining power over this script promises great advantages to the 

decipherer and thus becomes the object of the priests’ ambition. However 

the conspiracy fails in mysterious ways, and as the narrative unfolds, the 

secret script is equated with the divine logos that is the centre of the world 

and with the centre of a pernicious spider’s web. It emerges that the script 

may only be accessed through its copies, and that its interpretation not 

only depends upon the reader’s perspective, but can also be appropriated, 

rightly or wrongly, by various agents and for very differing reasons. The 

original script is not accessible except as the object of an orally transmitted 

legend and can only keep its power as long as it remains undeciphered. 

That this is not just a point about letters is made clear in the other 

parts of the book, where life is frequently equated with reading: 

“All things in a man’s life happen in the way of an unknown script, 

like messages that only reveal their meaning later. Our life is reading; each 

event not only happens, but also needs to be filled with meaning; life itself 

fills these gaps when the time comes, and then we can read our mistakes, 

failings or heroic deeds” (Andonovski 2005: 192). 

Therefore, while Andonovski follows Plato’s Phaedrus in equating 

oral culture with living culture and adopts a graphophobic stance, in contrast 

to Plato there also seems to be a sense that the balance cannot be 

tipped any further. Written culture is the winner, and this poses a major 

problem for small and peripheral cultures. 



This does not concern the present state of alphabetisation in these 

countries, and locating this problem does not amount to qualifying peripheral 

cultures as oral cultures, or as cultures that have not yet come to 

terms with writing. It reaches deeper than that: it is the problem of representing 

one’s cultural heritage in a way that will make it readable to the 

outsider and that will ensure its acknowledgement in the perceptions and 

institutions of the Western, script defining world. 

Andonovski’s text is a novel and, therefore, does not contain any 

solutions; but it does draw very clear conclusions from the Macedonian 

debate concerning Europe. His point is that while some may see Western 

Europe or the European Union as a centre worth striving towards, and 

while others may try to posit their own alternative centre or deny the 

meaning of centres and peripheries altogether, the cultures we call peripheral 

will always have to face the fact that Western Europe appears to 

have chosen and established the means of cultural expression and representation, 

and that this makes it extremely difficult for countries that have 

long been objects of foreign rule to ‘catch up’. This especially applies to 

Macedonia, where there is a large material gap between the Middle Ages 

and the nineteenth century, which is only beginning to be bridged, but 

it also raises interesting general questions about the connection between 

memory and narrative, the nature of representation and the role of value 

judgements in cultural contexts. 

Conclusion 

The material I have analysed here suggests that, while political developments 

and necessities may have initially triggered Macedonian discussions 

of national identity, and may have caused these discussions to 

be set in terms of an opposition between a ‘centre’ and a ‘periphery’, 

the effects of these discussions have reached much deeper than could 

ever be reflected on the level of political argument. They have led Macedonian 

writers and theorists to reconsider the status of their culture in 

a comprehensive sense, i.e. in a continuum extending from the realm of 

popular culture (including youth culture and lifestyle choices such as food 

or fashion) to complex and highly academic considerations regarding national 

historiography for example, and the ways in which a small culture 

can assert and express itself adequately, even where cultural expression 



seems to be dictated by the necessities of political power relationships.The 

breadth of intellectual effort involved in this has led to a higher awareness 

of both, the everyday detail and long-term developments in the cultural as 

well as the political sphere, and has thus contributed to the more reflective 

and critical stance of the Macedonian public towards itself and towards 

external interpretations and general definitions of its proper role. 

Bibliography 

Andonovski, Venko (2005[2000]): Papokot na svetot. Skopje. 

Burnet, John (Ed.) (1993): Plato. Opera Vol. II. Oxford. 

Frčkoski, Ljubomir D. (2006): “Aufgehoben” in: Dnevnik, 26.12. 

Henry, Paul, Schwyzer, Hans-Rudolph (Eds.) (1964): Plotinus I. Enneades 

I-III cum vita Porphyrii. Oxford. 

Kolbe, Kica (2005): Snegot vo Kazablanka. Skopje. 

Roško, Zoran (1998): “Eksplozivna Implozija: Digitalne Inkunabule I 

Technološki Šamanizam” in: Republika, 1-2/2, 182-98. 

Said, Edward W. (1978): Orientalism. New York. 

Šekerinska, Radmila (2006): “Ne go čuv prašanjeto” in: Dnevnik, 23.03. 

Sheleva, Elizabeta (2000): “Аh, tie Balkanci!” in: Kulturološki ese, 59. 

Todorova, Maria (1997): Imagining the Balkans. New York. 

Valéry, Paul (1962): “But who, after all, is European?” in: Mathews, Jackson 

(Ed.), The Collected Works of Paul Valéry. Princeton, vol.10. 


Postcolonial Poland? Discourses on Postcolonialism 

between Nationalism and the Western Gaze 

Introduction 

Ulrich Best 

(York University, Toronto) 

Postcolonialism is often considered to be a number of very different 

situations. On one hand, the term is used to describe a situation 

whereby the world, a country, a political movement, a book or an author is 

considered postcolonial or postcolonialist. ‘Postcolonial’ is often taken to 

mean something that follows a colonial episode. For example a country’s 

political situation was colonial and is now postcolonial. ‘Postcolonialist’, 

on the other hand, could mean that practices or concepts are consciously 

different from those determined by colonialism. This applies to literary 

forms, identity constructions and academic concepts for example. The 

geographer James Sidaway characterises these consciously postcolonialist 

approaches as “committed to critique, expose, deconstruct, counter and 

(in some claims) to transcend the cultural and broader ideological legacies 

and presences of imperialism“ (Sidaway 2002: 13). 

The starting point for many postcolonialist approaches were the 

relations between former British colonies and Great Britain, and the resulting 

cultural complexity of the former, which have been influenced by 

migration and cultural exchange. More recently similar approaches have 


272 Ulrich Best 

been adopted in Germany by writers drawing upon migratory or postmigratory 

experiences, and in research on colonial relations (Steyerl / Rodríguez 

2003). 

The focus of these approaches is on discrimination, racism and the 

struggle against them on one hand. On the other hand, the idea of ‘hybridity’, 

a form of cultural encounter that transcends racist concepts, has 

become important to theoretical approaches (Young 1995). 

While on one hand, there is an established body of literature and 

a significant influence of post-colonialism in the academy, some points 

of critique have emerged in recent years. One of these points is that the 

global debate on post-colonialism is not entirely global – it ignores the 

situation of the post-Soviet and post-communist states, and of regions 

still under Russian or Chinese domination. Moore calls this a “blank spot 

on the map” (Moore 2006: 19). Similarly Sidaway (2002) comments on the 

global map of postcolonialism and attempts to draw attention to those 

areas of the Far East that had been dominated by the Soviet Union. As 

Moore and many other participants in the debate specifically stress, the 

Soviet Union was really colonialist (although Moore also points out that 

Soviet expansionism was of a different kind to the British version). 

Many participants in the debate not only draw upon the Soviet Union 

as a former quasi-colonialist power, but construct a longer legacy of 

colonialism in the area. Jirgens writes about the Baltic states for example: 

“[A] deeper historical reading reveals that the colonization of the 

Baltics includes the occupation and subsequent attempted genocide not 

only by the Soviet Union during the XX century, but also roughly one 

thousand years of intermittent colonization by wave after wave of foreign 

forces” (Jirgens 2006: 46). 

It is, of course, an unlikely task to find a continuous subject for a 

millennial history of suffering. In this case, ‘the Baltics’ are used as a subject, 

meaning the three Baltic states of today and their inhabitants, who 

define themselves as formerly oppressed, and excluding for example the 

Polish or Russian speaking populations of these countries. Similarly it is 

not possible to speak simply of ‘foreign forces’ of oppression. This not 

only ignores the complexity of inter-state and social relations, but these 

‘foreign forces’ have little continuity as (a state) subjects, and the idea of 


Postcolonial Poland? 273 

constructing foreignness along national lines for times that preceded the 

emergence of the modern nation state is hardly tenable. This perspective 

of a millennium of colonial oppression is inspired to a remarkably small 

degree by postcolonialist theory: it constructs binaries of a stable colonial 

subject and an outside threat. 

There are more convincing analyses of the cultural dynamics of imperial 

situations in Eastern Europe. For example Shkandrij (2001) analyses 

how Russian and Ukrainian literature constructed and construct empire 

and nationality. Shkandrij demonstrates that anticolonial motives are not 

always easy to distinguish from nationalist and postcolonial motives and, 

consequently, that Russian and Ukrainian literature were thus interconnected. 

But is Eastern Europe postcolonial? Referring to the period after 

1989, the question of economic inequality between Western and Eastern 

Europe has also become important. Berend (2004) argues that there has 

been a development ‘from periphery to periphery’. Following a world-systems 

theory inspired approach, he (2004) shows how Eastern Europe has 

been allotted the same peripheral role as it used to have before 1945 and 

also in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Numerous other publications 

analyse the role of western companies in the East European markets 

(Hofbauer 2003; Gowan 1996; Dümcke / Vilmar 1995). 

They reveal that Eastern Europe served the market expansion of 

these companies and of global capitalism. Trade relations between Eastern 

and Western European states show the emergence of a peripheral 

capitalism in Eastern Europe, as international political economy demands 

(Bohle 2002). 

This analysis also looks at a more detailed level: for example it acknowledges 

the emergence of neo-liberal think tanks in Eastern Europe in 

connection with the transformation of global capitalism. Another strand 

of literature analyses political and discursive inequalities, for example as 

they emerged in the accession negotiations (Böröcz / Kovács 2001). In 

recent years the EU has also been examined as an ‘Empire’ (Engel-Di 

Mauro 2006; for a pro-imperial position see Beck / Grande 2007). These 

critical contributions argue that there is a new relationship of dependency 

rather than a postcolonial situation. 

However, in this paper I will not try to analyse the facts of a new 

dependency not too deeply, but will focus instead upon the imagination 



and construction of colonial and postcolonial positions within the Polish 

debate on postcolonialism. 

For this purpose, I will first discuss the main characteristics of the 

constructions of colonial subject and coloniser. Secondly, I will discuss 

different approaches to the relationship between nationalism and the 

postcolonial situation. 

Finally, building on the West-German/East-German example, I will 

analyse some aspects of the Polish debate about colonialism and postcolonialism. 

From ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Nationalism 

In his science fiction novel Childhood’s End (1990) Arthur C. Clarke 

describes the arrival of aliens in the Earth’s orbit and their ensuing rule 

over the planet. Their rule is a benevolent one, limited to punishing violent 

crimes and cruelty against animals. They contribute to the formation of 

a world government, succeeding the United Nations, which then forms 

a representative institution for their dealings with humanity. This body 

is headed by a Norwegian called Stormgren, initially the only human in 

direct communication with the aliens. 

A large part of the human population does not challenge the aliens’ 

rule. Few protest movements emerge. Clarke describes a march of one of 

these movements: 

“[H]ere and there fists were being shaken […]. As pygmies may 

threaten a giant, so those angry fists were directed against the sky fifty 

kilometres above his head” (Clarke 1990: 4). 

The humans appear powerless, backward, as “pygmies”. However 

in a later dialogue the leader of the protest movement sees his role differently: 

“As you know, for the last five years we have tried to awaken the 

human race to the danger that confronts it. The task has been a difficult 

one, for the majority of people seem content to let the Overlords run the 

world as they please. Nevertheless, more than five million patriots, in every 

country, have signed our petition” (Clarke 1990: 5). 



The protester sees himself as a patriot fighting for freedom. One 

of the leaders of the movement (‘Joe’) is of Polish origin. From the perspective 

of Stormgren, Joe is physically impressive, but mentally stuck in 

the past. Having been kidnapped by the resistance movement, Stormgren 

reflects on Joe – and about Poland: 

“Joe was an altogether more complex individual, though sometimes 

he reminded Stormgren of an overgrown baby. Their interminable poker 

games were punctuated with violent political arguments, and it soon became 

obvious to Stormgren that the big Pole had never thought seriously 

about the causes for which he was fighting. Emotion and extreme conservatism 

clouded all his judgements. His country’s long struggle for independence 

had conditioned him so completely that he still lived in the past. 

He was a picturesque survival, one of those who had no use for an ordered 

way of life. When his type vanished, if it ever did, the world would 

be a safer, but less interesting place “ (Clarke 1990: 28 f.). 

Clarke’s novel displays the typical traits of colonial literature. On 

one hand are the Overlords, rational rulers, who only want the best for 

humanity, even if they have to force them to accept it. 1 There are rational 

rulers and backward natives, labelled as ‘pygmies’. 

The Poles, in the figure of Joe, also represent backwardness and 

pointless patriotic struggle. In this way, Clarke delivers a defence of colonialism 

and uses the Pole as a symbol of anticolonial struggle misled by 

his unquestioning nationalism. 

That Clarke uses a Pole to represent this figure is not a coincidence. 

Even if Poland is not traditionally the focus of colonial literature (in the 

English language they are Africa and South Asia), this image of Poland 

reflects a common stereotype. 

In Germany in particular the image of the nationalist, unquestioningly 

patriotic and troublemaking Pole was widespread. In Gustav 

Freytag’s novel Soll und Haben (Debit and Credit, 1855), Polish insurgents 

are described in very similar terms. Set against the Polish uprising against 

their Prussian occupiers in 1848, a young German travels to Poland to 

look after his mentor’s business. 

1 In the end it emerges that the aliens are a form of cosmic nurse with the task of helping 

promising civilisations to transcend to cosmic greatness, which is denied to themselves. 



On the way he encounters various groups of insurgents, who are 

described as backward, are led by fanatics and act more as a looting mob 

than a political group or an army: 

“The people on the other side of the frontier, excited by old memories 

and by their landed proprietors, rose, and, led by fanatical preachers, 

marched up and down the frontier, falling upon travellers and merchandise, 

plundering and burning small towns and noblemen’s seats, and aiming 

at a military organization under the command of their favourite leaders” 

(Freytag 1858 Chapter XIX, §2). 

The people are ‘excited’, fanatic and driven by myths of the past. In 

a further scene the young German and his escort are stopped by a group 

of insurgents. 

“In this manner they passed a group of fallen houses, which lay on 

a flat close to a marsh, looking like giant fungi that had shot up on a malarian 

soil, when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a band 

of insurgents. […] At length the merchant put an end to the whole scene 

by suddenly flogging the horses, and thus compelling the last recusants to 

jump aside as fast as they could. The horses galloped off, loud interjections 

were heard in the distance, and a few shots passed harmlessly over 

the heads of the travellers, probably fired out of a general enthusiasm 

for fatherland rather than with any definite purpose (Freytag 1858 [1855] 

Chapter XX, §10).” 

The Polish insurgents are not pictured as serious opponents: the 

strong will of the German merchant overpowers their roadblock. Their 

‘general enthusiasm for the fatherland’ does not give them a clear purpose 

– they only become a disorganized band. Poles in Freytag’s novel are 

characterised by their unquestioning patriotism and their enthusiasm for 

old memories. 

In contrast the Prussians/Germans are organised, efficient, rational 

and disciplined (and in the end these virtues emerge as triumphant). His 

novel therefore follows the lines of colonial literature that justifies (quasi-) 

colonial rule by describing the colonizers as rational, civilized and more 

suited to rule. 



In summary a number of characteristic traits of colonial literature 

appear in these novels. The general juxtaposition of rational (the colonizer) 

and irrational (the colonised), finds its equivalent in different forms of 

nationalism – a purposeless “general enthusiasm” for making trouble and 

an emotional backward-looking patriotism on one hand, and a rational nation 

(or, in Clark’s case, civilisation) on the other. 

The juxtaposition of ‘good’ (or civil) and ‘bad’ (or exaggerated) nationalism 

is also a topic of academic literature. In the debate about ‘Eastern 

nationalism’ Poles and Eastern Europeans in general are ascribed a 

tendency to irrational nationalism. 

Originally dating back to Hans Kohn, who analysed German nationalism, 

John Plamenatz interpreted the distinction between different 

kinds of nationalism in the context of global structures of hegemony. 

Like Kohn, he distinguished a ‘western’, rational and civil nationalism 

from an ‘eastern’, ethnic nationalism. Germany was the original example 

of ethnic nationalism for Kohn, but Plamenatz identified this form of 

nationalism as eastern. According to Plamenatz it is “a reaction of peoples 

who feel culturally at a disadvantage” (Plamenatz 1976: 27). 

This form of nationalism is not unique to Eastern Europe, he explains, 

but it first appeared there: 

“What I call Eastern nationalism has flourished among the Slavs as 

well as in Africa and Asia, and is to be found also in Latin America. So I 

could not call it non-European, and have thought it best to call it Eastern 

because it first appeared to the East of Western Europe (Plamenatz 1976: 

23).” 

Plamenatz locates his concept of nationalism within a theory of 

modernisation. While the west was already civilised, the east was (in common 

with the south) subjugated by the west and reacted with a certain 

form of nationalism. Plamenatz explains the different nationalisms by the 

cultural hegemony of the west. 

“The case with the Slavs, and later with the Africans and the Asians, 

has been quite different [than in Germany or Italy]. Drawn gradually, as a 

result of the diffusion among them of Western ideas and practices, into a 



civilisation alien to them, they have had to re-equip themselves culturally, 

to transform themselves (Plamenatz 1976: 30).” 

Plamenatz and the debate about Eastern nationalism are not the 

only ones to regard Eastern Europe as nationalist. In modern literature 

Fredric Jameson claimed that the ‘second world’ ( at that time the socialist 

bloc) and the ‘third world’ have a need to catch up on nationalism and 

might even have a right to it. 

“Judging from recent conversations among third-world intellectuals, 

there is now an obsessive return of the national situation itself, the name 

of the country that returns again and again like a gong, the collective attention 

to ‘us’ and what we have to do and how we do it, to what we can’t 

do and what we do better than this or that nationality, our unique characteristics, 

in short, to the level of the ‘people’. 

This is not the way American intellectuals have been discussing 

‘America,’ and indeed one might feel that the whole matter is nothing but 

that old thing called ‘nationalism,’ long since liquidated here and rightly so. 

Yet a certain nationalism is fundamental in the third world (and also 

in the most vital far East of the second world), thus making it legitimate 

to ask whether it is all that bad in the end (Jameson 1986: 65).” 

Jameson believes that nationalism has been overcome in the West 

but is flourishing in the South and the East, and may even be beneficial 

for these countries. As in literature, the East appears in academic debate as 

nationalist and backwardly, while the West is represented as postnationalist 

or at least being rational about nationalism. This interpretation follows the 

traits of colonial writing: one’s ‘own’ position is described as rational and 

normal, the ‘other’ (weaker) position as irrational and nationalist. 

The Western gaze on Eastern Europe can be described as the cultural 

parallel of political and economic inequality. The interpretations analysed 

above are typical of the historical construction of the West in opposition 

to the East, as Larry Wolff (2000) demonstrates for the invention of 

Eastern Europe, and Maria Todorova (1999) for the Balkans, both in the 

eighteenth century. Wolff stresses how travellers pictured Eastern Europe 

as wild and barbaric, yet fascinating. Likewise Todorova reveals how the 

Balkans were described as wild and unruly. Today the ‘Balkans’ are often 

still represented as ‘too nationalist’, in contrast to the ‘West’ (Hatzopoulos 


2003). While this construction of the Balkans has been researched and 

criticised, the image of Poland as nationalist has rarely been analysed. 

European Orientalism 


In political terms, although the situation in Eastern Europe is not 

straightforwardly postcolonial, the representation of Eastern Europe in 

the West and its cultural dynamics follow the model of European orientalism. 

However, in order to analyse the debate within Poland as an 

exemplary case, it is first necessary to look at the theoretical approaches 

which can be found in debates about nationalism and the fields of society 

and politics. 

In the years of decolonisation the nation and nationalism became 

the subject of critical analysis in the former colonies themselves. However, 

the analysis was much more sophisticated than was the case in the 

debate about eastern nationalism. 

The discussion of the postcolonial state can be summarised in three 

steps. Fanon (1981) describes the formation of the ‘native intellectual’ in 

the former colonies. 

During the struggle for independence, or after independence, the 

idea of the nation gained importance. 

This involved the development of a nationally orientated literature 

and culture which discovered and re-worked national traditions. 

The ‘native intellectual’ then takes on the role of a fighter for the 

national cause. However, at the same time they take on the role of the 

former colonial powers by ‘exoticising’ their own position. The native intellectual 

thus becomes a conservative figure. 

Amílcar Cabral’s analysis (1974) locates this figure within the social 

field. His point of departure is the neocolonialism of the 1960s, when the 

former colonial powers attempted to hold on to their position of strength 

through other means. One of those means is the support of a national 

pseudo-bourgeoisie which takes elite positions in the former colonies and 

uses nationalist discourse. 

This discourse impedes the further liberation of the former colonies, 

in particular where this liberation concerns social inequality in the 

former colonies themselves. 



Nationalist discourse for these groups serves the purpose of legitimising 

their privileged position towards the rest of the population as well 

as towards the former colonial powers. Finally, Partha Chatterjee (1986) 

develops the idea of nationalism as a derivative discourse. The nationalism 

of privileged groups in the former colonies transfers national discourse 

from the West to postcolonial situations. Analysing the development of 

Indian independence, he shows that nationalism was a concept of the 

elites, who used it to strengthen their position. 

Following Gramsci, Chatterjee calls this process a passive revolution; 

an elite-induced transformation in which one elite (the colonial one) 

is replaced by another (the national one). 

In all three examples nationalist discourse in postcolonial situations 

is criticised as a tactical instrument. It is shown to be the instrument of 

elites, who can reach and maintain power through this discourse. 

In summary, from a postcolonial perspective, nationalism has a dual 

role. On one hand, discussions about nationalism in peripheral countries 

claim the superiority of the West, and to represent the ‘East’ and former 

colonies as less rational, less civilised. This is an elitist strategy that can be 

deployed in former colonial or (in a centre / periphery perspective) central 

states. 

The elites of these states legitimise their rule (over the population 

of their own state) as ‘good rule’, as rational, as postnationalist (or less 

nationalist). At the same time, they legitimise their former rule (or claims 

to also set a ‘good’ example in the present) over the colonised states. 

On the other hand, nationalism is a strategy of elites in formerly 

colonised (or peripheral) states. Employing nationalist discourse they legitimise 

their position by claiming that it represents the nation and its 

interests, thereby maintaining their elite privileges. 

This stress on the nation is an aspect of postcolonial situations, 

which is rarely analysed in current theories of hybridity or hybrid theories. 

In these concepts postcolonialism signifies the overcoming of clear binary 

distinctions. 

However, both uses of nationalism outlined above are strategies 

of, so to speak, ‘un-hybridisation’, claiming clear differences and national 

uniqueness. I now will turn to an analysis of the role of national discourse 

in situations which are also regarded as hybrid. 


Postcolonial Discourse in Poland 


The interrelation of nationalist and postcolonial discourse can be 

analysed from the two sides of its use – in the centre as orientalist discourse, 

and on the periphery as elite discourse. 

I will focus upon the second use of nationalism, because a body 

of criticism of western orientalism has been developed in the discourse 

on Eastern Europe (for example Böröcz / Kovacs 2001). Using Eastern 

Germany as the initial example, I will then focus upon Poland and postcolonial 

discourse in Poland. 

East Germany can serve as a good case study because both the 

material processes of impoverishment and the reaction to them in quasi-colonial 

and anticolonial discourse occurred within a relatively simple 

framework: West Germany functioned as a clear other. 

After the Wende 1989 and in the course of the accession of the 

GDR, the first fears emerged of colonisation (or a comparable process) 

by West Germany. However, the main discussion hoped for the promises 

of the market and the Western democratic model. In the West, 1989 was 

taken as a proof of the superiority of the Western model and narratives 

about East Germany also drew in part upon orientalist discourse. After 

unification, a discourse developed in which West German colonisation 

stories met with East German stories of marginalisation. Pinkert analyses 

a number of novels that emerged from this setting. She contrasts the novel 

Neuland (New land, 1999) with novels by East German authors. In Neuland 

a West German woman relates her experiences after moving to East 

Germany with her husband, a physician. In her story she follows colonial 

patterns: her perspective is defined as universal, civilised and superior, and 

the east is described as a region where these values have not yet been put 

into practice. This Western gaze on Eastern Germany can also be found 

in the debate about the alleged lack of values in Eastern Germany, which 

often surfaces in discussions about infanticide (according to the former 

West German minister of the interior of Brandenburg, this is due to the 

dehumanisation that happened in the GDR) or right-wing extremism (to 

which the East is considered more susceptible). In these interpretations, 

the East is constructed regarded as less civilised and more backward than 

the West. This is not necessarily restricted to the geographical region to 

the east of West Germany, but from the legacy of the GDR. 



However, the interpretations follow the pattern of Western progress 

and Eastern backwardness and barbarism. In East Germany, this discourse 

is accompanied (or countered) by the invention of an Eastern ‘ethnicity’, 

as Daniljuk and Holm (1998) call it. The invention of such an ethnicity, 

characterised by certain traditions, cultural traits, but also by the feeling 

of being oppressed by the West, follows the patterns of a postcolonial 

nationalist discourse. 

Applying postcolonial perspectives to the East German case, it becomes 

clear that there exists a neocolonial Western discourse which is 

opposed by an Eastern national discourse in Eastern Germany, and is not 

supported by all members of the political field, but is certainly one of the 

instruments applied in the struggle for the elite political positions. In West 

Germany (and for West Germans in East Germany), the quasi-colonialist 

discourse allows a construction of the self as a rational and civilised being. 

What is the relationship between national and postcolonial discourses in 

Poland? In the political debate, particularly under the conservative PiS-led 

coalition, threats to Poland were being stressed. These threats could be 

from external (an attempt by Germany or Russia to dominate Poland) or 

internal (for example ‘communists’ or other enemies of Poland) actors. 

The discourse of internal threats was much more intensive than that on 

external threats, even if the latter was more widely reported outside of 

Poland. Huterer (2006) analyses the rhetoric of constant threat, through 

which the Kaczynski brothers represented themselves as defending the 

nation against internal enemies and conspiracies. 

The discourse on external threats was rich in historical references 

to former periods of domination by neighbouring states, and was thus 

explicitly postcolonial. In reference to the planned construction of the 

Baltic pipeline, the then minister of defence, Sikorski, warned of a repetition 

of the Hitler-Stalin treaty by which the division of Poland was settled. 

In Germany, the Polish government was described as nationalist and irrational. 

For example in 2006, after the negotiations about the Nice-Treaty, 

the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel wrote: “It may be that Poland, after a 

period of Socialism, has a need to catch up on nationalism” (Tagesspiegel 

Berlin, 12.9.06). 

A Polish need to catch up, and therefore a certain backwardness on 

its part, is connected with increased nationalism in the eyes of the news- 



paper. The Western gaze, which regards its own position as rational and 

superior, is easy to recognise in this interpretation. 

Both, in the German representation of Poland and in the discussion 

within Poland, the influences of postcolonial discourses are clear. 

However, beyond the political arena and the media, there is an explicit 

academic debate about Polish literary postcolonialism. After 1989, some 

Polish writers have expressed a Habsburg nostalgia, in which the former 

empire is described as a culturally rich past and Poland is regarded through 

a peripheral, neo-romantic gaze (for example Stasiuk, see Hänschen 2004). 

Another work can be considered a critique of nationalism and stereotypes, 

for example Masłowska’s Snow White and Russian Red (2004 originally The 

Polish-Russian War under the White-red Flag). 

The journal Teksty Drugie featured a number of articles on Polish 

postcolonialism, but there were also other publications on the topic. Some 

of the contributions consisted of analyses of Polish literary works, like 

that of the world traveller Kapuściński (Tabaszewska 2006). These contributions 

analysed Polish literature using postcolonial theories. The greatest 

controversy surfaced in the second type of contribution, which was 

dedicated to the role of Polish literature in the global literary world and 

the effects of postcolonialism upon it. For example the American scholar 

Clare Cavanagh (2003, 2004) claimed that Poland was (unjustly) a black 

spot on the map of the global debate on postcolonialism. 

The postcolonial nature of Poland was not recognised but ignored 

she complained, and therefore Poland was being excluded and discriminated 

against. Alexander Fiut (2003) replied that this view simply represented 

a repetition of the myth of Polish martyrdom. 

Another article supported Cavanagh’s argument: Dariusz Skórczewski 

(2006b) complained that Polish literature was not being discussed 

globally under the label of postcolonalism. 

Therefore, Polish literature was being denied a chance of recognition. 

He made it his aim to fight for the place of Poland in this discourse: 

“From what has been said above it is clear that it is even more difficult 

to fight for the place of Poland and the Central and Eastern European 

countries in postcolonial discourse. How can this be achieved?” (Skórczewski 

2006b: 108, my translation). 



The debate about postcolonial Polish literature in these contributions 

became a debate about the discrimination of Polish literature, and 

about the roles of Skórczewski and Cavanagh, who described themselves 

as fighting for the postcolonial status of Polish literature. 

An additional article by Skórczewski is also interesting in this respect 

(2006a). In an analysis of the novel Castorp by Paweł Huelle, he points out 

the postcolonial traits of the book, in which a section of Thomas Mann’s 

Magic Mountain is reinterpreted in the context of German-Polish relations 

in the interwar years. In addition to his convincing analysis of the novel 

Skórczewski also makes a plea to German literary critics (in his English 

text): they should not only commend the fine style of the book, but also 

recognise that the book was an accusation of German colonialism (and 

therefore of these critics’ past). In this article Skórczewski again takes on 

the role of fighting for his nation, in this case against its former colonisers. 

He not only argues against the disregard of his country or his 

country’s literature, but also for a recognition of this literature, which, 

being disadvantaged and emerging from a colonial situation, is worthy of 

acknowledgment and discussion. 

In his article quoted above (2006b), he goes on to write that through 

this struggle, the entire national corpus of Polish literature could also be 

introduced to the world (and Poland’s long literary tradition could gain 

deserved recognition): 

“The comprehension of our literature from this perspective [of 

postcolonialism] is not only a possible task, but even more a necessary 

one. Necessary for the introduction of our literature into a world where, 

apart from a few experts on contemporary poetry, Poland as a country 

with a centuries-old tradition of literature does not exist. In the light of 

the above said however it is clear that we will have to shoulder the task 

alone.“ (Skórczewski 2005: 112) 

Skórczewski described himself as leading a struggle for the nation, 

against the disregard for and disadvantages of Polish national literature 

(and the Polish nation) in the international arena. On one hand, this arena 

is postcolonial criticism, on the other hand it is world literature. The global 

postcolonial discourse appears as the coloniser, and Skórczewski becomes 

the native intellectual in Fanon’s sense. 



The discovery of a national tradition and the struggle for its recognition 

are important aspects of the role of the postcolonial elite. In political 

terms, the Polish debate, which I have only been able to sketch here, is 

characterised by the typical discourse of a postcolonial elite that presents 

itself as a defender of the nation against new quasi-colonial threats. In 

particular the rhetoric of the PiS-led government followed these patterns 

in order to justify their position (and their policies). 

In the debate about postcolonial literature there is a postcolonial 

meta-discourse. The charge is that postcolonial Poland is not recognised 

as such in global postcolonial discourse. Global postcolonial discourse is 

ascribed the status of a coloniser, against whom national interests have to 

be fought for. Skorczewski (and also Cavanagh) place themselves in this 

role of fighting for Poland. How can the role of the nation in debates 

about postcolonialism be summarised? 

In Germany after the Wende, colonial and postcolonial discourses 

can be identified. In parts of the political debate and also within the literature, 

a Western gaze regards its own position as rational, civilised and 

universal. The East is regarded as different and less civilised. 

In East Germany, this discourse is countered by a discourse that 

stresses the value of East German traditions, and in which the West Germans 

are pictured as colonisers, the East Germans as victims. These views 

are repeated in the German and Polish debates about the respective other. 

In the German media and political arena, Poland is decribed as irrational 

and nationalist, Germany as rational and post-national. 

In the Polish debate (at least in the PiS government), Germany is 

regarded as a threat, as a former and potentially new coloniser that Polish 

politicians fight in the name of the nation. 

However, Poland is also believed to be discriminated against in terms 

of literary criticism, and the Polish debate on postcolonialism even 

describes the global postcolonial discourse as an oppressor. These literary 

critics fulfil the role of Fanon’s ‘native intellectual’ who employs a nationalist 

discourse in order to acquire elite status. 

Postcolonialism in Central and Western Europe, as everywhere, is 

a field of unequal power relations, interpretations and social/political actors, 

and nationalist discourse is a strategic tool. The different interpretations 

thereby regard different relationships as postcolonial, pre-colonial 

or colonial. 



Conclusion 

In conclusion, the representations of rational / irrational and nationalist/post 

national that are typical for contemporary discourse can also 

be identified in German-Polish literary and political discourses. On one 

hand, this is hardly surprising, as similar stereotypes have been a part of 

German-Polish relations for centuries, along with political and economic 

power inequalities. Unusually however, postcolonial discourse, which is 

normally dedicated to a critique of such interpretations, is used by some 

contributors to the Polish debate in order to reinforce these beliefs by 

defining themselves as colonised. These opinions are not necessarily held 

by the majority, but they demonstrate that the ‘national argument’ can be 

usefully employed in both fields. There are, therefore, two discourses of 

postcolonialism and nationalism. They are not tied to specific countries, 

even though a long legacy of similar discourses has been discussed in this 

paper. Instead, they are tools that can be employed in a political struggle. 

Furthermore, in Poland a discourse of enlightened westerness can be employed, 

and in West Germany a discourse of the threatened nation can be 

employed (and both are employed in the two countries). Regarding the 

conceptual aspects of the paper, it is clear, that not all is hybrid. A hybrid 

postcolonial discourse that criticises nationalism is accompanied by a 

postcolonial discourse that reinforces nationalism. Using the concepts of 

the political theories of postcolonial nationalism, it is possible to further 

analyse the strategies and power relations within European postcolonialism. 

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Central European Constructions of Central and 

Eastern Europe, or, “What is the Centre and who are the 

Central Europeans”? 

Introduction 

Miloš Havelka 

(Charles University Prague) 

I would like to introduce my contribution with a quote from Péter 

Esterházy’s novel Harmonia Cælestis: 

“I have the feeling – one of the things my father worried about for 

a long time and without success – that the holiest things are those, which 

we do not remember” (Esterházy 2003: 7). 1 

An equivocal sentence, which not only points to the facts and norms 

we cannot remember, as they are not an integral part of ourselves and are, 

therefore, omnipresent, but is also directed against a contemporary idola 

mentis, which encourages us to forget the forgetting. Historical consciousness 

and identity creating remembering can be found within Esterházy in an 

original Hungarian perspective – the perspective of oblivion, which allows 

us to seek shortcomings in the relationship between being and remembering, 

and furthermore, to reveal its cultural, political, ideological and 

1 My translation. 


290 Miloš Havelka 

its psychological degradation as well – which may be as important and 

interesting to us as the process of remembering itself. The specific quality 

of social oblivion will be denoted, which allows us to accept oblivion as a 

process by means of which remembering can be constructed, and which 

is a vital precondition for the process of remembering itself. One may ask, 

to what extent oblivion, rather then remembering, strengthens collective 

and individual identity on one hand, and arouses interest in history on the 

other. In this respect, I would like to stress Leopold von Ranke’s dictum of 

asking how it actually has been? As different policies of remembering show, 

the sphere of identity-creating memory must always be considered in relation 

to its negativity, which relates to what has been left out, neglected or 

replaced. Oblivion does not come into being as a result of constraint, but 

through the encouragement of remembering – because the development 

of remembering is only possible if oblivion develops as well (Esposito 

2002: 30). The fact, that collective memory is a medium of oblivion and 

that, together with other cultural constructions, memory content is always 

the result of the general interaction of value relationships, and therefore, 

has the potential to carry an ideologically charged component that can 

compromise memory content and memory creation in their role as a starting 

point. Individual and collective memories are not rationally transparent 

and are never complete in terms of historical reality. 

Therefore, or in spite of this, they are of great importance to societies 

in their role as inventions or constructed realities. 2 It is important to 

bear this in mind when analysing the transnational Central European constructions 

of Central Europe that are rooted in the collective Central European 

memory. This theoretical approach to memory has experienced a 

surge of attention, because of the intellectual rise of an aspect of existence 

that causes people to understand their historically determined world, 

and the new context created by the collapse of communism. 3 

2 I would like to point out the radical theory of Ernst Gellner, which is in the same vein, 

who writes in his book Conditions of Liberty about the inability of reason to create a consensus 

out of itself that could serve as basis for a society (Gellner 1998: 32). 

3 Older methodological innovations in historiography and the social sciences (especially 

the Annales school, Niklas Luhmann’s theory which reformulated centres and borders, 

Michel Foucault and his attempts to identify epistéme and spatial constructions, Pierre 

Bourdieu’s field theory and others) have been up-dated in connection to historical and 

political changes in the world and in Europe at the end of the last century, which not 

only changed maps and geo-political spheres of influence but also the self-identity of 

countries and nations, their cultural and political orientation as well as their normative 


Central European Constructions of Central and Eastern Europe 291 

Perhaps this is part of a greater tendency that combines or even 

substitutes a radical modern opinion – that space should not only be understood 

with regard to time, change and development, and history in 

general – with an asymmetrical, yet complementary, (post-modern) perspective 

– that time can be defined by space, which according to Ernst 

Bloch is simultaneously a-simultaneous. 

This points to a loss of time, leaps in time, plurality and incompatibility 

and so on. Im Raume lesen wir die Zeit (‘We read time in space’) is the 

title of the latest book of the expert on Eastern European history, Karl 

Schlögel (Schlögel 2003). 

Representations of Central and Eastern Europe During the 

20 th Century 

When discussing how space is created in the eye of the beholder or 

how collective images of space, so-called frames, are created and passed 

on, the term mental maps (Schlögel 2000, 2001; Conrad 2002) comes to 

mind. Mental maps are kept alive, shaped and maintained by the collective 

imagination. 

They often differ greatly from political, cultural, civilising, religious, 

national and any other spaces as drawn on actual maps. One may say that 

mental maps are vehicles of collective wishful thinking. They map out landscapes 

which, according to the afore-mentioned Karl Schlögel: 

“[…] cannot be surveyed by the methods of astronomy or trigonometry. 

They are neither less exact nor are they less real. They consist of 

a different material, of pictures, of memories, smells, but they are no less 

impressive. They are so deeply engraved, that they may not even touched 

by time, which usually conquers most things. 

These pictures may be temporarily in the background, for an even 

longer time. But one day, in a moment of shock, they may come back, as 

fresh as in the first day. They are not printed anywhere, they cannot be 

hierarchies (Osterhammel 1998: 374–397). The problem of mental constructions and 

emotional perceptions of space is far older than today’s efforts to put it on the agenda. 

Georg Simmel was – as in other topics – a pioneer in this subject. He stressed that “not 

space itself, but the mental structuring of its parts is of importance. The synthesis of 

space is a specific psychological function, which may be individually modified, despite of 

its apparent ‘natural’ prerequisites […]” (Simmel 1999: 461 and 687f). 



read anywhere, but they are deeply engraved and for those who care for it 

they cannot be erased” (Schlögel 2003: 243). 4 

The term ‘Central Europe’ 5 has a similarly artificial character rooted 

in different memories. There has never been a fixed or common agreement 

of understanding, other than a theoretical approach in two modes: 

that of remembering and that of forgetting. 

This mental mapping follows two oppositional axes of orientation. 

As Paul Hazard once demonstrated in La Crise de la conscience européenne: 

1680-1715 (Hazard 1935) in the context of the discovery of the 

‘new’ and the ‘modern’ in the so-called Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes, 

the generally accepted recognition of the predominance of Southern European 

cultures has changed in favour of Northern Europe. 

The original superiority of countries on the northern shore of the 

Mediterranean Sea reached a symbolic end with the demise of the Spanish 

Armada before the English coast in 1588. The political and cultural 

centre moved to France, yet the northern Protestant countries, especially 

England, acquired ever more important roles. In 1660, a period of intensive 

travels to England began. Until the Crimean War in the middle of the 

nineteenth century (see for example Huizinga 1945 and Lemberg 1985: 

51-91), political maps were centred on the north. At the Congress of Vienna 

in 1815, Russia was referred to as a ‘northern power’. 

4 My translation. The mostly constructivist character of such mental maps must not seduce 

us into denying them any counterparts in historical, social and cultural reality. They 

consist of different direct and communicated components, of facts and convictions, of 

symbols, memories and images. Knowledge and fantasy are as important as social oblivion 

is for natural and cultural monuments (see Kocka 2000: 163; Linde 1972). Schlögel 

conceives space as systematic configurations of actual physical objects, which are produced 

by certain social processes. Therefore, they anticipate the actions they are used for 

and thus physically define them. They are to be understood as materialised batches of 

social values and thus carry and pass on historical experiences. 

5 In relation to his definitions and their consequences, a large pool of literature has 

emerged. Following the rich international discussions surrounding Milan Kundera’s essay 

on the Rape of Europe during the mid-1980s, the focus was again on Central Europe, 

often in relation to the preparation of the last EU-enlargement and the emphasis of a 

coherent concept of European history. (See Mout, Stourzh 2002: ix-xx, 1-15). Of model 

character was a lecture series in Prague organised by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, Charles- 

University Prague and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (1992-1996), 

published in 1997 in Prague as Das künftige Mitteleuropa. Tradition und Perspektiven (Maly 

1997). 



The term ‘Central Europe’ was then used for probably the first time 

with reference to the end of the Holy Roman Empire (1806), which led to 

the rise of three centres of German politics: Austria, Prussia and ‘West- 

Germany’. For almost half a century these three fought for influence in 

the Mediterranean. Against this background Central Europe can be understood 

as more Germanic, as a strip of countries running from Northern to 

Southern Europe. With Holland at one end, it reaches the Czech Republic 

via Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania 

to the Ukraine – as can be found in the work of Friedrich Naumann for 

example (1915). The area that Central Europeans call Central Europe was 

only understood as Eastern Europe. 6 But ever since the Enlightenment a 

different interpretation of European geography gained influence: an East- 

West-axis based upon the universal term of civilisation, which presupposes 

a lesser culture and thus helps to spread the idea of a civic divide 

between Western and Eastern culture (Wolff 1994). Over the centuries 

this new understanding helped to shape a totally different idea of Central 

Europe, which is mostly perceived as a north-south oriented strip of small 

nations between Russia and Germany. 

This perception of a realm ranging from Helsinki to Trieste, that 

from very early on had been under the influence of two different directions 

as its core was located between the Carolingian and the Eastern-Roman 

empires, is especially evident in the Hungarian political mindset. For 

example, István Bibó, a minister in the government of Imre Nagy during 

the revolution in 1956, stated that the Central-European countries had not 

managed to achieve the same stage of modernisation that was characteristic 

of the development and prosperity of the Western European societies 

(Bibo 1993 [1946]). 7 

The devastating effect of Central European nationalism could not 

be overcome by the unification of Central-Europe, but instead by pursuing 

the strategy of a third way, in which the cohesive forces of democracy 

and freedom help to unite the diverging Central European people. Another 

very interesting ‘mapping’ of Central-Europe was created by one of 

Bibó’s students, the historian Jenö Szücs. 

6 This is, by the way, still the commonly used term in Germany. The Anglo-Saxon term 

‘Central Europe’ has not managed to achieve a dominant role so far. 

7 To overcome this situation Bibó developed a ‘third way’ concept for Central Europe 

after World War II ranging between capitalism and socialism. 



In his book The Three Historical Regions of Europe Szűcs he attempts a 

structuralist re-interpretation of Bibó’s theory of the distress of the East 

European small states, following the argument of a historically proven lack 

of democratic and liberal development in Central Europe (Szücs 1983). 

The area created between the Carpathian Mountains and the line 

of Laita, the Bohemian Forest and the Elbe River that Arpad Gönz, future 

Hungarian president, ironically called a “cosmos in the Carpathians” 

(Gönz 1999) was influenced and remained open to influence by the two 

state models (the eastern and the western) which developed differently. 

Central Europe, which had been part of the West until the early sixteenth 

century, fell behind the Western development and into dependence upon 

it. This dependence caused the survival of many relics of older, feudal 

customs and the creation of peculiar combinations of cultures, which 

bound it to the East. Therefore, Szücs does not consider Central Europe 

a specific model of historical development, but “politically the Western 

border of Eastern Europe and culturally the Eastern periphery of Western 

Europe” (Szücs 1983: 48). Today Szücs’ theory is so important, because 

of its non-essentialist approach, its rejection of the idea that there 

is something resembling a ‘Central European principle’, which supposedly 

determines the life, culture and politics of individual people in this 

region. Szücs’ and Bibö’s interpretation of Central Europe as a historical 

region only (not a model in development) and the emphasis upon its civilpolitical 

dimensions is also important. This can be understood as an alternative 

to a number of different old and recent ideas of Central Europe 

with a strong essentialist and national focus. Szücs’ standpoint is similar to 

that of the Slovenians and Croatians, who are mostly considered Central 

Europeans, but who rejected any notion of a supra-national entity during 

discussions in the 1980s, for example the authors Milan Krleža, Danilo 

Kiš oder Drago Jančar. 8 

The reason for this was not only the imprecise territorial definitions 

of the term ‘Central Europe’, but also the supposed lack of recognition 

of differences and a one-sided emphasis upon similarities, which was supposedly 

by way of compensation. This was formulated as a longing to be 

accepted within a united Europe or to adopt ‘a Europe’ for their own use. 

8 Therefore, Danilo Kiš explicitly rejected the possibility of talking about a typically CenCentral European poetry supposedly characteristic of the art and literature of the individual 

peoples. See Kis [2000 [1987]: 138-147] for variations on the theme of Central Europe. 



These problems of disassociation from Central Europe are shared 

by Polish intellectuals, who are concerned with questions of national sovereignty, 

political and cultural identity, and the relationship with socialism. 

The topic of freedom has played a fundamental role ever since it 

was defined a basic European value by the historian Oskar Halecki in the 

1950s (Halecki 1950). 9 The notion of Central Europe strongly influenced 

Polish intellectual debate following the World War II through the discussion 

of the Rapacki Plan, which saw Central Europe as a nuclear-free 

buffer zone. According to Rudolf Jaworski: 

“[Central Europe] was always present in Poland, but Central Europe 

as a special source of ideas and as a foundation of Polish national 

consciousness is less easy to find” (Jaworski 1988: 534). 

According to Polish historians, one must not fail to pay attention to 

the regions that include Lithuania and the Baltic States, as well as current 

parts of Belarus and the Ukraine. 10 

The Polish historian Leszek Żyliński wrote that in Poland the focus 

is on the influential term Intermarium, rather than the idea of Central Europe. 

“In terms of geography one may describe this area as being situated 

between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea […]. Intermarium used to be a 

community sharing the same experiences and a common consciousness 

of peoples whose sovereignty was doubted by their neighbours. 

It was an area towards to which Poland assmued special duties 

throughout history. The key to an understanding of this concept was the 

search for a way out of the situation of being ruled either by Germany or 

Russia.” (Żyliński 2003) 11 

Attempts to formulate political and cultural problems in the Central 

European perspective are much older in the Czech Republic. 

9 The Polish historian Piotr S. Wandycs, who works in the USA, made the idea of freedom 

the main point in his history of Central Europe (Wandycz 1992). 

10 Perhaps this is the reason why some Polish historians use the term ‘Eastern Central 

Europe’, which seldomly occurs among Czechs or Hungarians. See afore mentioned Piotr 

S. Wandycz. 

11 On the discussion of Intermarum in Poland see Troebst 2000. 



They emerged parallel to the nineteenth century German and Austrian 

discussions (Schnur 1986). 

Czech intellectuals considered Central Europe in the context of 

their own problematic historical and cultural identity as a small nation in 

the geo-politically exposed space between Germany and Russia. 12 

This has been the case since the time of František Palacký, the 

founder of modern Czech historiography and politics. Palacký’s opinion, 

expressed in a bon mot written in the year of revolution 1848, that “if there 

was no Austria we would have to create it”, has not helped to found the 

so-called Austroslavismus. 13 However for a long time he stood, and still 

stands, behind the most of Czech reflections on Central Europe. In spite 

of Palacký’s insight, 30 years later, after the Czech hopes for Trialism had 

crumbled, he disappointedly conceeded that the Czech Republic was there 

before Austria and would continue to exist after it. The political breakdown 

of Czech-Austroslavism only came about after the fall of Prime 

Minister Badeni and the failure of his language regulations (Sprachordnungen) 

in 1898. Yet, at the end of the nineteenth century, the young Czech 

politician and economist Josef Kaizl repeated: Extra Austriam non est vita. 

The Austro-Slavic understanding of Central Europe as a continuously endangered 

realm between Russia and Germany can also be found in the 

work of the aforementioned liberal-conservative historian Josef Pekař, 

the ‘bogeyman’ of Czech Marxist historiography. During World War I, he 

and his teacher Jaroslav Groll were the Czech adversaries to the so-called 

Auslandsaktion of Thomas Garrigue Masaryk. 

In common with his teacher Jaroslav Goll, Pekař refused to accept 

the notion that values and structures, institutions and nations which had 

12 The Czech historian, Jan Křen, in his long history of Central Europe also follows this 

Central European definition of space (Křen 2005). 

13 Palacky’s theory concluded that any Czech national existence is only possible, when 

framed by a strong, modern, independent and federalised Austria-Hungary. In Bohemia, 

the fear of a strong and united Germany under Otto von Bismarck was intense. Already 

in the 1870s Prime Minister Belcredi said that the Corpus Germanicus had become too big 

and too heavy for Europe. Yet, there was disappointment with Russia, its despotism and 

the political Panslavism, a euphemism of Russian imperialism. This was the breeding 

ground for the Czech idea of Central Europe, which was more or less connected to the 

federalised Habsburg Empire. See Křen (1980: 119-152). Křen attempts to demonstrate 

in Palacký’s work the extent to which early Czech nationalism features state affirmative 

functions open to a national compromise that can be found in latter discussions about 

Central Europe. 



grown over centuries should or must perish. He disliked the idea and tried 

to prevent this, even though he did not rule out necessary reforms. 

Therefore, he could not believe that “England and France would 

accept a total disintegration of Austria and that these two would rather an 

Austria independent from Germany” (Pekař 1930a, 1930b). 14 For Pekař 

this was to become a fixed point of criticism of the Hungarian anti-Slavonic 

policy oriented towards expansion of the Balkans, that resulted in 

asymmetric power distributions and political tension and which, as Pekař 

was convinced, had contributed to the coming about of World War I and 

therefore were responsible for the collapse of Austria-Hungary. 15 The 

geo-political problem of Central Europe, that of the independence of the 

small nations located between Russia and Germany, lost its relationship 

to questions of Czech national independence but was re-interpreted with 

regard to a democratisation of the whole of Europe – a Europe where 

the voices of the small nations would also be heard. This can be found in 

Thomas Garigue Masaryk’s works on the results of the World War I: Neues 

Europa (1920) and Die Weltrevolution (1925). 16 For Masaryk, Central Europe 

posed a moral rather than a political question, which was closely related 

to his idea of humanity and democracy. In the 1930s, the old nationalist 

and often anti-Semitic Mitteleurobalast (Kiš 1987: 141) returned in a new 

guise. The German-Jewish philosopher, Zionist and liberal politician Felix 

Weltsch, who worked in Czechoslovakia, wrote a book entitled Das Wagnis 

der Mitte in the face of the threats of German National Socialism to 

the west and Russian Bolshevism to the east (Weltsch 1935). He tried to 

14 Pekař’s realism is supported by Peroutka (1936: 2259- 2263), who writes about the 

British fears of a stable Central Europe during the early 20 th century. The fear of great- 

Hungarian policies and a revival of Habsburg-inspired ambitions survived in Czechoslovakian 

politics until the 1930s. 

15 A counter argument to Pekař can be found in Requiem pour un empire défund. Histoire de 

la destruction de l´Autrich-Hongrie (Paris, 1994) by Francois Fejtö, who single-handedly tried 

to transfer the responsiblity for the destruction of Central Europe from a Hungarian 

position to Czech politics. 

16 During World War I Masaryk tried, in an implicit polemic of national-liberal character 

inspired by Friedrich Naumann, to unveil his idea of Central Europe as a militant desire 

towards the east aimed at the zone of small nations between Germany and Russia. These 

small nations form Central Europe precisely in the literal meaning of the word according 

to Masaryk, and their future can only be guaranteed in a new, radically democratic Europe. 

Central Europe can then become what it always has been: a part of Western Europe. 

The historian, diplomat and Czechoslovakian Minister of Foreign Affairs (1936-1938) 

Kamil Krofta attempted this in his book Stará a nová střední Evropar. 



develop counter arguments to any political extremism, drawing from the 

rich historical experiences of Central Europe, and to firmly root these as 

a political attitude. 

“When talking about the Centre we exceed the spatial image. For 

us, everything is Centre that is situated between opposites; it could be a 

static line, a space, a zone or dynamic middle course, a direction, anything 

leading through opposites or combining them, balancing them. It could be 

a means to further develop the whole including the opposites. Therefore, 

the term Centre includes everything usually called a discussion, a solution 

or a way out” (Weltsch 1935: 22). 

The course and results of World War II seemed to prove Czech 

fears of small nations losing independence and freedom in this geo-politically 

exposed space. 

The essays, by Beneš’ colleague Hubert Ripka, 17 about a Central- 

European ‘Confederation’ with Poland, reveal that for some time Edvard 

Beneš considered political solutions of this type in the early days of his 

expulsion, before he eventually turned towards a pro-soviet solution. 

Other Central-European politicians shared the idea of a Central- 

European Federation, among them the Sudeten-German social democrat 

Wenzel Jaksch and the Slovakian national-liberal Milan Hodža (1987). 

The term Central Europe made a rather quiet break-through in the 

1960s, especially in Czechoslovakia, due to the works of the Italian Claudio 

Magris (2000 [1963]) and the American art historian Carl E. Schorske 

(1981), 18 whose family came from nearby Reichenberg/Liberec, and later 

thanks to the cultural historian William M. Johnston (1972). 

A similar Central European allegience may be found in the works of 

others, such as the philosophers Stephen Tulmin and Allan Janick (1975), 

and Brigitte Hamann (1995). 

In contrast to the older concept of a politically and economically 

diverse Central Europe subjected to external constraints, they stressed the 

17 He published his thoughts together with Hubert Ripka’s political ideas about Central 

European co-operation (1943 and 1944). 

18 Most of the essays had been written in the early 1960s and published in different 

American journals. 



supposedly natural cultural unity and intellectual productivity of a selfconscious 

community. 19 

The Czech philosopher Karel Kosík, one of the first essayists writing 

on Central Europe, made the same attempt in the early 1960s. He 

wrote about a possible meeting between Kafka’s Josef K. and Jaroslav 

Hašek’s Josef Schwejk in Prague’s famed Nerudova Street, as a symbol of 

understanding for the Czech-German-Jewish living in Central Europe. 20 

This motif repeatedly re-occurred during the 1980s in Czechoslovakia.The 

problem of Central Europe had a major comeback during the 

Prague Spring, especially after the Russian occupation in 1968. 

The historically developed cultural, social and political singularity 

of Central Europe was to serve as an argument against the false universality 

of Russian Bolshevism, and was to legitimize the Central European right 

to an individual way towards Socialism that was meant be different from 

the Russian. 

In 1970s Czechoslovakia, alongside the liberal-emancipated ideas of 

Central Europe, as proposed by Karel Kosík and later by Milan Kundera, 

a traditional-conservative idea of Central Europe also emerged, which was 

used by the younger generation to rid itself of the illusions of Socialism. 

There the cultural and political independence of the so-called k.u.k. 

[i.e., kaiserlich und königlich, or Imperial and Royal] Monarchy was unilaterally 

stressed, their own Czech political and cultural traditions from pre-war 

times were emphasized, 21 and the Czech development since the time of 

19 See the previously quoted books by György Konrad. The first wave of interest in 

Central Europe, which in my opinion was underrated during discussions in the 1980s, 

demonstrates that the uniqueness of this cultural and historical realm had been appreciated 

earlier in the USA. 

20 Kosík’s question in 1963 was: Can these two stereotypical persons, Josef K. und Josef 

Schwejk, recognize each other when meeting for the first time? Can they communicate 

their fates? What connections are there between these two? Kosík’s affirmative answer 

to these questions is rooted in the idea of a general human determination which the two 

embody and which reveals the alienated reality of their time. Despite their apparent differences, 

the two protagonists live in a derailed world, in a time of crisis, as recognized by 

the Vienna-based poets and writers such as Karl Kraus and Hermann Broch. However 

one can find another motif in the work of Karel Kosík. Central Europe is a region with 

its own distinct fate and cultural heritage which results in different mentalities. Therefore 

the Central European people should have the right to build a socialist society independently 

from the USSR. Using this argument, Karel Kosík tried to defend Czech reformed 

Socialism in 1968. 

21 For example, writers such as Emanuel Mandler, Rudolf Kučera, Bohumír Doležal, 



the so-called national rejuvenation was recognized once more. 22 

The cultural and political independence of Central Europe and the 

distinct nature of Czech traditions were stressed (especially by J. Pekař), in 

contrast to the interwar period. 

The idea of a shared transnational Central European life experience, 

which was extracted from works in English on the history of the 

Habsburg Monarchy and the Central European realm, was as important 

as this. 23 

For example, in the mid-1990s, the aforementioned Czech anthropologist 

Ernst Gellner attempted to use the so-called indirect rules of k.u.k. 

National Policy as a pattern to solve contemporary national conflicts in 

the Balkans (Gellner 1995). 

From the early 1980s the problem of Central Europe was revisited 

due to the extensive work of Milan Kundera. Kundera defended that the 

original European values that had been lost in the West (either because 

of the capitalist lifestyle or because of the attempts to communicate with 

the Soviet Union) and had only survived in the culture of Central Europe 

under Soviet rule – which the West should have been ashamed of. 

In the international discussion that followed, a number of Central 

Europeans appeared, among them the aforementioned Arpad Gönz and 

especially Gyorgy Konrad. 

In his books Antipolitik. Mitteleuropäische Meditationen and Stimmungsbericht. 

(Konrad 1985; 1987) Konrad defines Central Europe as a way of 

life rather than a region. 

poets such as Zbyněk Hejda, and others who mainly published in the Zamisdat journal 

Střední Evropa which was founded in 1979. 

22 The essays by Jan Patočka played an indirect yet important role in the unoffi unofficial unoffi cial disdiscussions about this topic during the early 1970s. He focussed once more upon the transethnic 

concept of a national patriotism dating back to the first third of the 19th century. 

See Patočka 1969a: 457-472; Dilema v našem národním programu – Jungmann a Bolzano (87- 

105); Náš národní program a dnešek (Patočka 1969b: 143-151); Pokus o českou národní filosofii 

a jeho nezdar (Patočka 1991: 21-53); Podiven 1991. A number of ideological and political 

prejudices were the centre of attention, especially the national rebirth in the nineteenth 

century. This and the question of Central European co-operation was put into context. 

With regard to this Zamisdat mainly discussed Czech nationalism, concepts of the enemy 

and the problem of displacement. 

23 See Sked 1989; Taylor 1949. 


Konrad attempts to set out a model of Central European intellectual 

rules of behaviour based upon specific historical Central European 

experiences. 

This model was meant to be independent, especially with regard to 

the ruling socialist system, and intended to overcome any barriers it had 

created. His model shared some ideas with the concept of unpolitical politics 

as theoretically developed by Václav Havel and put to practical use by the 

author Ludvík Vaculík. 

Conclusion 

All the different Central European twentieth century mental maps – 

be it the Polish historical Intermarium, the Hungarian political Carparthians, 

the Czech geo-politically threatened strip of small states between Russia and 

Germany or the culturally productive Austrian k.u.k. Monarchy – had one 

thing in common before 1989: the longing to free Central Europe politically 

from a rule that was characterised by borders, walls and one-way 

train stations, and to connect it with the west and eventually the European 

Union when this became possible after 1989. 

Maybe this is the reason why Milan Kundera’s construction of the 

Rape of Europe during his lifetime has received so much attention and 

has managed to survive, in modified form, the year 1989, as it points to 

an original unity. 

Yet thereafter, the term Central Europe became the name of a historical 

region, an idealised research perspective, a transnational context 

and a comparison of historically individual cultural, political and social 

structures. 

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Iberian Identities between the Colonial 

Past and the European Present 

Introduction 



An event moved the world in the 1980s. Apparently without reason, 

the Iberian Peninsula came loose from the European Mainland and drifted 

like a raft with no bearings into the Atlantic Ocean. 

This is how the Portuguese author and Nobel-Prize-Winner-for-Literature, 

José Saramago tells it in his novel A Jangada de Pedra (The Stone Raft, 

Saramago 1986, 1995). Saramago pushes this idea still further: at one point 

the Peninsula reached the Line of Tordesillas, along which Portugal and 

Spain had divided the world between themselves in the sixteenth century. 

While the Peninsula hovers on the Line of Tordesillas – in this instance a 

mirror-image of self-observation – Saramago makes its inhabitants question 

their own identity. To whom do Portugal and Spain belong, if they 

themselves have now become the object of the Treaty of Tordesillas? And 

furthermore, do both countries still belong to Europe if they have been 

separated from the old continent? If not, then where do they belong? 

In this novel, Saramago develops an instructive allegory for the situation 

of both countries at the end of the twentieth century. The novel 

dates back to 1986. In the same year both countries joined the European 


306 Teresa Pinheiro 

Union and had to reflect upon their own identity, between a colonial past 

and a European present. When the great discoveries were celebrated on 

the occasion of their 500 th anniversaries in the 1990s, these reflections 

were put to the test. The landing of Christopher Columbus on the Antilles, 

and that of Vasco da Gama in India, provided cause for national 

celebration and pride throughout the nineteenth century. Recently, however, 

in the era of postcolonialism and European integration, Portugal and 

Spain were challenged to consider their history. 

I would like to pose and pursue the question of how a national 

identity was constructed in the Portuguese and Spanish official discourses 

at the end of the twentieth century. Together with Stuart Hall (Hall 1996) 

and Benedict Anderson (Anderson 1983), I consider the concept of nationality 

to be the social construction of a collective identity; in doing so, 

I distance myself from an ontological definition of nation and instead 

regard it as a question of identity. I will concentrate upon the official discourse: 

the observations and forms of self-description that emanate from 

state institutions and are presented to the public. As a forum for the official 

construction of a national identity, the anniversary celebrations that 

took place in 1992 in Spain and in 1998 in Portugal, in commemoration of 

the voyages of discovery, are an especially appropriate case study for the 

issue at hand. By regarding pictures, buildings or public events as cultural 

artefacts, I will attempt to understand and clarify the social and cultural 

practices that are intrinsic to them. In this way, we will observe how national 

identity in Portugal and Spain is constructed in relation to Europe, 

to their historical past and to their respective Iberian neighbour. 

The Colonial Past and Europe during the dictatorships 

The twentieth century histories of Portugal and Spain show striking 

parallels, which encourage a comparative social and cultural analysis. In 

both countries, right-wing dictatorships ruled: in Portugal the Estado Novo 

(‘New State’) from 1932 until the Carnation Revolution in the year 1974, 

and in Spain, the dictatorship of Francisco Franco from the end of the 

Civil War in 1939 until Franco’s death in 1975. 

In both countries, the colonial past was one of the main pillars of 

national identity. For example, Spanish historiography of the 1940s exalted 

Columbus’ discovery of America and the building of the colonial 


Iberian Identities between the Colonial Past and the European Present 307 

empire by creating the Consejo de Hispanidad (‘Council for Hispanity’) in 

1940. The Council was founded with the aim of promoting the Spanish 

cultural presence in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America (Jover 

/ Gómez-Ferrer, 2001: 727-728). 

In common with Spain, the colonial past in Portugal was also inscribed 

upon a nationalist representation of collective identity. But due to 

the fact that Portugal still possessed considerable colonies in Africa, here 

the representation of the colonial past had an overtly legitimising aim. The 

colonies were part of a political conception of Portugal as a wide empire 

consisting of the European main land and colonies in Africa, Asia and 

Oceania. If economically the colonial empire was intended to be autocratic, 

politically the regime was steadily confronted with opposition. Up to 

the beginning of the Second World War, the Estado Novo had to deal with 

the increasing concurrence of other European colonial powers in Africa 

(Léonard 2000: 23-24). After the War, it was the context of decolonisation 

that provoked the necessity for legitimising colonial possessions. Until the 

end of the Estado Novo Portugal was then confronted with pressures both 

from the international community and from the colonies themselves, culminating 

in the long lasting colonial war from 1961 to 1974. In the context 

of this political situation, spreading a national identity, based upon the old 

traditions of colonial possession, among Portuguese citizens but also the 

international community, was of huge relevance. In 1940 – the same year 

that the Council of Hispanity was founded in Spain – the Estado Novo 

organized one of the most impressive celebrations of national identity. 

Eight hundred years after the proclamation of Afonso Henriques as the 

first king of Portugal and three hundred years after the recovery of the 

independence, having been under the rule of the Spanish monarchy for 

40 years, the exhibition O Mundo Português (‘The Portuguese World’) took 

place off the shores of Lisbon, in Belém. The exhibition presented Portugal 

as an intrinsically colonial country, the colonies being an inseparable 

part of the Empire as a whole (Léonard 2000: 10f). 

It should not be regarded as a coincidence that Portugal and Spain 

promoted the colonial past as an important element of national identity at 

a time when Europe was involved in the Second World War, for the abandonment 

of Europe was common to the policies of both dictatorships. 

Both Franco and Salazar emphasized their political, military and 

economic independence from Europe, which as we know today eventu- 



ally resulted in a long and highly political isolation that was only overcome 

with the end of their regimes. 

Despite profiting from the war economically, politically Portugal 

and Spain stressed the distance from Europe by means of a policy of 

non-intervention. 

With the end of the fascist regimes in Europe after the war, the 

necessity for legitimising both dictatorships increased. 

The myth of a unique – genuine – traditional Iberian culture was to 

be used for political ends. Both Catholicism and colonial predestination 

were used to explain the special political path that both states followed 

(Bernecker 2004: 460f). 

This political renunciation of Europe was accompanied by a cultural 

renunciation as well. 

The slogan España es diferente (‘Spain is different’), developed by the 

Spanish Ministry for Information and Tourism in the 1960s, was supposed 

to make the country attractive to potential tourists from faraway Europe; 

however, it was at the same time a programmatic variation of Franco’s 

motto: España, una, grande, libre (‘Spain, united, great, free’), for this slogan 

attempted to make clear the cultural independence of Spain from the European 

tradition (Bernecker 2004: 460). 

Salazar’s European politics was similar to that of Franco’s, if not 

even more daring. Salazar had a map printed, which depicted Europe from 

the Atlantic to the Urals and was entitled Portugal não é um país pequeno 

(‘Portugal is not a small country’). 

On this map he placed the Portuguese overseas colonies, which together 

formed an area almost as large as Europe (Léonard 2000: 23). 

Portugal, according to the message of this map, does not need Europe: 

it is a sovereign overseas empire and stands, according to the contemporary 

motto, orgulhosamente só (‘proudly alone’). 

The ‘Discovery’ of Europe 

The end of the dictatorships brought a new sense of orientation 

and, in making their application for EU membership in 1977, both countries 

declared themselves in favour of the integration of the European 

Community. 


Iberian Identities between the colonial Past and the European Present 309 

In spite of certain considerations, above all against the Common 

Agricultural Policy, both the Portuguese and the Spanish parliaments 

voted for accession into the European Economic Community by a large 

majority. 

Both countries had great expectations from European integration. 

First and foremost they hoped for a major economic upswing, which was 

supposed to help them recover from their backwardness. 

They also hoped for the stabilisation of their still young democracies 

by an affiliation with Europe, and therefore they carried out a decisive 

reversal of the isolationist policies of Franco and Salazar. 

However, to move towards a federal community and to see themselves 

as part of a supra-national federation called Europe, brings many 

prerequisites along with it. 

One prerequisite is that the concept of the nation must share its 

identity establishing function with the concept of a supra-national structure. 

It also requires the basic values by which Europe is defined to be 

shared by all. 

To these basic values belong the concept of democracy as a political 

principle, the recognition of basic human rights and the rejection of any 

form of domination of other peoples. 

Therefore the question may be posed: under ‘European conditions’ 

what function can this colonial past fulfil for the construction of a national 

identity? I intend to address this question more closely in the next 

section. 

Colonial Memory 

During the ceremonies in which the treaties of accession were 

signed in Madrid and Lisbon in June 1985, both the Spanish and the Portuguese 

representatives stressed the meaning of the accession, symbolising 

that both countries had left behind the long lasting period of isolation 

and disrespect for democratic values. 

In contrast to the ideology of the dictatorships, they attached the 

European tradition to the history of the two cultures. 

In his speech during the signing of the treaty of access in Madrid, 

Juan Carlos I insisted upon the European identity of Spain when he stated: 



“Spain is most honoured to welcome you as the most illustrious dignataries 

of the European Communities and of the nations of which they 

consist. You represent what the Spanish people understand by Europe: 

the principles of liberty, equality, pluralism and justice, and these are also 

the principles that rule the Spanish constitution […]. 

If your countries are part of Europe, Spain is part of it in the same 

way too. Spain is European by means of its culture and of its centuries old 

will […]. Spain […], a country that was found as a nation on the basis of a 

venture named America, never wanted to stop being Europe.” 1 

The speech of the Spanish king therefore intends to reaffirm that 

Spain identifies itself with the European values of democracy, leaving behind 

its dictatorial past; but above that, it tries to equate the colonial past, 

as one of the most important elements of national identity, with the European 

present. As he insisted in this speech: 

“[…] to lay stress upon the affinity between the Spanish speaking 

people and to promote the friendship with the Arab and African world 

does not diminish Spain’s European nature: it is rather a creative manifestation 

of it”. 2 

This new European identity of the Iberian newcomers was put to 

the test by the 500 th anniversary of Colombus’ landing in America and 

of da Gama’s first sea voyage to India. An analysis of how Portugal and 

Spain presented themselves during the commemorations provides us with 

an important key to understanding whether or not the official discourses 

reconciled their colonial past with contemporary European integration. 

1 Original: “España se honra en recibir a los más ilustres dignatarios de las Comunidades 

Europeas y de las naciones que las integran. Encarnáis lo que el pueblo español entiende 

por Europa: los principios de libertad, igualdad, pluralismo y justicia, que también presiden 

la Constitución española [...]. Si vuestros países son Europa, España lo es también 

por su cultura y por voluntad secular [...]. España [...], este país que asentó su condición 

de nación en una empresa transeuropea llamada América, nunca quiso dejar de ser Europa” 

(El País 1985), my translation. 

2 [...] al poner de manifesto constantemente sus vínculos con los pueblos de habla hispánica, 

al fomentar la amistad con el mundo árabe y africano, no disminuye su europeidad, 

sino que la manifesta creadoramente (El País 1985), my translation. 



Spain began the preparations for the ceremonies in the same year 

that the treaty of accession was signed. 

In 1985, the Comisión Nacional para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario 

del Descubrimiento de América (‘National Commission for the Celebration of 

the Fifth Centenary of the Discovery of America’) was founded under 

the high patronage of King Carlos I. By 1992, Spain had been a member 

of the European Community for six years and was at the zenith of an 

economic boom and pro-European optimism. 

It was therefore logical for Spanish officials to use three events with 

an international resonance to celebrate and make internationally visible 

the acquis communautaire. 

The Olympic Games in Barcelona, the World Exhibition in Seville, 

and the establishment of Madrid as the European Capital of Culture, 

all provided the opportunity to demonstrate that Spain had successfully 

achieved European cultural status and modernity. 

The Olympic Games were hosted with great technical competence 

and a high-speed rail-track between Madrid and Seville was specially 

opened for the World Exhibition. 

Major highways were built, and even the very first Spanish satellite, 

the Hispasat, was sent into outer space. 

The public was supposed to be amazed and to recognize a momentous 

development: Spain has been successful in making the transition 

from España profunda to España europea (Seidel / König 2002: 103ff.). 

However, in the year 1992, Spain portrayed itself not only as a modern 

country but also as a former nation of discoveries; 1992 was the anniversary 

celebration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in America. 

Indeed, Seville had been selected quite consciously as the site for the World 

Exhibition. The city reminded visitors of the age of the great discoveries 

and conquests. 

Since the discovery of America, the city had possessed a monopoly 

on overseas trade; here was located the Casa de Contratación, the seat of the 

East Indian Council, which was responsible for the administration of all 

Spanish colonies. 

Luis Yáñez, the director of the National Commission for the Ceremonies 

of the 500 th Anniversary of the discovery of America, summarises 

the official view as follows: 



“Without doubt, we have to be proud of the fact that our ancestors 

were the protagonists of this event, the discovery of America, which was 

so decisive for the history of humanity”. 3 

He stood firm in the face of anti-colonial criticism, which emerged 

from abroad especially. These critical voices maintained that the discoveries 

of America were but the preliminary stage of a centuries long colonial 

domination, the destructive consequences of which can be observed in 

present day Latin America. Not a word on this topic was uttered at the anniversary 

ceremonies. Instead the Bank of Spain issued a commemorative 

edition of 1,000 Pesetas bill, on which the image of Hernán Cortés was 

depicted – Hernán Cortés was responsible for the wiping out of a large 

part of the Aztec culture (Seidel / König 2002: 80). 

In the same year, 1992, Portugal was also able to present itself to the 

outside world in a special manner. That year, Portugal held the presidency 

of the European Union, which meant that the European Commission 

convened in Lisbon for six months. 

A conference palace was built especially for this occasion: the Cultural 

Centre of Belém in Lisbon, a highly modern building, with which 

Portugal presented itself as a modern, Europe oriented state. 

However, the centre, was erected not just anywhere in Lisbon, as 

was the case for Expo ’92, which was not just built anywhere in Spain. 

The Cultural Centre was erected in the historically rich district of 

Belém. It was from there that the fleets to India and Brazil set sail in the 

fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. 

The architectural highpoints of the age of discoveries are still located 

there today. And in the year 1940, Salazar had already sponsored the 

colonial exhibition O mundo português there, the remains of which can still 

be seen today. One cannot enter the Cultural Centre without filing past 

monuments to colonial expansion. 

When the time finally came, in 1998, to celebrate the Portuguese 

discoveries, a World Exhibition also took place in Portugal. 

3 Original: “Sin lugar a dudas debemos sentirnos orgullosos porque nuestros antepasados 

fueran los protagonistas de este acontecimiento [el descubrimiento de América] tan decisivo 

para la historia de la humanidad.” (Yáñez, “Prólogo” in: América siglos XVIII-XX. 

III Simposio sobre el V Centenario del Descubrimiento de América. Madrid (1989-90: 14), quoted 

in: Bernecker / López de Abiada / Siebenmann 1996: 16 . 



By means of the selected title theme ‘Oceans’, Portugal was able 

to portray itself worldwide as a nation of discoveries. Exactly 500 years 

previously, Vasco da Gama had discovered the sea route to India. Furthermore, 

the modern shopping centre built on the grounds of the Expo 

was named after Vasco da Gama, as was the bridge over the Tagus that 

was erected on the occasion of the Expo, a maginificent achievement of 

urbanism. 

Like Spain, official Portugal represented itself as a modern state and 

in the same breath as a former nation of discovery. 

Portugal and Spain: Distance or Neighbourhood? 

At the end of the 20 th century, Portugal and Spain portrayed themselves 

officially as modern European states. 

However, at the same time they kept alive the memory of their imperial 

past as a constituent element of their national identity. 

Now another question suggests itself. On their way towards Europe, 

how did the two neighbouring countries relate to one another? Did 

they stand united as two newcomers to the European family? Or, on the 

contrary, did the need to maintain their own individual national identities 

by means of differentiation from their neighbour, grow with the attempt 

at European integration? The answer is differentiation – but by no means 

symmetrical. 

Portugal appears to have played no special role in the construction 

of a Spanish national identity. For example, in the year 2000 Juan Pablo 

Fusi published a study about the development of a Spanish national identity 

(Fusi 2000). 

The relationships to France, Italy, Great Britain, Holland, Germany 

and, even, Russia appear to be important to him in this respect; in contrast, 

any mention of Portugal is rather sporadic. 

In Portugal, the situation is different. The century old influence of 

the Castilian language and culture is acknowleged (Vásquez Cuesta 1981, 

Buescu 2000: 51) and the tradition of anti-Castillianism in Portugal always 

accompanied this cultural relationship (Dias 2005: 23). 

The deep wound to its national consciousness dates back to the 

period 1580 to 1640. 



At that time, the Castilian reigns of Philip II to Philip IV united 

the two thrones under Spanish primacy, and Portugal was deprived of its 

sovereignty for 60 years. 

After Portugal had regained its autonomy in 1640, such dominance 

was never repeated again. 

Nevertheless, to the present day the relationship with Spain still 

plays an important role in the construction of a national identity in official 

discourse. A brief glance at official Portuguese pronouncements of 

collective memory will demonstrate this fact. 

The War of Restoration (1640-1668) is remembered by the Monument 

of the Independence, situated in one of the central squares of Lisbon; 

the first day of the war – the first of December – still is celebrated 

as a bank holiday. Another event in the history of Portugal that has been 

interpreted as a symbol of Portuguese tenacity against the Spanish hegemony, 

is the Battle of Aljubarrota, a decisive episode in the war of succession 

between the Portuguese and the Spanish pretendants to the throne 

of Portugal following the death of King Fernando of Portugal. 

The Portuguese victory avoided the loss of its independence. In 

2002, the Fundação Batalha de Aljubarrota (‘Foundation Battle of Aljubarrota’) 

was founded with the aim of creating a centre of interpretation on 

the field of the battle. 

The main aim is to keep memories alive of the wars against Spain. 

According to the iniciators of the centre: 

“When analysing the history of Portugal, the battles held during the 

War of Independence (1383-1432) and the War of the Restoration (1640- 

1668) were particularly important in the constitution and consolidation of 

Portugal” (Fundação Batalha de Aljubarrota 2008). 

Therefore, according to the foundation, the Centre of Interpretation 

seeks to transmit: 

“[...] the importance of what happened at these historical locations 

to both present and future generations, namely the values related to efficiency, 

determination and courage that define the actions of the Portuguese 

and explaining, to both the Portuguese and foreign public, the 

importance that the development and result of these battles had in the 


constitution of the national identity of the Portuguese people” (Fundação 

Batalha de Aljubarrota 2008). 

Therefore, conflicts with Spain still play an important role in the 

representation of national identity in Portugal. An episode from the Lisbon 

World Exhibition ‘98 also illustrates this point. The cheerful mood 

which had prevailed during the preparations for Expo ‘98 was suddenly 

overshadowed by a diplomatic incident. Before the exhibition was opened, 

an apparently harmless object annoyed the organisers and the public, 

namely a picture presented as an official gift by the Spanish delegation 

to the Portuguese organisers of the Expo ‘98. The gift proved to be poisoned, 

for the etching portrayed the arrival of Philip II in Lisbon in the 

year 1580, on the occasion of the assumption of the Portuguese crown. 

A deep wound to Portuguese sensitivity was reopened, and the reaction 

did not take long to emerge. A group of intellectuals directed a letter of 

protest to the Prime Minister and demanded the exclusion of Spain from 

the Expo; the organisers of the Expo considered this gift to be a sign of 

a “downright siege of the city of Lisbon” (Expresso 1997). 

Conclusion 


The analysis of the official discourses on national identity allows 

us to conclude that Saramago’s suggestion that Portugal and Spain reconsider 

their own interpretations of history at the end of the 20 th century 

was not reflected in official discourse. The Spanish philosopher Eduardo 

Subirats argued that the chance that presented itself in the year 1992 to reexamine 

and correct historical memory had been wasted (Subirats 1993). 

To be sure, both countries have accepted European integration, and 

have overcome the nationalistic and colonialist narratives, as required. Both 

declare themselves as advocates of European values. Paradoxically, however, 

official discourse persists in remembering their controversal colonial 

pasts. 

However, in contrast to Spain, Portugal believes it must maintain its 

national identity by differentiating itself from its neighbour. 

In the case of Portugal, the conclusions reached by Ruth Wodak, in 

her study of the discursive construction of a national identity for Austria, 

may also be applicable, namely that the fear of a loss of identity through 



the process of entering the European Union has resulted in increased 

efforts to differentiate itself from its German neighbour (Wodak 1998). 

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In the Name of April – Building the Past around 

a Political Myth in Portuguese Democracy 

Cláucio Serra Domingues 1 

(University of Münster) 

“On 25 April 1974 the Armed Forces Movement, setting the seal on 

the long resistance of the Portuguese people and interpreting their deepseated 

feelings, overthrew the fascist regime. The liberation of Portugal 

from dictatorship, oppression and colonialism represented a revolutionary 

change and an historic new beginning for Portuguese society. The Revolution 

restored fundamental rights and freedoms to the people of Portugal 

[…].” 2 

This quote may appear to have been taken from an introduction to 

the contemporary history of Portugal; however, it comes from the constitution 

of the Portuguese Republic. 

1 Translation by Anna Ozimkiewicz and Sandra Neuber-Koch. 

2 Excerpt from: Preamble of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic. www.portugal.gov.pt/Portal/EN/Portugal/Sistema_Politico/Constituicao/constituicao_p01.htm. 

The mythic content of the preamble, the consensus formula of the constituent assembly, 

has already been traced by Paulo Ferreira da Cunha, Mito e ideologias. Em torno do 

preâmbulo da Constituição, Vértice, 7 (1988), 25-34, where after Girardet, he determines 

four mytho-political themes: the conspiracy, the golden age, the savior, the unity. Maria 

Manuela Cruzeiro is also worth reading, “O imaginário político do 25 de Abril”, Revista 

de História das Ideias, 16 (1994), 433-476, in which she applies the concept of the political 

myth to the passing of time. 


320 Cláucio Serra Domingues 

Since 1976, these words are a proof that the sources of political 

myths do not necessarily have to be sought in the distant past, such as 

the ‘Jean D’Arc’ myth in France, the ‘Arminius myth’ in Germany or the 

‘Viriathus myth’ in Portugal. They can also be based upon events from 

contemporary history. The term ‘myth’ should not be understood in terms 

of a pejorative antithesis to reality and truth; something that should be 

revealed and exposed in the light of science. Although it is commonly understood 

in this critical way, not only in every day life, but also in scientific 

publications (e.g. Rezola 2007; Hobsbawm 1993), this concept restricts 

the meaning of myth to illusion and untruth and causes its other roles for 

the political community, which come to the fore especially when myths 

are analysed for the purpose of cultural studies, to fade away. 3 In contrast 

to the critical and epistemological use of the term, the concept of ‘myth’ 

should be understood as an analytical category which enables us to analyse 

its role in a political collective, as an instrument of symbolic politics and, 

therefore, as an aspect of political culture. Andreas Dörner defines political 

myths as “narratively constructed symbols with the potential for a collective 

affect, also referring to the fundamental problem of order within 

societies. These are complex political symbols whose elements unfold in 

a narrative fashion” (Dörner 1995: 76). The Bastille is an example of this 

interpretation. It is a political symbol concentrating upon the story of 

its storming and the beginning of the French Revolution. As a result of 

their symbolic amgiguity the carnation and especially the song ‘Grândola, 

Vila Morena’ also reach beyond themselves and appeal to the emotions 

of their audience (Reichardt / Lüsebrink 1990; Cruzeiro 1994: 460f). 4 

Considering the changing impact of the power of the myths in a social 

context, Christopher Flood defines the political myth as an “ideologically 

marked narrative which purports to give a true account of a set of past, 

present, or predicted political events and which is accepted as valid in its 

essentials by a social group” (Flood 1996: 44). 5 

3 See Völker-Rasor (1998: 9-32, especially 20f). On this analysis of the classic positions, 

but also an introduction to the theory of the political myth see Flood (1996: 45-70) and 

also Speth (2000: 12-155). On possible categorisation see Hein-Kircher (2006: 407-424). 

4 State symbols, such as the Portuguese national flag, which recall the creation of the 

Portuguese state and empire, can also be taken as examples. On this see Teixeira (1991: 

319-337). 

5 Flood, therefore, wants the term ideology to be understood as applicable to every political 

system of beliefs. 


In the Name of April 321 

Finally, the political myth is related to the creation and content of 

the collective identity of a political community and, by fulfilling certain 

functions on its behalf, becomes the generator of its identity. One of 

these functions is the construction of the order and meaning, which can 

legitimate a society. At present, the myth is being used to achieve continuity, 

in spite of the disparities between the (conceived) past and the 

(desirable) future. Unlike academic theories and ideologies, it manages to 

integrate the contradictions into a political and social reality. Through the 

reduction of complexity the political myth is intergral for the community, 

which believes in it. It enables an individual to become a part of it, requiring 

from him an avowal of loyalty. 

The political myth carries secular redemptive conotations, due to 

which it gains the aura of a fact that is not to be challenged, and which 

forbids any critique, or considers it a desecration. 

Based upon this sacralisation, the political myth provides an activating 

potency to the extant construals of meaning, which, for instance, is 

noticeable in the celebrations of 25 th April. 

By creating allegiances and mobilising the people, political myths 

appear exceedingly attractive to the construal elites. Likewise it may condition 

one’s inclusion or exclusion from a political assembly – the imperial 

myth in Portugal of the 20 th century is an example of how a political system 

can be legitimised or delegitimised. 

Political myths are necessary for the coherence of a collective, and 

every political system needs them. They often turn self-reference into 

presentation so that the political system can maintain its capacity to act. 

Democracies are no exception in this instance. 6 

Here the political myth itself becomes an object of conflict, its 

meaning contested by the corporate construal elites. They use it as a medium 

for their various interests, to legitimate their own position and against 

their political opponents in turn. It works, because in its structure a myth 

6 The originators of political cultural research, Almond & Verba, already saw a shared 

belief in the ‘democratic myth of citizen competence’ amongst the elites and the ordinary 

citizen, which was an important element in the functioning of civic culture: “The 

decision maker must believe in the democratic myth – that ordinary citizens ought to participate 

in politics and that they are in fact influential. If the decision maker accepts this 

view of the role of the ordinary citizen, his own decisions serve to maintain the balance 

between governmental power and responsiveness” (Almond / Verba 1963: 486f). In this 

case, a ‘demystification’ would have a destabilising impact upon the democratic system. 



is in principle open to interpretation and, therefore, can be adapted to 

various desired meanings (Assmann 2004: 15f). 

The establishment of a ‘myth’ depends on many factors such as 

the communicative structures of power – dictatorships can implement a 

binding version of a ‘myth’ better than democracies – circumstances, social 

praxis and applied media, such as celebrations, ceremonies and monuments. 

In this way it was possible to use the storming of a militarily insignificant 

and barely secure prison in Paris, the political myth of the Bastille, 

among others, for the legitimisation of revolutionary wars, such as the 

Resistance against the German Occupation during WW II, but also for 

their own imperial and colonial politics in Africa (Reichardt / Lüsebrink 

1990: 262-264). 

The political myth changes its form and meaning, because of its 

amorphous structure, and its reception is again an aspect of myth production. 

Therefore, the manner in which a political myth is retold and 

interpreted, reveals much more about the circumstances, perception and 

interests of the narrator than about its concrete factual core. 

In regard to 25 th April as a political myth, interpretations of the past 

are actually generated from the perspective of 25 th April, through which 

the political elite of today wants to provide the Portuguese society with 

political meaning. 

In fact, 25 th April works as a political myth; nearly everybody rallies 

around; it is an ‘interpretation machine’ and functions as a myth of foundation, 

reconciliation, integration and returning in order to forget parts 

of Portuguese history, namely the dictatorship, but also the revolutionary 

turmoil. 

Selective Memories 

As the oldest Western European dictatorship collapsed in April 

1974 as a result of a coup d’état by unsatisfied soldiers, the future development 

of the country was at first uncertain. 

The complicated process of transition that followed the overthrow, 

was exacerbated by disputes concerning the future political system. These 

occurred within the MFA (Movimento das Forças Armadas; ‘Armed Forces 



Movement’), which was responsible for the collapse of the regime and the 

formation of political parties. 

These conflicts were accompanied and to some extent affected by 

social revolutionary movements in the south and in the capital, as well as 

the decolonisation of the last European colonial empire. In an atmosphere 

of increasing polarisation, due to the the systemic changes of 1974- 

1976, these conflicts escalated during the so-called ‘Hot Summer of 1975’ 

to a severe crisis of state. Portugal found itself on the verge of a civil war 

between the radical and the moderate forces, until the latter eventually 

succeeded in establishing the foundations of a western style parliamentary 

democracy. 7 

The authoritarian New State and the Carnation Revolution left Portuguese 

democracy with a “double legacy of consolidation” (Pinto 2008: 

312), and this ‘double legacy’ is still traceable in its memorial culture. At 

the end of her political analysis, Andrea Fleschenberg identifies a “higher 

grade of dismissal and ignorance” of the period of the dictatorship, “accounting 

for the past is almost meaningless for present Portuguese society”, 

and prevents a “sustainable democratisation” of the country, although 

most of the former opposition members form the basis of political power 

(Fleschenberg 2004: 291f). 8 

However, the inability to come to terms with the dictatorial past is 

just one aspect of the double sided memory, the other is a ‘self-imposed 

amnesia’ concerning the conflicts of the transition period. “Contemporary 

Portuguese democracy rests in part on the sublimation of these experiences 

of conflict [1974-1976], which makes for a highly fragmented 

interpretation of these events, and risks making the history of those years 

the captive of selective memories” (Maxwell 1995: 1), reasons Kenneth 

Maxwell in his study on the Carnation Revolution. Here, an analysis of 

7 Kenneth Maxwell provides a balanced argument and a good research report in The 

making of Portuguese democracy (1995). Another argument based on the key questions comes 

from Rezola, 25 de Abril (2007). 

8 In 1978 and 1984 35.5% and 34.7% of the Portuguese respectively believed that Salazar, 

and especially Caetano, had ruled the state better than the democratic parties. In 1988 

34% of the respondents would accept a dictatorship in a state of emergency as an alternative 

to the democracy. Data for 1978 and 1984 from Bacalhau (1994: 26 and 221). Data 

for 1988 from Heimer / Vala / Viegas (1990). Even in 2004, according to a survey, 17% 

of the Portuguese shared the view that the New State was more positive than negative, 

26% declared it to have been both positive and negative (Pinto: 2006: 197). 



the rarely considered ‘selective memories’ in the historical politics of the 

Portuguese democracy will come to the fore. 9 

The state celebrations of 25 th April, which was actually declared a 

national holiday, have taken place since 1977 and provide us with an opportunity 

to analyse the interpretative culture of the political elite in Portugal. 

As there is still no major museum of national contemporary history, 

apart from minor initiatives, these national holidays have the greatest impact 

on public life and the anniversaries in particular are accompanied by 

historicopolitical debates. 

Their function being to recollect significant events in the memory 

of a social group, these events therefore have a role in the creation of an 

identity. These public celebrations are a suitable medium for the construal 

elites. 

Through them they can force their own conceptions and construal 

propositions which always reflect their political interests. 10 The official celebrations 

of 25 th April are planned and held every year on a local, regional 

and national level by state institutions. A great effort is made for the jubilees 

in particular. 

On a national level this dialogue process regarding the past, becomes 

a highlight in the form of a special parliamentary session attended 

by every political party and the president. 

The visit of the head of state to the parliament unites both the 

upper legislative bodies of the Portuguese democracy. This takes place 

before a respected audience, comprising politicians and civil society personalities, 

some of them foreigners. 

9 The transitional justice in Portugal has been addressed by António Costa Pinto. In contrast 

Andrea Fleschenberg compares the political handling with the file heritage of the 

political police of the German Democratic Republic and the Estado Novo, and, therefore, 

demonstrates the social-cultural dimension of the politics of history. The work by 

Vasco Campilho, Le poing et la flèche. Etude comparative des mémoires historiques de la Révolution 

des Oeillets au sein du Parti Socialiste et du Parti Social Democrate, (Paris, 2002) (Thesis in the 

department of Etudes Politiques de Paris, hereby I would also like to thank the author 

for his manuscript), which has unfortunately remained unpublished, is also worth noting. 

He analyses the memories of the revolution of the PS and the PPD/PSD in respect of 

their construction, but also their political utilisation for inter and inner party disputes. 

Almeida’s analysis of the successful exhibitions of 1940 and 1998, which revealed the 

continuity of and changes to perceptions of national identity in Portugal, brings the representative 

character of memorial culture into a greater focus (Almeida 2005). 

10 As an overview: Catroga (1998: 221-361). 



It emphasises the highly symbolic content of this in a detailed ceremony 

conditioned by protocol, 11 a central element, of which are the epideictic 

commemorative speeches. The representatives of the particular 

parties, the President of the Parliament and the President of the Republic 

address the audience present and beyond. They speak as the MPs of each 

faction of the parliament and accordingly of the nation. The pressure 

placed upon the protagonists, on one hand to satisfy the wishes of the 

members of their own faction, and on the other to meet the expectations 

of the ceremony to achieve a consensus, is particularly great in this 

instance. Therefore, these speeches consist mostly of the ‘mentionable’ 

issues that are likely to be accepted by the public and are being raised 

so that they do not harm the fundamental consensus. The main subjects 

of this study are the celebratory speeches offered by the representatives 

of the Partido Communista Português (PCP), the Partido Socialista (PS), the 

Partido Social Democrata (PSD), the Centro Democrático Social (CDS) and the 

Presidents of the Republic from 1977 until 2004. 12 What interpretations 

of contemporary history, meaning the dictatorship and the revolution, 

are being spread amongst the public by the political elite? The narrative 

patterns of the various protagonists, who regard 25 th April as the turning 

point of Portuguese contemporary history, when referring to the past, will 

be the subject of this study. 

The often repeated references to the Carnation Revolution in particular, 

make it possible to identify interpretative patterns of the past, which 

will be examined. What “function carrying components” (Landwehr 2001: 

111), topoi, metaphors, patterns of argumentation are distinguishable in 

these micro narrations? The 25 th April is of particular importance as a 

positive point of reference in these various competing functional narrations. 

11 And so the representatives of the former Portuguese colonies were present at the anniversaries 

of 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2004, the representatives of the Church, the military, 

the diplomatic corp and guests of honor, such as the ‘April-officers’ have always been 

invited. 

12 These four parties have, on one hand, always been represented in the parliament; on 

the other hand they reflect a wide partial spectrum and are, therefore, potentially repre- 

sentative. The speeches of the parliament journals from 1977 and 1998 have been gath- gath- 

ered in the Assembleia da República, 25 de Abril. Discursos Parlamentares. 25. Aniversário, 

(Lisbon, 1999). For 1999-2004, one reverted to the parliament journals directly. Citations 

are based upon the following pattern: year person (party), page number. 



The foundation myth of Portuguese democracy was based upon it; 

a political myth that can be filled with diverse meanings. 

Dictatorships Remembered 

By far the largest part of these epideictic speeches refers to the 

current political situation and only deals with the contemporary history 

sporadically. Every political party has developed varied patterns for interpreting 

the political past, which have remained fundamentally unchanged. 

The dictatorship of the New State is only mentioned occasionally. 

This rejection of the past is demonstrated by all protagonists; however, 

what differs is the degree, to which they need to disassociate themselves 

from the past. 

For example, the communists refer to the “fascist dictatorship” 

(1977 Octávio Pato [PCP], 19) 13 as the “power of great capital and the 

landowners” (1981 Octávio Pato [PCP], 153) 14 . Hence, the political institutions 

of the New State are declared their submissive organs, through 

which an efficient system of the “wildest oppression and exploitation” 

(1977 Octávio Pato [PCP], 21) of the colonies, but also of its own people 

was maintained. The resistance against this oppression was growing, 

above all among the proletariat, and we are assured that the PCP was 

its spearhead (1986 Octávio Pato [PCP], 284), but was always integrated 

within the resistance as “democrats” and “patriots” alongside the “antifascists” 

(1977 Octávio Pato [PCP], 19). 15 “The struggle, which defied 

the bestial fascist oppression developed in the factories, the fields, the 

mines, the docks, the schools and the cultural centers; a struggle that had 

matured and developed during the tough political combats for freedom, 

democracy and national independence” (1984 Dias Lourenço [PCP], 233). 

This resistance, the reality, which is rarely questioned, was a constructive 

and constant process. It had been formulated using metaphoric images 

from nature and construction: “it provided the conditions that made it 

13 See also 1984 Dias Lourenço (PCP), 234; 1994 Carlos Carvalhas (PCP), 401; 1999 Lino 

de Carvalho (PCP), 2773 and 2004 Bernardino Soares (PCP), 4384. 

14 1979 Carlos Brito (PCP), 77 alludes to “monopols and Latifundia as the main back-up 

of the dictatorship”, 2004 Bernardino Soares (PCP), 4384 to a “ruling fascist clique”. 

15 See also 1985 Carlos Brito (PCP), 262 and 1999 Lino de Carvalho (PCP), 2773, who 

would like to have included “all but all as well” fighters of the resistance in the “April- 

Biography”. 



possible for 25 th April to occur” (1979 Carlos Brito [PCP], 77) 16 , “built 

the door that was opened by 25 th April” (1999 Lino des Carvalho [PCP], 

2773), “cleared the path that 25 th April took” (2004 Bernardino Soares 

[PCP], 4384) 17 . 

The incessant continuity of the combat against the regime, which 

could not break the resistance, is always expressed and emphasised 

through these images. From the very beginning the victims of the regime 

are idealised as selfless heroes, invincible in death, martyrs, and the fall of 

the dictatorship is attributed in the large part to the continuous work of 

the resistance. 18 

According to the narrative patterns of the PCP, the Portuguese people 

have never supported the regime. In its speeches, the PCP depicts an 

image of a maladjusted hostility towards the regime on the part of the nation, 

the support, of whom the active resistance could always rely on – a 

nation that suffered under the oppression. 

Moreover, from the mid 1980s, this party collectively accredits 

themselves with a growing role in the resistance: “suffering, combat and 

sacrifice of the nation- that is the corn that made the wonderful carnations 

bloom” (1984 Dias Lourenço [PCP], 233). 19 An even more important 

turning-point was the 20 th anniversary of 25 th April in 1994, when 

representatives of the political police appeared in the public media for the 

first time. Their complete lack of consciousness and acknowledgement of 

their guilt, set off an avalanche of public protest and led to the so called 

branqueamento. Since then, some political opponents have been reproached 

by the PCP for euphemistic descriptions and the concealment of the dictatorial 

past, whereas the party itself assumes the role of preserver and 

admonisher in order to avoid a reoccurence of this period of Portuguese 

history: 

16 And so also 1985 Carlos Brito (PCP), 262 and 1988 Maia Nunes de Almeida (PCP), 

331. 

17 See, for example, also 2001 António Filipe (PCP), 2912f. 

18 1977 Octávio Pato (PCP), 19: “The one like the other, the patriotic military as well as 

the resistance against the fascism the nation owes the 25th April.” 

19 With the same representativeness, which implies a direct evolution of the military coup 

from the resistance and, therefore, makes it a historical cause, in 1999 Lino de Carvalho 

argued (PCP), 2773: “The entire nation that fertilized the field as a ferment, on which the 

awareness of the military, the April officers, grew, should be recognised in our memories 

and our tribute.” 



“and in order that he (the fascist) does not to come back, it is necessary 

to say again and again, that fascism in Portugal existed, that our land 

was a place of persecution, political imprisonment of dissidents, torture, 

censorship, colonial war and various opressions” (1999 Lino de Carvalho 

[PCP], 2773). 

Similarly the PS, which is the centre-left party, believes that it defends 

the “memorial culture” against a “culture of oblivion” (1996 Manuel 

Alegre [PS], 443) 20 , especially since 1994, although those responsible are 

never mentioned. However, its characterisation of the dictatorship fluctuates 

during the examination period. Whether it speaks of dictatorship, fascism, 

authoritarianism, or totalitarianism depends more on the party wing 

that the speaker belongs to. 21 The New State was neither a “vital” regime 

as depicted by the PCP, nor a “decaying” one as in the opinion of the PSD. 

However, the dictatorship is clearly described as “stagnant” 22 and 

directed against social progress. An evolution of the regime itself did not 

take place. 

Only Salazar and Caetano, “Caesars of Lisbon who ordered hate in 

the name of God, fatherland and civilization” (1980 Almeida Santos [PS], 

119) are mentioned as responsible. Whereas, the almighty and omnipresent 

machine of oppression created a climate of fear amongst the people. 

Here again, the whole population is depicted as a victim, as a collective 

and pure victim of the regime and of its machine of oppression that the 

PS speakers describe in detail, in contrast to the PSD: 

“We must rememeber that we used to live with a pursuer on every 

corner, an ear on every telephone, a police crowbar at every door, a PIDE 

looking into every letter, the justification of any intimacy, a warrant for 

any self-will, a death warrant for every adolescent, inequity in every salary, 

a violation of every consciousness” (1980 Almeida Santos [PS], 119). 23 

20 These reproaches have been a component of the speeches since 1994, however one 

always avoided naming those responsible, probably because of the occasion. 

21 Especially the representatives of the left-wing of the party, namely 1977 Salgado Zenha 

(PS), 31 (Neomarxist) and 2004 Manuel Alegre (PS), 4388 (Histórico) used the term 

“fascism”, whereas in 1994 António Guterres (PS), 403 (Technokrat) sometimes spoke 

of “the old system”. 

22 See among others 1981 Salgado Zenha (PS), 159, and 1978 Manuel Alegre (PS), 63. 

23 Almeida Santos explained it most articulately, see also Francisco Assis (PS) 1999: 2778. 



In contrast to the PCP, the people are not characterised as the protagonists 

of the resistance. PS is the only party to occasionally refer to the 

influence of the dictatorship on the mentality of the population, which 

reveals itself through “the suppression of its spontaneity, the brutalisation 

of its thinking, the effeminacy of its will, the self-imposed silencing of its 

voice” (1980 Almeida Santos [PS], 119). 

Even the colonial war, which is dealt with from the Portuguese point 

of view exclusively, is regarded as having been carried out by the regime 

alone, and as in 2004 it is referred to as having “disrupted our lives” (2004 

Manuel Alegre [PS], 4387). 

The “war of brothers” is always described as pointless and endless, 

that which “massacred the Portuguese adolescence” (1987 José Apolinário 

[PS], 307) 24 and denied the colonies the right to independence. 25 Although 

the party was not established until 1973, the resistance played a major role 

in its discourse. 

This is where the PS places its roots, and hence it obtains a greater 

legititimacy which distinguishes it from the other parties – a line of argument 

that is often adopted. 26 

In common with the PCP, the PS also idolises the resistance fighter 

and it portrays the victims as shining lights or rather martyrs who secured 

the continuity of the resistance that was eventually victorious: 

“these dissidents who never gave up the hope for the human dignity, 

were the stars through their actions and attitudes, which lit up the arduous 

period of the fascist night” (1999 Francisco Assis [PS], 2778). 

24 In contrast to the often mentioned Portuguese victims, the victims on the African side 

were remembered on a single occasion (1984 José Luis Nunes (PS), 241). 

25 The PS claims the heritage of the republican opposition for itself, according to Rosas 

(1996: 695-698). However, even in the speeches of the PS, the I. Republic did not play 

any special role, either as a positive point of reference or as a warning for the end of a 

democracy. It was not until one spoke of the ‘comeback’ or the ‘recapture’ of freedom, 

that an indirect reference occurred. 

26 For example, 1984 José Luis Nunes (PS), 242: “Those who like us had the privilege 

of taking part in the fight for the freedom spoke when they were supposed to. Whereas 

the others, who speak today, do not feel that this struggle achieved its purposes, as the 

democratic institutions came to define the political foundation of the life of the Portuguese.” 

See also 1981 Salgado Zenha (PS), 160, 1994 António Guterres (PS), 403, 1999 

Francisco Assis (PS), 2779. 



In the speeches of the centre-right party PSD, the New State is called 

a “dictatorship” throughout the examination period and its undemocratic 

nature is emphasised in regard to the consolidation of democracy, especially 

in the 1970’s. Above all, it is depicted as a regime that ignored civil 

rights, conducted a forelorn war and kept the country at an undeveloped 

level (1977 Barbosa de Melo [PSD], 27 or 1980 Helena Roseta [PSD], 

123). In contrast to the PS the machine of oppression is rarely mentioned. 

The image of a “rotten” 27 regime dominates, that kept the whole nation 

captive and had no support from the population. 28 The hostility towards 

the regime expressed itself in “generations and generations of resistance 

fighters and the maladjusted” 29 , who “struggled for democracy in every 

field” (1978 Moura Guedes [PSD], 57). The democrats and the Catholics, 

in whose tradition the PSD also places itself, are singled out for praise. 30 

Since his death in 1981, the charismatic party founder Franciso Sá 

Carneiro has been stylised as a figurehead and hero of the resistance, as he 

belonged to the liberal-wing and fought against both the dictatorship and 

the attempted communist take-over during the revolution. 31 

Unlike the other parties since the end of the 1980s, fewer and fewer 

references are made to the dictatorship and these references disappear 

completely until 1998. There is no reaction whatsoever by the speakers to 

the current indirect accusations made by the PCP and PS of having supported 

the dictatorship. 32 

Campilho, who reveals an internal PSD memo from 1985 until 1994, 

which demands a reduction of references to the revolution to an absolute 

27 Among others 1980 Helena Roseta (PSD), 123 and 1990 Montalvão Machado (PSD), 

367. This biological analogy has been used even more often by the CDS to suggest a 

process of decline. 

28 According to 1978 Moura Guedes (PSD), 57 “it [25th April] demolished the rotten 

barriers” so that the land, “could rediscover the wide horizons of the world”. 

29 1977 Barbosa de Melo (PSD), 27. 1990 Montalvão Machado (PSD), 368 referred to an 

“enduring shouts of the revolt that never fell silent in the throat”. 

30 1981 Pedro Roseta (PSD), 163, 1990 Montalvão Machado (PSD), 367. On the moderate 

opposition of some earlier members of the party see Frain (1998: 27-31). 

31 See among others 1981 Pedro Roseta (PSD), 163, 1990 Motalvão Machado (PSD), 

368. Also Campilho (2002: 62f. and 146) points out the central role of Carneiros for the 

memorial culture of the PSD, a factional as well as an integrative figure, who is often 

regarded as the founding father of Portuguese democracy. 

32 1994 Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD), 407, who in regard to this debate spoke of “Exorcisms 

of the ghosts, who can tell nothing either to the young or to the future”. 



minimum, regards the crucial factor of this change to be the strong influence 

of the then Prime Minister Cavaco Silva. 33 

Not making the dictatorship a subject of discussion in the ceremonial 

speeches of the PSD-deputies also corresponds with specific historical-political 

decisions. For instance, under his leadership the Black Book 

Commission was dissolved, which had been charged with the task of coming 

to terms with the dictatorship, and moreover plans for a ‘National 

Museum of Resistance’ were abandoned. With the end of his party leadership, 

the official party discourse changed once more. 

When in 1995, the new party leader Fernando Nogueira spoke as a 

representative of the PSD, a symbolic re-evaluation becomes explicit. On 

the other hand, a reorientation barely takes place. 

In fact, the speeches return to their former patterns of interpreting 

the dictatorial past. 34 

The subject of dictatorship is dealt with even more rarely by the 

national conservatives – the CDS. Here, it is also not perceived positively, 

but is mostly defined as ‘the old system’. 35 It is characterised as a ‘stagnant 

system’, 36 which is therefore unable to renew itself, due to its undemocratic 

structure (1984 Azevedo Soares [CDS], 231). In order to explain the 

stagnation diagnosed, the speakers also refer to the “phantom of communism”: 

“It is obvious that every attempt to change the corporative and authoritarian 

state which was created by Salazar from the inside was con- 

33 Cavaco Silva, the present president of the Republic, was the party leader of the PSD 

from 1985 until 1994 and at the same time Prime Minister. The self-portrayal of the 

economic Professor as a technocrat, who goes unwillingly into politics, was not compatible 

with the revolutionary image, which, until then, had been created by the party. See 

Campilho (2002: 144f). 

34 See the speeches from 1998 Mota Amaral (PSD), 489 and also 2001 Mota Amaral 

(PSD), 2914, who himself belonged to the liberal-wing. For the first explicit appreciation 

of the resistance communists 2002 Leonor Beleza (PSD), 194. A stronger engagement in 

the official celebrations also mentions Campilho (2002: 146). 

35 This becomes clear in the relativising statements such as that of 1985 by Gomes de 

Pinho (CDS), 259: “To change the constitution today corresponds to a desire for the 

liberation of the Portuguese society, and is identical to the events of eleven years ago on 

25 th April.” 

36 e.g. 1977 Sá Machado (CDS), 24, 1994 António Lobo Xavier (CDS/PP), 399f., 1999 

Luís Queiró (CDS/PP), 2774. 



demned to failure especially in the context of the general progress of contrarian 

authoritarianism” (1990 Narana Coissoró [CDS], 359). 

Only in connection with left-wing totalitarianism, is the ‘Estado 

Novo’ referred to as a dictatorship, although as the lesser evil. When the 

New State and the communist threat were compared, the distinction from 

the dictatorship became easier: 

“We do not recognise ourselves or feel ourselves represented in the 

values of the 24th April, but we certainly do not identify with the 24th 

November either” (1986 Manuel Monteiro [CDS], 281). 37 

The speaker does not place the party within the ranks of the resistance. 

Moreover, it represents itself as facilitating democracy in terms of 

“the little noted contribution of the Liberal Wing” and the “role of the 

Catholics by creating of a collective awareness of the change” (1999 Luís 

Queiró [CDS/PP, 2775). In contrast to the PS and the PCP, the machine 

of repression is not addressed, and the lack of an electoral mandate is the 

only perceived fault. 38 

Instead, political opponents, especially the communists, are criticised 

for using the resistance for their own political purposes: “No politician 

should attempt to base his career upon his suffering alone, in exile 

or prison – no matter how heroic and sublime they might be”; during 

the revolution, many of them changed from “victims into perpetrators” 

(António Lobo Xavier [CDS/PP], 399). A re-evaluation of the New State 

cannot be detected in the period of the study. Thus, even in 2004, Anacoreta 

Correia characterises its end phase as a diffuse and “unfair situation”, 

speaking about the political development of Portugal before 25 th 

April coming to a dead end, which could be changed “solely by a revolution” 

(meaning only the day of 25 th April), in order to create the potential 

for the evolution of society. 

37 In 1981, Mário Gaioso also followed the same line of double differentiated argument 

(CDS), 155 or 1979 Nuno Abecassis (CDS), 83. 

38 1977 Sá Machado (CDS), 24 described “the restitution of hegemony to the people, 

who for a long time got used to seeing their matters arranged without their participation 

or inquiry” as the accomplishment of the revolution, among others, and emphasised the 

elections of the delegates of the Constituent Assembly, the Parliament and the President. 

Same also 1980 Luís Moreno (CDS), 114. 



Here, the dictatorship is also linked to the attempted communist 

takeover, a “situation of inactivity”, which had been replaced “by another 

inactivity” (2004 Anacoreta Correia [CDS/PP], 4385f). 

As the head of state, the President of the Republic stands at the 

centre of the ceremonies. One pays particular attention to his speech, 39 

since he speaks for the wider audience as a symbolic figurehead above 

party lines. 

He uses these opportunities to establish the position of the nation, 

but also to air his grievances. 40 As with the deputies of the parties, the past 

does not take the centre stage. 

In fact, it is only covered sparingly. Any statements regarding the 

dictatorship during the first years of the presidency of General Ramaho 

Eanes, the first to be democratically elected, could not be recorded, because 

a “cut with the dictatorial past” (1980 Ramalho Eanes [President], 

135 and 1981, 171) had occurred. 

During the first ceremony, the representative of the state announced 

that the nation and the people had ‘buried’ the past and repeatedly acknowledged 

the overthrow of the dictatorship. 

For example, in 1982: “Today we remeber not the end of the dictatorship, 

but the affirmation of freedom, political responsibility and social 

solidarity” (1977 Ramalho Eanes [President], 38 relatively 1982, 215). 

He depicts the New State as an “order without a solid base”, “everything 

was a fragile construction, the result of transient situations […] 

and political compulsion” (1978 Ramalho Eanes [President], 65), and a 

constantly growing blockade to reform, which inevitably had to come to 

an end. This ‘slow agony’ led to international isolation as the regime could 

not resolve the issue of the colonies, although “for thirteen long years the 

military […] made every sacrifice to enable an adequate political solution” 

(1980 Ramalho Eanes [President], 131). He does not question the historical 

role of the military as the supporter of the regime. 

39 It is always analysed in the media and printed in the newspapers, in part or even in its 

entirety. 

40 The first president, made particular use of it. Ramalho Eanes publicly withdrew during 

the celebrations of 1978 in public and publicly demonstrated his confidence in the 

government, which made the opposition organise massive protests and eventually caused 

the collapse of the government in July 1978. See Veser (1999: 294). However, hisfollow- ers have never used this date to stage direct campaigns against the government or the 

parliament. 



Moreover, it is depicted as the defender of national interests that 

acted independently from the political system. For Ramalho Eanes, the 

New State was just a “small minority without national political legitimacy” 

(1985 Ramalho Eanes [President], 271) that was in charge of the system, 

“which imposed itself for over half a century” (1984 Ramalho Eanes 

[President], 246). 

Their “immobility and archaism” (1985 Ramalho Eanes [President], 

271) also prevented the internal attempts at the liberation of a generation 

that desired a gradual change to democracy and, therefore, made a political 

break from the military indispensable. Contrary to the interpretative 

patterns of the political parties, the civil opposition play no role in the 

General’s speeches. It is not until the last one that he mentions it, but 

only to declare it a failure (1985 Ramalho Eanes [President], 271). Unlike 

Ramahlo Eanes, his successor Mário Soares, who used to be active in the 

regime opposition himself, highlights the resistance as the precursor of 

the revolution. Besides the idolising that is also typical for the PS and the 

PCP, he also extends the term ‘opposition’ to all the Portuguese, to: 

“the anonymous people, who never accepted the dictatorship and 

suffered for so much time under the oppression, in the shadows and in silence 

but at all times disadjusted, and came out onto the streets spontaneously 

in spring of 1974, carnations in hand, and freedom was reclaimed” 

(1989 Mário Soares [President], 351). 

The often-mentioned division between the nation and the regime 

is extended to the colonial war as well. President Soares declares that the 

African liberation movements “could always distinguish between the dictatorship 

that they fought, and the Portuguese people who they always 

considered allies” (1989 Mário Soares [President], 351). 41 

However, the depiction of the dictatorship as a rigid system, also 

remains constant during his term in office, for example, in the case of the 

celebration in 1987: 

41 At this point, he follows the argument of his precursor, who in 1978 demanded that 

one had “to improve cultural ties between those nations, which Portugal had enabled to 

become more and more free and independent in the past” (1978 Ramalho Eanes (President), 

66) and later confirms that these connections ought to be “free from ambiguities, 

false promises or any conditions” (1980 Ramalho Eanes (President), 134). 



“In 1974, Portugal was a downtrodden country, frozen in the time, 

in war; blocked in its development; isolated internationally; condemned 

by the conscience of the world; without horizons or ways out. We were 

unhappy, a land of subordinates and not citizens” (1987 Mário Soares 

[President], 315). 42 

The president rarely picks out the machine of oppression directly 

as a central theme. For example, the debate on the branqueamento in 1994: 

“The institutions, like the state censorship and the hated political police 

nurtured fear, servility and denunciation. Thinking used to be policed and 

was often made silent” (1994 Mário Soares [President], 412). The same 

applies to the view of the dictatorship propagated in the commemorative 

speeches of his successor Jorge Sampaio: 

“It is the right moment and point in time to say that the dictatorship, 

under which we suffered for half a century, was a horrible tragedy 

for Portugal. It destroyed the best of our history, deprived us of freedom, 

dignity and development, isolated us from Europe and the rest of the 

world, caused severe regressions and great damage, from which we have 

not yet fully recovered, and it blocked out our future” (2004 Jorge Sampaio 

[President], 4440). 

On the occasion of the 25 th anniversary, the president praises the 

victims of the dictatorship more explicitly and, for the first time, the war 

victims; not only on the Portuguese side, but also those from the African 

liberation movements. However, he combines this appreciation with 

a suggestion that they are “brothers” of the Portuguese, connected to 

them through a common history and culture (1999 Jorge Sampaio [President], 

2784). 43 Continuity in terms of the depiction of the resistance as the 

forerunner and legitimative basis of 25 th April can also be observed, and 

Sampaio does not explicitly exclude any opposition movement: “Men and 

women of different generations, diverse ideologies and every social group 

had upheld the tradition of fighting and resistance since 1926” (1996 Jorge 

Sampaio [President], 451). 44 

42 See also 1991 Mário Soares (President), 89 and 1994 Mário Soares (President), 412. 

43 Otherwise, only the victims of the regime would be mentioned. 

44 See also 1997 Jorge Sampaio (President), 475, 1999 Jorge Sampaio (President), 2783. 



This broad perception of the resistance also incorporates resistance 

against the fascists. 

Monarchists to communists and left-wing radicals are considered 

worthy to be remembered, together with acts of rebellion from across the 

political spectrum, through the shared concept of the enemy as a collective 

unifier. 

The presidential speeches reveal a clear endeavor to avoid any more 

precise analyses of the dictatorship. 

It is not a result of historical evolution, but instead it imposed itself 

upon the nation inevitably, and as a result the public supporters of 

the regime, such as the military and the church, are not named as such. 

Instead, the presidents strive to preserve the established consensus against 

dictatorship. 

Revolutions Remembered 

25 th April is presented the day of the liberation of the motherland 

from the dictatorship. In common with the representatives of the parties, 

the president highlights freedom as the central value of 25 th April and the 

democracy, democratic values and institutions that are associated with it. 

Therefore, as every president stresses, the “ideals of April” have 

found their greatest expression in the form of the parliament. 45 

However, considerable differences can also be ascertained in the 

narrative patterns of each president. As the protagonist of 25 th April, 

Ramalho Eanes, only recognises the armed forces, “who went into the 

streets in defence of the ideals of freedom and democracy” (1977 Ramalho 

Eanes [President], 37). 

The selflessness of their conduct is an absolute certainty (‘fact’ or 

‘truth’?) that is declared by president Eanes in all his speeches and should 

also be accepted by his successors in office. However, the general speaks 

of the military as a collective acting together. He does not mention the 

actual organisers, the MFA, and he does not refer to the conflicts with the 

forces loyal to the regime, either on that day or prior to it. 

45 For example, 1977 Ramalho Eanes (President), 95; 1986 Mário Soares (President), 293 

and 1997 Jorge Sampaio (President), 475: “We are celebrating freedom [...] in the place, 

where it is expressed and practiced every day and, therefore, finds its [of the 25. April] 

great institutional symbol – the Parliament.” 



According to his description on 25 th April, the army acted as a unit 

in the service of the nation against the politicians (1977 Ramalho Eanes 

[President], 37 as well as 1979 Ramalho Eanes [President], 131). This conduct 

has been “enthusiastically welcomed by the land” (1978 Ramalho 

Eanes [President], 65). “It was a unique moment in the life of the nation, 

a concurrence of beliefs and a desire for solidarity” (1978 Ramalho Eanes 

[President], 65). Although national conciliation and harmony implement 

themselves on 25 th April, in the manner of CDS and the PSD President 

Eanes identify conspiratorial forces at work in the period that followed. 

They pursued their “factious goals” and threatened “national independence”. 

They “destroyed solidarity” and “blemished hope” by creating 

“a climate of insecurity, ambiguity and partiality” (1978 Ramalho Eanes 

[President], 65). 46 

The political fight almost led to a violent confrontation between 

“the forces of the pluralistic democracy and the forces that were interested 

in a new dictatorship” (1977 Ramalho Eanes [President], 37). 

To prevent the latter coming to power and the consequences that 

would be associated with it, such as the surrender of Portugal to external 

interests, it is always emphasised together with the fear of losing national 

independence, which meant that the army had to intervene. 47 This happened 

with the help of democratic politicians and the support of the 

people. 

Whereas, the people on 25 th April only assumed an appreciative role, 

in the course of the revolution their role was increasingly an active one, as 

it “withstood the threats and won the battles, against those who wanted 

to prevent free decision-making regarding the consolidation of the April 

ideals” (1979 Ramalho Eanes [President], 95). 48 

46 He depicts the military as an independent institution, which was manipulated by external 

political interests and deranged in its unity. The intern conflicts, which had existed 

already during the dictatorship, are not referred to, as is the case for its political role in 

the regime. See also 1980 Ramalho Eanes (President), 131. 

47 For example, 1977 Ramalho Eanes (President), 39, 1980 Ramalho Eanes (President), 

131 and 133, 1981 Ramalho Eanes (President), 171. Likewise, he continues to regard 

them as threatened during the first years of the democratic consolidation: 1978 Ramalho 

Eanes (President), 66, 1979 Ramalho Eanes (President), 97. 

48 It relates to the elections from 1975 and 1976. Eanes later regarded the great interest of 

the people in the “democratic project” as the main reason for the failure of the “totalitarian 

offensives” (1985 Ramalho Eanes (President), 271). 



The 25 th November, on which Ramalho Eanes was himself in charge 

of operations on the side of the democratic military, is regarded by him as 

a “repeated renovation of the national project” of “freedom, democracy 

and justice” (1979 Ramalho Eanes [President], 95). President Eanes continuously 

relates 25 th November to 25 th April; both days are a “rejection of 

totalitarianism”, in which lay the “political foundations of our democracy” 

(1979 Ramalho Eanes [President], 95). He does not bring this dualism out 

in his last speeches, but tends towards a pacifist depiction of events that 

is continued by his successor Mário Soares. Although as a PS-leader and 

a foreign minister he was one of the most important civil protagonists of 

the transitional period, he never describes the conflicts and the threatening 

civil war in detail. He speaks of reconciling “inevitable contradictions” 

(1986 Mário Soares [President], 293), “errors […] and temptations of the 

restoration and totalitarianism”, which were however resolved “in faithfulness 

to the original spirit of 25 th April” (1989 Mário Soares [President], 

351). Jorge Sampaio rarely mentions these conflicts. He phrases his descriptions 

in a more vague and euphemistic manner: “We had to overcome 

the difficulties and contradictions, by-pass handicaps and remove risks” 

(1997 Jorge Sampaio [President], 475). 49 Eventually, other developments 

disappear from the shifting framework of reference. Alongside the down 

playing of the conflicts, 25 th April begins to be considered not only as 

‘the day of freedom’, but also more articulately as the founding myth of 

democracy. Thus, on the occasion of the 20 th anniversary Soares says that 

on 25 th April “pluralistic democracy” was “reconstituted” (1994 Mário 

Soares [President], 411), 50 and Sampaio also explicitly declares the day to 

be “the founding day of the new Portuguese democratic system” (1997 

Jorge Sampaio [President], 475). 51 Unlike his precursor, Mário Soares often 

thanks the military explicitly; a procedure, which is later adopted by his 

successor Jorge Sampaio. 52 It was this “patriotic movement, which gave 

the Portuguese their freedom back and made them citizens with every 

right” (1986 Mário Soares [President], 293). 

49 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004 Jorge Sampaio does not mention any conflicts at all after 

25 th April. 

50 For example, 1984 Ramalho Eanes (President), 245. Otherwise, President Eanes speaks 

solely about 25 th April wanting to make a democratic conception possible, for example 

1980 Ramalho Eanes (President), 136. 

51 For example, 2004 Jorge Sampaio (President), 4400. 

52 E.g. 1997 Jorge Sampaio (President), 475, 1999 Jorge Sampaio (President), 2783. 



The armed forces, such as General Eanes, are no longer named. 

Neither are the MFA, who seem to be too compromised by the events 

of the revolution. These are now only the “April officers” or the “April 

military” who are meant to embody the role of a collective hero (1986 

Mário Soares [President], 293). 53 Furthermore, Mário Soares does not refer 

to the people on 25 th April as the acting subjects – they only gave their 

affirmation to the conduct of the military through the mass meetings on 

1 st May 1974 and, thereby, endowed its operations with public legitimacy 

(1995 Mário Soares [President], 429). In contrast, Sampaio emphasises the 

direct involvement of the people on the day of the “revolution”. According 

to his speech of 2004, “at the crucial hour” the people actually came 

into action: “around the officers there was a wave of support that did not 

want the gathering to come to an end, those who left their mark upon 

the revolution. At that moment the people knew and felt, that it was their 

revolution. Even better: they made it theirs. 

At that moment the revolution had become what it was” (2004 

Jorge Sampaio [President], 4394). 

Alongside the down playing of the conflicts, an upgrading of the 

role of the population takes place over the period of study. Not only did 

it celebrate the downfall of the dictatorship, but also opposed it, fought it, 

and finally on 25 th April decisively took the side of the democracy. 

The CDS also depicts the 25 th April as a foundation myth of democracy 

and considers this day to be the “birth of a system” (1996 Gonçalo 

Ribeiro da Costa [CDS/PP], 440). 

Whereas, the discourse regarding the New State is not seen through 

the day-night metaphor, in order to describe 25 th April for a short time the 

CDS delegates adopt the light metaphor used by the other parties. 54 

“We were also the revolution” (1977 Sá Machado [CDS], 23) the 

speaker of the CDS repeats several times in 1977. But at the beginning of 

the 1980s, these references again disappear, as does the later description 

53 See among others 1994 Mário Soares (President), 412. The only person to be specifi specifi- 

cally distinguished by name from the whole group was Salgueiro Maia, an officer, who 

had not engaged in the politics after the coup, but had returned into the barracks and, 

therefore, could best fit the role of a nonpolitical military hero. See 1999 Jorge Sampaio 

(President), 2783. On the hero myth see Cruzeiro 1994: 447-451. 

54 See 1978 Oliveira Dias (CDS), 53. 1979 Nuno Abecassis (CDS), 83 makes it a subject 

of irony using the expression: “Five years after the dawn of 25th April, it is time. A day 

has arrived for the ideal 25th April.” 



of its “purity” (1980 Luís Moreno [CDS], 113, 1998 Luís Queiró [CDS], 

497) or its true and authentic “spirit” (so 1986 Manuel Monteiro [CDS], 

281) as well as its democratic “essence” (1982 Rui Pena [CDS], 199). It is 

said that it were the “democrats”, who for patriotic reasons, “had assumed 

power by revolutionary means, to give it back entirely to its legitimate 

bearer, namely the people” (1980 Luís Moreno [CDS], 114). 55 

Still, this original revolution was jeopardised by a totalitarian threat 

worse than the fallen dictatorship (1980 Luís Moreno [CDS], 113). It was a 

small, yet well organised group, which, “being controlled from abroad” 56 , 

had pursued a strategy of terror, chaos and “manipulation of the masses”, 

to seize power (1980 Luís Moreno [CDS], 113). 

This manipulation, that was adopted immediately after 25 th April, is 

also supposed to have involved parts of the military, who had betrayed the 

people (see 1980 Luís Moreno [CDS], 113). 

In the interconnection of the “mytheme” of a sectarian conspiracy, 

which in addition was directed from abroad, the nation liberated and made 

democratic on 25 th April encounters its unpatriotic counter-image. 

Therefore, the great majority positively differentiated from the others. 

Whereas the people who were the protagonists up to 25 th April barely 

appeared and only hoped for freedom, they evolved over the course of 

the revolution into the heros of the fight for the defence of freedom and 

democracy (see 1978 Oliveira Dias [CDS], 54). 57 

The period of the ‘Hot Summer’ between 11 th March and 25 th November 

1975, is considered particularly memorable in this context. For the 

CDS it was a time of excess and perversion, which is said to have been left 

behind only by means of November 25 th . For the CDS, this day represents 

the return to the original break and the democratic evolution, as “the April 

revolution depleted itself ” (1981 Mário Gaioso [CDS], 156) in it. 

55 Whereas the majority of the speakers of the anniversary sessions consider the motives 

for April officers ‘coup d’état’ to be exclusively altruistic, as, enunciated in 1999 Luis 

Queiró (CDS/PP) 2775. See also ‘corporative interests’ of the military. 

56 1977 Sá Machado (CDS), 24. The PCP was meant here, which is supposed to have 

acted as an agent by order of the Soviet Union, for the “fulfilment of a plan to divide 

Africa anew” and, furthermore, to put the land under the Soviet influence. Ibid. 23. 

57 1981 Mário Gaioso (CDS), 155 uttered that the “laurels of the revolution belong to 

the military and to the people”. 1999 Luís Queiró (CDS/PP), 2775 saw in them a “true 

hero”, because they transformed the military revolution through the election of a civil 

democracy. 



Until the 1980s, as both dates express the same “spirit” (1979 Nuno 

Abecassis [CDS], 82), they are often placed together in order to raise them 

into an “actual birth of the democracy” (see among others 1999 Luís Queiró 

[CDS/PP], 2775). Purity – Perversion – Catharsis of the revolution, 

this is the narrative pattern of the CDS as far as the Carnation Revolution 

is concerned. It was established in the 1970s and is still traceable in 2004, 

as the construal conflicts about the character of the transition are carried 

out (2004 Anacoreta Correia [CDS/PP], 4385). The PSD also regard 

25 th April as a foundation myth of the ‘Second Republic’. As the ‘break’ 

with the dictatorship, the day represents a constant topos of the narrative 

structure, 58 but the results of this special day are described rather than its 

progress: 

“The 25 th of April has restored the self-awareness of the public; 

the 25 th of April has promised the respect […] of human dignity to the 

Portuguese people; the 25 th of April has guaranteed social security […], it 

allowed for the institutionalisation of democracy in Portugal” (1977 Barbosa 

de Melo [PSD], 29). 

Unlike by the PCP and the PS, this break is rarely attributed to the 

resistance, 59 but sometimes to the army, sometimes to the people, but is 

seldom induced from the latter two combined, whereas the officers of 

the coup are not explicitly integrated into the narrative pattern until the 

1990s. 60 Although the protagonists are always supposed to have acted out 

of democratic motives: “Only because of it did the overwhelming major- 

58 Campilho (2002: 58) even identifies a constant theme of the party in the break and 

concludes that as the strong emphasise upon 25 th April acts as the foundation phase of 

the PSD, the time of the dictatorship is concealed. Ibid., 69. 

59 As the political attempts of the Liberal Wing towards an inner reform of the Estado 

Novo failed, a self legitimising link to the own discourse on the dictatorship does not 

appear to be possible. 

60 Specific gratitude towards the ‘April officers’ was documented for the first time with 

1991 Duarte Lima (PSD), 385, since 1995 Fernando Nogueira (PSD), 425 and regularly 

afterwards. Before that, one spoke generally about men or people one should thank, for 

example 1982 Sousa Tavares (PSD), 207. This down playing of the role of the military 

may be explained by the fact that the MFA did not make a figurehead for the PSD. Also 

the denial of an active role of the military in politics, which made the PSD become a 

harsh opponent of the Revolutionary Council and President Eanes, is another cause. See 

also Campilho (2002: 85 and 140f). 



ity of the Portuguese consent to the liberating revolution” (1979 Menéres 

Pimentel [PSD], 85). 61 

Although it may not be as obvious as in the case of the CDS, separatist 

forces are again at work in this instance, in order to manipulate the 

democratic intention of the people and to establish a new dictatorship. 62 

The history after 25 th April is not a victorious one, such as that described 

by the PCP, but it is a history of the destruction and aberration of 

the democracy that was so desired by the people. 

The 25 th November represents a triumph over these forces and signifies 

a return to the original ideals of 25 th April, which provides an opportunity 

for the integration of all democratic people in Portugal, as it is 

said to feature the concepts of “Unity and Reconciliation” (1979 Menéres 

Pimentel [PSD], 85). 

Therefore, it “ought to be celebrated collectively, in view of the native 

country, which exceeds the individual events of its past, presence and 

future” (1977 Barbosa de Melo [PSD], 28). 

Correspondingly, the speakers reject, with the PS and PCP in mind, 

the historical / political institutionalisation of this event: “We do not avail 

ourselves of 25 th April in order not to tread upon the Portuguese even 

more” (1980 Helena Roseta [PSD], 125). 63 Since the 1990s, the description 

of revolutionary issues takes second place to descriptions of the integration 

myth. 

The (occasionally defined) gradual shift in the perception of the 

CDS in the PSD discourse surrounding the revolution up to the end of 

the 1980s, has become a categorical one since 1995, which accompanies 

the general tendency towards the pacification of political conflicts. 64 

61 See also 1984 Fernando Condesso (PSD), 238: “As the military came into power on 25 th 

April, they wanted without doubt to constitute a democracy.” 

62 A clear accusation of the PCP, which considers the PSD to be an antagonist towards 

democracy, barely occurs even if the depictions allow no other conclusions. When the 

communists are directly accused of wanting to destroy “freedom and the pluralism”, the 

protests of the PCP follow as well. 1981 Pedro Roseta (PSD), 163f. 

63 See also 1990 Montalvão Machado (PSD), 367, 1996 Pacheco Perreira (PSD), 441, 

2004 Victor Cruz (PSD), 4389. Like all the other parties, the PCS also strongly histori- histori- 

cally / politicaly institutionalised (especially up to the middle of the 1980s) 25 th April. For 

example, Campilho, Le poing et la flèche, 139 states. 

64 As the reason for this Campilho (2002: 146f.) identifies the end of the era of Cavaco 

Silva and the beginning of the party leadership of Durão Barroso, who belongs to a 

younger generation of the party. 



This new construal pattern also endured up to the debate in 2004, 

over the question of whether 25 th April was a revolution or should better 

be defined as an evolution. 65 While the CDS speaker again singles out the 

“issue of the perversion of the totalitarian temptation” (2004 Anacoreta 

Correia [CDS/PP], 4385) in the revolution, the PSD does not differentiate 

anymore. The “revolution that opened the door for the evolution” (2004 

Victor Cruz [PSD, 4390) 66 , is exclusively described as an integrative myth. 

The position of the PSD in this is highlighted in the following discourse: 

“This April has changed and was made to change Portugal. To develop, 

therefore, means to fulfill the spirit of April” (2004 Victor Cruz [PSD], 

4390). The PS institutionalises 25 th April as a myth in many ways. On one 

hand, it is used as a reversion myth, as in the case of other parties, because 

it was said to have “restored” (among others 1980 Almeida Santos [PS], 

119f.) freedom, peace and democracy. On the other hand, this break with 

dictatorship, which occured over the course of that day, has become a 

topos of the collective narrative structure, which is revealed by the intense 

use of light metaphors. The 25 th April is regarded as “a dawn” (e.g. 1980 

Almeida Santos [PS], 119, 1986 José Luis Nunes [PS], 288) ending “the 

night that had lasted almost half a century” (1981 Salgado Zenha [PS], 

159) and announcing the “sun of freedom” (1981 Salgado Zenha [PS], 

159, 1991 Edite Estreia [PS], 383, 1996 Manuel Alegre [PS], 443). The dualism 

inherent in the light metaphor sends the time of the dictatorship off 

into the ahistorical darkness, from which the light of historical evolution 

emanates, together with 25 th April. It is common to compare the dictatorship 

with democracy, which is in contrast to the PSD, which rarely refers 

to the period ‘before’ 25 th April. In common with the communists, this day 

was a consequence of the undefeated resistance. 67 

65 The PSD / CDS-PP government propagated official slogan of the 30 th anniversary - 

‘April is Evolution’ - caused an extensive debate, which was carried out even at the very 

ceremony. Here, the PCP reproached the government among others for having down 

played the time of the revolution and, furthermore, of wanting to bind on the Caetano 

time during which attempts at reform were themed ‘Evolution in Continuity’. See 2004 

Bernardino Soares (PCP), 4384. Also in 2004 Manuel Alegre (PS), 4387 condemned the 

alleged leveling of the revolution. 

66 He spoke of “April” as a whole, instead of “April 25 th ”, using a lyrical stile of speech 

normally adopted by the PS. 

67 1980 Almeida Santos (PS), 120: “April was the advent of a complete epoch of suffering 

and fighting and the climax of the saga of anonymous fighters for freedom.” 



However, for the most part in the PS discourse the people were only 

assigned the role of a spectator in the downfall of the dictatorship (see 

1979 Herculano Pires [PS], 89 and 1999 Francisco Assis [PS], 2778). 

In contrast to the PSD, the PS explicitly celebrated the ‘April officers‘, 

who carried out the ‘coup d’état’ as collective heros, who acted selflessly, 

but also on behalf of the people as an “incarnation of the sake of 

the nation” (1984 José Luis Nunes [PS], 2419). 68 

The later period of transition is either euphemised or suppressed, 

so that no narrative pattern can arise from it. 69 

Neither are the antagonisms between the democratic and non-democratic 

forces constructed, nor is the image of a misdirected or failed 

revolution established. 70 

The political violence of the transition period is almost completely 

relegated to the fringe – one speaks euphemistically of “errors” (1978 

Manuel Alegre [PS], 62) and “accidents on the way” (1979 Herculano 

Pires [PS], 90). No outline is provided of the causes, and the protagonists 

of these ‚aberrations‘ or their timing, but they are attributed “to the original 

purity of the revolutionary act, which consists in restoring to the land 

its freedom” (1999 Francisco Assis [PS], 2778). 71 

68 Of this collective, only Salgueiro Maia was recognised (after his death), being described 

as “one of the worthiest symbols of the purity of the April ideals”. (Among others 1995 

António Guterres (PS), 423). Maia here plays the role of a tragic hero and a symbolic 

figure, who, in spite of his contribution to the overthrow of the regime, was not appreciated 

(by the PSD government), whereas the former associates of the state police PIDE 

received retirement pensions. 

69 This was also observed by Campilho (2002: 88) in the party press and assumed that 

it has never been necessary for the PS to construct a party memoir, because the party 

strongly identified with 25 th April. However, this argumentation does not explain why the 

PCP, which identified even more with 25 th April, constructed its own narrative pattern. 

70 One faction placed much greater emphasis upon the fight for democracy and the coup 

attempt of 25 th November. See Campilho (2002: 69). 

71 There is just one specific reference to 25 th November. 1982 Jaime Gama (PS), 204. The 

fact, that this day is not commemorated in the public memory of the party is demonstrated 

by the speech of 1985 José Luis Nunes (PS), 267, which named only 25 th April 1975 

(elections to the Constituent Assembly) and 25 th April 1976 (passing of the constitution). 

A further statement by Nunes reveals how strongly the conflicts became marginalised 

and 25 th April established as the foundation myth of democracy: “To celebrate more than 

eleven years since the victory, we celebrate eleven years of democracy and institutional 

stability, which in its various possibilities enabled all the Portuguese to participate in the 

moral, political and economic reconstruction of the country.” 



The PS depicts itself as the responsible force and from the middle 

of the 1990s, extolled Mário Soares as the key figure of the fight for 

democracy and the best ambassador for the values of the “democratic 

revolution”. 72 

The PS not only emphasise the reconciliation and integration myth 

of 25th of April, but of the entire Carnation Revolution, a revolution 

without hate, without revanchism, recrimination, one that united the Portuguese 

in freedom and peace under a cordial appeal to solidarity and 

brotherhood” (1979 Herculano Pires [PS], 91). Representing others, Almeida 

Santos in 1980 stated: “April is Portugal without the contradictions” 

(1980 Almeida Santos [PS], 121). The spirit of April is evoked, and with 

it values like freedom, peacefulness and tolerance. Up to the 1980s, in 

particular the PS call for “national reconciliation” (1978 Manuel Alegre 

[PS], 61, 1984 José Luis Nunes [PS], 242), unity and the “pacification of 

the Portuguese family” (1979 Herculano Pires [PS], 89). 73 The fall of the 

dictatorship and the excesses of the revolution, carried out by the CDS 

and also in part by the PSD, are always ignored by the PS. However, the 

speakers accept this line of argument in order to depict the dictatorship 

as more reprehensible by far, and to present an exclusively positive image 

of the revolution. 74 The analysis of the revolution as history has not taken 

place yet in the PS. 

On the contrary, since the branqueamento in particular, this party increasingly 

emphasised and idealised this period as a foundation myth, as 

the origin of positive developments in Portugal and as the international 

model for transitions, because “it was an exemplary democratic transformation, 

without bloodshed, which spread to southern Europe, Greece, 

Spain and later to Latin America and eastern Europe” (1994 António Guterres 

[PS], 404). 75 

72 “With Mário Soares at its head the PS was, where it was needed: in the resistance against 

fascism and alongside the April military in the fight for the democratic revolution” 2004 

Manuel Alegre (PS), 4389. In this spirit for the first time 1996 Manuel Alegre (PS), 443. 

Soares already began to be affected by faction from the outset of his presidency in 1986, 

according to Campilho (2002: 76). 

73 This is also based upon the argument that the Carnation Revolution treated the representatives 

of the dictatorship with mildness. 

74 For example, in 2004 Manuel Alegre (PS), 4387 states: “One cannot celebrate 25 th April 

by condemning decolonisation. We celebrate 25 th April by condemning the colonial war.” 

75 The model function stressed by 2004 Manuel Alegre (PS), 4388 among others. 



The communist description of 25 th April differs from the description 

of the socialists in some striking ways. Their story also begins with the 

officers as selfless heroes (see for example 1995 Carlos Carvalhas [PCP], 

421), and in contrast to the conservative parties, their representatives often 

speak of the MFA as the initiator of the revolution. However, they are 

soon accompanied by a revolutionary national uprising, which is finally 

responsible for the downfall of the dictatorship. During the ceremony, 

the PCP never places itself at the center of the revolution, and certainly 

does not designate itself as its driving force – it is only an integral part of 

the “democratic forces” 76 . This placement is diametrically opposed to the 

descriptions of the CDS and PSD, which regard the PCP as a manipulator 

of the ‘pure‘ revolution. The aftermath of 25 th of April is characterised 

neither by chaos nor perversion, but by revolutionary success. 

Not only were the trilogy of freedom, democracy and peace proclaimed 

as “achievements of the revolution” (1980 Joaquim Gomes [PCP], 

117), but also nationalisation, agrarian reform and the formation of laborunions, 

for example. 77 It is striking, that the PCP, like the PS, neglect chronology 

as far the timing of the revolution is concerned. 

The concealment of conflicts within the democratic forces and the 

concealment of dates such as 11 th March or 25 th November 1975, leave 

blind spots and give the impression of a continuous progression since 25 th 

April. 

According to them, the revolution was interrupted by the ‘agents‘ 

of the capitalist ‘reaction‘: “Immediately, one day after the overthrow, the 

forces that had lost political power, but had not lost economic power tried 

to regain their former positions in a subversive way against the will of the 

revolution” (1984 Dias Lourenço [PCP], 234). 

This topos of a reactionary conspiracy infiltrates PCP discourse 

over the entire period of the study. During the time of transition, the conspirators, 

among other “bomb terrorists”, “collaborators of the political 

police” and “unprincipled politicians”, fought not only for the recovery of 

76 This term can be observed in the communist speeches up to 1986. It gathered all the 

left positions as far the PS inclusively, and separated them from the remaining political 

positions which, including the PSD and the CDS, made the ‘reaction’. Both parties 

certainly do not accept this use of language and on their part emphasise that the ‘democratic 

forces’ won on 25 th November over a coalition of ‘non-democratic forces’. Among 

others. 1980 Helena Roseta (PSD), 123 and 1981 Mário Gaioso (CDS), 156. 

77 Compare, for example, 2004 Bernardino Soares (PCP), 4384. 



the dictatorship, but also later for the abolishment of democracy, which 

remained the aim of the “reaction” (see 1979 Carlos Brito [PCP], 77). 78 

Furthermore, the combat against this reaction to 25 th April are to be 

continued as a revolutionary process, not as an aberration or perversion 

of its original ideals, but as a “deeply democratic process” (1979 Carlos 

Brito [PCP], 78) 79 and the implementation of its purposes in society. For 

the PCP, the revolution remains an uncompleted process, neither in 1977 

nor 2004 were its aims achieved. Furthermore, one has increasingly veered 

away from them. During every single ceremony, the PCP attack the “regressions” 

that have occured and have caused the social changes achieved 

up to 1976 to be reversed. One has persued a bad policy continously, 

which can only be broken by the “resumption of the interventionist and 

fighting spirit, which April taught us” (2004 Bernardino Soares [PCP], 

4385). Despite the used military imagery, which is typical of Marxist rhetoric 

together with continuous accusations, a defensive discourse about 

the declining heritage of a change desired by the people of the revolution 

emerges from the speeches. 

Commemorative Congruency – Commemorative Competition 

The persisting perception of the dictatorship in public and official 

memory culture is that of an interim, which also means a “banishment” 

(Mário Soares [President] 1986: 295) of the nation from the international 

community that was only ended by 25 th of April, as President Soares puts 

it. All presidents and parties distinguish between the Portuguese people, 

who are regarded as the bearers of national identity on one hand, and the 

regime, which does not represent the people and their ancient culture. 

78 Until the middle of the 1980s, the PCP directly accused the conservative government 

of being the initiator of a “subversive plan” (1980 Joaquim Gomes (PCP), 117), through 

which they wanted to reconstitute the dictatorship; they also accused the “forces of the 

past” of having always remained at work in the government, in order to regain their 

“reign and privileges” (1991 Jerónimo de Sousa (PCP), 381). The return to the past” 

suggests 2004 Bernardino Soares (PCP), 4385 is still the purpose of the dominant policy. 

79 See also 1991 Jerónimo de Sousa (PCP), 381. No other party speaks in this context of 

a democratisation process. In 1984, Fernando Condesso (PSD), 238, protested against 

the speech of the PCP, because the decision-makers were not legitimised by elections. 

Thus far, the discussions concerning the allocation of political terms in Portugal, have 

not been analysed. 



Dictatorship is defined through national history. All the Portuguese 

were the victims of the regime, only the degree of suffering and oppression 

differed. Yet, while the people were the victims, there was also heroic 

and idealistic resistance, at the head of which the parties to some extent 

place themselves. The self-sacrifice of the resistance fighters for the collective, 

created a heroic myth, which became representative of the nation. 

No protagonist strayed from the anti-dictatorship consensus; however, 

a more definite dispute in addition to this has never taken place in 

these speeches. The dictatorship is characterised as a structure devoid of 

people, but a debate on its origin, the active supporting network, the passive 

proponents and the reasons for its longevity cannot be determined. 

With the exception of the Marxist interpretation of the PCP as 

fascist, in the view of the other protagonists, the ‘Estado Novo’ appears 

to be an aberration of history. The condemnation of the regime is diametrically 

opposed to the glorification of 25 th April and its elaboration 

into a political myth. It has appeared in various manifestations, since the 

ceremony was initiated. This construal mechanism allows for the reduction 

of the complicated historical interrelationships to a basic pattern. 

The 25 th April is depicted as the culmination of a decade long resistance 

which laid the foundation for this day and is a true representative 

representation of the nation that secured its continuity. The “April officers” 

were placed in the tradition of the resistance and often presented as 

heroes and redemptive figures (Cruzeiro 1994: 447), 80 who in acting on 

behalf of the nation, implemented the will of the people. On that day, an 

irreversible “break” with the dictatorship took place. This topos is adopted 

by every protagonist and ensures thereby the end of the ‘meander‘ 

persued by the regime and the ‘return‘ to the national (success) story. The 

people were provided with an opportunity “to recover their identity and 

Portugal was enabled to recover its centuries old history” (Mário Soares 

[President] 1987: 315), as President Soares outlined in 1987. 

This not only allowed for the establishment of a recurrence-myth; in 

addition to regeneration a conciliation and unification myth also emerged 

as another form of interpretation. After 25 th April, a period, in which he is 

depicted as an experienced man, who unified all the Portuguese, President 

Eanes made another attempt to return to the excesses of the revolution. 

80 He identifies an ‘Updating of the Sebastianism redeemer myth’ in this stylisation. 



He criticised left-wing radicals in particular for having jeopardised 

national identity and put at risk the independence of the nation. 

However, his successors address these conflicts less than ever. Instead, 

they characterise the collective euphoria regarding the liberation of 

the nation as a festival of national reconciliation and unity. The subsequent 

harmonisation of the social conflicts regarding the future development, 

facilated the idealisation of the events and with it identification with 

values it represents. Whereas President Eanes uses cathartic moments in 

his narrative structure, in which 25 th November 1975 recalls the native 

roots of 25 th April, his followers explicitly define 25 th of April as the date, 

on which the new Portuguese democracy was established. Therefore, one 

can speak of the foundation myth of democracy. It entails the detemporalisation 

of the transition phase and the destruction of a “suspicion of 

contingency” (Münkler), namely that the 25 th April could have also ended 

in a civil war. Yet, in the descriptions of the CDS and also the earlier PSD, 

which resemble that of Eanes and feature a disassociation from the revolutionary 

process, 25 th April functions as a myth of national integration. 

It emphasises the fundamental consensus of the democratic parties 

and may be interpreted, particularly during the consolidation phase of the 

Portuguese democracy, as a proposal of integration for everyone, including 

the anticommunist supporters of the ‘Estado Novo’. The fundamental 

democratic consensus created a consolidated standard background, 

against which a varied interpretation of 25 th April takes place, and the 

openness of the analysis helps to unify the diverse target audience. 

Therefore, 25 th April provided the people with a new and positive 

opportunity for unity as opposed to dictatorship. 81 

The novel orientation offer, by means of which Portugal can be regarded 

as a European and cosmopolitan nation, tied to the political myth 

of April as well as to the ‘golden age of discoveries‘, which are deeply 

rooted in the cultural memory. 82 

81 See also Trindade (2004: 20-31), who describes how the change in the evaluation of the 

transition period has been an issue during the democracy. 

82 And so, according to representative surveys, 31,8% of the respondents in 1984 declared 

that the Carnation Revolution was a reason for Portuguese national pride, in 1993, 

the rate increased to 50,6%. Information from Bacalhau (1994: 49). In 2004, according to 

a survey by Público, 76% of the respondents regarded 25 th April 1974 to have been the 

most important event in the history of Portugal, 60% the expeditions to India and Brazil, 

and 49% the accession to the EEC (multiple-choice possible). See Público, 24.4.2004, 6. 



On one hand, the “high level of repression” (Fleschenberg 2004: 

292) concerning the dictatorship was recognised in the fixed discourse 

of the political elite of Portugal, as stated by Fleschenberg in 2004. On 

the other hand, a fear of the “bowdlerisation of the revolution”, which 

could fall victim to “selective memory”, was uttered by Kenneth Maxwell 

(1995). It is clear, that the political parties have prevented each other from 

coming to terms with the ambiguous past in Portugal so far. However, 

one must counter the argument that a collective fundamental consensus 

has occurred over the political myth of 25 th April. Only those, who turned 

against democracy in the post revolutionary period remained excluded. 

Therefore, it succeeded in establishing public and political commemoration. 

The antagonistic and competing memories regarding the dictatorship 

and the revolution were used for mutual differentiation. The reason is that 

they found their Archimedean point in 25 th April and merged into one 

another. In this balanced situation everyone celebrates his 25 th April, but 

a democratic fundamental combined consensus remains elusive. The dual 

repression of the past grouped around the political myth of 25 th April 

should, as a working hypothesis, encourage further studies, which would 

have a necessary stabilising effect on the consolidation of the Portuguese 

democracy and decisively influence the restructing of national identity.To 

trace the evolution of its form and meaning, to discover the interests of 

his ‘originators’ and propagators, who together persued the politics of history, 

as well as to explore its efficacy in the social elites and the population, 

are important tasks for myth studies within the sphere of cultural studies 

in regard to issues, such as identity formation, historical awareness and 

political culture among others (Hein-Kircher 2006: 423f). 83 

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(GEMHDP) wants among others to address itself to this task. 





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Notes on Contributors 

ASCHAUER, WOLFGANG, is a Professor in European Studies at the 

Chemnitz University of Technology. Research fields: development of 

border regions, effects of border-crossing contacts, national and regional 

identities, the transformation of socialist countries and European integration, 

with special attention to East Central Europe. Recent publications: 

“Aspekte grenzüberschreitender Kulturbeziehungen”. in: Vogt, Matthias 

Theodor u.a.: Bedingungen europäischer Solidarität. Görlitz, Breslau, Prag, 

2006; “Ethnizität und Globalisierung regionaler Lebenswelten. Überlegungen 

zur Bedeutung ethnischer Kategorien in den Transformationsländern 

Südosteuropas aus sozial- und kulturgeographischer Sicht”. in: 

Heller, Wilfried u. a. (Eds.): Ethnizität in der Globalisierung. München 2007. 

BEST, ULRICH, is a DAAD Visiting Professor at York University. After 

his studies of geography, sociology and computer sciences in Heidelberg 

and Berlin he was PhD-student at the University of Plymouth, TK. 

He also attended an exchange programme with the Uniwersytet Wroclawski, 

Poland and was lecturer in geography at the University of Leicester, 

UK, and at Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany. 

CARREIRA, PAULA, is a PhD candidate working on the classical influence 

in Marquês de Pombal’s work. She received her Master’s degree 

in Classical Studies (Greek Literature, especially the work by Apollonius 

Rhodius – The Argonautika) from the University of Lisbon, Portugal and 

also received her Licentiate’s degree in Classical Languages and Literatures 


354 

from the same university. Currently she is also a Researcher at the Centre 

for Literatures in Portuguese of the Universities of Lisbon (CLEPUL). 

CIESZYNSKA, BEATA ELZBIETA, PhD (from the University of 

Gdansk, Poland) is a Researcher of the CLEPUL – Centre for Lusophone 

and European Literatures and Cultures, Faculty of Letters University of 

Lisbon and the Coordinator of its Research group “CLEPUL 5”: Iberian 

and Slavonic Literatures and Cultures, President of CompaRes – International 

Society for Iberian-Slavonic Studies. She is also a coordinator of 

the CISCR – ICS Commission for Iberian-Slavonic Comparative Research 

at the International Committee of Slavists. Research fields: History of 

Literature and Culture; Reading the Other in British and Polish Writings; 

Iberian-Slavonic Comparative Studies. Recent publications: “Amostras 

literárias de Portugal e dos países lusófonos nos periódicos eslavos. O 

caso da revista polaca Literatura no Mundo / Literatura na świecie (desde 

1971)”, in: A História da Imprensae a Imprensa na História. O Contributo dos 

Açores, Carlos Cordeiro e Susana Serpa Silva (Eds.), Ponta Delgada 2009, 

203-220; “Tchekov à Portuguesa. Sztuki Czechowa w lizbońskim teatrze 

eksperymentalnym, Casa Conveniente”. in: Czechow współcześnie. Dzieło – 

komunikacja – obecność, Ed. Ryszard Strzelecki i Gerard Guzlak, Bydgoszcz 

2010 (in print). 

CRISTOVÃO, FERNANDO, is a Full Professor for Portuguese Literature 

at the University of Lisbon, Portugal; Founder of the “Instituto 

Camões”; Vice-Director of the Centre for Lusophone and European Literatures 

and Cultures, Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon. Research 

fields: travel literature and Lusophone literature and culture with the special 

focus on the Brazilian issues. Recent publications: Dicionário de Lusofonia. 

Lisbon, 2004; Condicionantes culturais da literature de viagens. Lisbon, 1999; 

Da Lusitanidade à Lusofonia, Coimbra, 2008; Cadernos de Literatura de Viagens 

(Acervo Bibliográfico de Literatura de Viagens da Biblioteca do Palácio Nacional 

de Mafra), Coimbra, 2009. Literatura de Viagens: Da Tradicional à Nova e à 

Novíssima, Coimbra, 2010; Vida e Feitos heróicos do Grande Condestável e suas 

Descendências (Ed.), Lisbon, 2010. 

FERNÁNDEZ PÉREZ-SANJULIÁN, CARME, is a Full Professor 

in the area of Portuguese and Galician Philology at the University of A 



Coruña, Spain. Research fields: Galician and Portuguese Literature of the 

19 th 

and 20 th 

centuries, Gender Studies, Theory of Literature and Postcolonial 

Studies. Recent publications: A construción nacional no discurso literario 

de Ramón Otero Pedrayo. Vigo: A Nosa Terra, 2003; Critical edition of the play 

Figados de Tigre by Francisco Gomes de Amorim, 2003. 

FRANCO, JOSÉ EDUARDO, was awarded his PhD in 2004 in History 

and Civilisations at École de Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales about 

the myth of Jesuits in Portugal and Brazil. He is a Researcher and the 

Vice-Director of the CLEPUL – Centre for Lusophone and European 

Literatures and Cultures, Faculty of Letters University of Lisbon and Coordinator 

of its Research Group – CLEPUL 4: European Literatures and 

Cultures. He is also the Vice President of CompaRes – International Society 

for Iberian-Slavonic Studies, as well as the President of the European 

Institute of Culture of S.J. Manuel Antunes in Lisbon. 

Recent publications: Dança dos Demónios – Intolerância em Portugal: 

Anti-seminitismo, Anti-Islamismo, Anticlericalismo, Antijesuitismo, Antiprotestantismo, 

Antimaçonismo, Antifeminismo, Anticomunismo, Antiliberalismo, Antiamericanismo, 

Lisbon, 2009; Entre a Selva e a Corte: Novos Olhares Sobre Vieira, Lisbon, 

2009; “Vieira e a possibilidade de um Mundo Novo: Quinto Império 

como Projecto de Cidadania do Futuro”, in: Paulo Mendes Pinto et al. 

(Eds.), Religião & Ofensa: As Religiões e a Liberdade de Expressão, Lisbon, 

2009, 101-114. 

HAVELKA, MILOŠ, is Professor at the Charles University, Prague; 

Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the same University. 

Research and several publications on Czech history, historical memory 

and national identity. Recent publications: “Über mitteleuropäischen 

Auffassungen von Mitteleuropa”, in: dejiny-teorie-kritika, 2, 2005, 195-213; 

“Identitäten in sich vereinigendem Europa”, in: P. Macek, J. Dalajka: Vyvoj 

a utvárení osobnosti v sociálních a etnickych kontextech. Brno 2005, 548-562. 

KALEWSKA, ANNA, is a Assistant Professor at Iberian Studies and 

Iberian-American Institute at the University of Warsaw. Research fields: 

Portuguese literature and theatre and compared literature. Edited books: 

Camões, czyli tryumf epiki (Camões, ou o triunfo da épica), 1999; Baltasar 

Dias e as metamorfoses do discurso dramatúrgico em Portugal e nas Ilhas de São Tomé 


356 

e Príncipe. Ensaio histórico-literário e antropológico, 2005; translation of As Naus 

(Karawele wracaja) by António Lobo Antunes. 

KOROLIOV, SONJA, is a Research Associate at the Interdisciplinary 

Centre for Research on the European Enlightenment (IZEA) at the Martin 

Luther University Hall / Wittenberg and Temporary Lecturer in Russian 

at the Humboldt-Universität in Berlin. She studied Classics at the 

University of Oxford, where she also completed a Master’s degree in 

Modern Languages (Russian and German). Dissertation on the Russian 

and Jewish philosopher Lev Shestov in Heidelberg. Research fields: Russian 

and European Sentimentalism, Irrationalism, Theories of Insanity, 

Macedonian Literature. 

MACHADO DE ABREU, LUÍS, is a Full Professor at the University 

of Aveiro. His main research interests lie in the History of Ideas and Culture. 

He published numerous articles, among others, “A intriga teológicopolítica 

dos anticlericalismos”, in: Marujo, António, Franco, J. Eduardo 

(Eds.) Dança dos Demónios Intolerância em Portugal. Lisbon, 2009, 125-201; 

“Nos labirintos do poder impotente”, in: Colóquio / Letras. Lisbon, 170 

(2009), 266-272; “Os jardins entre a natureza e a arte”, in: Franco, José 

Eduardo, Gomes, Ana Cristina Costa (Eds.): Jardins do Mundo Discursos e 

Práticas. Lisbon, 2008, 363-370; “A usura simbólica do Santo Ofício”, in: 

Barreto, Luís Filipe (Eds.): Inquisição Portuguesa Tempo, Razão e Circunstância. 

Lisbon, 2007, 405-411; Ensaios Anticlericais. Lisbon, 2004. 

MORÁN CABANAS, MARIA ISABEL, is a Professor of Portuguese 

Literature at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She was 

awarded her PhD in Portuguese Medieval Literature for her work on 

García de Resende’s ‘Cancioneiro Geral’. Research fields: Contemporary 

Poetry, especially Eroticism from a Social-literary Perspective, and Neotroubadour 

Literature in the Iberian Pensinsula. Recent publication: María 

Isabel Morán Cabanas / José Eduardo Franco, O Padre António Vieira e as 

Mulheres – O mito barroco do universo feminino. Porto, 2008. 

NAZARETH, FRANCISCO, is a Lecturer in Portuguese Language and 

Culture for the Camões Institute in Sofia, Bulgaria. He first graduated in 

Philosophy from the University of Porto and then went on to do a Mas- 



ters Degree in American Literature and Culture, at Universidade Aberta, in 

Lisbon, with a thesis on Paul Auster. Having worked in Australia, also as a 

Lecturer for the Camões Institute, first at Flinders University, in Adelaide, 

and then at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, for six years 

and a half (with a short spell of six months in East-Timor in-between), he 

finished a Post-Grad in Film Studies, developing an interest in the areas 

of Film Criticism, Cultural Studies, Post-Colonial Theory, Cultural Theory 

and Theory of Fiction, as well as Hermeneutics. He published a collection 

of short stories called Femina (Viseu: Sagesse, 2000). 

PINHEIRO, TERESA, is a Junior Professor at Chemnitz University 

of Technology. She holds PhD in Cultural Studies. Her research interests 

concern cultural studies in the Portuguese, Spanish and German perspective. 

Recent publications: Portugiesische Migrationen. Geschichte, Repräsentation 

und Erinnerungskultur. Wiesbaden, 2010; Iberische Europa-Konzepte. Nation 

und Europa in Spanien und Portugal seit dem 19. Jahrhundert. Berlin, 2009; “Die 

Erfindung Europas auf der Iberischen Halbinsel“ in: Pinheiro, Teresa 

(Ed.), Iberische Europa-Konzepte. Nation und Europa in Spanien und Portugal seit 

dem 19. Jahrhundert. Berlin, 2009; “Das ‘Verstummen’ des portugiesischen 

Tonfilms im Estado Novo“ in: Febel, Gisela, Ueckmann, Natascha (Eds.), 

Europäischer Film im Kontext der Romania: Geschichte und Innovation (Akten der 

gleichnamigen Sektion des XXIX. Deutschen Romanistentages vom 25.9.-29.9.2005 

in Saarbrücken). Münster, 2008; “Iberische Sichten der EU-Osterweiterung” 

in: Niedobitek, Mathias, Jurczek, Peter (Eds.), Europäische Forschungsperspektiven 

– Elemente einer Europawissenschaft. Berlin, 2008; “Memória 

histórica no Portugal contemporâneo” in: Kalewska, Anna (Ed.), Diálogos 

com a Lusofonia. Colóquio comemorativo dos 30 anos do Instituto de Estudos Ibéricos 

e Ibero-americanos da Universidade de Varsóvia. 

RITA, ANNABELA, is a Professor of Modern and Contemporary Portuguese 

Literature at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon, 

Portugal. She is Director of the Centre for Lusophone and European 

Literatures and Cultures of the Faculty of Letters, Universities of Lisbon 

(CLEPUL). Recent publications: “Padre José Joaquim de Sena Freitas 

(1840-1913) e a questão judaica” in: Luís Machado de Abreu, José Eduardo 

Franco, Annabela Rita, Jorge Croce Rivera (Eds.), Homem de Palavra 

— Padre Sena Freitas. Lisbon: Roma Editora, 2008; No fundo dos espelhos. In- 


358 

cursões na Cena Literária (vol. I). Porto: Edições Caixotim, 2003; Emergências 

estéticas. Lisbon: Roma Editora, 2006. 

ROUSSINOVA, OLGA, holds a PhD by the European University at St. 

Petersburg. Her academic interests include Social History of Art XVIII- 

XX cc., cross-cultural and artistic contacts, Portuguese and Russian art: 

Machado de Castro, the Court sculptor. Problemy razvitiia zarubeznogo iskusstva. 

SPb, 2010. V. 10; “Contemporary sculptural monuments without competitions 

and competitions without monuments”. in: Kapitel. Arkhitektura, 

restavraziia, dizain – 4 (16) 2009; French Art Academy in XVII-XVIII cc.: Artists 

and Artisans in sculpture, Academy and Academies. SPb., 2009. 

SEIDEL, JÖRG, is Graduate Assistant at the Junior Professorship “Cultural 

and Social Change” at the Technology Chemnitz University. His 

PHD title is “The Portuguese Colonial War in Angola and Mocambique 

as reflected in GDR media”. 

SERRA DOMINGUES, CLÁUCIO, was awarded a MA in History, 

German Studies and Philosophy at University of Münster (2007).

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