After they tore down their statues of Stalin, just why did the Lithuanians put up one to Frank Zappa – a figure with no obvious connection to the country? Sophia L Deboick explains
The New European: All shook up – the forgotten story of the Cold War’s Red Elvis
From all-American star to the Eastern bloc’s greatest celebrity, Dean Reed’s was a truly extraordinary career. Here, Sophia Deboick recounts his life and death, a tragic tale of celebrity and history
Blog: ‘I’ll drink to that’ – Tallinn’s Black Celebration of Depeche Mode
The winding medieval streets of Estonia’s capital hold a bit of a surprise for the traveller who hasn’t done their top bars research in advance
Blog: Action Pope! Representations of John Paul II
A year ago today Pope John Paul II was beatified in a ceremony at Saint Peter’s Square, just six years after his death. Last month I visited both John Paul’s hometown of Wadowice and the Archdiocesan Museum of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła in Kraków during a trip to Poland
The Guardian, Face to Faith: The church, Occupy LSX and Solidarnosc
Religion still has a major part to play in popular protest, as it did in Poland 30 years ago
The Guardian, Cif Belief: Poland’s faith divide
Ignited by the Smolensk crash, bitter tensions have emerged between Poland’s Catholics and liberal secularists
The Guardian, Cif Belief: Jerzy Popiełuszko, a Polish hero
The beatification of the ‘priest of Solidarność’ offers a focus for remembrance of all who have defied authoritarian regimes
Sophia Deboick 