On April 13, 2019, the city of Gniezno, Poland’s first historical capital and symbolic “Cradle of Poland,” hosted its inaugural Equality March (Marsz Równości). The event marked a significant milestone for LGBTQ+ visibility in one of the country’s traditionally conservative regions. A Bold Move in the Cradle of Poland Organizing the Equality March in Gniezno carried immense symbolic weight. As the seat of Poland’s first Christian diocese and...
Author - Rafavideoart
Filmmaker, visual artist, and photographer Rafavideoart studied at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Since 2009, he has been documenting the growing nationalism and far-right groups within the Visegrád Group countries. In Slovakia, he is actively involved in transforming the segregation walls surrounding the Roma communities.
Filmár, vizuálny umelec a fotograf Rafavideoart študoval na Akadémii umení v Banskej Bystrici a na Akadémii výtvarných umení vo Varšave. Od roku 2009 dokumentuje rastúci nacionalizmus a ultrapravicové skupiny v priestore Vyšehradskej štvorky. Na Slovensku sa angažuje v pretváraní segregačných múrov ohraničujúcich rómskej komunity.
On October 13th, 2018, Lublin, a city in eastern Poland, held its first-ever LGBTQ+ Pride parade. The event, organized by Lublin Equality Parade, was intended to promote tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community and celebrate diversity. Despite the parade being a peaceful demonstration, it was met with hostility from anti-LGBTQ+ protesters. An estimated 200 counter-demonstrators showed up to disrupt the celebrations, throwing bottles...
On August 20th, 2018, far-right groups in the Czech Republic organized a protest in Dubí, a small town near the border with Germany. The protest was in response to a recent incident at a local swimming pool between two women. The far-right groups, including the far-right political party DSSS, used the incident as a rallying cry against what they saw as an increase in crime and violence perpetrated by immigrants and minorities. They claimed that...
On April 10, 2018, Warsaw witnessed what was reported as the final regular monthly commemoration (the “miesięcznica”) of the 2010 air disaster near Smolensk. The ceremony took place on Krakowskie Przedmieście in front of the Presidential Palace, where families of the victims and political figures gathered to mark eight years since the tragedy. At the same time, Obywatele RP organised a counter-gathering nearby, carrying white roses, national...
Tens of thousands of nationalists marched in a demonstration organized by far-right groups in Warsaw on November 11th, 2017, as Poles celebrated their country’s Independence Day. The far-right march has become one of the largest such demonstrations in Europe, overshadowing official state observances and other patriotic events. Participants carried banners depicting a far-right symbol dating to the 1930s and expressed sympathy for...
On Thursday, August 17th, 2017, police in Poland forcefully removed feminist activists who were participating in a sit-in to block the route of a far-right rally in central Warsaw. The Women’s Strike group and activists from Obywatele RP, who aimed to defend democratic principles in Poland, were attempting to prevent several dozen extremists from marching on Poland’s Armed Forces Day. The feminist protesters, many holding photos of...
On July 10, 2017, Warsaw’s Krakowskie Przedmieście once again became the site of parallel gatherings marking the 87th monthly commemoration of the 2010 Smolensk air crash. The official ceremony, attended by government representatives and families of the victims, was accompanied by a counter-demonstration organized by the civic movement Obywatele RP (Citizens of Poland). Among those who joined the protest was former Solidarity activist Władysław...
01.05.2017 Brno residents are not planning to block the 1 May march by the ultra-right convened by the Workers’ Youth this year. Instead, they are calling on people through Facebook to organize creative, entertaining, non-violent activities in the city center on 1 May under the slogan “You can’t salute the Nazis if you’re having a good time” (“Kdo si hraje, nehajluje”). In recent years, 1 May in Brno has...
On April 29, 2017, the far-right nationalist group Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny (ONR, or National Radical Camp) held a controversial march in Warsaw, Poland. The event marked the anniversary of the ONR’s founding in the 1930s, an era when the group was known for its xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and ultra-nationalist agenda. The march was met with widespread criticism from human rights organizations, left-wing activists, and civic groups. Opponents...
On November 11th, 2016, Poland celebrated its Independence Day, but the day was marred by controversy over the Marsz Niepodleglosci (March of Independence) organized by far-right groups. The march attracted tens of thousands of participants, many of whom carried banners with slogans promoting nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment. The march began peacefully, but as it progressed, tensions rose, and there were reports of violence and hate...