Mechanisms of cultural transfer between Poland and the Soviet Union: The dispute over the Russian version of the monthly Polska in the early post-Stalin period

Regina Solová and Joanna Kula
University of Wrocław

This article analyses specific instances of cultural transfer between Poland and the Soviet Union during the early post-Stalin era. It investigates the magazine Polska, published in several languages, as a part of the Polish People’s Republic’s foreign cultural policy. Employing the framework of cultural transfer theory, this case study examines key aspects: the content disseminated within the target system via translations of the monthly Polska; the responses generated by this transferred product and the subsequent impact of its reception back in the source system. While acknowledging the clear centre-periphery dynamics, the most influential factors in this bilateral cultural exchange were the unpredictable nature of the Thaw in the Soviet Union and the pivotal role of cultural intermediaries in determining the transferred products’ content and form.

Publication history

Date received: 20 November 2023

Date accepted: 22 June 2025

Published online: 28 July 2025

Table of contents

This article presents a case study of the Polish journal Polska from 1956 to 1958, recalling its role in the cultural transfer processes and the Polish–Soviet relations of the early post-Stalin period. The aim of the study is to reconstruct selected contexts of cultural transfer between the two countries based on several key aspects: firstly, on the content that was disseminated in the target system through the translation of the monthly Polska; secondly, on the reactions evoked by the transferred product; and thirdly, on the impact of its reception in the source system. The concept of cultural transfer used in this study makes it possible to take a broad perspective, opening up the field to the study of translations as factors triggering a chain reaction by influencing the target culture as well as the source culture.

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