Michal Kranz
@michalkranz.bsky.social
Journalist | Eastern Europe + Middle East | Work in foreignpolicy.com, unherd.com, aljazeera.com, newlinesmag.com, thedailybeast.com, and more
Newsletter: https://theeasternflank.substack.com/
Website: michalkranz.com
Newsletter: https://theeasternflank.substack.com/
Website: michalkranz.com
A stunningly poignant ending. Diversity and multiculturalism are hardly alien to Eastern Europe — indeed, they were once central to it. Rather than turning its back on this legacy as something dead and buried, the whole of Europe should look to it as a model for its future:
October 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
A stunningly poignant ending. Diversity and multiculturalism are hardly alien to Eastern Europe — indeed, they were once central to it. Rather than turning its back on this legacy as something dead and buried, the whole of Europe should look to it as a model for its future:
A stirring and bittersweet summation of the tragedy of Eastern Europe:
October 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
A stirring and bittersweet summation of the tragedy of Eastern Europe:
Every Pole born in the mid-90s or earlier remembers the massive market in the Stadium of the 10th Anniversary — but I had no idea about the geographic spread of its diverse customer base:
October 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Every Pole born in the mid-90s or earlier remembers the massive market in the Stadium of the 10th Anniversary — but I had no idea about the geographic spread of its diverse customer base:
A Hungarian leader welcoming immigrants to his lands in order to enrich their diversity, cultural wealth, and economic prosperity — unheard of!
October 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
A Hungarian leader welcoming immigrants to his lands in order to enrich their diversity, cultural wealth, and economic prosperity — unheard of!
This passage is crucial for understanding why Eastern Europe has historically been such a chaotic wilderness of ethnic identity — for centuries, empire and smaller states alike made few efforts to unify their realms under a single ethnic or religious identity:
October 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
This passage is crucial for understanding why Eastern Europe has historically been such a chaotic wilderness of ethnic identity — for centuries, empire and smaller states alike made few efforts to unify their realms under a single ethnic or religious identity:
The centrality of the Polish crown to the Jewish experience cannot be overstated. Although it’s not easy to perceive in modern-day Poland, the history of Judaism is inseparable from the country’s history:
October 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
The centrality of the Polish crown to the Jewish experience cannot be overstated. Although it’s not easy to perceive in modern-day Poland, the history of Judaism is inseparable from the country’s history:
Tucker Carlson’s entire rationale for interviewing someone like Pezeshkian or Putin is bankrupt to begin with. If you want to allow your audience to decide what is and isn’t true, you have to present them with *all* the relevant information, not just dueling sets to propaganda
July 6, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Tucker Carlson’s entire rationale for interviewing someone like Pezeshkian or Putin is bankrupt to begin with. If you want to allow your audience to decide what is and isn’t true, you have to present them with *all* the relevant information, not just dueling sets to propaganda
What's not talked about enough in Poland is that young people are far less liberal than their parents. Over 1/3 of young voters yesterday voted for the far-Right Confederation Party candidate Sławomir Mentzen, and overall, a clear majority voted for Right-wing candidates.
May 19, 2025 at 1:55 PM
What's not talked about enough in Poland is that young people are far less liberal than their parents. Over 1/3 of young voters yesterday voted for the far-Right Confederation Party candidate Sławomir Mentzen, and overall, a clear majority voted for Right-wing candidates.
Warsaw, October-March: Every waking moment in this cold, gray hellhole is eating away at my soul, why anyone would choose to live here is beyond reason
Warsaw, April-September: This is the greatest city in Europe, and anyone who doesn’t want to live here is a tasteless cretin
Warsaw, April-September: This is the greatest city in Europe, and anyone who doesn’t want to live here is a tasteless cretin
May 1, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Warsaw, October-March: Every waking moment in this cold, gray hellhole is eating away at my soul, why anyone would choose to live here is beyond reason
Warsaw, April-September: This is the greatest city in Europe, and anyone who doesn’t want to live here is a tasteless cretin
Warsaw, April-September: This is the greatest city in Europe, and anyone who doesn’t want to live here is a tasteless cretin
Judging by his attitude toward Canada, Greenland, and Ukraine, it is obvious that Trump fundamentally does not understand why a people would ever want to rule themselves rather than be part of a more powerful empire. Ironic, given American history
March 11, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Judging by his attitude toward Canada, Greenland, and Ukraine, it is obvious that Trump fundamentally does not understand why a people would ever want to rule themselves rather than be part of a more powerful empire. Ironic, given American history
After publicly laying into Zelensky in the Oval Office, Trump talks about the him as if he were a child in a playground fight
February 28, 2025 at 7:33 PM
After publicly laying into Zelensky in the Oval Office, Trump talks about the him as if he were a child in a playground fight
A Soviet-era mural celebrating Ukrainian mountain culture in Ukraine’s Carpathian region, September 2023
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
A Soviet-era mural celebrating Ukrainian mountain culture in Ukraine’s Carpathian region, September 2023
A Point of Invincibility where people can warm up, get potable water, and charge their devices in Kherson, Ukraine, two weeks after its liberation from Russian control in November 2023
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
A Point of Invincibility where people can warm up, get potable water, and charge their devices in Kherson, Ukraine, two weeks after its liberation from Russian control in November 2023
A traditional Hutsul home in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains, September 2023
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
A traditional Hutsul home in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains, September 2023
Soldiers of all ages belonging to the Territorial Defense Forces near Kyiv, April 2022
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Soldiers of all ages belonging to the Territorial Defense Forces near Kyiv, April 2022
The town of Pidkamin in western Ukraine, August 2023
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The town of Pidkamin in western Ukraine, August 2023
A home damaged by artillery strikes in Bucha, Ukraine, shortly after its liberation in April 2022
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
A home damaged by artillery strikes in Bucha, Ukraine, shortly after its liberation in April 2022
The remains of an apartment building in Borodyanka, Ukraine, April 2022
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The remains of an apartment building in Borodyanka, Ukraine, April 2022
A Ukrainian soldier in an underground bunker in Kyiv, March 2022
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
A Ukrainian soldier in an underground bunker in Kyiv, March 2022
A Ukrainian woman after arriving as a refugee in Warsaw, Poland, March 2022
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
A Ukrainian woman after arriving as a refugee in Warsaw, Poland, March 2022
Three years on from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there is little I can say that hasn’t been said better by others. Instead, here are a few photos I’ve taken during my various trips to Ukraine since 2022 that showcase the pain, endurance, and beauty of Ukraine and its people:
February 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Three years on from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there is little I can say that hasn’t been said better by others. Instead, here are a few photos I’ve taken during my various trips to Ukraine since 2022 that showcase the pain, endurance, and beauty of Ukraine and its people:
According to Trump, Zelensky is now a dictator who wants to keep the war going. He, not Russia, is the obstacle to peace.
Just does not get any lower than this. What a fucking disgrace.
Just does not get any lower than this. What a fucking disgrace.
February 19, 2025 at 4:09 PM
According to Trump, Zelensky is now a dictator who wants to keep the war going. He, not Russia, is the obstacle to peace.
Just does not get any lower than this. What a fucking disgrace.
Just does not get any lower than this. What a fucking disgrace.
Negotiations on the future of Ukraine, Europe, and the contours of the multi-polar world have begun. Make no mistake - this is not just about the war in Ukraine, just like the Yalta Conference was never just about the end of World War II. A new order is being built here
February 18, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Negotiations on the future of Ukraine, Europe, and the contours of the multi-polar world have begun. Make no mistake - this is not just about the war in Ukraine, just like the Yalta Conference was never just about the end of World War II. A new order is being built here
Polish PM Donald Tusk initially broke the news on X on Friday, before the Polish ministry of culture implicitly confirmed it afterward
January 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Polish PM Donald Tusk initially broke the news on X on Friday, before the Polish ministry of culture implicitly confirmed it afterward
Jolani and HTS have presented themselves to the world as the de facto rulers of Syria, but nothing could be further from the truth. Let’s not forget that HTS isn’t even the only rebel faction in Damascus - the southern rebels reached the city first after all, alongside US-back Free Syrian forces 1/3
December 10, 2024 at 8:58 PM
Jolani and HTS have presented themselves to the world as the de facto rulers of Syria, but nothing could be further from the truth. Let’s not forget that HTS isn’t even the only rebel faction in Damascus - the southern rebels reached the city first after all, alongside US-back Free Syrian forces 1/3