We invite you to a special meet-the-author session with Krzysztof Renik devoted to his book “Religions That Survived: Conversations with People of Faith from Russia, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan”. Renik is a highly regarded journalist, writer, and cultural researcher, the author of hundreds of articles and reports published both in Poland and abroad. Since the 1970s, he has been closely connected with the countries of Asia. In 2007, he became the first Polish Radio correspondent in New Delhi. Between 1991 and 1995, he undertook numerous study trips across the former Soviet Union, with a particular focus on Siberia – a region marked by the history of exile and repression. During these journeys, Renik conducted dozens of interviews with representatives of the Orthodox Church, Catholicism, Buddhism, and Islam. His conversations reveal their experiences of practicing faith under Soviet rule, enduring imprisonment and labor camps, and preserving religious traditions within small, secretive communities.
The book “Religions That Survived: Conversations with People of Faith from Russia, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan” presents a dramatic side of atheization and the attempts to create a ‘homo sovieticus’ entirely detached from religious beliefs, while also portraying the hopes people held in connection with the socio-political changes occurring at the beginning of the 1990s.
The event will not only be a journey into the history depicted in “Religions That Survived”, but also an attempt by Krzysztof Renik to confront the hopes described in the book with the reality of the 21st century, drawing on his later experiences as a correspondent for Polish Radio. The evening’s program will include a presentation of unique photographic documentation from that time, archival audio recordings by the author, as well as live readings of selected excerpts from the book’s interviews.
This is a special opportunity to discover both the literary passion of the author and his personal perspective on religious and social transformations in post-Soviet regions. The event will also encourage attendees to reflect on the ongoing changes in the modern world.
Date: April 10, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m.
