The Institute of Literature of the University of Warmia and Mazury (UWM) in Olsztyn is one of the most important centers of emigrant research in Poland. It is the seat of the Slavic Emigrantology Commission of the International Committee of Slavists and it has been holding an international interdisciplinary scientific conference “Luminaries of Russian emigration” for 7 years.      

This year’s two-day discussion, which took place on October 25-26, was held under the title “Nostalgy. Myths, fates and literary experience of Russian emigration”. Several dozen panelists from Poland, Russia, Lithuania, France, Italy, Austria and Tunisia participated in the conference delivering over 30 papers.

This year’s conference speeches proved that nostalgia is the leading topic of the Russian emigration, not only in poetry and prose and we find these motives also in journalism – says Prof. Iwona A. Ndiaye from UWM and adds that the university wants to launch a new publishing series called Olsztyn Studies of Emigrantology. We hope that this will strengthen our position as an important center on the map of emigration research not only in Poland, but also in Europe – concludes Prof. Ndiaye.