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THE SARMATIAN REVIEW Vol. XXI, No. 2 April 2001 One Great Thing Archilochus Madeleine Korbel Albright, during whose tenure as the United States Secretary of State three countries of East Central Europe were admitted to NATO. Photo courtesy of the U. S. State Department. 778 THE SARMATIAN REVIEW April 2001 The Sarmatian Review (ISSN 1059- independent research. The USA, which 5872) is a triannual publication of the Polish In- From the Editor leads the world in research, has never had stitute of Houston. The journal deals with Polish, the habilitacja. Central, and Eastern European affairs, and their Our cover page photo is of Madeleine implications for the United States. We specialize On 26 February 2001 in The Wall Street in the translation of documents. Albright to whom thanks are due for co- Journal, Cecilie Rohwedder and David Subscription price is $15.00 per year for individu- ordinating the admission to NATO of Wessel criticized German universities in als, $21.00 for institutions and libraries ($21.00 Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hun- ways similar to those that Professor for individuals, $27.00 for libraries overseas, air gary. For the sixty million inhabitants of mail). The views expressed by authors of articles Skibniewski employs with regard to Pol- do not necessarily represent those of the Editors these countries, admission to NATO sym- ish universities (“Despite Proud Past, or of the Polish Institute. Articles are subject to bolically meant a readmission to the West- German Universities Fail by Many Mea- editing. Unsolicited manuscripts and other mate- ern world. As Professor Schlottmann sures”). While WSJ authors are less sys- rials are not returned unless accompanied by a self- rightly points out in her article on the addressed and stamped envelope. Please submit tematic than Skibniewski, they point out your contribution on a Macintosh disk together Polish minority in Germany, the notion the same weaknesses in German univer- with a printout. Letters to the Editor can be e-mailed that one belonged to the Western world sities that Skibniewski sees in Poland: a to <[email protected]>, with an accompanying has never faded in East Central Europe, lack of competitiveness among profes- printout sent by snail mail. Articles, letters, and even though it is almost totally absent in subscription checks should be sent to sors, a lack of active contact between stu- the historiography of present day Ger- The Sarmatian Review, P. O. Box 79119, dents and professors, poor student reten- many or, more generally, Europe and the Houston, Texas 77279-9119. tion, excessive reliance on once-a-year The Sarmatian Review retains the copyright for all United States. Hopefully, the present gen- exams as opposed to a multitude of small materials included in print and online issues. Cop- eration of East Central Europeans work- ies for personal or educational use are permitted assignments that American students are ing in conditions of freedom will make so familiar with. The result is brain drain: by section 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. up for this wrongful neglect. Permission to redistribute, republish, or use SR some of the best Polish and German in- materials in advertising or promotion must be sub- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright tellectuals and scientists end up at Ameri- mitted in writing to the Editor. made NATO expansion a cornerstone of Editor: Ewa M. Thompson (Rice University). can universities. American foreign policy. The transfer of Professor Anna Cienciala’s thorough Editorial Advisory Committee: Janusz A. Poland, Hungary and the Czech Repub- Ihnatowicz (University of Saint Thomas), Marek review of a book on Gwardia Ludowa- Kimmel (Rice University), Alex Kurczaba (Uni- lic from the Russian bloc to NATO mem- Armia Ludowa compiled by three young versity of Illinois), Witold J. Lukaszewski (Sam bership has changed conventional force Polish scholars is remarkably instructive Houston State University), Michael J. Mikos (Uni- ratios dramatically in favor of the West. in its assessment of primary sources and versity of Wisconsin), Jan Rybicki (Rice Univer- It also wrote finis to one of the darkest sity), James R. Thompson (Rice University), Piotr their interpretations. While Polish schol- chapters of human history. Wilczek (University of Silesia-Katowice and Uni- ars often publish crucial materials, their versity of Illinois-Chicago). The remainder of this issue is dedicated scholarly apparatus owes much to the Web Pages: Lisa Spiro (Rice University). to problems of postcommunism: the situ- conditions of conspiracy under which Web Address: <http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~sarmatia>. ation at Polish universities, ethnicity and Sarmatian Review Council: Marla K. Burns (Burns scholarship was conducted under com- ethnic relations in Central and Eastern & Associates), Boguslaw Godlewski (Diagnostic munism. Some unscholarly habits have Clinic of Houston), Iga J. Henderson, Danuta Z. Europe, and the continuing necessity to to be shed off and a standardized tone Hutchins (Buena Vista University), Joseph A. dedicate Central European energies to adopted to find an international audience Jachimczyk (J .A. Jachimczyk Forensic Center of Har- problems that had long been solved in ris County, Texas), Leonard M. Krazynski (Krazynski to which Polish scholars aspire. Western Europe because Western Europe & Associates), Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm. Dr. Bohdan Vitvitsky’s review of Pro- did not suffer half a century of Soviet oc- fessor Roman Szporluk’s important book In this issue: cupation. throws a welcome light on the situation The Sarmatian Review Index...........779 In that connection, we are pleased to of Ukrainians in Russia. How sad that in Mirosław Skibniewski, Strategic plan- publish a paper comparing American and conditions of free Russia, not one uni- ning and Development Issues for Polish Polish universities. Professor Mirosław versity considers it appropriate to intro- Colleges and Universities.................781 Skibniewski rightly points out that while duce Ukrainian Studies as an area sepa- Małgorzata Warchoł-Schlottmann, American universities have been chang- rate from Russian Studies. The implica- Polonia in Germany..........................786 ing fast (perhaps too fast), Polish tions of this neglect are many. BOOKS Received...........................792 universities have avoided change at any Finally, one of our book reviewers has Anna Cienciala, Tajne Oblicze GL-AL cost. In conditions of Soviet-occupied Po- important things to say about Jerzy PPR (review)....................................796 land, resistance to change was under- Urban’s Nie, Jerzy Braun’s numerous Bohdan Vitvitsky, Russia, Ukraine and standable, but in present conditions it of- books and booklets, and Jerzy Narbutt’s the Breakup of the SU (review).......800 ten amounts to a perpetuation of perks essays. Other reviews deal with histo- Steven Kaminski, Poems.................801 for the upper lever of a lethargic profes- ries of Poland and Ukraine, a revealing LETTERS........................................801 soriate. We endorse Skibniewski’s call for book on the cult of Witold Gombrowicz Walenty Tyszkiewicz, Polish Diaspora in the abolition of the habilitacja, or the higher in Poland, and more. ∆ Turkmenistan...................................803 doctorate, which hampers the young 1234567890123456789 About the Authors............................803 scholars’ ability to conduct and publish 1234567890123456789 April 2001 THE SARMATIAN REVIEW 779 The Sarmatian Review Index American statistics 2000 Poverty rate: 14.8 percent in 1992, 11.8 percent in 1999. Unemployment: 7.5 percent in 1992, 3.9 percent in September 2000. Life expectancy: 75.8 years for those born in 1992, 77.1 years for those born in 2000. Demographics: Hispanic population increased by 33 percent; black population, by 10 percent; whites, by 3 percent. Personal savings rate: 8.7 percent in 1992 (savings as a percentage of after-tax income), -0.1 percent in 1999. Trade deficit: $37 billion in 1992, $353 billion (est.) in 2000. Teen drug use: 14.4 percent in 1992, 25.9 percent in 1999. Obesity (30 pounds or more overweight): 12.7 percent of adult Americans in 1992, 18.9 percent in 1999. Source: Nancy Benac, “New president will inherit richer, healthier, more diverse nation,” Houston Chronicle, 5 November 2000. Health Percentage of Russian prison population who have tuberculosis: 10 percent. Among these, the percentage of those who are developing resistant forms of the disease due to interrupted course of treatment: 30 percent. Estimated total number of AIDS cases in Russia in 2000: 600,000. Source: WHO Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland, as reported by AFP, 3 November 2000. Number of registered cases of AIDS in Russia in November 2000: 71,000. Number of HIV positive cases in Irkutsk, the Russian Federation, in January 1999: 37. Number of HIV positive cases in Irkutsk in November 2000: 7,500. Estimated percentage of drug users among people aged from 15–25 in Irkutsk: 25 percent to 33 percent. Source: AFP, 12 December 2000. Number of people in Russia who are linked to the country's growing drug scene: 4 million. Number of regular drug abusers in Russia: 2 million. Source: Russian prosecutor general Vladimir Ustinov, as reported by AFP (Moscow), 4 November 2000; also AFP, 29 November 2000. Number of drug addicts in Poland: 40,000 to 60,000. Source: AFP (Warsaw), 26 October 2000. Number of registered drug addicts in China in 2000: 681,000. Estimated number of drug addicts in China: four million.