The Sociology of Polish Travels to Countries of the Former Soviet Union: Two Examples

This article analyzes two recently published books, by Agata Bachórz and Anna Horolets, on the travels of Polish tourists in countries of the former Soviet Union. These works point to the formation of a mature Polish school of research into discourse on niche tourism. They have been read as complementary analyses of an important social phenomenon which has not previously been studied: a fairly specific type of tourist travel toward the East (in the broad sense). Attention is called to the importance of such analyses for studying the identity of the Polish intelligentsia and further for understanding the significance of the notional East and West for Polish national identity in terms of the long duration