Change (party)

Background Zmiana was founded in February 2015 by Mateusz Piskorski, a geopolitical analyst and former parliamentarian of the far-left populist party Self-Defence of the Republic of Poland. Piskorski came in contact with Russian philosopher Aleksander Dugin in 2004 during his observatory mission to the 2004 Belarusian parliamentary election. Piskorski then went on to participate in the 2005 Transnistrian parliamentary election as an international observer; after returning to Poland, he proclaimed that he would work towards a Polish recognition of Transnistria. In the face of electoral gridlock in 2006, Samoobrona decided to enter a coalition with right-wing parties Law and Justice and League of Polish Families. This was done despite limited political overlap - Samoobrona was described a left-wing, nationalist and religious conservative. In response to the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Piskorski became an observer in the 2014 Crimean status referendum, deeming it fair and justifying Russian actions as "a natural reaction to a situation in which country’s compatriots are threatened by Ukrainian nationalists". In 2007, Piskorski also founded the European Center for Geopolitical Analysis (ECAG), which became the think tank of Zmiana. ECAG promotes Eurasianist ideology that advocates for a Eurasian society with Russia at its center. ECAG members were frequently invited to regions such as Crimea, Abkhazia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as countries such as Belarus, Libya and Syria, as electoral observers. In 2012, Piskorski travelled to Moscow and establishment more political links there. Foundation Zmiana was founded on 21 February 2015 by factions of communist youth organisations, former Samoobrona members, Falanga, as well as minor trade union, socialist, and anti-imperialist movements. Zmiana's founding congress also included a speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Donetsk People’s Republic, who attended through a video message as he was denied entry into Poland. In April 2015, youth activists of Zmiana protested against the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the victims of the Smolensk air disaster in Grudziądz. The party also called for an official recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. In the same year, Zmiana welcomed Night Wolves on the Polish-Belarusian border. In response to the party's actions, Polish political scientist Grzegorz Baziur called for the arrest of the party's members, writing: "In the event of a possible Russian-Polish conflict or a real threat of one, they should be interned, like many activists of the Polish Communist Workers' Party in 1919-1920, who also demanded a change in the political system of the newly reborn Second Polish Republic and its incorporation into Soviet Russia at the time." though it ultimately failed to register as a party in the country's party registry. In November 2015, Zmiana organized a protest at the Turkish embassy in Poland against the 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown, where Türkiye shot down a Russian jet that supposedly repeated Turkish airspace. Piskorski's arrest On 17 May 2016, Piskorski was imprisoned for espionage on the behalf of Russia and China. Marxists circles criticized the arrest, noting that "what is spectacular the accusation was changing from being spy of Russia to being spy of China or Iraq"; some also connected Piskorski's arrest to Lepper's death, as Piskorski was writing a book about Samoobrona and the unexplained death of its leader. Law and Justice is alleged to have been involved in Lepper's death, and it became the ruling party in the 2015 Polish parliamentary election, shortly before Piskorski's arrest. In August 2016, during Piskorski's imprisonment, a member of the party's national leadership, Bartosz Tomassi, was also arrested by the police. Tomassi published photos of him holding a communist flag along with that of Zmiana, and also announced on social media that he would partake in a "new Olympic discipline" which would be "shooting people in the back of the head in the Katyń mass grave, against the clock". He was charged with promoting a communist regime. He pled guilty and voluntarily submitted himself to punishment. Piskorski's release and aftermath Piskorski's supporters and the Zmiana party raised funds and managed to have Piskorski released on bail in 2019. Charges against Piskorski were later dropped. In 2023, Polish political scientist noted that no judgement was ever passed on Piskorski's case, and argued that "in fact, Piskorski might not have been a spy". Shortly after being released, Piskorski publicly met with Piotr Ikonowicz, the leader of the far-left Social Justice Movement (RSS), in the headquarters of RSS. Both men announced that Zmiana and RSS are considering a political alliance, and announced a joint initiative to help unjustly arrested people in Poland. Ikonowicz praised Zmiana, arguing that "Zmiana has a program on social and economic issues that is 90% consistent with the RSS program." RSS was known for its close cooperation with the Polish Communist Party. In the 2019 Polish elections for Senate, party vice-chairman ran in Senate Constituency 18 (Chełm) on the lists of , coming third with 7.87% of the vote (7,958 votes). When in detention, Piskorski was questioned about alleged ties to (Germany), Piotr Łuszczak (Die Linke, Germany) and Anna Eurdová (ČSSD, Czechia), as well as the United Romania Party, People's Party Our Slovakia and the Hungarian Revolutionary Movement. ran on the electoral list of Repair Poland Movement. He obtained 163 votes in total, and did not win a seat. He died in 2025. In the 2025 Polish presidential election, the party did not field its own candidate, but backed candidates that aligned with its foreign policy proposals. It has ties with Maciej Maciak, the candidate of the Prosperity and Peace Movement that is considered pro-Russian, as well as with Grzegorz Braun, with Piskorski being a member of his electoral committee. After the first round, Piskorski wrote that "Grzegorz Braun is the only one with the potential to build a Polish, sovereign, national-conservative option." After the election, Zmiana became affiliated with Braun's party, the Confederation of the Polish Crown In 2026, it was announced that Piskorski would run on the list of the broad fire extinguisher front in the 2027 Polish parliamentary election. Zmiana has also become affiliated with Rodacy Kamraci, who also became a part of Braun's broad fire extinguisher front. == Ideology ==

Zmiana is a left-wing, anti-American, and pro-Russian party. and the European Union. Political observers noted that the party is shaped by Polish socialism based on the People’s Republic of Poland, as well as by the beliefs of the Russian nationalist philosopher Aleksander Dugin. The party also calls for restoration of the 'good name' of the Red Army, and restoration of Soviet monuments in Poland. According to its ideological declaration, Zmiana is a “democratic, anti-capitalist, patriotic, internationalist, peaceful, and progressive force” which “represents the interests of working people, the unemployed, the youth, and the elderly and pensioners” in liberating Poland from the “domination of the structures of big capital and the imperialist powers” and opposing the ruling “party of the Third World War.” • nationalization and socialization of strategic sectors of the Polish economy; • establishment of a welfare state; • reindustrialization; • protection of Polish agriculture; • reconciliation and deeper ties with "the countries resisting American hegemony", such as Russia and China; • refuting the "Russophobic, anti-communist" negative assessments of the Polish People’s Republic in Polish media and education. Zmiana declares itself as an enemy of "USA, NATO, the bourgeoisie, fascists, and Ukraine". It opposes Israel, denouncing it as an example of "Jewish fascism", and postulates a global workers' movement against militarism. Zmiana is also supportive of the fallen presidents Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. The party supports pro-Russian separatists in Donbas and considers the 2014 Crimean status referendum legitimate; it also declared its opposition to the "confrontational and anti-Russian" policies of the Polish government. Explaining why Zmiana considers Russian actions justified, Piskorski argued that "Russia’s support for Ukrainian separatists is a natural response to a situation where compatriots are endangered by Ukrainian nationalists." Zmiana argues that Poland has become "a kind of transmission belt for Washington's interests", growing so politically and economically dependent on USA that Poland is "ready to commit any stupidity at Uncle Sam's request". The party opposes Polish membership in NATO, believing that it creates dependence on the military-industrial complex of Western countries, and has dragged Poland into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Zmiana argues that NATO is pushing Poland into a conflict with Russian Federation, and warns of the possibility of 'second Western Betrayal' where the main NATO countries would not defend Poland. The party is staunchly opposed to the presence of American troops in Poland, with its activists stating that "we say no to the presence of American troops in Poland, just as we say no to the presence of all foreign troops in Poland", and that "a nation that does not have the exclusive right to station its own army in its own country is not really an independent nation and is not capable of conducting its own policy". Zmiana argues that "the CIA and NATO decide what happens in Poland". The party has been described as anti-establishment, and contains far-left, national-conservative and left-nationalist tendencies. Zmiana calls itself "the first non-American party in Poland", and emphasizes its anti-liberalism and anti-capitalism. Polish political scientist Paweł Gotowiecki describes the party as "Polish Syriza" (before Syriza's moderation), while also noting the pro-Russian views of the party as well as heavy inspiration from Dugin and his Eurasian movement. Zmiana's postulates are also comparable to that of Samoobrona, a party that Piskorski previously belonged to that Gotowiecki classifies as "populist-leftist, agrarian-populist, populist-nationalist, radically populist, popular-nationalist, or belonging to the national left." Gotowiecki also rejects the allegations that Zmiana was organized by Russian authorities, arguing that the party remains too marginal to be influential in politics. == Electoral history ==

Sejm Senate Presidential == References ==