Since 1997, FORUM has been an integral part of the landscape of European studies. In addition to contemporary history, it offers insights into the history of ideas and reviews books on Central and Eastern European history. It offers more than just history-for instance, interdisciplinary discussions by political scientists, literary, legal, and economic scholars, and philosophers. FORUM sees itself as a bridge between East and West. Through the translation and publication of texts and contributions from Russian, Polish, and Czech researchers, it offers the Western reader access to the scholarly discourse of Eastern Europe.
In his classic book on the history of Russian philosophy, Vasilij Zenkovskij singled out Simon Frank (1877-1950) as the most influential Russian philosopher of all time. Frank's oeuvre is informed by two main sources: Russian-Orthodox spirituality on the one hand and Western, mainly German, philosophical traditions on the other. To honor Frank's impact and significance, the Institute for Central and Eastern European Studies (ZIMOS) decided to translate his most important writings into German in 1996. 17 years later, an edition of eight volumes had been completed, which served as the occasion for a symposium on Frank's work. This issue of Forum collects the research presented during that symposium.
