Anna Applebaum, an American journalist and historian, played a significant role in supporting Poland’s anti-communist Solidarity movement. During the 1980s, she helped smuggle U.S. dollars into Poland to fund the underground opposition, which was fighting for democracy against the Soviet-backed regime.
Her deep interest in Eastern Europe led her to become a correspondent for The Economist in Warsaw after the fall of communism. There, she covered the region’s political and economic transformation. It was during this time that she met Radosław Sikorski, a Polish journalist and politician. Sikorski, a vocal anti-communist, had left Poland in the early 1980s and studied at Oxford, where he later became involved in British conservative circles.
Their shared passion for politics, history, and international affairs brought them together. The couple married in 1992 and built a life at the intersection of journalism and politics. Applebaum continued her career as a respected historian, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Gulag: A History in 2004. Meanwhile, Sikorski became a key figure in Polish politics, serving as Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and later, Speaker of Parliament.
Applebaum’s deep understanding of Central and Eastern Europe shaped her later works, including Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe and Twilight of Democracy. As an outspoken critic of authoritarianism, she continues to analyze global political trends, while Sikorski remains active in European politics. Their partnership reflects a shared commitment to democracy, history, and diplomacy.