Republika

Republika was a Polish post-punk/coldwave band that released two albums and three singles between 1983 and 1986 on Pronit/Tonpress. 

Members: Grzegorz Ciechowski (vocals, keyboards, flute), Sławomir Ciesielski (drums, vocals), Zbigniew Krzywański (guitar, vocals), Paweł Kuczyński (bass, 1980-90)

Background

Republika formed in 1981 in Toruń when singer-keyboardist Grzegorz Ciechowski, drummer Sławomir Ciesielski, bassist Paweł Kuczyński, and guitarist Zbigniew Krzywański rebuilt the former Res Publica around a new repertoire.

Guitarist-singer Wiesław Ruciński founded Res Publica in the late 1970s around the Studencki Klub Pracy Twórczej Od Nowa, where director Waldemar Rudziecki provided rehearsal space and equipment. Ruciński and Kuczyński already collaborated on music for Teatr Panoptykon and Bielany Radio. They first welcomed guitarist Zbigniew Ruciński, joined soon after by Ciesielski and Ciechowski. 

Ciechowski was born Aug. 29, 1957, in Tczew. He took piano lessons from a local organist and attended music school in Tczew. He played flute in Nocny Pociąg and Jazz Formation, then studied Polish philology at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and wrote poetry through the Od Nowa circle. Ciesielski attended primary music school, where he balanced xylophone, vibraphone, and timpani practice with compulsory choir classes.

Res Publica appeared at the Muzyka Młodej Generacji presentation at the 1979 Pop Session in Sopot, where Krzywański saw the group.

Krzywański was born Aug. 19, 1961, in Drawsko Pomorskie and studied accordion for five years at a local music center. He later played guitar in a high-school group at the local cultural center and entered Nicolaus Copernicus University to study biology. In late 1980, Krzywański replaced the departed Ruciński. The reconfigured quartet rehearsed four or five times each week for several hours at Od Nowa, with Ciechowski on voice, piano, and keyboards.

Republika played its first public concert April 25, 1981, at Od Nowa. They rejected nearly the entire set that night and kept “Biała flaga.” Subsequent rehearsals removed extended solos and simplified their arrangements. Andrzej Ludew took over management later that year and developed the black-and-white logo and stage design with Ciechowski. Republika played Warsaw student clubs and Rockowisko in Łódź, then won the journalists’ prize at the second Festiwal Nowofalowych Grup Rockowych in Toruń.

Republika entered the Tonpress studio in Warsaw from March 20–23, 1982, and recorded “Kombinat,” “Gadające głowy,” and “Układ sił.” The group used those recordings for radio circulation and later Tonpress singles. Republika assembled a separate ten-song album program from material developed since spring 1981 and entered Wawrzyszew Studio and Polskie Nagrania in Warsaw on Sept. 4, 1982, for the sessions that became Nowe sytuacje.

Discography:

• Nowe sytuacje (1983)
• “Kombinat” / “Gadające głowy” (1983)
• “Układ sił” / “Sexy Doll” (1983)
• Nieustanne tango (1984)
• “Sam na linie” / “Moja krew” (1986)

Sources:

• Zbigniew Krzywański interview, Metropolia Toruńska, Feb. 25, 2026 — particularly useful because Krzywański gives first-person details on his accordion training, high-school group, biology studies, the 1979 Res Publica show at Sopot, Adam Stacewicz, his October 1980 audition, and the post-April 1981 overhaul. (metropoliatorunska.pl)
• Rafał Księżyk, Fala. Rok 1984 i polski postpunk — the published excerpt quotes Od Nowa director Waldemar Rudziecki on Res Publica: Wiesław and Zbigniew Ruciński, Kuczyński, the earlier Teatr Panoptykon/Bielany Radio partnership, and the later arrival of Ciesielski and Ciechowski. It also identifies Rudziecki as the initial manager and documents the Toruń festival breakthrough. (Legimi)
• Culture.pl, Grzegorz Ciechowski biography — supports Ciechowski’s Aug. 29, 1957 birth in Tczew, piano and flute, Nocny Pociąg, Jazz Formation, and the transition into Res Publica/Republika. (Culture.pl)
• Polskie Radio / PAP biographical material on Ciechowski — adds the local organist, music school, Tczew schooling, Polish philology at Nicolaus Copernicus University, and early poetry. (Polskie Radio)
• Sławomir Ciesielski interview, Perkusista — Ciesielski recalls primary music school, orchestral percussion instruments, choir work, and the experimentation that produced the early Republika rhythm language with Kuczyński. (Perkusista)
• Culture.pl, “Biała flaga, czarna wstęga…” — fixes the April 25, 1981 Od Nowa concert and Ciechowski’s account that the band discarded virtually the whole program except “Biała flaga.” It also credits manager Andrzej Ludew with the logo and visual identity. (Culture.pl)
• Antyradio anniversary history — gives the March 20–23, 1982 Tonpress session for “Kombinat,” “Gadające głowy,” and “Układ sił,” plus the later Polish Radio dates. (antyradio.pl)
• Original-release data for Nowe sytuacje — confirms the Sept. 4–10 and Sept. 20–22, 1982 Warsaw album sessions and the Polton LPP-003 release. (Archiwum Polskiego Rocka 1960 – 2026)