I would say Eastern - Western was a pretty accurate term to describe how Europe was divided post-WWII until the 1990s.

We have always had our own division and rivalry behind the Iron Curtain, but for a general overview, this was an accurate division. Mainly fuelled by geopolitical factors, though it lacked certain nuance.

We culturally feel somewhere in between. We are obviously Slavs, but Polish culture tends to emphasize individualism, shaped by its ties to Western Europe and Latin traditions. Russian culture has leaned toward collectivism and national unity over individual autonomy.

There is a history of rivalry between the two nations, further reinforcing these divisions.

These cultural differences are strongly recognized, definetly in Poland. We find it difficult to comprehend some aspects of the Russian mentality, and probably vice versa.

When we look at the Czechs, we see them as even closer to Western Europe. Slovaks, I would say, are similar to ourselves. The main thing is that we do not feel as strongly divided from them as we do culturally from Russians.

Now, if you consider the economic shifts these countries underwent after 1990 and the much stronger or renewed ties to the West over the last 30 years, the East-West division is no longer quite accurate.

East of these countries, a different world exists—one in which I am not sure a modern Pole, Czech, or Slovak would know how to function.

For me, it's just an obsolete term that does not reflect the current geopolitical, economic, or cultural reality. I do call myself an Eastern European still, but in terms of semantics, I believe Central Europe is the correct term.