Baltic Studies Research Articles

Integrating environmental sustainability into food-based dietary guidelines in the Nordic countries

The overall aim of this paper was to provide background knowledge to the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 Committee for integrating environmental sustainability in a framework for national Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) within the Nordics and Baltics. Additionally, this paper aims to give an overview of recent Nordic scientific literature on environmental impact of foods and dietary patterns and of the FBDG of the Nordics. Finally, we suggest methods for developing national sustainable FBDG. Nordic and Baltic studies on sustainability of diets were searched in August 2022 and complemented with additional relevant literature. The studies show that current diets are far from environmentally sustainable, exceeding planetary boundaries for most impact categories; meat and dairy products being the largest contributors to dietary greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) and land use. Scenario, modelling, optimisation and intervention studies confirm the potential of shifting towards more plant-based diets to improve overall diet quality in terms of both health and environmental sustainability. Such diets comprised of vegetables, fruits, legumes, potatoes, whole grain and refined cereal products, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils, with animal foods in moderate or limited amounts. The FBDG in the Nordics promotes more plant-based diets than the current average diet but could improve from further integration of environmental sustainability. To form basis for sustainable FBDG dietary modelling at the national level, prioritising health outcomes and nutritional adequacy is essential. Second, integrating environmental sustainability involves estimating the impact of food choices and amounts on GHGE, land and water use, eutrophication and biodiversity loss. Exploring positive and negative implications of fortified foods and supplementation in relation to nutrient intake, health and environmental sustainability may be needed. Implementing dietary transition requires solutions beyond FBDG to ensure affordability, acceptability and ease of adaption.

History of Lithuanian press of national rennaisance and its creator: a subjective version

This publication includes a letter from a literary worker of the Lithuanian national movement in Lithuania Minor, Martynas Jankus (1858–1946), to a professor of Baltic studies at the University of Göttingen, Eduard Hermann (1869–1950), written in 1929. The letter consists of a reply to a question from the linguist about the state of the Lithuanian press at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The author of the letter characterized the publishing of the illegal press in Lithuania Minor and its secret transportation to Lithuania under the rule of Tsarist Russia. He wrote about the most significant literary and publishing workers and the problems of the publishing trade. The letter provides rich biographical data on Martynas Jankus.

Introduction

Nature and culture have hundreds of aspects and manifestations in modern societies. Volume 7 of the Yearbook of the Balkan and Baltic Studies aims to highlight some of the trends emerging and results achieved in the field of cultural studies, demonstrating how culture and nature interrelate and complement each other. The volume contains a series of articles on religion, human-nature relations, linguistic phenomena, crises, specific spheres of folklore, activities of the Tartu-Moscow School, and the mindscape of a notable individual.

Introduction: New Geographies of Scandinavian Studies. Moving maps, reciprocal images, emerging communities

This article provides an introduction to the Research Network “New Geographies of Scandinavian Studies” while at the same time discussing some of its main concerns and questions: the position of the Nordic countries and the role of Scandinavian Studies in the changing geopolitical landscape of post-Cold War Europe. The collapse of the Eastern bloc in 1989–1991 led to a reconfiguration of the European political map. This situation also entailed new possibilities for international and cross-disciplinary research: A new understanding of Nordic and Baltic studies was institutionalized and new regional concepts were developed as alternatives to Cold War geopolitics. The network “New Geographies of Scandinavian Studies” is rooted in this ongoing reorientation of the field. The article discusses some of the potentials and challenges of this new agenda of Scandinavian Studies in the context of the new geopolitical confrontation between Russia and the West after Russia’s military attack on Ukraine in February 2022.

Report of the President of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study

Report of the President of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study

СПОРТ У МІЖВОЄННІЙ ЛАТВІЇ (1918–1940): ОГЛЯД ЛАТВІЙСЬКОЇ ІСТОРІОГРАФІЇ

The revolution in the Russian Empire and the defeat of Germany in the First World War opened a window of opportunity for the people of Latvia. For the first time in its history, the country was able to appear on the political map of the world. However, this became possible only through the armed liberation struggle (1918–1920). Victory in the War of Independence, like that of neighboring Lithuania and Estonia, marked an era of independence that lasted until the Soviet occupation in 1940. In cultural and social aspects, these more than two decades of freedom became a real national renaissance. The revival was understood as a multifaceted process affecting all spheres of Latvian life, with culture, education, and science as a priority. Sport was not an exception in it either, on the contrary, it was an important element of the general mosaic. He played a great consolidating, upbringing and ideological role in the life of Latvia. This is characteristic of both periods of the interwar history of the Latvian state – «democratic» or «parliamentary» (1920–1934) and especially «authoritarian» during the «May 15 Latvia» or «Ulmanis era» (1934–1940). The article presents the first attempt in Ukrainian historical science to analyze the achievements of Latvian historiography on this issue. Attention is paid to studies created at different historical stages, by representatives of different scientific and ideological conjunctures. This publication claims the role of a structural segment of a further comprehensive study of the history of interwar Latvia, with an emphasis on various spheres of the country’s political, military and cultural life in that era. At the same time, such research is embedded in the general architecture of more global historical Baltic studies in Ukraine.

KNOWLEDGE AND INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS FOR SMART AND SUSTAINABLE TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT

The complexity of contemporary territorial development challenges – such as uneven growth trajectories triggered by monocentric development, social and economic inequalities, depopulation of rural and remote territories, environmental degradation – calls for addressing them in a systemic, multi-level and cross-sectoral manner. Collaborative and participatory approaches are increasingly recognised as a precondition for smart and sustainable territorial development where local resources and digital technologies are employed in ways that stimulate economic growth, increase social integration and wellbeing, and improve environmental conditions. We apply the framework of quadruple helix to explore the role of knowledge and innovation partnerships (KIPs) in three key areas of contemporary territorial development in Latvia, i.e., regional food systems, rural-urban interfaces, and rural digitalisation. The study is based on a review and synthesis of theme-specific results from across 11 national and European projects carried out by the Baltic Studies Centre since 2007, and national expert interviews. The results suggest that KIPs in rural and territorial development contexts have specific constellations and activities both within and across the three areas. It can be more challenging to establish KIPs there than in urban surroundings because of scarcer resources. When established, KIPs allow for pooling resources of different stakeholders for joint practical problem solving. Improved understanding and knowledge of local resources and systems within which those resources circulate, and targeted support for multi-actor knowledge and innovation collaboration within and across territories, including rural-urban ones, are needed to enable KIPs for sustainable territorial development.

Baltic Studies at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Round Table on the 25th Anniversary of Research and the Release of the 10th Collection of the Serial Publication “Russia and the Baltic States”

The academic meeting was held on the occasion of 25 years of studies into the history of the Baltic states and peoples in the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences and of the publication of the 10th issue of the series “Russia and Baltia”. The meeting was opened by the Scientific Director of IVI RAS, Academician A. O. Chubarian. The head of the Centre for the History of the Northern Europe and the Baltic States Dr. A. A. Komarov, the Centre's researchers Dr. E. L. Nazarova and Dr. Y. L. Mikhailova, as well as the researcher of the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dr. I. A. Kukushkina made presentations on the reasons and main objectives of this research area. The speakers stressed that the need for a systematic study of the history of the Baltic countries and peoples arose in IVI RAS after the reestablishment of the independent Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania republics in 1991. The history of the Eastern Baltic region as a part of the Nordic space is studied in parallel with the history of Scandinavia and Finland. The main problems to be studied are related to the history of the formation of the modern Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian nations in the context of the imperial policy of the Russian state, the creation of the Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian states, their domestic and foreign policies, including their diplomatic relations with the Soviet Russia/USSR, the history of Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian diasporas in Russia and the post-Soviet space.

Marija Gimbutas (Gimbutienė): the Baltic Goddess

Marija Gimbutas (Gimbutienė) is a renowned archaeologist who specialised in European prehistory. This paper explores her life and work, including her personal biography, showing how her upbringing in Lithuania shaped her academic interests and orientations. This paper also reviews her professional achievements and contributions via the lenses of seven aspects of her academic life, namely her time in higher education, her work on Lithuanian folklore and symbolism, her explorations of Old Europe during the Neolithic, her Kurgan Hypothesis and engagement with Baltic studies, her excavations in southeast Europe, her work on the Goddess, and her symbolism work. It also examines academic and popular reactions to her writing and her influence on scholars and public discourse.

Introduction

This edition of the Yearbook of Balkan and Baltic Studies focuses on discussion and ongoing research presented to an academic community of scholars in Balkan and Baltic Studies at a conference held on 9-11 June 2020 in Riga, Latvia, organized by the International Society of Balkan and Baltic Studies. This annual conference was hosted by the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Latvia and was jointly supported by the Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Estonian and Latvian Academies of Sciences, the Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies; the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum, the Estonian Literary Museum and the Lithuanian Institute of History. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held over Zoom. In spite of the physical distance that had to be maintained, however, academic discussions were vibrant and fruitful, resulting in this joint edition of the Yearbook. Scholars from various countries and academic schools presented their research on spirituality, religion, identity and culture in the Baltic and Balkan regions and analysed the dynamics of religious and national transformations. The conference also examined the impact of globalization on religious communities and spiritual processes, and touched on aspects of social and cultural transformations in the modern era and their challenges. This necessitated a focus on migration, transnationalism, secularization and the search for the new spiritual means and models. Our academic community also analysed developments regarding the place of belonging and transformations of the historical memories of religious communities in the Baltic and Balkan regions.

Lithuanica aliter: Encompassing Philology as to be applied to Baltic studies

Lithuanica aliter: Encompassing Philology as to be applied to Baltic studies

Milestones in Baltic Studies in Moscow

The article describes the history of research on Baltic languages in Moscow from the second half of the 19th century, when the Lithuanian language began to be taught at Moscow University. At different times, the Moscow State University, the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the “Baltrušaitis House” at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in the Russian Federation, and the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences were the centers of research on Baltic studies in Moscow. The article describes the main directions in development of Balto-Slavic studies in Moscow, gives the names of prominent scholars in this field and provides a bibliography of the major publications.

Pedagogic Corpus of Lithuanian: A New Resource for Learning and Teaching Lithuanian as a Foreign Language

Summary The paper aims to present the first pedagogic corpus of Lithuanian i.e. monolingual specialized corpus, prepared for learning and teaching Lithuanian in a foreign language classroom. The corpus has been collected as a result of the project “Lithuanian Academic Scheme for International Cooperation in Baltic Studies”. It is motivated by the need to have a more appropriate resource which could be representative, authentic and relevant enough concerning the process of learning and teaching Lithuanian as it is known that language represented in other existing corpora of Lithuanian (e.g. Corpus of Contemporary Lithuanian, 140 m tokens) is too complex to use for learning activities. The pedagogic corpus includes authentic Lithuanian texts, selected using such criteria as a learner-relevant communicative function and genre. Spoken language as well as written language are represented in the corpus. The size of the corpus is 669.000 tokens: 111.000 tokens from texts and spoken language for A1–A2 levels, 558.000 tokens from texts and spoken language for B1–B2 levels (according to the CEFR – Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). In this paper, we aim to discuss in detail the written subpart of the corpus (containing 620.000 tokens) which includes levelled texts from coursebooks and unlevelled texts from other sources. The level-appropriate labels were assigned automatically to the texts from other sources and this text classification procedure is presented in the paper. The texts from coursebooks and other sources could be classified into 29 text types (dialogs, narratives, information, etc.) and 4 groups according to the communicative aims: informational texts, educational texts, advertising and fiction. Informational texts comprise the biggest part of the corpus; three mostly represented text types differ in coursebook texts and other sources: the most common coursebook texts are informational, narratives, and dialogs (appr. 78% of all coursebook texts). Texts from other sources are represented with richer diversity – appr. 73% of all texts from this subpart can be classified into 5 text types: subtitles, informational texts, educational texts, fiction, and advisory texts. The future work making pedagogic corpus available for learners and its possible application are presented in the closing remarks.

Vēsturiskie ciemu nosaukumi Piejūras reģionālajā parkā: kuršu un kursenieku pēdas Klaipēdas apkārtnē

The paper deals with the analysis of the toponyms of the historical Klaipėda region (Ger. Memelland), the northern part of former East Prussia. Research material comes from historical and cartographic sources of various periods. The accessibility of these sources enables marked expansion of the data that was used by the initiators of this theme in the middle of the twentieth century. A fairly small seaside territory (2,735 ha in the mainland), in which the concept of the regional park is directly related to the protection of cultural heritage, was selected for research. Methods of diachronic and comparative linguistics, as well as of geolinguistics, are combined with analysis of historical and genealogical data. Special attention is paid to the traces of fifteenth-to-eighteenth-century migration from Courland in the onomastics in the Klaipėda region. The problem of regional lexical identification, investigation of the chronology of the documentation of names, and the search for specific linguistic features addressed in the paper allow raising the hypotheses of the origin and the interaction of languages. The actualisation of historical and obsolete names for the needs of the Baltic, historical, and cultural studies is approached as an important issue. In the sixteenth century, the northern part of Prussia was a zone of intensive contacts of the Baltic languages. The personal names recorded here at that time point to undisputed links between the dialects of Courland and north-western Lithuanians. Now it is difficult to say which part of the toponyms has reached us from the old Curonians and which toponyms immigrated from Courland – not only due to the hypothetical nature of the reconstructed system of close languages, but also because analysis is made complicated by varying orthography in German characters. In the seventeenth century and later, the expansion of Latvian onomastics in the Klaipėda region decreased, but even then, there would appear names the etymology of which is more transparent in Latvian and not Lithuanian. The influence of Curonian and neo-Curonian (the Kursenieku language) is stronger in the seaside territories of fishermen and in the locations where fishermen became assimilated in the farmers’ community. However, the names of the villages situated at some distance from the sea are more frequently related to Lithuanian anthroponyms. In the northern part of the Klaipėda region, German toponyms were rare exceptions even during the period of intensive germanization. Although in the early twentieth century, the origin of the official oikonyms used in the Lithuanian and German environment often differed, the absolute majority of German oikonyms are of Baltic origin. Lituanization of the names of villages was a natural result of the residents’ assimilation process. In the process of the reconstruction of historical toponyms, it is possible to form a reserve list of names, part of which could be brought back for ‘the second life’ by giving these names to streets, parts of the regional park, hotels, and other objects.

Rukopisný Litevský slovník v kontextu české baltistiky první poloviny 19. století: koncepční záměr slovníku a otázka autorství

This study focuses on the manuscript Litevský slovník [Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language] (shelf mark IV A 11), kept at the Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the National Museum Library. This handwritten lexicographic relic is dated to the first half of the 19th century and contains 1,701 entries. The nature of the Lithuanian Dictionary determines its significance. It is a comprehensive and complete philological study (organised alphabetically from A to Ž) that tries to answer crucial questions of Balto-Slavic relations. This article places the Lithuanian Dictionary within the context of Czech Baltic studies, particularly focusing on the matter of its authorship. Concerning this question, the article builds on previous research, in which F. L. Čelakovský was suggested as the likely author of the Dictionary. It updates previous research and adds new findings revealed by a professional handwriting analysis. A separate chapter focuses on the nature of the work, demonstrating the character of the Lithuanian Dictionary on several examples.

Latviešu valodas kā svešvalodas apguve Āzijā

The Latvian language as a foreign language (LATS) is learned both in Latvia and abroad. It can be done in higher education institutions, as well as in different courses and self-directed learning. Outside Latvia, there are many countries and higher education institutions where it is possible to acquire LATS. In some higher education institutions, the Latvian language has been taught since the beginning of the 20th century. The oldest LATS teaching traditions are in North America, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania and Australia. In some universities, such as Stockholm University, Masaryk University, Saint Petersburg State University, etc., academically strong study programs in Baltic Studies were established. Over time, study programs have been closed for various reasons, at most leaving the Latvian language as an optional course. At some universities, the Latvian language course has been discontinued. Although in some higher education institutions outside Latvia LATS could be acquired starting from the beginning of the 20th century, the most significant interest in the Latvian language was after the restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia. Then many higher education institutions in Europe established Latvian language and culture study programs. This interest was related to the geopolitical situation. People tried to get to know the post-Soviet countries through the language. When Latvia joined the European Union, interest in the Latvian language decreased in Europe. Nowadays, interest in the Latvian language has increased in Asia, especially in China. In Asia, it is possible to acquire the Latvian language in China and Japan. There are established different Latvian language bachelor programs in universities of China while in Japan the Latvian language is taught for somebody interested in Latvian culture and traditions more than in the Latvian language.

ІСТОРІЯ БАЛТІЙСЬКОЇ ФІЛОЛОГІЇ В НІМЕЦЬКИХ УНІВЕРСИТЕТАХ (ХХ–ХХІ століття)

The development of Baltic philology at German universities (XX–XXI centuries), namely: Estonian linguistics, Latvian linguistics, and Lithuanian linguistics are analyzed and characterized in this paper. The Baltic philology is represented at two German universities, namely: the Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Greifswald – Oct 17th,1456 (Ernst Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald) and the Wilhelm University of Westphalia. (Münster) – Apr 16th, 1780 (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität (Münster)). In 1930 the “Slavic-Baltic Seminar” was founded at the Wilhelm University of Westphalia, Münster. There is also exists the "Institute of Multidisciplinary Baltic Studies" which was founded in 1993 by the former rector of the University, Maria Vassna. The "Institute of Baltic Studies" at the Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Greifswald, was founded on May 18,1993, at the Faculty of Philosophy. Baltic linguistics and the The subject of scientific research of German scholars in Baltic studies is presented by Baltic literary studies in diachronic and synchronic aspects. In particular, Ancient Lithuanian, Ancient Latvian and Ancient Estonian language and literature, Ancient Theologic Baltic philology, Baltic national linguistic studies.The researchers pay particular attention to the comparative aspect of the study, namely: Slavic-Baltic lectures, Polonist-Lithuanian studies, and Baltic-Croatian linguistic and cultural relations. Teaching staff at German universities are holding, in particular: colloquiums on “Baltic languages and literatures and their role in the GermanLithuanian relationship” (Die baltischen Sprachen und Literaturen und ihre Rolle bei der deutsch-litauischen Begegnung), academic conferences on language policy guidelines translated from German into Baltic languages, roundtable conferences known as "Kirche (Church) and the World of the Early Modern Times in Prussia" ("Kirche und Welt in der frühen Neuzeit im Preußenland"), lectures / prelections "Culture – Power – Identity" ("Kultur – Macht – Identität"), seminars known as Slavic-Baltic Seminar («Slavisch-Baltisches Seminar»), scientific symposia called as "400 Years of the Lithuanian Bible by Bretke - Philological and Theological Aspects of Research" ("400 Jahre Litauische Bibel - Philologische und theologische Aspekte der Bretkeforschung"), dedicated to the analysis and research of Baltic studies. The “Institutes of Baltic Studies” (das Institut für Baltistik), the “Institute of Interdisciplinary Baltic Studies” (Das Institut für Interdisziplinäre Baltische Studien) are operating at the Universities with the following departments, as follows: Department of Baltic Linguistics (Lehrstuhl für baltische Sprachwissenschaft), Department of Baltic Literary Studies (Lehrstuhl für baltische Literaturwissenschaft), Department of Baltic Philology (Lehrstuhl für Baltische Philologie). Scientific collected works are published, namely: “Baltic Philology” (Philologia Baltika), Slavonic and Baltic Studies” (“Studia slavica et baltica”), and “Scientific Works of Slavonic and Baltic Seminar of the Wilhelm University of Westphalia, Münster: Language – Literature – Cultural History" (Veröfentlichungen des Slavisch-Baltischen Seminars der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität: Sprache – Literatur – Kulturgeschichte") and the scientific departmental theme "Borders from a Semiotic Point of View" (“Grenzen und Räume aus semiotischer Sicht"). Among the academic disciplines included in the curriculum of the specialty "Baltic Philology (Estonian Studies)", "Baltic Philology (Latvian Studies)" and "Baltic Philology (Lithuanian Studies)" for the training of specialists in Baltic studies there are: Baltic literary criticism, Baltic linguistics, Baltic dialectology, Baltic theological literary criticism, history of Ancient Estonian language, history of Ancient Latvian language, history of Ancient Lithuanian, history of Estonian literature (from origins to the present day/ contemporaneity),history of Latvian literature (from origins to present day/ contemporaneity), history of Lithuanian literature (from origins to present day/ contemporaneity), linguistic natonal studies (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), comparative literary studies (comparativistics), etc. It should be emphasized that the "Theological Dictionary" (1985, 2002) by Russian theologian Alexandr Vladimirivich Men (22.01.1935 to 09.09.1990) refers to the "Lithuanian Bible" and its translations.

Editorial Foreword

The second issue of volume 11 of The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies includes on the one hand topics of interest for scholars focusing on Medieval Studies, and on the other hand, further approaches aspects related to dissent and conformism, which were tackled during the tenth annual international conference on Nordic and Baltic studies in Romania. The conference entitled Dissent versus Conformism in the Nordic, Baltic and Black Sea Areas was held in Constanţa between June 6-8, 2019.

Dzenovska , Dace School of Europeanness: Tolerance and Other Lessons in Political Liberalism in Latvia (review)

REVIEWS 391 Dzenovska, Dace. School of Europeanness: Tolerance and Other Lessons in Political Liberalism in Latvia. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY and London, 2018. xiv + 276 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $29.95: £23.95 (paperback). Dace Dzenovska, a social cultural anthropologist at Oxford University, has written a singular account of the introduction of Western political liberal ideas, most notably tolerance, into the political space of post-Soviet, postsocialist Latvia. School of Europeanness has wide-ranging appeal beyond her discipline and provides as many insights into the crisis of twenty-first-century liberalism across the West as it does to its case study of Latvia. Dzenovska moves effortlessly between minority policy, language and migration with a steady focus on liberalism’s concept of political tolerance, specifically at a time and place when the global standing of liberalism is being challenged. Her book is a welcome addition to many different disciplines, from minority studies to migration policy, from the introduction of liberalism to post-Socialist states, to contemporary affairs and to Baltic studies. Dzenovska employs a deceptively simple, yet illuminating, tool for her study of the well-worn subject matter of the last thirty years of Latvia’s political and social relations. A great many historians, political scientists, economists and sociologists have chronicled Latvia’s transition from a Soviet Socialist, albeit occupied, Republic to a member state of the European Union. Even the subject matter, from minority rights legislation, language policy, border control and migration, seems well-covered. Dzenovska, however, looks at the confluence of eventsandactors,andinstinctivelyunderstandsthatthisnexustellsagreatdeal aboutallofthoseinvolved,andmoreimportantlyaboutthepowerrelationships between the actors and not just the Latvian state. Western governments and non-governmental organizations (international and in Latvia) identified a lack of classic, Western liberal tolerance and critical thinking in Latvia. A host of campaigns run by a gamut of organizations and, what Dzenovska calls ‘tolerance workers’, rushed to meet this need, and Dzenovska sees this as the perfect theoretical space to unpack the meanings and biases of all of those involved. The presentation is endlessly fascinating, and as a good scholarly work should do, leads to more questions. Within Latvia’s political space, for example, there are diverging opinions of what tolerance is, who lacks it, and who deserves it. Dzenovska brings this sharp eye and approach to the formation and definition of ‘state people’ and their minorities (chapter 2), the socialist legacy regarding intolerance (chapter 3), the encouragement of critical thinking in political space (chapter 4), the use of language (chapter 5) and the bordering of independent Latvia and the European Union (chapter 6). Each of these SEER, 97, 2, APRIL 2019 392 chaptersaregroundedinasophisticatedunderstandingoftheoreticalacademic constructs, and the rich trove of other academics’ work amply discussed in the introduction and in the first chapter, which examines the applicability of post-colonial thought to Eastern Europe, as well as throughout this thoroughly enjoyable work. One of the many strengths of this study is Dzenovska’s frequent injection of her own experience into the discussion. Dzenovska’s biography in some ways mirrors the book’s subject matter, with an early experience in the Soviet paradigm, a hopeful journey through Western liberalism and a learned academic career, with sojourns outside of the Baltic area in post-colonialism, Foucault, the deconstruction of the meaning of language in power dynamics and migration studies, which enables her to critique this study’s subject matter as almost no one else would be capable of doing. Furthermore, her rich experience in Latvia adds colour and personal insight into subject matter that is often presented distantly and in too dry a manner. Her retelling of discussions among ‘tolerance workers’, or her first hand observation of exams given by language inspectors to bus drivers are a welcome departure from the staid presentation in many sources. The vibrancy of Dzenovska’s presentation does potentially contain one of the few caveats about her sources. Her vivid and engaging descriptions of personal experiences are not entirely placed into a context of how representative these exchanges may be. Dzenovska is to be lauded for personally doing the fieldwork of monitoring language exams. Her empathetic discussion of both language inspectors and the tested, increasingly surly, bus drivers brings the subject matter to life in a way...

Baltic studies in Romania: sources, beginnings and perspectives

This article analyses the beginnings, development and prospect of Baltic studies in Romania. The article stands on three pillars. It starts with an investigation on the main sources of Romanian knowledge of the Baltic region and sorts out the way they have been represented in the Romanian mental images. Throughout the analysis, knowledge of each other is bonded to the concepts of memory and history based on the assumption that the largest part of our knowledge derives from remembering, this being applicable even in the high sphere of international relations. This theoretical framework is sampled to the case-study of Romania’s knowledge of Baltic area assessing the medieval, modern and 20th century legacy of the Romanian encounters with the Baltic States discovering that, although the distance between Suceava, the medieval capital of Moldova, and Vilnius is less than 1,000 km. (or 600 miles) and the Principality of Moldova of Stephen the Great neighbored the state of Jagiellonians, in most cases, the legacy of the relations between Romanians and Baltic nations played little role in feeding a sense of solidarity or complementarity between these nations. This pattern is now challenged by courses on Baltic and Nordic studies taught at Valahia University of Târgoviște and the activity of the Romanian Association for Baltic and Nordic Studies, which joins the efforts of scholars from various Romanian institutes and universities, especially from Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, Constanța and Târgoviște. The analysis of these endeavors, the other two pillars of this article, brings forth educational, scholarly, editorial and dissemination efforts designed to change the perspective of the Romanian public in this respect.