Ethnic Lithuanians Research Articles

Drifting borders, anchored community: re-reading narratives in the semiotic landscape with ethnic Lithuanians living at the Polish borderland

ABSTRACT Everyday lives at the borders have lately been of interest in academic research. Drawing on visual elicitation interviews, this study analyses how ethnic Lithuanians living on the Polish borderland interpret images of the landscape which they inhabit. The aim of this analysis is to understand how these borderlanders position themselves vis-à-vis socio-spatial borderland realities, and how visual materials can instigate extensive plotted narratives. The results demonstrate that the Lithuanian minority in Poland not only challenges or accepts the public narratives, but that they also use them as props to create a unified narrative about their identification and belonging, which transgresses time, place and situated events.

«Польский вопрос» в Литве и проблемы польско-литовских отношений на рубеже столетий

This article tracks how relations between two neighbouring states of the Baltic region, Po­land and Lithuania, developed over the last decades. These relations cannot be described in unambiguous terms. On the one hand, common aspirations for European integration created conditions for rapprochement and cooperation. On the other, the partnership has been complicated by disagreements and mutual claims. The main problem is the situa­tion of the correspondent ethnic minorities in the two countries: Poles in Lithuania and Lithuanians in Poland. According to the Polish authorities, the interests of Lithuania’s Polish residents are not safeguarded, and their rights are infringed. Similar complaints are voiced by Vilnius regarding the situation of ethnic Lithuanians in Poland. These contradictions are partly smoothed by common political interests: cooperation within the North Atlantic Alliance, defiance of the notorious ‘threat from the East’ and joint support for the pro-­Western opposition in the neighbouring Belarus.

Between Locality and Globality: The Problems of the History of Philosophy in Lithuania

The article deals with the problem of the local and global significance of Lithuanian philosophy. We discuss questions related to the meaning of the very concept of Lithuanian philosophy and evaluation of its scope. A controversy whether to cover all philosophical works written in the territories of historical Lithuania or to include only the works of ethnic Lithuanians (or at least the works written in Lithuanian) is talked over. The problem of the priorities in determining the relevant sources of the history of philosophy in Lithuania is described by pointing to the complexity of an assessment as the importance of the text for the development of Lithuanian self-awareness or its social significance scarcely coincide with its impact on global philosophy. The question of the priority of the texts written in the national language versus the translations of the main heritage of Western philosophy is addressed. We proceed further with a description of the works and the authors related to Lithuania and at the same time relevant to the philosophy of Europe, or at least neighbouring countries. The characteristics of the creative opposition between Protestant and Counter-Reformation thinkers is given. Martinus Smiglecius book on Logics and the main figures in the reception of German classical philosophy are discussed. Finally, the philosophical aspects of Litvak Judaism and their research are referred to.

Adamo Mickiewicziaus įsavinimas tarpukario Lietuvos mokykloje: Mykolo Biržiškos indėlis

CLAIMING ADAM MICKIEWICZ AS THEIR OWN IN INTER-WAR LITHUANIAN SCHOOLS: MYKOLAS BIRŽIŠKA’S CONTRIBUTION The society of the first Republic of Lithuania was not homogenous in its national and cultural self-perception. Although most intellectuals associated national culture exclusively with the cultural heritage of ethnic Lithuanians and Lithuanian-language writing, a part of the Lithuanian society’s elite opposed the ethno-linguistic approach to Lithuanian culture. One of the most prominent opponents of cultural ethno-nationalism in the first half of the 20th century was the literary historian Mykolas Biržiška. As the basis of national literature, he considered the society of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (and that of the first half of the 19th century) to be more important than language and therefore, he developed a multilanguage conception of Lithuanian literature as an alternative to the ethno-linguistic one. At the center of the canon of national literature, as formed by Biržiška, is the work of the world-famous poet Adam Mickiewicz. Realizing that in order to spread the concept of national literature to the public, it was necessary to first introduce it into schools. Biržiška made an effort to develop the national curriculum for Lithuanian literature according to the model of the history of Lithuanian literature that he created. To this end, he participated in the preparation of the curriculum for Lithuanian literature and made efforts to ensure Mickiewicz’s canonical position there. Biržiška also produced methodological material for schools (including selected works of Mickiewicz).

The Holocaust in Lithuania: The Key Characteristics of Its History, and the Key Issues in Historiography and Cultural Memory

This article is part of the special cluster titled Conceptualizations of the Holocaust in Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine since the 1990s, guest edited by Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe. The Holocaust is the darkest page of Lithuanian history: Nearly the whole Jewish community in Lithuania was destroyed, while a part of ethnic Lithuanians participated in this destruction. This article discusses three layers and periods of the Holocaust in Lithuania that have made a considerable impact on the perception of this traumatic period in Lithuanian society. The first period deals with the Lithuanian–Jewish relations during the German occupation in Lithuania (1941–1944). The second one is related to the Soviet reoccupation of Lithuania and discussions among Lithuanian émigrés in the West (1944–1990), which shaped the history of the Holocaust in Lithuania from the ideological (Soviet) and defensive (Lithuanian émigré) perspectives. The final part of this article discusses the historiography and Holocaust memory in independent Lithuania after the 1990s. Almost thirty years of independence mark not only the re-creation of some old myths and stereotypes in Lithuania, but also new groundbreaking and open discussions in society, concerning the perception of this dark page of Lithuanian history.

The “Belarusian” past, present and future in the representations of the Catholic Metropolitan Stanisław Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz

A large number of Roman Catholic population, mainly ethnic Lithuanians and Belarusians, joined the Russian Empire during the division of the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1771-1795. The first section of 1772 included mainly the Eastern Belarusian territories and the new Roman Catholic subjects of the Empire were mostly ethnic Belarusians. This fact influenced the choice by the Russian Imperial administration of «Bishop of Catholic churches in Russia». They appointed Stanisław Bohusz Siestrzeńcewicz. In accordance with the volition of Empress Catherine II, the “Bishop of Belarus” was placed in Mogilev. He was entrusted with the gradual transfer of control of the Russian Roman Catholics in within the Empire. Siestrzeńcewicz was a “Litvin” by origin, raised in a mixed Protestant and Catholic family. Over time, Siestrzeńcewicz became close to understanding the national otherness not only of his East Slavic flock, but, apparently, his own. His otherness was vitally connected with the use of the names “Belarus”, “Belarusian”. The relocation of Siestrzeńcewicz in the early nineteenth century from Mogilev to Saint Petersburg gave him the opportunity to significantly expand his ties and influence in the state. This contributed to his further scientific and literary researches. Even in Mogilev, he created a number of works, which described the Western part of the East Slavic lands, considers the problem of unity of the origin of the East Slavic peoples. By the end of his life, Siestrzeńcewicz sees the past, present and future of all the Eastern Slavs in close connection with the fate of Russia, “the State that occupies the ninth part of the inhabited globe...”

«Мягкая сила» России в странах Прибалтики в исследовательском фокусе: традиции, противостояние, конкуренция

In this article, we aim to analyse the research discourse in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) as regards Russian soft power, which is considered as hard power, and to compare the theses that dominate this discourse with the actual interactions between Russia and the three states in media, education, and culture. Each Baltic country has built a system of political and legal restrictions to diminish the effect of Russian soft power, which is considered in terms of hard power, i.e. as a threat to national security. The current forms of Russian soft power are becoming less productive in the region and their use in the negative political context of bilateral relations has the opposite effect for Russia – the country loses in reputation and image. The main factor at play is the information content of the Russian-language media space. At odds with the historical and political views of a significant part of the Baltic States’ ruling class, it is becoming the target of counteraction. At the same time, Russian high and mass culture and, partly, educational services are in demand from both Baltic Russian speakers and ethnic Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians. Our analysis shows that the views of Baltic researchers that Russian soft power is politics-driven and foreign to the region are exaggerated and biased. In its turn, Russian soft power in the Baltics retains the potential to aid the country’s foreign policy, being a complement to the latter rather than its direct tool.

Ethno-political effects of suburbanization in the Vilnius urban region

We use electoral data to analyze the ethno-political consequences that may arise from the fact that the region surrounding the city of Vilnius is dominated by residents with a Polish identity, while those who move to the suburbs are mainly ethnic Lithuanians. In the suburban ring we found increasing voting turnout, a decreasing share of votes for the Polish party, and an increase of the absolute number of votes for this party. The changing electoral behavior might be an indicator of growing ethno-political tensions and the zones of the most intense changes identify areas of potential social tensions between ethnic groups.

Existential Angst and Meaning Making in Narratives of Lithuanian Survivors of Soviet Political Deportations

Experiences related to forced deportations of ethnic Lithuanians as part of Stalin’s political genocide were explored in the narratives of six survivors. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was chosen for its idiographic and interpretive focus on the meanings and individual sense-making of lived experiences. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed for emergent superordinate themes and subthemes. The results revealed three superordinate themes, which reflect three stages of the participants’ experience of Soviet political persecutions: the Existential Shock of Arrest and Deportation, the Angst of Survival and Identity Negotiation during the Exile, and Rebuilding Life and Seeking Meaning after Amnesty. Subthemes highlighted various dimensions of the effects of political repressions as well as coping mechanisms employed by the survivors. Additionally, the results examined how the participants made meaning of their experiences and explored their perceptions of long-term consequences of trauma associated with political repressions. The article provides an existential and liberation/postcolonial theoretical framework for understanding political violence and concludes with implications for clinical practices with survivors of political persecutions perpetuated against ethnic groups around the world.

Dietary lycopene and cardiovascular health in ethnic Lithuanians

Background. Lycopene is a potent antioxidant, and it has been suggested that intake of lycopene-rich food results in a decreased risk of cardiovascular dis­eases. However, no official recommendation of lycopene consumption from natural dietary sources exists, and intake data of the Lithuanian population are limited. The goal of this study was to evaluate the median intake of lycopene in ethnic Lithuanians and to relate lycopene intake with biochemical blood risk factors for CVD in the general population and different ethnolinguistic groups. Materials and methods. One thousand one hundred forty randomly selected individuals (2–85 years of age) from six Lithuanian ethnolinguistic regions provided 3-day diet records for evaluation of lycopene consumption. Individuals were interviewed using a validated questionnaire consisting of lifestyle and clinical data. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, glucose, apolipoprotein A-I, apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein (a) were measured using standardised procedures. Due to the non-normal distribution of variables, nonparametric tests were applied using the IBM SPSS v20.0 software. Results. The mean dietary lycopene intake in the study population was 5.05 ± 7.48 or 0.07 ± 0.11 mg/kg body weight per day. Major food sources of lycopene were tomatoes and tomato products (79%). The lycopene intake from natural dietary sources varied significantly between the Lithuanian ethnolinguistic groups (the lowest intake 3.52 ± 5.64 mg/day, the highest intake 6.22 ± 7.66 mg/ day, p = 0.01) and genders (women 5.26 ± 7.78 mg/day and men 4.8 ± 7.22 mg/ day, p = 0.01). The mean lycopene intake was significantly (p

The national consciousness of Vilnius intellectuals between two rebellions: rhetorical exposures

Vilniaus intelektualų tautinei savivokai nušviesti pasirinktas laikotarpis tarp 1831 ir 1863 m. sukilimų, kai pirmojo sukilimo represijų įkarštis jau buvo praėjęs, o antrojo sukilimo atgarsiai dar nebuvo labai smarkūs. Straipsnyje aiškinamasi lietuvių kalbos padėtis ir lietuvio suvoktis, kaip ją suprato tuo laikotarpiu uždaryto Vilniaus universiteto patalpose darbavęsi Laikinosios archeologijos komisijos (toliau – VLAK) ir Vilniaus senienų muziejaus (toliau – VSM) bendradarbiai ar jų rėmėjai. Kartu su pagonybe Lietuva jau senokai buvo praradusi savo kalbą, ji buvo išlikusi tik liaudyje, o dėl unijos su Lenkija buvo visuotinai pereita prie lenkų kalbos. Gal ir paradoksalu, bet lenkiškai kalbėję ir rašę VLAK nariai jautėsi esantys lietuviai ir į lietuvių kalbą žiūrėjo ne kaip į muziejinį eksponatą, o kaip į gyvą, kuria tebekalba etniniai lietuviai. Jie pripažino, kad lietuvių kalba yra ne tik valstiečių, bet ir istorinės Lietuvos valdovų bei didikų kalba, Vytauto kalba, kad Lietuvos kunigaikščių vardai yra grynai lietuviški, t. y. kilę iš lietuvių kalbos. Dar daugiau: jie pažangiai vertino tuo metu pasirodančius pirmuosius intelektualų darbus lietuvių kalba. Aiškinantis tautinę, LDK pilietinę, savivoką, neigiant mitus apie tariamą Vilniaus intelektualų lenkiškumą, gausiai remiamasi jų pačių tekstais, tad per straipsnio autorės vertimus jiems suteikiama galimybė prabilti lietuviškai. Iš jų retorinio palikimo (laiškų, proginių sveikinimų kalbų, daugiausia eiliuotų tekstų) matyti lietuviškos tapatybės ir šaknų jutimas, meilė „šventajai Lietuvai, gimtinei žemei“, rūpestis kaupti ir saugoti lituanistinį palikimą, leisti lietuviškas knygas.

Ethno-Political Effects of Suburbanization in the Vilnius Urban Region: An Analysis of Voting Behavior

We use electoral data to analyze the ethno-political consequences that may arise from the fact that the region surrounding the city of Vilnius is dominated by residents with a Polish identity, while those who move to the suburbs are mainly ethnic Lithuanians. In the suburban ring we found increasing voting turnout, a decreasing share of votes for the Polish party, and an increase of the absolute number of votes for this party. The changing electoral behavior might be an indicator of growing ethno-political tensions and the zones of the most intense changes identify areas of potential social tensions between ethnic groups.

Socio-Spatial Transformations, Suburbanisation, and Voting Behaviour in the Vilnius Urban Region

This paper analyses the interrelationship between the process of suburbanisation and a changing political and ethnic landscape in the Vilnius urban region. The region sur-rounding Vilnius city is dominated by Polish identity residents while those who suburbanise into the region are mainly ethnic Lithuanians. This may lead to potential tension and conflicts in the region which may find its expression in the voting behaviour of residents of the region. Using data from the 1997 and 2011 municipal elections we found that the share of votes for the Polish party in the region decreases over time, while the absolute number of votes for this party increases. At the same time we find increasing voting activity in the suburban ring. The changing electoral behaviour can be regarded as an indicator of a growing ethnic identity. The voting results also identify the zones of the most intense changes in the electoral behaviour and thus indicate areas of potential social tensions between two ethnic groups.

Prevalence of C282Y, H63D, and S65C mutations in hereditary HFE-hemochromatosis gene in Lithuanian population

HFE-hemochromatosis is a common autosomal recessive disease caused by HFE gene mutations and characterized as iron overload and failure of different organs. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of C282Y (c.845 G>A), H63D (c.187 C>G), and S65C (c.193A>T) alleles of HFE gene in the Lithuanian population. One thousand and eleven healthy blood donors of Lithuanian nationality were examined in four different ethnic Lithuanian regions to determine HFE gene alleles and genotype frequencies. The samples of DNA were analyzed for the presence of restriction fragment length polymorphism and validated by DNA sequencing. Among 1,011 blood donors tested, the frequency of C282Y, H63D, and S65C alleles were 2.6%, 15.9%, and 1.9%, respectively. One third of the tested subjects (n = 336) had at least one of the C282Y or H63D HFE gene mutations. The screening of Lithuanian blood donors has detected 13 (1.3%) subjects with a genotype C282Y/C282Y or C282Y/H63D responsible for the development of HFE-hemochromatosis. The prevalence of C282Y mutation was significantly higher among the inhabitants of Zemaitija (Somogitia) at the Baltic Sea area (5.9%) in comparison to the regions of continental part of Lithuania (2.4% in Dzukija, 2.3% in Aukstaitija, and 2% in Suvalkija, p < 0.05). These data support the hypothesis that the p.C282Y mutation originated from Scandinavia and spread with the Vikings along the Baltic Sea coast. The first epidemiological investigation of HFE gene mutations in ethnic Lithuanians showed that the frequencies of H63D, C282Y, and S65C of HFE gene alleles are similar to the other North-Eastern Europeans, especially in the Baltic region (Estonia, Latvia), Poland, and part of Russia (Moscow region).

A Century After: The ‘Great DIET of Vilnius’ Revisited

The Vilnius assembly of December 1905 in Vilnius, the so-called ‘Great Diet’, is now seen as a watershed in the history of the Lithuanian national movement. The event was the culmination of socioeconomic changes as well as the growing assertiveness and political diversity of the Lithuanian national movement. The assembly radicalized village politics and encouraged the Lithuanian intelligentsia to formulate a vision of a future Lithuanian political entity. One enduring consequences of the Great Diet was increased acceptance of the idea of an independent state in which ethnic Lithuanians would assume the dominant role within a multinational framework.

Anti-Jewish disturbances in the North-Western provinces in the early 1880s

The dominant view in the Lithuanian historical consciousness and, in part, in academic literature is that no major outbreaks of violence took place between ethnic Lithuanians and Jews throughout th...

Resistance and Rebellion: Lessons from Eastern Europe by Roger D. s&gt; Petersen (review)

768 SEER, 8o, 4, 2002 The book sounds at times a little simplistic, viewing events from the perspective of the Catholics themselves with occasional comparisons to the Orthodox. Zugger also believes that, in contrast to Nazi atrocities, those perpetrated by the Soviet authorities 'have garnered nowhere near as much attention' (p. xvii) and maintains that many people still refuse to believe accountsof the sufferingimposed on thepeoples of the SovietUnion -hardly a position seriouslyadvanced today. Perhaps inevitably with such a diverse range of sources, there are inconsistenciesin spellingsof names, as well as too many smallmistakesin the bibliographyover spellings,titlesand dates. More significantly,Zugger'sfailureto use Soviet archivalresourcesopened in the past decade and recent research by Russian, Ukrainian and other scholarsusing NKVD case files (such as that by Irina Osipova) is the biggest weakness. However, he has partiallymade up for that by trackingdown an astonishing range of eye-witness and other accounts by and about Soviet Catholicsneverpreviouslyused. Some of the subject material has been well-covered previously by such historians as James Zatko (on the early attacks on Catholics), Hansjakob Stehle (on the Vatican's Ostpolitikand the secret consecrationsin the 1920S) and Antoine Wenger (on Western Catholics' involvement in sustaining the Catholic Churchin the Soviet Union). YetZuggerhas unearthedmuch thatis new and brought together in one volume what is likelyto remain as the most balanced and thorough surveyof Catholic life in the Soviet Union up to the death of Stalin. Let us hope he fulfilshis desire to produce a second volume bringingthe historyup to the end of the Soviet Union. London FELIX CORLEY Petersen, Roger D. Resistance andRebellion. Lessons fromEastern Europe. Studies in Rationalityand Change. CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridgeand New York, 2001. XV+ 321 pp. Figures. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. [40.00: $59.95. IN this study, Roger Petersen sets out to capture the dynamics of resistance against repressiveregimes. In theoretical terms, his main concern is to find out what motivatesordinarypeople to rebel in the face of overwhelmingodds. Empirically, the focus is on the popular reaction to the Soviet and Nazi occupationsof Lithuaniaduringthe I940s. Here, Petersendrawson interviews with fortyelderlyLithuaniansand a thoroughreviewof secondarymaterialto offer some fascinating if at times harrowing -insights into the events of theseyears.Locatingthiscore Lithuanianstudywithinthe broadertheoretical literature, Petersen constructs a template of mechanisms 'specific causal patterns that explain individual actions over a wide range of settings' (p. 296) thatserveto initiate,catalyseand sustainrebellion.He thenapplies his hypotheses to a variety of differentcases, in order to test the validity of these mechanismsacrossspace and time. As Petersen notes in his introduction, studies of resistance and rebellion that takethe stateor nation as the sole level of analysiscannot possiblyconvey REVIEWS 769 the tremendous variations in individual behaviour found within these large units. Conversely, those studies that reduce individual calculus to a choice between rebellion and non-rebellion afterdue consideration of the attendant pay-offs tend to obscure rather than elucidate reality. Petersen's own framework appears at once more flexible and sophisticated. It subsumes rational choice approaches, treating instrumental rationality as only one mechanism among many, rather than the be-all-and-end-all. Above all, it conceptualizes rebellion as a process in which an individual typically passes througha spectrumof differentroles.Most attentionis given to the movement from neutrality(0)throughunarmed and unorganizedopposition (+ i) to the formation of more organized structuresof resistance(+ 2). In explaining the initial shiftaway from neutrality,Petersenemphasizesthe emotional factorof resentment formation heavily influenced by perceptions of ethnic hierarchy and offersan interestingdiscussionof how culturalsymbolsprovide a focal-point mechanism for transformingthis resentment into action. This frameworkis used to explain the contrastingresponsesby ethnic Lithuanians to the Soviet and German occupations of I940-44 (includingthe readinessof some sections of the titularpopulation to collude with Nazi policies towards theJewish minority). Petersen'sworkmakesextensive use of thresholdand 'tipping'mechanisms derivedfromgame theory -the logic of 'I will rebelifX percent of the others also rebel' (p. 22). Whereas society as a whole constitutesthe most important referencegroupforindividualsduringthefirstphase, it is the local community that acts as the locus for the formation of more organized resistance. The study of anti-Soviet resistance in 1940S Lithuania highlights the central role played by 'strong communities' and the norms of reciprocity found within them. In this regard, particularattention is given to rural communities, yet reference is also made to...

Die Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Litauens 1915–40 (Fortsetzung)

The article, based on church documents and publications of leading church members, traces the renaissance of the evangelical-reformed (Calvinist) Church in Lithuania during the interwar period. Few Lithuanians know that the Reformed Church was founded in 1555 in Vilnius at the height of the Reformation during the reign of Sigismund II Augustus and under the protection of Lithuania's chancellor Nicholas Radvila (Radziwiłł). It was called Unitas Lituaniae, to distinguish it from the Reformed Church founded in Poland. It was given a carefully planned synodal-presbyterian structure which stood the test of time and withstood centuries of adversity during the Counter Reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and, after the partitions, under Tsarist rule. Purely ethnic Lithuanians resided in northern Lithuania in areas of Birzai and Kedainiai, historical residences of the now extinct Protestant branch of the Radvila family. It is to this day a stronghold of the Lithuanian Reformed Christianity. At the time of the Lithuanian independence in 1918, the Church represented a small but tenacious minority which, reclaiming its historical name, vigorously reasserted its presence in the new Republic. With Vilnius falling under Polish control, the Church leadership chose Birzai as its new (temporary) center. In the first decade of independence, the Reformed Lithuanians, despite their small number, were disproportionately represented in the professions and in government. Discriminatory tendencies did not appear until the thirties. The powerful Catholic Church, acting under its new Code of Canon Laws, revived historical theological hostilities and stereotypes and identified nationality with Catholicism. This shaped public opinion for years to come and was especially galling to Reformed Lithuanians, who were proud of their historical roots. These attitudes still exist and present a challenge for the future.

Имперский режим в Литве в XIX веке (По литовским учебникам истории)

SUMMARY: This article explores the historical narrative presented in Lithuanian school textbooks. More specifically, the author’s intent is to trace the image of the 19 th century Russian empire and its nationalities’ policy. The author breaks Lithuanian historical scholarship in to the following periods: the 19 th century to 1940; 1940 to the 1990s; and the 1990s to the present. In the first period, one of the most important tasks for Lithuanian historians was to oppose the “Polonization” of Lithuanian history. Correspondingly, historians were preoccupied with either the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before 1569, stressing the ethnic Lithuanian component of the state, or with the history of the ethnic Lithuanian population. During this period, Lithuanian scholarship viewed Lithuania’s inclusion in the Russian empire negatively and focused on combating the “Russification” of the 1860s and beyond. Although some texts saw imperial policy (such as the introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet) as primarily directed against ethnic Lithuanians, others perceived imperial policy as an attempt to contain Polish influences. During the second period, Lithuanian historians interpreted Lithuanian history as being in the first place the Lithuanian people and excluded other ethnic groups. The narrative was mostly focused on class struggle, while the Lithuanian national movement of the 19 th century was declared democratic for its exclusion of the Polonized nobility or “the feudal class.” This “feudal class” was perceived as being in cahoots with the Tsar and constituted an enemy against whom the democratic national movement fought. In this period, textbooks stressed the importance of Lithuania’s inclusion into the Russian empire for promoting the development of the market and preventing the assimilation of Lithuanians into the Polish culture, although it was admitted that the Russian empire was pursuing “reactionary goals” when incorporating Lithuania. At the same time, some textbooks mentioned “Russification” as a goal of Tsarist policies in Lithuania. The author argues that despite the Marxist-Leninist framework, dogmatic explanations gradually disappear from Lithuanian history textbooks during this second period. The third period, which began with the emergence of an independent Lithuania, the author portrays as a time of pluralism. Some historians continue to regard Lithuanian history first and foremost as the history of the Lithuanian people, paying little attention to Poles or Jews. At the same time, history textbooks have appeared, which give a fuller account of Lithuanian history including histories of Poles, Jews, Tatars, and other groups. Although most authors regard Lithuania’s incorporation into the Russian empire negatively and point to the slowdown of the social and economic development, many give a more nuanced view of inconsistent and hesitant imperial policies than their predecessors. In conclusion, the author regards recent developments in Lithuanian historical scholarship as generally positive with at least a few cases of Lithuanian history being regarded as the history of society, including all groups and nationalities.

Die Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Litauens 1915–1940

The article, based on church documents and publications of leading church members, traces the Renaissance of the Evangelical-Reformed (Calvinist) Church in the Lithuanian Republic during the interwar period from 1919 to the Soviet occupation in 1940, and includes historiographical background information. Modern Lithuania is overwhelmingly and adamantly Roman Catholic. Few Lithuanians know that the Reformed Church was founded in 1555 in Vilnius (Wilna, Vilno) at the height of the Reformation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the reign of Sigismund II Augustus and under the protection of Lithuania's chancellor Nicholas Radvila (Radziwiłł) the Black. It was called Unitas Lituaniae, to distinguish it from the Reformed Church founded in Poland. It was given a carefully planned synodalpresbyterian structure which stood the test of time and withstood centuries of adversity during the Counter Reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and, after the partitions, under Tsarist rule. Purely ethnic Lithuanians resided in northern Lithuania in areas of Biržai (Birsen, pol. Birse) and Kedainiai (Kedainnen, Kiejdany), historical residences of the now extinct Protestant branch of the Radvila (Radziwiłł) family. It is to this day a stronghold of Lithuanian Reformed Christianity. At the time of Lithuanian Independence in 1918, the Church represented a small but tenacious minority which, reclaiming its historical name, vigorously reasserted its presence in the new Republic. With Vilnius falling under Polish control in 1919, the Church leadership chose Biržai as its new (temporary) center. In the first decade of Independence, the Reformed Lithuanians, despite their small number, were disproportionately represented in the professions and in government. Discriminatory tendencies did not appear until the thirties. The powerful Catholic Church, acting under its new Code of Canon Laws, revived historical theological hostilities and stereotypes and identified nationality with Catholicism. This shaped public opinion for years to come and was especially galling to Reformed Lithuanians, who were proud of their historical roots and their faith. These attitudes still exist and present a challenge for the future.