Soviet Era Research Articles

Semantic Features of the Word Qonyr (Brown): Conceptual Analysis of Two Separate Works

It is known that the Aesopian language was used in the works of many writers to convey the parable. This article shows how and why Kazakh writers used the Aesopian language during the Soviet era. The study analyzes the contextual and symbolic meanings of the word qonyr, one of the most important concepts of Kazakh cognition. The research material was taken from O. Bokey’s novel Kajdasyn, Kaska Kulynym? (Where Are You, My Foal with a Star on His Forehead?), and a poem by Zhumeken Nazhimedenov titled “Kyran-Kiya” (“Mountain Eagle”). A conceptual research method in modern linguistics was chosen for data analysis. As a result, new implicit meanings of the word qonyr (“brown”) were revealed, such as “longing”, “sadness”, and “nobility”. The juxtaposition of these meanings with Soviet ideology is presented. The results and conclusions of the study are a kind of contribution to studies in cognitive linguistics and decolonization.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAS SUPPLY SYSTEM IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

Gas distribution and transportation networks make up the gas supply system. Providing natural gas to the public and the economy is the primary objective of the gas delivery system. Every nation's gas supply network is strategically vital since the cost of natural gas directly impacts the goods and services that are produced and rendered there. It is true that developed nations are looking for innovative technology for natural gas extraction because it is a non-renewable resource. Founded during the Soviet era and throughout multiple phases of development, the Republic of Armenia's gas supply system is a component of the worldwide network. The Public Services Regulatory Commission and the Armenian government, through the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, oversee the country's gas supply industry. The article discusses the Republic of Armenia's domestic natural gas market's supply and sales, its background and present state, investment initiatives, and features that increase the system's operational efficiency.

Partisan Punitive Practice in Varėna District (1944–1952)

One of the least analysed aspects of the partisan war in Lithuania between 1944 and 1953 is the punitive practice of partisans. The aim of Total Irreversible Human Loss in Lithuania Between 1944 and 1953, a programme conducted by the Special Investigation Department of the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania, is to explore in detail the relationship between the partisans and the population during the war, to reveal the variety of executions conducted by partisans, and to clarify the decision-making procedures of partisan organisations with respect to the population. The objectives of the programme are to carry out a complex historical-statistical study and to prepare a classification of cases and a statistical data set; to collect data on the relationship of partisan organisations with the population and on the activities of courts-martial and other partisan institutions; and to carry out historical and legal analysis of data and to assess the legitimacy, validity and effects of partisan decisions concerning the population. It is also necessary to clarify, supplement and correct errors in the Soviet era card files that are stored at the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre and serve as the database for people killed and injured by partisans. This article has been prepared on the basis of the study of death sentences, executions, and people killed in action by partisans in the period 1944–1952 in the district of Varėna, the area of former Varėna County. During the archival-historiographic study, cases of killings were examined in detail through the exploration of the circumstances, motives, and other information. An important part of the study was the analysis of partisan documents: court-martial reports, various proclamations, and warnings. The most serious areas of the punitive practices of partisans were also discussed: killings of families or minors, issues of guilt and innocence, and the circumstances of partisan warfare at the time. Between 1944 and 1952, 688 people were killed in the district of Varėna; a total of 858 recorded cases of executions or possible executions were studied. The social status of 497 victims and dates of birth of 443 victims were identified. The average age of victims was 35.6 years. Three main categories of victims can be identified: employees and officers of military and security forces (29.6%), Soviet administrative staff and employees (20.9%), and farmers and workers (a total of 30.6%; 22.1% and 8.5% respectively). Other categories by job, occupation, etc.: family members of employees of military and security organisations (2%), family members of administrative staff (4.8%), settlers (3%), informers and agents (3.2%), Soviet activists (2.8%), family members of activists (0.2%), members of Komsomol (0.8%), students (0.2%), and former partisans and people who were close to them (1.8%). Eighty convictions by partisan courts-martial were identified, and 23 other partisan documents (warnings, proclamations) were left at the places of execution. This accounts for 14.9% of all executions. Most soldiers, employees and officers of military and security forces perished or were executed in an ambush. The justification for killing Soviet administrative officials, employees, and other staff members was usually that those people were carrying out Soviet orders. Usually executions were carried out at people’s homes or outside homes and by giving a warning and providing a charge. Death penalties and executions of farmers and workers pose the most questions. Most are executions for collaboration with the Soviets and the sabotage of the partisan movement. Based on the information collected, it is however usually difficult to fully assess the legitimacy of such killings.

ESTATES AS PLACES OF POWER

Book Review: The estate and the dacha in the literature of the Soviet era: losses and acquisitions: collective monograph; comp. O.A. Bogdanova; ed. by V.G. Andreeva, O.A. Bogdanova. Moscow, IWL RAS Publ., 2024, 672 p. (Russian Estate in the World Context; issue 8) The object of the review is the eighth issue of the book series “Russian Estate in the World Context”, the collective monograph “Estate and Dacha in the Literature of the Soviet Era: Losses and Gains” (2024). Project manager about the estate, Doctor of Philology O.A. Bogdanova and other prominent scientists, using material from a large number of writers, explore the metamorphosis of the estate text in Soviet times. The author of the review notes the integrity of the concept, the unified style with the brightness of the idiostyles of individual scientists (the reviewer pays special attention to their points of view) and the overall high analytical level of the monograph. The estate text of the Soviet era, for the first time comprehensively studied in this publication, appears as different open facets – it is part of the “garden city” as a development of the locus of the noble estate, and a rhetorical cluster of meanings, and a place for a “journey around the house”, and a regional estate as a place concentration of cultural forces, and, most importantly, the degeneration in the post-estate world of the estate into a dacha, so poeticized by B.L. Pasternak. The reviewer draws attention to the fact that the collective monograph provides materials for compiling an anthology of excerpts from world estate texts.

“POLITICALLY MATURE AND EXPERIENCED ONE...”: SOME MODELS OF ROTATION OF THE FIRST SECRETARIES OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY REGIONAL COMMITTEE IN THE 2ND HALF OF THE 1940S TO THE 50S (based on the materials of the Upper Volga regions)

The article analyses the models of rotation of regional leadership in the Upper Volga regions at the end of Stalin’s period and in the beginning of Khrushchev’s one. The focus is on the 3 first secretaries of the Communist Party regional committee in the 1940–50s - Pavel Alfyorov, Vladimir Luk’yanov, Fyodor Titov, who at different times were Party leaders of Vladimir, Ivanovo, and Yaroslavl regions. Attention is paid to quantitative and institutional characteristics associated with personnel rotations of late Stalinism and Khrushchev Thaw. The methodological basis of the study was the principles of historicism and systematicity, the prosopographic method, a combination of analysis of archival documents and sources of personal origin. The theoretical basis of the article is based on the ideas of Yelena Zubkova, Aleksandr Konovalov, Aleksey Fyodorov, Oleg Khlevniuk, Yoram Gorlizki. The source base is represented by documents from the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History, materials from documentary publications and reference publications, and personal sources (memoirs, interviews). The article concludes, that the biographies of the first secretaries of the regional committees of the Upper Volga regions (Pavel Alfyorov, Vladimir Luk’yanov, Fyodor Titov) demonstrate 3 different models of rotation of regional leadership personnel of Stalin and Khrushchev periods, but do not exhaust the diversity of personnel movements in the post-war USSR. It is noted that the first rotation model “From region to region”, inherent in Vladimir Luk’yanov, can be considered typical of the group of successful Stalinist promoters of the late 1930s. It is emphasised that the second model “Region-centre-region”, inherent in Pavel Alfyorov, reflects a move across the regions with a short-term return to the central apparatus of an experienced but not quite successful Party functionary. It is stated that the third model “Second-First-Second”, inherent in Fyodor Titov, was more rare, characterised by alternating the position of first secretary of the regional committee in the regions of the Russian Soviet Republic and second secretary in the republican communist parties of the USSR. The significance for career growth in the 1940-50s is noted considering the positions of second secretary of the regional committee, chairman of the regional executive committee, inspector of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, structures of the central apparatus. As the finishing point in the nomenclature career of Party functionaries of the 1950–60s, the Party Control Committee is indicated. The publication is an invitation to discussion for representatives of the scientific community regarding the typification and classification of regional Party leaders of the Soviet era.

Myths about Stalin in Georgian Politics and Georgian History School Textbooks

Abstract The theoretical framework of the paper is established through the concept of political myths. The research delves into the diverse viewpoints presented in the scientific literature concerning this matter, and depending on the chosen topic, great attention is paid to the phenomenon of historical myths. The paper employs the method of content analysis to examine history textbooks. The research discusses two textbooks from the Soviet period and 14 textbooks covering Georgian and world history that were published after the Soviet era. Considering that history is currently taught in schools using textbooks published in 2012 and onward, the paper includes a table that specifically shows the facts related to Stalin in these textbooks.

History lessons. Search for forms of rental housing – experience of the USSR in the era of constructivism

In development of the topic raised in IP magazine No. 14 / 2023, the main attention is paid to mass and experimental rental housing designed and/or built in the USSR in the 1920s - early 1930s, as well as its architectural and typological features. The object of the study is the residential environment of the rental (municipal) type, the subject of the study is the factors influencing the typological evolution of housing. The purpose of the study is to systematize, generalize and critically retrospective analyze the domestic experience of economical housing, identifying its forms characteristic of the Soviet era. Based on a content analysis of data published in open sources, it was concluded that mass housing, which had pronounced socially oriented properties and minimal parameters, became one of the key tools for ensuring the stability of society. Despite this, today the architectural and planning structure of this housing does not meet the needs of the population. It is necessary to search for new design principles.

Social solidarity of students: university practices and fashioning tools

The problem of the research. Integration and consolidation are needed in modern society. Of particular importance is the maintenance of solidaristic practices, the "education" of which should be carried out by the educational system in general and higher education institutions in particular. Today it is important to understand what tools the Russian university system has for the formation of solidaristic thought and action. In this regard, it is important to rethink the experience of the Soviet era, when solidarity education was part of the ideological system. The aim of the article is to identify the most effective tools and methodologies for fostering solidarity consciousness among students at Russian universities, with due consideration of both national and global experience. Materials and methods. Theoretical analysis was employed to examine Russian and global scientific literature on the nature and evolution of social solidarity among young people and students, its underlying principles and manifestations. The system approach and the principle of additionality were employed to comprehend the instruments and practices of social solidarity formation in higher education institutions. The position of an "internal observer" integrated within the university system was augmented and refined by the research position of an "external observer", enabling a comprehensive examination of the university system. Results. The system of Russian higher education in modern conditions continues to be the most important actor of socialization of the young generation, designed to instill in them one of the basic values – the value of social solidarity. The educational subjects within the social and humanitarian block, which form part of the overall educational process, have the potential to facilitate the formation of social solidarity. In order to fully grasp this concept, it is necessary to apply it to the ongoing process of updating the aforementioned disciplines, which are designed to create a uniform set of content and teaching methods. This will help to foster a holistic worldview in young people, equipping them to engage with the world around them in an informed and empathetic manner. The process of fostering solidarity thinking and action cannot be reduced solely to the educational process, the improvement of the curriculum and the set of disciplines. The trinity of educational, educational and scientific processes is capable of forming social solidarity among modern Russian students. Conclusion. It is challenging to envisage Russian society without the pivotal role of higher education, which is tasked with actively shaping the value priorities of young people. In light of the crucial mission of socialization carried out by higher education institutions, which includes the formation of fundamental values and the promotion of solidarity practices among student youth, it is evident that the influence of higher education on the younger generation of Russian citizens is significant.

The concept of personality and national identity in contemporary Kazakh prose

Colonialism has had a profoundly negative impact on national consciousness. Although the Republic of Kazakhstan has gained independence, it has not yet fully overcome the adverse effects of colonialism on its national consciousness. A portion of the Kazakh people has been Russified. Meanwhile, the younger generation, raised in their native language, either lacks a deep understanding of or is gradually forgetting the foundations of national identity that date back to ancient times. During the Soviet era, communist ideology prevented the population from truly knowing their history, traditions, and beliefs. In this context, literature plays a crucial role in reviving national memory. This article examines the concept of personality in literary works and the uniqueness of national identity based on the works of several contemporary authors. The introduction provides an overview of researchers’ conclusions related to the concept of personality. The ancient origins of national identity—sacred elements, rituals, shamanism, and the mystical connections between humans, nature, and animals—as depicted in literary works are analyzed within the dynamics of the present day, alongside the fates of the characters. The desecration of sacred elements is not merely ignorance but a sign of the erasure of national memory; rituals are not just words but embody sacred concepts accumulated from centuries of the people’s experience, which are reflected in the works. Accordingly, the research article analyzes and provides examples from several literary works. In compiling conclusions about the concept of personality, the study utilized descriptive, biographical, and socio-psychological methods to describe national identity in literary works and its ancient manifestations, as well as the depiction of sacred elements and rituals.

Formation of historical memory of the first independence period in Latvia in the Perestroika years, 1987–1990

The author analyses the evolution of a new historical narrative in Latvia during the era of Perestroika, a period marked by the emergence of numerous public initiatives springing from political and social movements. One of the key initiatives was the restoration of the memory of ‘forgotten pages of history’, namely events and individuals who had been erased from the historical record in the Soviet Union for ideological reasons. Given that the restoration of state sovereignty was a central objective of this period, the “revival” of commemorative dates related to the history of the Republic of Latvia’s first independence (1918–1940) was a logical consequence of the search for one’s roots. A number of historical events were not only integrated into the collective memory but also referenced in political documents designed to reinstate national sovereignty. One of the primary objectives of this process was to construct a new historical narrative that would assert continuity and legal identity between the Republic of Latvia of the interwar period and the one that emerged in the late Soviet era, seeking to secede from the USSR and regain its lost independence. The formulation of the doctrine of national continuity entailed, on the one hand, the pursuit of reference points that would serve as the basis for a new state and national identity, and, on the other hand, encompassed a public discourse on the “black pages” of history, reflecting the aspiration to overcome the challenging historical legacy associated with the loss of independence in 1940 and to establish a framework for legitimate international relations.

Agricultural legacy shapes plant diversity patterns in mountain grasslands of Maramureș and Bukovina: A cross‐border perspective (Ukraine, Romania)

Abstract We investigated farming practices and grassland plant diversity patterns in the historical regions of Maramureș and Bukovina, located in the central Eastern Carpathians of Romania and Ukraine. We explored the influence of social and historical factors on recent grassland plant diversity, including changes and modifications in land use and grassland management practices. We used stratified random sampling to select 48 grassland parcels in eight villages on the Ukrainian‐Romanian borderlands. We identified the factors that affect the composition and diversity of grassland vascular plants and bryophytes at multiple spatial scales and compared the frequency and timing of historical and recent grassland management practices to distinguish between preserved and modified agricultural traditions. In most of the grassland parcels studied (83% in Romania and 78% in Ukraine), traditional land use persisted. Local plant species richness was primarily influenced by management practices, outweighing the impact of topography and soil factors. Regular mowing at appropriate intensity increased the richness of vascular plants, while grazing promoted the richness of bryophyte species. Modifications to farming systems, observed in all studied villages, were mainly due to declining population and livestock numbers. Although the timing of spring and autumn grazing in hay meadows still adhered to tradition, mowing schedules shifted earlier, especially for the first cut of two‐cut hay meadows. Traditional corralling, fertilization and hayseed application have become rare or discontinued in certain villages, while controlled burning has increased. Past use of mineral fertilizers in Ukrainian villages during the Soviet era influenced the recent diversity and composition of vascular plant species, favouring nutrient‐demanding species. Social factors and agricultural policies indirectly affect biodiversity in semi‐natural grasslands, leaving a tangible footprint even in the most remote areas of the Carpathian Mountains. We provide basic recommendations to preserve the remarkable biodiversity of the region. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

«Автобиография профессора Николая Иосифовича Воробьева»

The publication is a commentary and the text of the handwritten autobiography of N.I. Vorobyev. The document is introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time. The undertaken analysis of the text allowed us to identify new facts from the life and work of the researcher and to grasp their context. The document is dated March 2, 1947 and was written by the scholar during his work at Kazan State University. N.I. Vorobyev lists in detail the facts about his parents, the process of receiving an education, the beginning of his teaching and research work. He reveals the evolution of his own academic interests, from geography to ethnography, and highlights the author’s scholarly papers that are of significance from his point of view. The document mentions N.I. Vorobyev’s research work in the Far East dedicated to the study of the life of the Nanai (the Golds) and in the Mari ASSR – limnological studies of lakes. The researcher emphasises his work on methodological support of teachers. A separate chapter of the autobiography contains a description of the academic’s participation in the work of various public scholarly organisations. N.I. Vorobyev focuses on the important aspects of his life that correspond to the spirit of those times. This is the recognition of his political unconsciousness in the first years of the Soviet power, service in the Red Army as a private soldier. The autobiography of N.I. Vorobyev is a valuable, informative source. It shows not only the significance of individual milestones in his life and work for the scholar himself, but also reveals the distinctive features of the Soviet era, which formed the conditions for work for the entire academic community.

Eastern Regions in the Economic Strategy on the “Take-off” Stage of the Soviet Industrial System

The article delves into the strategy and implementation of economic development in the eastern regions of Russia from the pre-war five-year plans to the “Kosygin reform”. It highlights the substantial growth in the importance of these regions in the national economy during this period. However, historical perspectives on the long-term consequences of the “Eastern shift” in the production and population proportions vary. Some researchers believe that such a course met and meets the fundamental interests of the country. Others dispute this, attributing it to excessive geopolitical ambitions and a distorted understanding of the economy’s actual needs. Based on the historiographic analysis and documentary sources, the author offers an interpretation of why the authorities prioritized the advanced economic development of the eastern territories and how they executed this strategy. It is concluded that implementation of such a course has led to a radical change in the territorial structure of production. At the same time, as the period under review drew to a close, the focus shifted from advanced development to sustaining the achieved level, resulting in a deceleration of economic growth in the eastern regions. This was primarily ascribed to the decreasing efficacy of the “socialist economic system” and the ruling elite's persistent aversion to reforming economic institutions. One overarching argument posited in the article is that there was a substantive “shift of productive forces” towards the East in the broader context of the Soviet era, coinciding with the period of the “take-off” of the Soviet industrial system. The foregoing allows us substantiating the relationship between high rates of economic growth and “intensive economic development” of the eastern regions of the country.

DEVELOPMENT OF MARKETING IN AZERBAIJAN

The main goal of the article is to study activities aimed at marketing development in Azerbaijan. It is noted that benefiting from the synthesis of the national characteristics of the economy (including the experience of the Soviet era) and the world experience is one of the urgent requirements of the modern era. Method and methodologies. In the analysis process, comparative analysis of statistical indicators, analysis of legal-normative documents necessary for the development of marketing, classification of existing problems in the system of formation of market relations in Azerbaijan, forecasting and projecting methods were used. Novelty on the article. The article focuses on some rational and non-rational activities that are neglected in the scientific literature and necessitates the development of marketing. Conclusion and suggestions. The article emphasizes that marketing promotion is a step that serves to make companies popular among the population. These steps are one of the necessary steps to be carried out and updated both thoroughly and systematically. It is noted that 90% of managers of companies operating in Azerbaijan think that there is no need for marketing research. Thus, the decision to implement marketing measures is not based on the analysis of research data, and this, in turn, does not justify the effectiveness of marketing projects. Businessmen rely too much on their intuition and make unreasonable expenses based only on their own experience and unsystematized information that reaches them over a period of time. As a result: 1. Unsuccessful image campaigns are organized that do not produce any desired intangible effect; 2. Sales of newly launched products are falling; 3. Preference is given to advertising campaigns mainly aimed at financial impact; 4. Absurd models of brand perception emerge as a result of lack of study of brand perception after marketing activities; 5. Low level of service and, as a result, customer satisfaction. At best, marketers refer to a company's to-do list.

Traces of Post-Soviet revolution poetic cinema in the films of Sergei Loznitsa

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the post-war documentaries ‘The Train Stop’, ‘Landscape’, and ‘Portrait’, which reflect the aftermath of the Post-Soviet revolution, through the lens of Brecht’s Aesthetics of Alienation. Combining elements of poetic cinema and Brechtian aesthetics, these films engage the viewer intellectually while depicting the societal and human impact of post-Soviet destruction. Loznitsa’s documentaries invite critical reflection, highlighting the legacies of the Soviet era and prompting a reconsideration of historical and contemporary issues. Through visual storytelling, they offer a critical perspective on resilience and societal transformation following political upheaval.

The frontier factor in the formation of the hero's image in Russian society

The article examines the concept of a hero in relation to the concept of a frontier, which the authors understand as a "contact field", a boundary that connects rather than separates the spatio-temporal field of conjugation of two or more realities. Particular attention is paid to the development of the frontier as a point of assembly and the personality of the hero and the new social normality. The need for a comparative analysis of the concepts of subject, actor, and hero that already exist in sociology is indicated. An attempt is made to differentiate these concepts, the main features of the hero as a total subject are given, the importance of distinguishing between an everyday hero and a "frontier" hero is indicated. The influence of the frontier as a factor in the formation of the hero's image is substantiated based on the materials of an empirical study conducted by the authors of the article in eight Federal Districts of the Russian Federation in 2023 (n = 1350). For this purpose, data are analyzed on a number of open and semi-closed questions depending on the place of residence of the respondents, that is, the territorial factor. The authors of the article come to the conclusion that the length of Russia and the diversity of its regions, the frontier status of some of them, provide the corresponding specificity and demand for a hero. Respondents from those subjects of the Russian Federation that currently act as a frontier themselves articulate their idea of a hero and heroism much more clearly. The military hero remains the textbook hero for Russians. A significant part of the independently named heroes are outstanding personalities, primarily of the Soviet era, mainly military leaders, politicians, child heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Everyday workers and laborers - doctors, health workers, volunteers, rescuers, teachers, scientists, etc., which was typical for the Soviet era, are not currently singled out as heroes by respondents. Which leads to the conclusion that the actor of Soviet modernism, which was associated with heroism, was closely associated with the concept of a hero (in particular, labor), is not relevant in the minds of Russians today. Such transformations are associated by the authors with the influence of the situational factor, as well as with the change of the corresponding social ontologies.

П ЛАНИРОВАНИЕ НАУЧНО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКОГО И СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОГО РАЗВИТИЯ В РЕГИОНАХ СЕВЕРО-ЗАПАДА: ИСТОРИЧЕСКИЙ КОНТЕКСТ

The article presents the history of the development of strategic documents for scientific, technical, and socio-economic development in the St. Petersburg region and the North-West Federal District. The research was conducted by the Institute for Re- gional Economic Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences, which previously was known as the Institute of Socio-Economic Problems of Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The Institute’s focus on large cities and regions allowed it to apply its fundamental knowledge for solving practical problems in the fields of science, technology, and integrated socio-economic development. Examples of im- portant strategic documents developed in the Soviet era include the Comprehensive program of scientific and technical progress and Intensification-90 for Leningrad and the Leningrad region. In the post-Soviet period, the Institute contributed to the development of strategies for socio-economic development of St. Petersburg and the North-West Federal District as well as the concept of scien- tific and technological development of St. Petersburg, the strategy for the “science-education-innovation” complex in the North- West Federal District and the comprehensive scientific and technical program of the North-West Federal District.

Family and gender images in self-publishing

The valuable basis of almost all the texts discussed is Catholicism. This leads to the conservative nature of the articles and the negative attitude towards the social and cultural changes that had taken place during modernization. However, the level of conservatism of self-published authors and the details of the assessment of the changes differed. Most of the authors blamed the Soviet state and the system (especially the atheism of society) for all the negative changes, while some of them believed it was a consequence of a special policy aimed at destroying the Lithuanian nation. A smaller number of authors saw the threat arising not so much from the USR as from modernization itself, and thus from the West. A lack of more diverse sources of information may have contributed to the ideological conservatism, which forced authors to rely on the interwar publications. Such a situation had intervened the perception of the changed reality and adequate response to it. This, in turn, could have reduced the impact or even prevalence of self-publishing – the diversity of opinions in the legal press was much greater. Generally, the Soviet regime was accused by selfpublished authors of promoting excessive freedom (legal abortions, simple divorce proceedings, etc.) and was criticized for destroying traditional gender roles. Therefore, the relationship of the underground authors with freedom was ambiguous – in the fight for the political freedom of the nation, personal human freedom was not valued in private life, and the texts usually emphasized a person’s duty – a person was subordinated to the idea, only not to that of the communists but also to the national idea. The fact that there were no discussions on family and gender issues in the self-published publications shows a lack of authors, the ideological unity of various publications, and a lack of liberal and democratic values in the underground movement. Some texts kind of reveal certain ideas of female emancipation; however, the longing for the traditional family and the respective gender roles dominate, and there are no hints of the need for real gender equality in a family. Instead, there is a clear link between traditional femininity and the exaltation of a woman. A hypothesis may be made that this was due to the link between gender equality with the Soviet propaganda and the reality of the USR when women were forced to endure a double workload. The image of a religious family as an antidote to pervasive immorality and degrading civil marriage can also be seen as a form of Catholic advocating, offered as an antidote to the breakdown of families and the enslavement of women. Perhaps this may have contributed to the religious revival in the early 1980s. Comparing the family and gender discourses in the publications of self-published authors and the legal press, many similarities may clearly be noticed, the most important of which is a very similar critique of the identical consequences of modernization. Sometimes disadvantages such as divorce, a small number of children in families, abortions, and the situation of women were criticized almost identically. Nevertheless, the causes of these disadvantages were searched for in a different place in self-published publications, first of all – in atheism policy. Therefore, despite the obvious hostility of self-publishing discourses to the Soviet reality and politics, they essentially only supplemented the public discourses by expressing those things that could not be made public due to the Soviet censorship (religious and anti-Soviet themes) but did not create a fundamentally different understanding of gender, family or sexuality from that prevailing in the public sphere. On the one hand, such similarity would be explained by the fact that self-published texts reflected the norms and values successfully introduced by public discourses to society. Much of the criticism of the system and reality was based namely on the postulates of the Soviet discourses, which had spread freely in public. The fact that a conservative turn in the discourses of family and gender relations took place throughout the USR in the 1970s may have contributed to this similarity. On the other hand, such a similarity can be explained by the discourses of the interwar Catholic family that had survived and preserved in society and were not influenced by Soviet propaganda. Still, it is doubtful that people could have remained unaffected by public discourses for three or four decades. However, taking into account the conservatism of the Soviet ideology and the order in the studies areas, it would be more accurate to state that no essential changes took place in Lithuania during the Soviet era in the field of family images and gender stereotypes.

Antisoviet proclamation, letter and writings

The article reviews the non-violent resistance of Lithuanian youth during the Soviet era in the Šiauliai region in the 1960sand 1980s, its expression and forms.

Reprisal Actions of Partisans in Kaunas County (1944–1952), Part 1

This research focuses on the punitive operations of Lithuanian partisans in Kaunas County. The data covers the voloks that belonged to Kaunas County before the administrative-territorial reform of 1946, after which the territory of the county changed. During the administrative-territorial reform of 1950, instead of the abolished voloks, regions and districts were formed, so there may be some inaccuracies in the attribution of the dead to Kaunas County, but they are minor, as the partisans did not actually carry out punitive operations from 1950 on. The number of casualties between 1950 and 1952 is very small and does not affect this research. All violent deaths are investigated. The research aimed to find out which cases were partisan actions and which were criminal offences attributed to the partisans during the Soviet era.