Jump to
Publications 📚
Lein, Yehezkel, Oren Yiftachel. “Estonia’s Russian Speakers: Contiguous Settler Colonialism and its Aftermath.” Europe-Asia Studies, 19 Aug. 2026 DOI.
Abstract
This article explores the enduring presence of Russian speakers in Estonia through the lens of a novel theoretical framework: contiguous settler colonialism. It highlights the settler colonial nature of the Soviet regime and posits that geographical contiguity between a metropole and its colony discourages settler self-determination and lessens the likelihood of mass exodus post-decolonisation. Settlers who remain typically develop hybrid identities that blend ethnic characteristics with attachment to the localities and independent states where they live. These identities enable settlers to resist assimilatory and exclusionary pressures from the new postcolonial regimes, as well as attempts by the former metropolitan states to mobilise them in volatile regional contexts.
Davoliūtė, Violeta. “Guardians of the Archive and the Memory of War in Soviet Films After the Thaw.” Journal of Modern European History, 18 Aug. 2026 DOI.
Abstract
This article identifies a sub-genre of the Soviet war film: a quartet of feature films released between 1964 and 1967 (Enemy of the State, I Want to Believe, Someone Else’s Name, and Dissenting Opinion) that centre on unmasking former Nazi collaborators. Produced in the USSR’s western borderlands during the pivotal transition from the Khrushchev Thaw to Brezhnev-era conservatism, these films served as a cultural arena for negotiating the memory of the Great Patriotic War. They introduce a new cinematic hero: the investigator as a guardian of the archive. This figure – whether a male KGB officer, journalist, or prosecutor – embodies the post-Stalinist security apparatus’s methodological shift from crude terror towards more sophisticated, prophylactic modes of social control. Using sincerity and forensic reason as strategic tools, these protagonists reinforce the state’s authority as the ultimate arbiter of historical truth. The analysis traces how this archetype evolves across the four films, from an infallible state avenger to a professional who corrects bureaucratic errors and ensures that historical justice prevails. While these films helped inaugurate the Brezhnevite cult of victory, they simultaneously reveal the very anxieties they sought to quell regarding flawed archives, state fallibility and the unresolved legacy of wartime collaboration.
Janušauskaitė, Viltė. “‘To entirely recreate its authenticity’: the transition in Lithuanian urban conservation in the 1980s–1990s.” Built Heritage, vol. 10, no. 1, 14 Aug. 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
This article examines urban conservation in Lithuania during the transformative 1980s and 1990s, a period characterised by significant socio-political changes preceding and following the restoration of Lithuania’s independence. Initially regarded as a key achievement of Soviet-era heritage protection, the urban conservation system faced increasing criticism by the mid-1980s. It emerged because of ineffective implementation but was later attributed to inappropriate methodological principles, e.g., sanation, undermining the distinctiveness of historic urban areas. In 1987, the second Vilnius Old Town Regeneration Project was initiated, which coincided with Lithuania’s declaration of independence in 1990. This case study encompasses the interplay between Soviet-era heritage conservation approaches, emerging civic rights, limited regulation on newly re-established private property, and romantic reconstruction ideas. The oxymoron ‘recreation of authenticity’ captures the high symbolic meaning of cultural heritage as a symbol of national society, representing the period during which replicas were promoted as adhering to international heritage doctrines. Although centralised conservation practices collapsed following the state’s withdrawal of support, some principles, such as reconstruction, were redefined. A pivotal goal was the inscription of the Vilnius Historic Centre onto the World Heritage List, achieved on the second attempt in 1994. This event symbolised the international recognition of the value of the urban heritage of the Lithuanian capital, of the re-established independent state and, paradoxically for critics, of previous urban conservation practices. By exploring these links, this article contributes to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the role of heritage and conservation practices in the context of a post-Soviet landscape.
Loper, Mann. “Comparing national history education in Estonia and Latvia in the 1930s.” Journal of Baltic Studies, 27 July 2026 DOI.
Abstract
This study compares Estonian and Latvian history textbooks from the 1930s to examine how national identity, historical agency, and political narratives were constructed through education. It analyzes representations of each nation’s past, depictions of Baltic German elites, and portrayals of neighboring peoples. The study highlights how authoritarian regimes influenced textbook content, promoting unity, heroism, and ideological conformity. Themes of independence, cooperation, and cultural resilience are explored, revealing how history education served both pedagogical and political purposes. The findings offer insights into the role of textbooks in shaping collective memory.
Piirimäe, Kaarel. “The Baltic Appeal to the United Nations and the Cold War Struggle over Self-Determination.” Nationalities Papers, 16 July 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
In 1966, Baltic activists in the USA established an organization that started lobbying the United Nations to spread anti-colonial self-determination from Africa and Asia to Europe, particularly to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, annexed by the Soviet Union. For five years, the Baltic Appeal to the United Nations (BATUN) tried to persuade UN member states that the Soviet Baltic republics should be decolonized. While it is known that the global South was critical of US narratives about “Red Colonialism,” and also sceptical of Soviet efforts to use the decolonial moment for its own advantage, the story of BATUN throws light on the views of postcolonial nations on the Cold War struggle over self-determination.
Maminskaitė, Monika. “The citizens’ shield: personality and resilience in Lithuania’s paramilitary movement.” Journal of Baltic Studies, 2 July 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
In today’s geopolitical climate, small-to-medium-sized states must prioritize societal resilience, including civilian engagement in state-supported paramilitary organizations. Using the Big Five model, this study examines personality traits of members of the Lithuanian paramilitary organization Lietuvos šaulių sąjunga (Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union), comparing their scores on five personality dimensions to those observed in the general population. The findings are interpreted in the four-fold context of general volunteerism, military training, patriotism, and individual and societal resilience. The members’ profile suggests a blend of civic-mindedness, patriotism, and adaptability essential for community resilience. This research highlights the role of state-supported paramilitary groups in strengthening national security and fostering active citizenship.
Rudokas, Dominykas. “Lithuanians in Nazi Concentration Camps, 1941–1945.” Genocidas ir rezistencija, vol. 1, no. 59, 1 July 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
This article applies a critical analysis approach to examine the imprisonment of Lithuanians in Nazi camps between 1941 and 1945 and to systematise the key historical features of these camps. In 1943–1944, Lithuanians were primarily interned as political prisoners, though some also ended up in the camps for criminal offences (illegal activities, sabotage of requisitions) or for asocial behaviour (alcoholism, prostitution, unemployment). Political prisoners were usually held in Stutthof, whereas other camps had more prisoners detained for other reasons. At Ravensbrück, for example, Lithuanian women were imprisoned for asocial behaviour. The number of Lithuanian prisoners in Nazi camps generally ranged from 200 to 300, with the exception of Majdanek (1,000), Stutthof (1,200) and Flossenbürg (2,500); mortality rates were no lower than 90%, and it is still unknown how many people perished during the so-called death marches. Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi concentration camp system underwent significant changes, directly shaped by the regime’s objectives and policies. Lithuanians encountered this system at a time when its internal regulatory structures had already been formed, yet the expansion of the camp system was extremely rapid, mortality had reached its highest level, and the camps themselves had become the main sites in the Nazi system of forced labour and extermination.
Bleiere, Daina. “Latvians and the Soviet System in the 1970s and 1980s: Challenges of Adaptation and Collaboration.” Genocidas ir rezistencija, vol. 1, no. 59, 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
This article examines the current state of research and debate on cooperation with the Soviet regime in Latvia through the application of Stanley Hoffmann’s concepts of collaboration and collaborationism. The main objective of this article is to identify the challenges of analysing collaboration in Latvia during the 1970s and 1980s, taking into account the changing social environment, societal adaptation to the Soviet system and shifts in government policy. Whereas collaborationism is commonly understood as unquestioning submission to the Soviet system, collaboration developed in Latvia as a strategy for preserving national identity under the pressures of Russification.
Stone, Leonard. “The Soviet Look (Le regarde) in Lithuania.” Filosofija. Sociologija, vol. 37, no. 2, 2026 link.
Abstract
This paper consolidates an existentialist understanding of the Soviet Look. A significant aspect of Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist philosophy, gaze theory or the look (Le regarde), is redeployed within the context of Soviet Lithuania, a pertinent choice as Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir visited Lithuania in 1965. The primary aim thereof is to reconstruct the Soviet look from a Sartrean perspective. A primary problematic is integral to the Soviet look; a look whose raison d’être is to fix Soviet Lithuanian as an objective world, a being-in-itself [1’etre-en-soi], in the face of a contradictory need, as Lithuanian self, to have an authentic lived experience, a Lithuanian being-for-itself [l’etie-poui-soi]. The process of objectification of Lithuanian subject occurs without an immediate gaze, which means that the kernel of the Soviet look is that it turns the subject into an object not so much as in absentia, but rather in an atmospheric, attunement manner. While the attributes of the Soviet look are referenced, including its controlling, panoptic presence, a crucial existentialist contribution is that the Soviet gaze is in bad faith.
Lindbladh, Johanna, Anja Tippner. * The Art of Witnessing: Documentary Literature, Film and Theater in Eastern Europe and the Baltics *. Central European University Press, 30.07.2026. link
Annotation
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reinforced the dynamics of decolonization that had already gained traction after the pollical transformations post-1991. Especially, Ukrainian artists have been creating works that address these traumatizing as well as transformative experiences of the war by keeping records and analyzing the ongoing events at the same time. All over the region, documentary art has counteracted the media wars waged. The book reflects on documentary approaches proving to be an interdisciplinary and collaborative artistic tool in politically charged times.
This volume discusses documentary film, theater, and literature from the 1960s to the 2020s in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic states with a focus on contemporary practices. Methodologically innovative case studies address contemporary “witness art”—for example verbatim theater and spoken word poetry. The contributions expand on the political, medial, and aesthetic developments that shaped Soviet attitudes towards documentary arts. The essays outline how these concepts still influence contemporary practices, but also present new developments in documentary aesthetics in the region.
Kuna, Kamilla. Aesthetics of Boredom in post-soviet neighborhoods. Multisensory experience of Laumas microdistrict in Liepaja, Latvia. 2021. University of Helsinki. Open Access
Annotation
This research studies the environmental aesthetics of boredom in the light of post-soviet neighborhoods. While belonging to the grey zone in aesthetics, boredom is an integral part of mundane life that challenges us to notice the uniqueness of our everydayness. Even though mass housing provided an economically feasible solution for sheltering millions of people, it lacks the qualities that meet contemporary living and energy standards. Soviet mass housing architecture and microdistrict designs were led by the economic conditions in the first place. Mass housing was not meant to speak, whereas the residents should not be silenced because of it. We tend to preserve what we find aesthetically pleasing (Nassauer, 1997), yet, what is aesthetically pleasing and what about other values? In this project, preservation is essential for building a contemporary-oriented mindset that could lead to more sustainable and inclusive neighborhoods. The project aims to tackle the issue of Soviet districts through the eyes of its residents, contrasting the more often used top-down approach. Here I challenge the residents’ perception of their neighborhood and create a moment for reflection. By offering this space, I amplify the voices of the real experts, the ones knowing their microdistrict inside out. Environmental aesthetics is a relatively new concept within the contemporary urban planning scholarship, giving a fresh take on subjective experiences of urban settings that unveil profoundly rooted and often disguised problems. The interdisciplinarity in the research is met by merging disciplines such as sociology, urban aesthetics, urban history, and philosophy. The term boredom belonging to positive or negative aesthetic values is questioned the same as the legacy of Soviet mass housing later in the research. The ideology behind Soviet blocks is discussed, creating a common ground for diverse readers. Inclusivity is brought with resident participation through the visual research method - photovoice. To avoid biased data, the resident experiences are supported with the city planner’s point of view and secondary quantitative data. The findings include Laumas microdistrict resident photovoice analysis, putting the Laumas microdistrict residents as the primary information providers. Taking pictures of their everyday surroundings, residents are given space to show how they see their microdistrict, outlining the values they are proud of or giving perspective of what needs to be changed. Instead of one-sided creation, the curation is inclusive and more reflective of the urban environment’s already existing residents’ values of their neighborhood. Resident aesthetic preferences open broader discussion on the maintenance issues of microdistricts facing nowadays. Topics are various, but the primary outcomes discussed built environment aesthetics, renovation, communication, identity, resident initiative, automobile domination, and natural environment aesthetics. In the final part of the study, some possible directions for changing microdistrict are pointed out, and further research questions are presented. The project is incomplete until it reaches a broader audience and provides knowledge to politicians, city planners, and other residents.
New Journal Issues 📖
Journal of Baltic Studies, Vol. 57, No. 3 (2026).
link
Culture Crossroads, Vol. 34 (2026): “The Grammar of Time: Ontologies and Practices Across Cultures”, edited by Kaspars Kļaviņš.
This special issue contains articles by scholars representing diverse intellectual traditions and geographical contexts. Here, they explore the ways how time is conceptualized, experienced, represented, narrated, and regulated across cultures. These contributions approach temporality from a wide spectrum of views that encompasses philosophy, religious studies, linguistics, literary criticism, media studies, political thought, anthropology, and visual culture.
Open Access
** as a Journal*, Vol. Autumn/Winter, No. 10 (2025): “Spirit”, edited by Vaiva Grainytė.
Spirit as a Journal traverses various notions of the spirit: spirit as the opposite of physical reality, as the true self, vibe, charisma, attitude, or mood; spirit as a holy and/or outsider ghost. Feminist ecologies, devotion and queerness, the divine within the casual, and timeless archeologies are among the topics that will be explored by a constellation of contributing artists, researchers, poets, scholars, and writers. Shepherding this flock is guest editor Vaiva Grainytė – writer, playwright and poet, librettist and co-author of the Golden Lion-winning opera-performance Sun and Sea at the Venice Biennale (2019).
link
Latvijas Arhīvi, Vol. 1 (2026).
The 2026 issue of “Latvijas Arhīvi” presents seven research articles on Latvian history spanning six centuries, plus updates on the National Archive’s latest initiatives. You can purchase the issue by contacting [email protected]
Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis, Vol. 121 (2026): “(non)security limits”, edited by Agnė Narušytė, Skaidra Trilupaitytė.
Open Access
Kultūros barai, Vol. 6 (2026).
link
Colloquia, Vol. 57 (2026), edited by Gintarė Bernotienė.
link
News 📰
Two Baltic films have been selected for the Nordisk Panorama Forum section: Kristine Briede’s “Garden of Anna” and Arturas Jevdokimovas’ “See what I Say”. The full program’s here
Opportunities
Applications for the Kaljo Kiisa Young Filmmaker Scholarship are open until September 15, 2026 — awarding directors, producers, cinematographers, composers, artists, and creative teams up to age 40 for fiction films, documentaries, or music videos (feature-length or short) filmed in whole or in part in Ida-Viru County and completed within the last three years. Submit entries to Jõhvi Municipal Government at [email protected] with the subject line “K. Kiisa scholarship”. More here