July 2026. Digest #9

Publications 📚

Andrejevs, Dmitrijs. “The museum afterlife of iconoclasm: Lenin monument(s) and cultural memory in Latvia.” Journal of Baltic Studies, 2 July 2026 Open Access.

Abstract

This article examines the cultural imprints of the V.I. Lenin monument in Riga and its removal. Focusing on the exhibitions at, and outputs of, the major history museums in Latvia, my discussion highlights how the memory of the monument is sustained through the moment of its removal. In effect, this article argues that museums contribute to what can primarily be understood as a threshold memory with two key functions – mnemonic boundary-making and a framing event. The monument becomes an integral part in the visual narrative of Latvia’s recent history and is intertwined with memories of regime change.

Malinauskaitė, Gintarė. “Archival Documents in Documentary Cinema: The Public (Re)use of Nazi documents in Soviet Lithuania in the 1960s.” Journal of Modern European History, 30 June 2026 DOI.

Abstract

This article examines the public use of archival documents that recorded crimes committed during the German occupation of Lithuania. The focus is on the mediation of archival documents originally produced by the Nazi German authorities in the documentary trial film, Why Stones Do Not Keep Silent, released in 1962. The first part discusses how the archives gained political importance in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It shows how the history of World War II, Soviet war crimes prosecution and the (mis)use of archival documents were interrelated. The second part explores how Soviet Lithuanian documentary cinema was employed to mediate archival documents. The paper attempts to explain how, during the ‘second wave’ of Soviet justice in the 1960s, Nazi documents were instrumentalised to (re)shape historical narratives, construct enemy images and raise awareness of the history of the World War II. This study demonstrates that this archival material was mobilised to charge local Lithuanians with war crimes, while simultaneously reducing the creators of these documents – Nazi Germans – to an anonymous and voiceless occupying force that merely functioned as administrators and record-keepers of wartime atrocities.

Satkauskytė, Dalia. “The cultural and political value of sincerity in the literature of Soviet Lithuania.” World Literature Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 30 June 2026 Open Access.

Abstract

The concept of “sincerity” held different meanings across periods of the Soviet era, while retaining a shared political dimension. Lithuanian literature, as part of multinational Soviet literature, reflected broader Soviet developments but also displayed distinctive traits shaped by Lithuania’s later incorporation into the USSR, its interwar orientation toward Western culture, and the individual positions of writers. During the Stalinist period, sincerity functioned as a mechanism of ideological control: writers were expected to renounce their bourgeois past, declare loyalty to the regime, and repent previous “insincerity”. In the Thaw period, the imperative of sincerity in both Soviet and Lithuanian literature emerged as a reaction against Stalinist discourse, returning to personal experience and emphasizing lyricism in poetry and prose. In Lithuania, this tendency also meant a return to Romantic ideals, which paradoxically assumed the role of a cultural avantgarde. Yet the late Soviet cult of sincerity in Lithuanian literature also revealed dependence on the system, discouraging modernist and experimental forms that were often seen as alien to the national literary tradition.

Starostina, Marta. “Constructed Nationalism in Heritage Tourism and Identity in the Soviet Baltics.” Studies on National Movements, vol. 15, no. 1, 26 June 2026 Open Access.

Abstract

This article examines the role of Intourist, the Soviet Union’s state-run travel agency, in shaping foreign perceptions of the Soviet Baltic States—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—during the Cold War. It argues that Intourist was central to the promotion of Soviet nationalism through the careful curation of tourist experiences designed to project a positive image of Soviet governance and socialist modernity. Through tightly managed itineraries, trained guides, and controlled narratives, the agency highlighted industrial progress, urban development, cultural institutions, and modern infrastructure as evidence of the success and stability of the Soviet system, while deliberately countering Western criticism and negative propaganda. Despite the Soviet regime’s suppression of local nationalist aspirations, Intourist selectively incorporated elements of Baltic culture into its tours in order to enhance the region’s appeal to foreign visitors, presenting folklore, architecture, and historical sites as traditions preserved and elevated under socialism. This strategy reflected a calculated balance between promoting Soviet unity and acknowledging regional heritage within strictly defined ideological boundaries. The presence of exile tourists from the Baltic States posed particular challenges, as their memories of pre-Soviet independence and experiences of displacement often fostered scepticism towards official narratives, necessitating careful management, surveillance, and narrative control to prevent dissent. At the same time, tourism held significant economic importance for the Soviet Union by generating hard currency essential for funding state projects and acquiring Western goods and technology, although ideological constraints and political sensitivities frequently limited its financial potential. Overall, the article highlights the complex interplay between tourism, nationalism, and propaganda, demonstrating how Intourist navigated ideological, economic, and cultural pressures to project a favourable image of Soviet rule while contending with the realities of local identities and international perceptions.

Šteinbergs, Ivars. “Modernism in Soviet Latvia: Leons Briedis and Fernando Pessoa in translation.” Pessoa Plural—A Journal of Fernando Pessoa Studies, no. 29 Open Access.

Abstract

The paper examines the sporadic presence of modernist poetry within the ecosystem of Soviet literature during the occupation of Latvia, focusing specifically on the translations produced by the poet Leons Briedis (1949-2020) in the 1980s. Briedis was one of the most prolific translators of Portuguese-language poetry into Latvian, including the works of Fernando Pessoa, and his contribution to the reception of literary modernism was substantial. A critical analysis of both his translations and their reception reveals a central paradox of Soviet literary culture: while modernist poetics were permitted to penetrate the Iron Curtain through translation, similar aesthetic practices were simultaneously restricted in local literary production. In this context, translations of Portuguese poetry became both foreign and local, at once submitting to and resisting the contradictory forms of coloniality embedded within Soviet cultural policy

Jurkonytė, Ilona. “Spatial Parameters of Romuva Cinema Rescue.” Eastern European Screen Studies, vol. 17, no. 2, 4 May 2026 DOI.

Abstract

This paper proposes a spatial frame for analysis of transformations of cinema theatres in Lithuania since 1990. To better understand the processes and meanings that feature in the shift from state-controlled to free market cinema culture, spatial definitions are better suited than the traditional focus on cinephilia. While retaining attention on the cinema theatre space, this paper analyses the processes shaping post-USSR film exhibition culture and the effects it produces. This spatial analysis of cinema space is informed by author’s film curatorial practice; it applies discourse analysis, ethnographic, and autoethnographic methods. The paper explores debates around the public film screening infrastructures in the context of the shift from public to private ownership and the challenges of articulating public interest under such conditions. Through the case of Romuva cinema’s (Kaunas, Lithuania) rescue, the analysis highlights the formation and perseverance of cinematic public space across economic systems, legal frameworks, and institutional settings.

Morkevicius , Ingrida. “Soviet Holocaust Memory in Lithuania: Case Study of Skuodas.” *Oracle: The History Journal of Boston College *, vol. 11, no. 1, 2026 Open Access.

Abstract

This paper discusses the Holocaust in Skuodas and the trial that followed. The USSR had a wave of Holocaust trials in the 1960s, during which the perpetrators in Skuodas were held accountable. The Klaipeda trial stands out because of the propaganda surrounding the case. From the film created, to the news articles and international involvement.

Muravyeva, Marianna, Sigita Černevičiūtė, Monika Rogers. Violence Against Women in Eastern Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI

Annotation

This book offers a pioneering, interdisciplinary analysis of gender-based violence in Eastern Europe from the early modern period to the present. Through case studies of various Eastern European countries, the volume examines how empire, war, nationalism, socialism, and post-socialist transformation shaped legal, medical, and state responses to violence against women. It reveals how women’s suffering was repeatedly silenced, normalized, or politicized, particularly in times of conflict and authoritarian rule. Challenging Western-centric perspectives, the book positions Eastern Europe as a vital site for understanding the historical roots of contemporary debates on gender, justice, and memory.

Conferences 📢

From Exile to Post-Exile: Transformations, Transitions, and the Homeland Dates: 2026-08-27 to 2026-08-28
Place: Riga, Latvia, University of Latvia
Description: This conference, organised within the framework of the project “Navigating Post-Exile: Transformations and Transitions in the Latvian Exile Community after 1991” (No. lzp-2024/1-0114), explores the intertwined relationships between notions of exile, post-exile and the homeland. The conference welcomes contributions from various disciplines, including history, sociology, anthropology, literary and cultural studies, migration and diaspora studies, memory studies, and related fields. The keynote lecture at the conference will be delivered by Katja Sarkowsky, Professor at the University of Augsburg and one of the editors of the book “Nachexil / Post-Exile” (De Gruyter, 2020).
Website

Call for Papers 📝

Baltic Film History Conference - Off the Radar: Moving Images, Exhibition and Distribution Practices
Deadline: 2026-08-15
The conference Off the Radar: Moving Images, Exhibition and Distribution Practices invites scholars, archivists, artists, curators, and researchers to explore overlooked, marginal, unstable, and hybrid audiovisual cultures. The conference, which has usually focused on the Baltic Sea region, is for the first time collaborating with the Visegrád countries and invites researchers to explore cinematic processes throughout the long twentieth century and into the present. Bringing together perspectives from cinema and media studies, media archaeology, visual culture, cultural history, archival studies, anthropology, and related disciplines, the conference seeks to rethink the history of cinema beyond canonical narratives, national frameworks, and established institutional histories. The Baltic Sea Region and Visegrád Countries have long been a space of intense political, cultural, and technological transformations shaped by imperial formations, wars, occupations, socialism, colonial entanglements, welfare-state modernities, and neoliberal transitions. Its film and media cultures developed across multiple borders and asymmetries: between East and West, center and periphery, official and unofficial production, cinema and non-cinema, visibility and disappearance. The conference proposes to examine audiovisual practices that have often remained “off the radar” in film studies: educational and training films, newsreels, amateur, scientific and industrial films, expanded and mixed audiovisual forms, exhibition and distribution practices, lost or fragmented film histories, feminist and queer cinema narratives, transmedial cultural processes.
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New Journal Issues 📖

Methis, Vol. 30, No. 37 (June 2026): “Special Issue on Blue Humanities”, edited by Ene-Reet Soovik and Elle-Mari Talivee. Open Access

Festivals & Screenings 🎬

Deep Rivers Flow Quietly 2026 “Home” Dates: 2026-07-07 to 2026-08-13
Place: Vilnius, Lithuania, Railway Museum (hangar)
Description: The 2026 “Deep Rivers Flow Quietly” festival centers on the theme of “home” exploring it not as a fixed location, but as a fragile, evolving process shaped by time, geopolitical shifts, and human connection. Through a curated selection of restored international films and personal archives, the program examines how we create, lose, and rediscover our sense of belonging. By addressing topics ranging from family life and neighborhood dynamics to the impact of migration and conflict, the festival invites audiences to reflect on how our understanding of “home” is continuously redefined by the world around us.
Website

Media & Podcasts 🎧

Unlikely Alliance, Uncertain Future (Podcast)
By: Baltic Ways
The Baltic states are stalwart NATO members today, but their membership was not assured from the moment they restored their independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. They fought to overcome the reticence of other allies, then proved themselves as devoted partners on battlefields in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, this alliance is once again in question. What does it mean to the Baltic states, and what does the future hold? Ben Gardner-Gill chats with Dr. Andris Banka about his research and cautiously optimistic view about what comes next.
Watch/Listen

News 📰

NECS 2027 coming to Vilnius!

Audrius Stonys became a member of the Motion Picture Academy

Quick Links 🔗

The New York Times published a guide on Vilnius. Check it here

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