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Publications 📚
Zelče, Vita, Marita Zitmane. “A Gendered Memorial Landscape: Women and the Making of Commemorative Places in Latvia.” Gender, Place & Culture, 23 May 2026 DOI.
Harry, Nicole. “For Church and State: Catholic Petitioning and Soviet Legitimacy in Lithuania, 1964–1979.” The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review, vol. 53, no. 2, 7 Jan. 2026 DOI.
Abstract
When the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in 1944, Soviet leaders expected the new republic to assimilate into established policies of state atheism. Instead, Catholicism remained the predominant religion among Lithuanians and retained its central role in Lithuanian national identity. My research investigates the tensions between Lithuania’s Catholic community and Soviet atheist ideology through the intersection of religious expression and institutional action. This paper utilizes bureaucratic documents and diverse correspondence to address two central questions: to what extent would Soviet administrators compromise ideology for stability, and what influence did Lithuania’s Catholic community have on an atheist state? Believers’ open engagement with Soviet administrators, as well as their belief that administrators might act on their behalf, signifies the priority of stable governance over ideological goals concerning Catholicism in Lithuania. This paper highlights the disparity between the rhetoric of Soviet administrators and the practical decisions implemented in the Soviet Union’s geographical peripheries.
Banka, Andris. America, the Baltic States and the Making of an Unlikely Security Alliance. Springer Nature Switzerland, 2026. Open Access
Annotation
This open access book reckons with the US-Baltic security alliance. It traces the uncertain beginnings of this partnership, illuminating how the United States, rather than Europe, became the key underwriter of Baltic security. The manuscript captures the many contradictions, setbacks and disappointments that had to be overcome on both sides of the Atlantic for these ties to mature into a formal treaty alliance. Drawing upon sizable archival material and interviews with key participants, the book’s chapters illuminate America’s stance and role on the questions of Baltic independence, Russian troop removal in the early 1990s, and the Baltic road to NATO. Turning to current affairs, the material scrutinizes the United States’ force posture on NATO’s eastern flank alongside the enduring question of alliance abandonment.
Davoliūtė, Violeta, Neringa Latvytė, Ignė Rasickaitė, Rūta Vyšniauskaitė. “From Monologue to Dialogue? Museums, Memory, and Identity in the Vilnius Region.” Lituanus, vol. 72, no. 1, 2026 Open Access.
Kūle, Maija. “He Phenomenological Teaching of Nelly Motroshilova in the Context of the Awakening of the Spirit of Freedom in the Baltic Countries.” Philosophy Through Its History: The Intellectual Legacy of Nelly V. Motroshilova, Brill, 2026. link
Annotation
This chapter examines the introduction and development of phenomenology in the Baltic region of the USSR, highlighting the substantial role of Professor Nelly Motroshilova in Moscow, whose writings, teaching, and doctoral supervision shaped a new generation of Latvian scholars, including Ella Buceniece and Juris Rozenvalds. It traces the Riga phenomenological circle’s engagement with Western European philosophical traditions, which had been established in the region in the 1920s and ’30s, and situates their work as a form of intellectual dissent or parallelism under Soviet rule. The chapter surveys the circle’s accomplishments before 1990, including the publication of four phenomenological books and the defense of nine doctoral theses, and after 1990, including the organization of two international phenomenology conferences and the publication of two volumes with Kluwer Academic Publishers and Springer, the latter devoted to eco-phenomenology. Through this historical lens, the chapter illustrates how the Riga circle both advanced phenomenological scholarship and contributed to the broader modernization of intellectual culture in the Baltic region.
Ozoliņš, Jānis, Kārlis Vērdiņš. “Performing Working-class Masculinity in Soviet Latvian Painting: the Case of Edgars Iltners.” Zinātniskie raksti. 15 (XXXV), Feministiskie skatījumi arhīvos un mākslās, Latvijas Nacionālā bibliotēka, 2026. Open Access
Annotation
The article examines the construction of masculinity in Edgars Iltners’s (1925–1983) group portraits of working-class men from the 1960s and 1970s. In the late 1950s, Iltners was recognized as one of the pioneers of the so-called Severe Style in Soviet art, which sought to liberate socialist realist painting from the rigid restrictions of the Stalin era and to create a modern, typified, and heroic image of the contemporary Soviet citizen. During the 1960s and 1970s, Iltners frequently depicted working-class men – factory workers, farmers, fishermen, and soldiers – whose collective portrayals conveyed positive affects aligned with Soviet narratives of progress and industria- lization. Today, when such idealized representations of Soviet citizens appear false or implausible, new questions arise regarding the interpretation of these figurative compositions. Following the question raised by the 2024 Latvian National Museum of Art exhibition In the Name of Desire concerning representations of sexuality in Latvian art history, this article analyzes Iltners’s multi-figure compositions in the context of gender studies, problematizing their expressions of homosociality and corporeality, while also emphasizing the significant role of technology in his later works.
Polk, Eli. “Remembering Difficult History: the Holocaust in the Baltic Museums of Occupation.” CURCA, vol. 31, 2026 link.
Abstract
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia all share a traumatic history in the second half of the 20th Century. From 1940-1991, all three countries were continuously occupied by either Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. These occupations make up a critical part of the three nations’ identities, and the museums of occupation in each country’s capital serve as sights of memory for the suffering of the countries’ people. The suffering of different groups under occupation is not treated equally in these museums however, and this is representative of a larger struggle in the Baltic states over the memory of the Nazi and Soviet occupations. All three museums focus heavily on the Soviet occupation and their crimes committed against the dominant ethnic group in each country. Where each museum differs is on how the Nazi’s genocide of the Baltic Jewish population is discussed. Hundreds of thousands of Baltic Jews were murdered during the Nazi occupation, most by local Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians who willingly chose to aid the Nazis in their genocide. This history of collaboration with the Nazis and the Baltic peoples’ role in the Holocaust is a topic of deep contention in the three countries. This project seeks to explore this contention around the Holocaust and the Baltic peoples’ role in it. By using the museums of occupation as a litmus test, I will look at all three museums individually, explore how the Holocaust is represented in each, and discuss how the museums represent a larger struggle over national memory.
Muktupāvela, Rūta, Ieva Vītola. “Latvian Hillfort Folklore: Historical and Contemporary Insights.” Folklore: Electronic Journal of Folklore, vol. 98, Apr. 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
The article examines Latvian hillfort folklore using an interdisciplinary approach that combines data from archaeology, folkloristics and ethnological research. Particular attention is paid to the functional aspects of hillfort folklore in the archaeological discovery process, as well as to the thematic continuity of hillfort folklore from archival records of the 1920s to fieldwork data from 2023. Interest in hillforts as historical objects became relevant in the second half of the 19th century, when studies started and collected data were systematically supplemented with folklore – legends, stories and toponyms. Interest in hillforts also continued in interwar Latvia, and, although less intense, also remained after World War II. In recent years, with the development of technologies and the use of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) capabilities, more than 70 new hillforts have been discovered; nevertheless, researchers are still using folklore for site identification. With regard to Latvian hillfort folklore, three basic functions can be distinguished: it serves as a verification tool for the site of the hillforts, affects the content dimension of the place identity narrative and provides an opportunity for local communities to creatively communicate the value of their place of residence in a wider sociocultural context. While analysing the tradition of Latvian hillfort folklore, five thematic groups can be distinguished in legends and stories: 1) a sunken castle/church on a hill, 2) a mountain covered with the corners of hats/coats, 3) treasure hidden in a mountain, 4) cosmogonic actions of God and/or the Devil, and giants on a hill, 5) hillforts are given significant names. Hillfort folklore continues to be relevant nowadays. A case study of three hillforts in Baltinava parish, northeastern Latvia (Alotāji, Puncuļova, and Svātiune / Bell Hill) demonstrates, on the one hand, the thematic continuity of hillfort folklore and, on the other, reflections of contemporary realities related to entertainment, everyday life and even esoteric practices.
Linkevičiūtė, Jorūnė. “Feminist Histories of (post)socialism.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 51, no. 4, 1 June 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
Feminist histories have been written, rewritten, and unwritten based on universalized liberal frameworks, privileging Western feminist paradigms over sociopolitical realities on the ground. This article seeks to trouble the dominant account of feminism’s development in (post)-socialist Lithuania by, first, reflecting on the prevalence of Western liberal frameworks in constructing (Lithuanian) feminism and, second, critically examining how socialist feminism has been erased from contemporary accounts of Soviet history. This article challenges the prevailing depictions that position Soviet women as passive subjects with no agency. By moving away from a Western-centric account of what is deemed “feminist,” the article calls for a rethinking of agency and emancipatory practices within the specific constraints and possibilities of different sociopolitical and ideological superstructures, whether it be state socialism or neoliberal capitalism. The article proposes embedding socialist feminism as a legitimate historical development with its own logic and ongoing legacy. Such rethinking allows for an account of feminism that is rooted in Lithuania’s specific sociopolitical context, repositioning the (post)-socialist space as a producer rather than merely a recipient of feminist knowledge.
Garda-Rozenberga, Ieva. “Living Next to the Port: Urban Environmental Transformation and Place Identity in Soviet and Post-soviet Riga.” The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review, 23 Apr. 2026 DOI.
Abstract
This article examines urban environmental transformation and place identity in Soviet and post-Soviet Riga through the lens of environmental oral history. Focusing on the Lower Daugava neighbourhoods, it explores how Soviet industrial and urban planning policies reshaped not only the physical landscape but also the affective, social, and ecological relations of residents. Drawing on biographical interviews, the study reveals how people experienced, interpreted, and remembered environmental degradation, displacement, and the loss of familiar spaces. During the post-Soviet era, the article identifies practices of return and re-attachment as emerging forms of eco-social agency, through which individuals attempt to restore a sense of continuity and belonging within altered urban ecologies. The analysis contextualizes personal narratives within broader political and environmental histories, demonstrating how memory, sensory experience, and emotion influence the reconstruction of place identity in a city still marked by Soviet environmental legacies.
Saleniece, Irēna. “Lithuanians in Twentieth-century Latvia: Their Representation in Oral History Sources.” Lituanistica, vol. 72, no. 1, 14 Apr. 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
The article examines some aspects of the self-awareness of the Lithuanians born in the 1920s and the 1930s and living in Latvia, which are reflected in their life stories. The interviews were recorded during field research by the Daugavpils University Oral History Centre in south-eastern Latvia. These oral history sources reflect some features of the narrators’ identity: Lithuanian ethnicity (Lithuanian language skills, everyday life habits, Catholicism, etc.) and connection with Latvia (understanding of Latvian history and some characteristics of historical consciousness, attitude towards Latvians). The analysis of the sources reveals that Lithuanian ethnicity is not the determining feature of the self-awareness of the studied group. Certain common value orientations and features of Latvian national identity are observed, which are characteristic of the majority of Latvian residents of the said generation. Despite a certain degree of ‘otherness’, Lithuanians in south eastern Latvia perceived themselves as members of the local society.
Uškāns, Andris, Regita Zeiļa, Artis Zvirgzdiņš. “Beyond Postmodernism: Contested Narratives of 1980s Latvian Rural Architecture.” Architecture and Urban Planning, vol. 22, no. 1, 1 Jan. 2026 Open Access.
Abstract
Latvia’s 1980s rural cultural centres, built as multifunctional hubs, are framed by scholars as postmodern resistance to Soviet uniformity, but rural voices are overlooked. Using archival research and oral histories from six communities, this study contrasts professional narratives with local views of pragmatism and utility. Findings show these centres as “lived” social spaces shaped by local leadership, not just “conceived” ideological ones. This repositions them as hybrid artefacts for post-Soviet heritage.
New Journal Issues 📖
Journal of Baltic Studies, Vol. 57, No. 2 (2026). link
Baltic Worlds, Vol. XIX, No. 2: “Civic Activism in Russia”, edited by Ekaterina Kalinina. Baltic Worlds’ new special issue examines how Russian civil society continues to act under conditions designed to silence dissent. Bringing together research on everyday resistance, environmental activism, digital feminism, and anti-war movements, the issue offers important insights for researchers and civil society actors working on Russia today. Open Access
Lituanus, Vol. 72, No. 1 (2026). Open Access
Talks & Lectures 🎤
Baltic Worlds’ Special Issue (Presentation)
By: Baltic Worlds/CBEES in collaboration with Östgruppen
Date: 2026-06-08 (17:00-19:00) 📅 Add to Calendar
Place: Stockholm, Sweden, Solidaritetshuset
Description: Presentation of the issue and a roundtable discussion with guest editor Ekaterina Kalinina, Associate Professor at Stockholm University and project researcher at Södertörn University; Daniil Zhaivoronok, researcher at Tampere University and author of the article on digital feminism; and Vitaly Servetnik, environmental activist and contributor to the issue on climate activism. The discussion will be moderated by Amanda Valentin, Head of Office at Östgruppen, and take place at Östgruppen premises.
Website
Call for Papers 📝
22nd Aabs Australasian Chapter Conference
Deadline: 2026-08-15
The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS) Australasian chapter is proud to announce that our 22nd biennial conference will be held on 10-11 October 2026 at Campion College Australia in Sydney. This is first time that the conference will be held in New South Wales.
Apply
Journalistica – the Nordic Journal of Journalism Studies - The future of Nordic journalism (20 years anniversary issue)
Deadline: 2026-08-10
Apply
Media & Podcasts 🎧
Slow Memory, Slow Conflict: a Conversation on How Baltic History is Shared and Represented (Podcast)
By: Baltic Ways
In this episode of Baltic Ways, Dr. Indra Ekmanis speaks with Professors Violeta Davoliūtė and Ene Kõresaar about their contributions to a special issue of Slovak Ethnology. Co-edited by Davoliūtė, the issue focuses on slow memory. Kõresaar, together with colleague Kristi Jõesalu (who contributed to this episode outside of the recording), brought comparative research on slow conflict in Baltic history museums and the representation of Russophone minorities to the issue. The discussion also explores the academic value of slowing down in research and how this contrasts with the broader pressures to publish quick results.
Watch/Listen
News 📰
The AABS announced its selection of two Journal of Baltic Studies (JBS) articles to receive the 2024 and 2025 Vilis Vītols Article Prize, and a third to receive an Honorable Mention.
- Karl Stuklis has been awarded the 2024 Prize for his article, “Revisionist national narratives in the memoirs of Estonian and Latvian Waffen-SS Legionnaires,” published in JBS 55:1.
- Erfan Fatehi, Juha Herkman, Joonas Koivukoski, and Liisi Laineste have been awarded the 2025 Prize for their article, “National identity through the prism of satire: humor scandals in Estonia 1991–2022,” published in JBS 56:4.
- Ingrid Ruudi has been awarded an Honorable Mention for her article, “Tallinn’s Freedom Square as a heterogeneous public space,” published in JBS 56:2.
Quick Links 🔗
“From Regivärss to Kivirähk: A Brief Overview of Estonian Literature” by Hilary Bird. Read at DeepBaltic
The Baltic Role in the Soviet Collapse: An Interview with Una Bergmane. Read at DeepBaltic
Tue Steen Müller’s little love letter to Vilnius at his blog
Valdis Celmiņš on Digital Cinema, Documentary Filmmaking, and the Passing of Time: An Interview with the Latvian Answer to Roger Deakins. Read
“Inmates running an asylum: on Kaljo Kiisk’s cult Estonian satire Madness” by Joshua Polanski. Klassiki
Ulya by Viesturs Kairišs premiered at Cannes. Read reviews from Chris Mello and Davide Abbatescianni