In the Captivity of the Matrix : Soviet Lithuanian Historiography, 1944-1985

This book aims to unveil the formation of the Soviet-era Lithuanian historiographical official discourse (from 1944 until 1985, when the last Soviet synthesis was published), to show how it was affected by the mechanisms that created it, and to discuss what kinds of behavioural models historians chose under the duress of this discourse, thereby answering the question of whether the resulting body of unified claims - texts on the history of Lithuania - offer any alternative cases of independent thinking. In order to realize the afore-mentioned aim of this book, the following questions (divided into five groups) are to be deliberated, which open the way to taking a phenomenological and axiological glance at Lithuanian historiography from the Soviet period: What place and role in the Soviet state’s social system had the Communist Party afforded the science of history? Which institutions formed the official historiographical discourse, which had to live up to the wishes of the Party elite and maintain its vitality? What are the characteristics of the general ideology and methodology of this official discourse that created the past and the thinking “masks” of the scientists who researched this past? What were the ideological and methodological “errors” made by Soviet-era historians that ended up bringing down the official discourse monolith? What figures, and which conjunctural or non-conformist actions, challenges and conflicts can be considered fateful in the evolution of Soviet-era historiography? Do the general schemes of political and socio-cultural development in the Soviet period and the turning-points therein apply to the science of history in Lithuania in 1944-1985? What are the most important features of the temporal and spatial models in syntheses of Lithuanian history that were released in the Soviet period? To what extent are these models based on logical thinking, and consistent and adequate in their expression of the details of the Lithuanian nations past? Were attempts made in Soviet-era Lithuanian historiography to creatively apply the ideas of Marx and Engels? The answering of the questions listed above determined the structure of a prologue, epilogue and five chapters. Introduction Historiography Prologue What Forms had Lithuanian Historiography Taken on Prior to the Soviet Occupation? Characteristics of Soviet-Era Lithuanian Historiography External Characteristics Internal Characteristics Formation of the Official Historical Discourse (1944-1956) Position: Factors that Formed the Discourse 62 Opposition I: The Challenge Posed by the Older Generation of Historians (“Lost in Time and Space’) Opposition II: The Stance Taken by the “Ideologically Oriented Humanists” Opposition III: “An Outsider” Who Wanted to do Small but Good Deeds in History The Search for Turning-Points in the Evolution of Soviet-Era Lithuanian Historiography: 1956 (?) Processes within the Official Discourse (1957-1985) Historians* Behaviour Models and the Official Discourse Scholars’ Attempts at Correcting the Official Discourse “Janus” Challenges the Community of Historians and the Official Version of the Past Tensions in the Historians’ Community in the 1970s-1980s "Syntheses of History": Expression of the Official Discourse and the Search for Alternatives The Periodization Model in Soviet-Era Syntheses of Lithuanian History The Spatial Model in Soviet-Era Syntheses of Lithuanian History The Search for Alternative Periodizations and Spatial Models Alternatives to the Official Discourse in Research on Feudalism Features of Research on the Rise of Serfdom in Lithuania The “Latently Operating Paradigm” in Research on Early Grand Duchy of Lithuanian Society Conclusions Epilogue A Glance at Post-Soviet Lithuanian Historiography This book is about the past and its falsification, historians and the Soviet ideological Matrix. It aims to unveil the formation and existence of Soviet-era Lithuanian historiography, to show how it was affected by mechanisms that created it, and to discuss what kinds of behavioural models different scholars choose in front of the dilemma: to tell the truth or to lie? The answering of these questions determined the structure of the book, which consists of a prologue, five parts and an epilogue.The book will be useful for those interested in the politics of Soviet history and the evolution of the historiography of that time, the processes of the indoctrination of Soviet society, the relationship between the intellectuals and the authorities of the Soviet period. This book is about the past and its falsification, historians and the Soviet ideological Matrix. It aims to unveil the formation and existence of Soviet-era Lithuanian historiography, to show how it was affected by mechanisms that created it, and to discuss what kinds of behavioural models different scholars choose in front of the dilemma: to tell the truth or to lie? The answering of these questions determined the structure of the book, which consists of a prologue, five parts and an epilogue. The book will be useful for those interested in the politics of Soviet history and the evolution of the historiography of that time, the processes of the indoctrination of Soviet society, the relationship between the intellectuals and the authorities of the Soviet period In the Captivityof the Matrix: Soviet Lithuanian Historiography, 1944-1985 -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Historiography -- PROLOGUE What Forms had Lithuanian Historiography Taken on Prior to the Soviet Occupation? -- CHAPTER 1 Characteristics of Soviet-Era Lithuanian Historiography -- External Characteristics -- Internal Characteristics -- CHAPTER 2 Formation of the Official Historical Discourse (1944-1956) -- Position: Factors that Formed the Discourse -- Opposition I: The Challenge Posed by the Older Generation of Historians ("Lost in Time and Space") Opposition II: The Stance Taken by the "Ideologically Oriented Humanists"--Opposition III: "An Outsider" Who Wanted to do Small but Good Deeds in History -- The Search for Turning-Points in the Evolution of Soviet-Era Lithuanian Historiography: 1956 -- CHAPTER 3 Processes within the Official Discourse (1957-1985) -- Historians' Behaviour Models and the Official Discourse -- Scholars' Attempts at Correcting the Official Discourse -- "Janus" Challenges the Community of Historians and the Official Version of the Past -- Tensions in the Historians' Community in the 1970s-1980s CHAPTER 4 "Syntheses of History": Expression of the Official Discourse and the Search for Alternatives -- The Periodization Model in Soviet-Era Syntheses of Lithuanian History -- The Spatial Model in Soviet-Era Syntheses of Lithuanian History -- The Search for Alternative Periodizations and Spatial Models -- CHAPTER 5 Alternatives to the Official Discourse in Research on Feudalism -- Features of Research on the Rise of Serfdom in Lithuania -- The "Latently Operating Paradigm" in Research on Early Grand Duchy of Lithuanian Society -- Conclusions Aurimas Švedas. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.