Lithuanian Institute of History

This article reviews the development of assessments and interpretations of Vydnas's philosophical ideas in Lithuania during the Soviet period.Particular attention is given to the works of Vacys Bagdonaviius, the most famous and productive researcher of Vydnas's work during the Soviet era.It explains the types of philosophical historical interpretations applied in these works, the methodological approaches used, and their relationship with the then mandatory Marxist methodology (and ideology).It is stated that Vydnas's ideas are interpreted in V. Bagdonaviius's works by integrating and treating them holistically from the point of view of the whole (elements of other interpretations are only secondary).This whole encompasses Vydnas's creative life and his cultural and social circumstances.Vydnas's philosophy is analysed as an integral part of his biography.References to Marxist methodology should be viewed as artificial and demonstrative, as an inevitable nod to the demands of the time. SANTRAUKAStraipsnyje apvelgiama Vydno filosofini idj vertinim ir interpretacij raida sovietmeio Lietuvoje.

This study analyzes clay sources, ceramic paste recipes, and technological choices in Neolithic pottery from west Lithuania, where local hunter–fisher–gatherer groups encountered incoming communities of the Globular Amphora (GAC) and Corded Ware cultures (CWC) during the fourth to third millennium BCE. Thirty sherds from coastal Šventoji and the inland Biržulis region were analyzed by optical microscopy and SEM–EDS, revealing that most ceramic pastes comprise variegated hydromicaceous clay with quartz and feldspar. In Narva Culture pottery, vessels from the Biržulis region (Daktariškė 5) are dominated by fine-grained clay, whereas Šventoji examples are more variegated and diatom-bearing; both assemblages show organic inclusions (mussel shell, bone, charred plant material) and very low firing temperatures (<650 °C). GAC exhibits cross-site coherence, characterized by crushed, deformed, cataclastic muscovite granite in fine lacustrine clay and low firing temperatures (~650–750 °C). CWC from Daktariškė 5 geochemically clusters with Narva and hybrid-type pottery, while CWC at Šventoji aligns with GAC; both show low firing temperatures (~650–750 °C). Ceramic pastes contain argillaceous clasts partly diffused or intertwined with the main matrix; only a few show traits typical of grog. All pottery was made from local Quaternary glacial sediments, with cultural traditions and environmental context shaping clay selection and manipulation.

Based on historical sources, historiography, and archaeological evidence, this article examines the structure of river ports and harbours in the Grand Duchy of Lithuaniabetween the 16th and 18th centuries. Sources referred to riverside settlements as „port” (in Polish and Ruthenian) and „przystań” (or „pristanʹ” in Ruthenian). A “port” wasusually located in larger urban centres, while smaller towns and landed estates had “harbours.” The main distinction was based on quantitative and qualitative differences,with ports featuring wharves, warehouses, and shipyards, while harbours relied on natural sites for loading and unloading. The conducted study shows how people usedthe natural conditions for navigation.

Drawing on extensive archival sources, egodocuments – letters written by women during the Soviet era – and papers from governmental institutions within the medical system, this article explores the correlation of domestic violence and decisions around pregnancy termination in Soviet Lithuania. The author argues that social, economic, and emotional dependence on male partners, as well as physical and emotional violence women experienced, determined their reproductive choices, and were major factors in abortion decisions. Furthermore, this research reveals a problematic representation of domestic violence and abortion motives in the strategy of the Soviet public discourse, and explores the limitations of local government-sanctioned experts in addressing relevant concerns.

In Lithuania in 1918–1940 it is possible to state the aspirations to strengthen the Samogitian region and the Samogitian identity. The strengthening of the Samogitian identity had to be accompanied by the creation of a Samogitia/Samogitian regional memory culture. The article seeks to answer the questions: whether there have been targeted efforts to form a regional Samogitia/Samogitian memory culture and what signs confirm these processes in the public space. In search of answers to these questions, two case studies were carried out, the objects of which were selected: the Samogitian museum “Alka” and the monument “Žemaitis” built in Raseiniai.Based on the case studies, it is stated that there were purposeful efforts to form a regional Samogitia/Samogitian memory culture. This was due to the perception of the representatives of the regional elite with a Samogitian identity that Samogitian identity is not possible without a culture of memory that confirms and supports it. It is recognized that the regional memory culture of Samogitia needs institutions representing it, for example, a museum, whose expositions will embody the narrative of Samogitian history and it will help to maintain and establish Samogitian identity. The process of formation of Samogitian memory culture is witnessed by the manifestations of this culture with the help of monuments in public space. This expression is confirmed by the monument “Žemaitis” built in Raseiniai. This monument, with the help of a depersonalized Samogitian peasant image, presented a historical narrative about how in the 19th century during the national revival, the awakened nation restored the state of Lithuania through armed struggles and the Samogitians were active participants in this historical process. At the same time, the monument told the history of Lithuania in recent times and the role of Samogitia/ Samogitians in this history. It can be as an example of how regional and national historical narratives intertwine and how a regional memory culture is formed under the influence of a national memory culture.

The article provides an overview of the emergence of the term ethnic culture, analysing how the notion of ethnic culture is understood in the ethnology of Western countries, and how it is interpreted by the creators of ethnos theory. In Lithuania, not only cultural workers but also scholars and researchers understand ethnic culture very differently. In order to dispense with the chaotic and extremely varied understanding of ethnic culture in Lithuania, the author offers several possible ways out: 1) if most ethnologists and cultural workers in Lithuania have accepted the fundamental postulate of ethnos theory, recognising that ethnic culture can be discerned from the entirety of the culture of the nation, then the notion of ethnic culture existing in the theory of ethnos should also be adopted; 2) if this understanding is rejected, then guidance should be taken from the theoretical approach existing in the ethnology of Western countries requiring us not to apply the notion of ethnic culture when discussing cultures of nations.

Abstract This article reinforces the historiographical interpretation that highlights the negative consequences of the nationalizing Russian Empire for its western borderlands and shows that Tsarist nationality policy in the Kingdom of Poland had reached an impasse. It argues that educational policy powerfully highlights the limits of the empire in the Kingdom of Poland, regardless of its chosen policy. A more liberal policy, according to officials, risked secession; a nationalist one could not be effective in a society with a long historical and cultural tradition. Thus, this case study reveals a structural problem that the Tsarist government faced.

The article demonstrates that while writing the Life of the martyr John the New of Suceava, the first national Moldavian saint, the internationally known prolific Bulgarian author Gregory Tsam- blak must have used one of several existing Church Slavonic versions of the Byzantine Life of the venerable Chariton the Confessor, written by Simeon the Metaphrast, which is quite different it its plot. It is manifested in a quite extensive verbatim quotation of its incipit in the opening sentence of the text. Tsamblak must have consulted the Byzantine Life in its East Slavonic version, as the collation pre- sented in the article evidently shows, since only a weak connection with the South Slavonic version can be traced. The fact that Tsamblak used Symeon’s hagiography in the Church Slavonic translation and not in the Greek original excludes the theoretical possibility that the Life of John the New was origi- nally written in Greek by a different (anonymous) author, as it is sometimes assumed. It is explained by Gregory Tsamblak’s appreciation of the Jerusalem Typikon, quite new in the early 15th-century Moldova, while creating the new national Moldavian church cult of John the New of Suceava, since the ecclesiastic tradition features Chariton the Confessor as the earliest “creator” of the Jerusalem Typikon.

When the German Town (a settlement of Catholic merchants and craftsmen) began to emerge in the western part of the present Old Town of Vilnius in the last decades of the 14th century, the Catholic community relocated to this area. St Nicholas Church was built here before 1387 and it was the first Catholic church in the Old Town, around which the German City was established. However, in addition to this house of worship, there was another in the Catholic part of the city – the Franciscan Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Maria and a monastery.This monastery is considered to be the oldest one in Vilnius, however, the exact time of its construction, as well as that of the church, has not been determined. Due to the lack of historical sources and precise dates, the construction has been dated by different researchers from the first half of the 14th century to the beginning of the 15th century, i.e., with an error of 100 years. Archaeological investigations in the vicinity of the church and the monastery, which have been carried out since 1993, have provided some new hypotheses concerning the chronology and the earliest nature of human activity in this territory. The most recent excavations took place here in 2023, providing new insights into the development of the area through the discovery of objects and interdisciplinary research (radiocarbon dating, analysis of archaeobotanical remains, architectural research). This paper discusses the chronology and nature of the earliest development of the Franciscan church and monastery area, based on the available historical sources, archaeological and architectural research, including the results of most recent investigations.

Abstract Defining, measuring, and interpreting hate crime/hate speech is not an easy task in theory and legal-institutional practice as it is a relatively new concept. However, hate as a phenomenon is not new in terms of human co-existence. Thus, focusing upon sociological theory, this chapter considers various debates on the definitions and meanings of hate crime/hate speech. Second, it considers the complexities of the historical, socio-political, and cultural context in Lithuania in which the hate crime/hate speech issue discussed in this chapter is embedded. Third, the chapter considers why the current legislation and policing initiatives are faced with opposition that sometimes hinders the effective protection of the vulnerable communities from hate crimes and hate speech and examines how these communities in Lithuania are affected and how they respond to hate crimes/hate speech.