Daniel Silander | Linnaeus University (original) (raw)

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Papers by Daniel Silander

Nations and Nationalism, 2015

This is an original perspective on the construction of national identity in Soviet Lithuania. Dra... more This is an original perspective on the construction of national identity in Soviet Lithuania. Drawing on interviews with the Soviet Lithuanian intelligentsia (mostly writers) and other primary and secondary sources, Davoliūtė has written an engaging story about their contributions to the legitimation of the Soviet regime in Lithuania and their roles in deconstructing this system. Enriched with memorable photographs, this book analyses various processes related to modernisation in Lithuania, including the 'rustic turn', a cultural movement against Soviet modernity. By focusing on the construction of Soviet Lithuanian modernity and related traumas, such as mass resettlement from Lithuanian villages to the cities, collectivisation, the resistance movement, the book depicts the creation of Lithuanian collective identity during the Soviet period and its immediate aftermath. The Introduction outlines a compelling vision. Davoliūtė argues that it is necessary to incorporate the Holocaust and the displacement which other ethnic groups experienced into the story of the development of Lithuanian national identity. The first chapter describes the formation of national identity during the nineteenth century, astutely pointing out the divisions between the villages, which were mostly inhabited by Lithuanian-speaking peasants, and the cities, which were inhabited mostly by the Polish and Jewish minorities. The account of the developments during World War I and the interwar period highlights the attempts by Lithuanian intellectuals to modernise what they saw as traditional 'peasant' culture. This attempt at modernisation was interrupted by traumatic historical events, including the Holocaust and mass displacements after World War II, which radically changed the demographic structure of cities and villages in Lithuania. The author makes an astute observation that after World War II, the speed of urbanisation in Soviet Lithuania was breathtaking (from 15 per cent in 1945 to 68.1 per cent in 1989, p. 51). The following chapters explore the processes that accompanied this meteoric urbanisation, including the formation of the Soviet Lithuanian elites and their role in the creation of urban Soviet Lithuanian culture. Davoliūtė empathetically depicts the molding of the Soviet 'cultural corps' from young Lithuanian men, mostly with humble beginnings, who found pride in their new elite status in Soviet Lithuanian society. These men-very few women made it into the ranks of the Soviet Lithuanian elite-shared traumatic memories about displacement from villages and postwar dramas, but at the same time they felt an intense ambition to climb the social ladder. They became part of an exclusive and powerful guild, the Writers' Union, which gave them a privileged position in Soviet Lithuanian society and the power to shape national discourse. The chapters establishing connections between the 'rustic turn' in the 1960s and the rise of the nationalist movement Sąjūdis in the 1980s are the most interesting parts of the book. Davoliūtė conceptualises 'the rustic turn', a cultural movement that was marked by a fascination with tradition and rural life, as part of a transnational cultural movement in Europe and Russia during the twentieth century. In Soviet Lithuania, bs_bs_banner EN AS

Encyclopedia of Global Justice, 2011

The Swedish Institute of European Studies, 2007

Collegium News from the College of Europe Nouvelles Du College D Europe, 2002

Internationella Studier, 2007

Social Alternatives, Apr 1, 2009

Nations and Nationalism, 2015

This is an original perspective on the construction of national identity in Soviet Lithuania. Dra... more This is an original perspective on the construction of national identity in Soviet Lithuania. Drawing on interviews with the Soviet Lithuanian intelligentsia (mostly writers) and other primary and secondary sources, Davoliūtė has written an engaging story about their contributions to the legitimation of the Soviet regime in Lithuania and their roles in deconstructing this system. Enriched with memorable photographs, this book analyses various processes related to modernisation in Lithuania, including the 'rustic turn', a cultural movement against Soviet modernity. By focusing on the construction of Soviet Lithuanian modernity and related traumas, such as mass resettlement from Lithuanian villages to the cities, collectivisation, the resistance movement, the book depicts the creation of Lithuanian collective identity during the Soviet period and its immediate aftermath. The Introduction outlines a compelling vision. Davoliūtė argues that it is necessary to incorporate the Holocaust and the displacement which other ethnic groups experienced into the story of the development of Lithuanian national identity. The first chapter describes the formation of national identity during the nineteenth century, astutely pointing out the divisions between the villages, which were mostly inhabited by Lithuanian-speaking peasants, and the cities, which were inhabited mostly by the Polish and Jewish minorities. The account of the developments during World War I and the interwar period highlights the attempts by Lithuanian intellectuals to modernise what they saw as traditional 'peasant' culture. This attempt at modernisation was interrupted by traumatic historical events, including the Holocaust and mass displacements after World War II, which radically changed the demographic structure of cities and villages in Lithuania. The author makes an astute observation that after World War II, the speed of urbanisation in Soviet Lithuania was breathtaking (from 15 per cent in 1945 to 68.1 per cent in 1989, p. 51). The following chapters explore the processes that accompanied this meteoric urbanisation, including the formation of the Soviet Lithuanian elites and their role in the creation of urban Soviet Lithuanian culture. Davoliūtė empathetically depicts the molding of the Soviet 'cultural corps' from young Lithuanian men, mostly with humble beginnings, who found pride in their new elite status in Soviet Lithuanian society. These men-very few women made it into the ranks of the Soviet Lithuanian elite-shared traumatic memories about displacement from villages and postwar dramas, but at the same time they felt an intense ambition to climb the social ladder. They became part of an exclusive and powerful guild, the Writers' Union, which gave them a privileged position in Soviet Lithuanian society and the power to shape national discourse. The chapters establishing connections between the 'rustic turn' in the 1960s and the rise of the nationalist movement Sąjūdis in the 1980s are the most interesting parts of the book. Davoliūtė conceptualises 'the rustic turn', a cultural movement that was marked by a fascination with tradition and rural life, as part of a transnational cultural movement in Europe and Russia during the twentieth century. In Soviet Lithuania, bs_bs_banner EN AS

Encyclopedia of Global Justice, 2011

The Swedish Institute of European Studies, 2007

Collegium News from the College of Europe Nouvelles Du College D Europe, 2002

Internationella Studier, 2007

Social Alternatives, Apr 1, 2009