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Political reconsideration of the Soviet past: attitudes and actions of the Lithuanian elites
Политическое переосмысление советского прошлого: установки и действия литовских элит
[journal article]
Abstract Different political elite groups of post-communist Lithuania offer different accounts of the Soviet past. Even twenty years later, after the collapse of communism Lithuanian politicians (with the exception of certain conservative anti-nostalgic leaders allied with some populists) still do not have a... view more
Different political elite groups of post-communist Lithuania offer different accounts of the Soviet past. Even twenty years later, after the collapse of communism Lithuanian politicians (with the exception of certain conservative anti-nostalgic leaders allied with some populists) still do not have a unified and coherent view on the Soviet political and social practices, truths, and methods. However, conservatives are very consistent in their restrictive views about the past and are willing to engage in propagating decision-making that prevents them from repeating the actions of the past. Social democrats, liberals, and populists are much more internally divided and tend to display lukewarm attitudes towards the Soviet past and its political reconsideration. Yet, the present analysis of the adopted laws and public policies, alongside a study on the attitudes of political elites make it possible to conclude that anti-nostalgia, the negative assessment of the Soviet life-style, criticism of it and attempts to keep the former Soviet decision makers out of Lithuania’s public administration are key ways of treating the past in Lithuania. All efforts to accommodate a more permissive attitude towards the Soviet past and civil servants whose career began under the Soviets do not find much support within the Lithuanian elite.... view less
Keywords
political elite; Lithuania; culture of remembrance; collective memory; political action; communism; USSR; collective identity; coming to terms with the past; conception of history; political attitude; political ethics
Classification
General History
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Document language
English
Publication Year
2013
Page/Pages
p. 86-97
Journal
Baltic Region (2013) 3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2013-3-9
ISSN
2079-8555
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed