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ENGLISH

In The Captivity Of The Matrix - Soviet Lithuanian Historiography, 1944-1985

by Aurimas Svedas

147,08€ + 10% CARD

 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.
ENGLISH

On Their Own Behalf - Ewald Ammende, Europe'S National Minorities And The Campaign For Cultural Autonomy 1920-1936

by Martyn Housden

204,05€ + 10% CARD

 What form should Europe take? Should it be based on 'nation states' or 'states of nations'? On what basis should European unification proceed? Should it be an elite undertaking pioneered by statesmen elected to democratic government offices, or should true unification also demand a significant European cultural forum open to spokesmen and -women representing the continent's nationality groups? Was the League of Nations really such a thing? Or was it a League of States? All these questions were posed by Ewald Ammende and his fellow minority associates during the 1920s. Coming to terms with the consequences of collapsed empires and at least four years of conflict, they were forced to consider how best to re-build their continent as if it were a tabula rasa. In the process, they provided intelligent, perceptive analyses of the national and international affairs of the day, particularly as they affected Central and Eastern Europe. Their voices, reflecting their status as national minorities and a geographical location beyond the borders of the post-war Great Powers, deserve to be written more thoroughly into the history of the interwar years. Their ideas still provide food for thought even today.
ENGLISH

Prelude To Baltic Linguistics - Earliest Theories About Baltic Languages (16th Century)

by Pietro U. Dini

83,48€ + 10% CARD

 This book is a study of the relatively unknown field of Baltic linguistic historiography associated with the 16th century. This has been the saeculum mirabile of Baltic philology, not only on account of the first books having appeared during that period, but also due to the diverse linguistic ideas about the Baltic languages which were circulating during Renaissance Palaeocomparativism: the Slavic and the closely connected Illyrian theory, the Latin theory (with its variants: the semi-Latin, the neo-Latin, and the Wallachian), also the Quadripartite theory. Minor but significant linguistic ideas are also discussed here, for example the emergence of a Hebrew theory and the Greek theory about Old Prussian. The synoptic juxtaposition of the different ideas shows very well the state of knowledge in Europe about the languages which later would be called 'Baltic' and the modernity of those ideas within European Renaissance linguistic debate leading to the rise of comparative linguistic genealogy.
ENGLISH

Baltic Eugenics - Bio-Politics, Race And Nation In Interwar Estonia, Latvia And Lithuania 1918-1940

182,85€ + 10% CARD

 The history of eugenics in the Baltic States is largely unknown. The book compares for the first time the eugenic projects of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and the related disciplines of racial anthropology and psychiatry, and situates them within the wider European context. Strong ethno-nationalism defined the nation as a biological group, which was fostered by authoritarian regimes established in Lithuania in 1926, and in Estonia and Latvia in 1934. The eugenics projects were designed to establish a nation in biological terms. Their aims were to render the nation ethnically, genetically and racially homogeneous. The main agenda was a non-democratic state that defined its population in biological terms. Eugenic policies were to regenerate the nation and to reconstruct it as a "pure" and "original" race, Such schemes for national regeneration contained strong elements of secular religion.
ENGLISH

Human Sausage Factory - A Study Of Post-War Rumour In Tartu

by Eda Kalmre

103,35€ + 10% CARD

 Under certain conditions, some rumours, which were established as part of folklore already long ago, may become fixed in the memory and the subconscious of several generations. This is what happened with the rumour about a human sausage factory after the Second World War. In Tartu, Estonia, this rumour obtained a symbolic meaning and power due to the politics of the totalitarian Soviet regime. The memories of the post-war period are still vivid in the collective mind, and the onetime rumour of sausage factories incorporates the population's tensions, pain, loss, choices, defiance and irreconcilability. The individual and community emotions that are brought to a focus in this discourse are an indicator of defining social boundaries and behaviour, of 'us' and 'them'. When describing the events that took place in Tartu, folklore becomes a powerful tool with which to construe the meaning of the era at the social level. Through documents, photos and people's memories, the book offers an insight into the city of Tartu after the Second World War and reveals the several layers of meaning represented by rumour in this period.
ENGLISH

Life And Thought Of Lev Karsavin - &Quote;Strength Made Perfect In Weakness...&Quote;

by Dominic Rubin

218,63€ + 10% CARD

 "At last, Russia has begun to speak in a truly original voice." So said Anatoly Vaneev, a Soviet dissident who became Karsavin's disciple in the Siberian gulag where the philosopher spent his last two years. The book traces the unusual trajectory of this inspiring voice: Karsavin started his career as Russia's brightest historian of Catholic mysticism; however, his radical methods - which were far ahead of their time - shocked his conservative colleagues. The shock continued when Karsavin turned to philosophy, writing flamboyant and dense essays in a polyphonic style, which both Marxists and religious traditionalists found provocative. There was no let-up after he was expelled by Lenin from Soviet Russia: in exile, he became a leading theorist in the Eurasian political movement, combining Orthodox theology with a left-wing political orientation. Finally, Karsavin found stability when he was invited to teach history in Lithuania: there he spent twenty years reworking his philosophy, before suffering the German and Soviet invasions of his new homeland, and then deportation and death. Clearing away misunderstandings and putting the work and life in context, this book shows how Karsavin made an original contribution to European philosophy, inter-religious dialogue, Orthodox and Catholic theology, and the understanding of history.
ENGLISH

Transitions Of Lithuanian Postmodernism - Lithuanian Literature In The Post-Soviet Period

193,45€ + 10% CARD

 In 1990, Lithuania was the first of fifteen Soviet Republics to proclaim its independence from the USSR and, in doing so, dealt a fatal blow to this superpower. Overnight, this small country, whose very existence had been erased from the world map for 50 years, became Post-Soviet and proclaimed its return to a multicultural Europe. So, what happened then in the lives of Lithuanians? How did they survive the collapse of a planned economy and the crisis of values? How does Lithuania, together with the other Baltic countries, which had once been the most prosperous Republics in the USSR, come to terms with the fact that they are now among the poorest member nations in another transnational configuration - the European Union? These issues are actively addressed in the works of contemporary Lithuanian writers, whose texts are analyzed in the collection of articles, Transitions of Lithuanian Postmodernism: Lithuanian Literature in the Post-Soviet Period. Utilizing various perspectives, leading Lithuanian literary scholars discuss identity transformations and the discourse of reinterpretations of the past in contemporary Lithuanian prose, poetry, essay writing, and memoir. This book reveals both existentially universal dramas and specific experiences that arise from this unique double-post (Post-Soviet and postmodern) condition.
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Case For Latvia. Disinformation Campaigns Against A Small Nation

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ENGLISH

Case For Latvia. Disinformation Campaigns Against A Small Nation - Fourteen Hard Questions And Straight Answers About A Baltic Country

by Jukka Rislakki

145,75€ + 10% CARD

 What do we know about Latvia and the Latvians? A Baltic (not Balkan) nation that emerged from fifty years under the Soviet Union - interrupted by a brief but brutal Nazi-German occupation and a devastating war - now a member of the European Union and NATO. Yes, but what else? Relentless accusations keep appearing, especially in Russian media, often repeated in the West: "Latvian soldiers single-handedly saved Lenin's revolution in 1917", "Latvians killed Tsar Nikolai II and the Royal family", "Latvia was a thoroughly anti-Semitic country and Latvians started killing Jews even before the Germans arrived in 1941", "Nazi revival is rampant in today's Latvia", "The Russian minority is persecuted in Latvia..." True, false or in-between? The Finnish journalist and author Jukka Rislakki examines charges like these and provides an outline of Latvia's recent history while attempting to separate documented historical fact from misinformation and deliberate disinformation. His analysis helps to explain why the Baltic States (population 7 million) consistently top the enemy lists in public opinion polls of Russia (143 million). His knowledge of the Baltic languages allows him to make use of local sources and up-to-date historical research. He is a former Baltic States correspondent for Finland's largest daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and the author of several books on Finnish and Latvian history. As a neutral, experienced and often critical observer, Rislakki is uniquely qualified for the task of separating truth from fiction.
ENGLISH

Names Of Nihil

by Arvydas Sliogeris

78,18€ + 10% CARD

 In this book, probably for the first time in Western philosophy, an attempt has been made to point out and systematically explicate the problem scope of the Nothing (which is called Nihil in the book) and to try to explain the springhead of the excessive negativity, inherent only in the human being, or in other words, the springhead of the human's natural nihilism. Nihilism is treated here not as a posture, pose, or an ideological attitude, but as the spread of the human metaphysical nucleus, of Nihil. Nihilistic annihilation, manifesting itself as the road of the naming of Nihil and of the production of thingly crystals (artificial world) as a result of that naming, usually is called "history". Names of Nihil (language phenomena), being the antithesis of Nihil, falsify and cover up Nihil itself, turning it into "supreme" being, e.g. into "the One", "God", "Substance", "Matter", "Spirit", ad infinitum. This book should be interesting not only to philosophers or humanitarians, but also to all those who concern themselves with the total human condition.
ENGLISH

Continuity And Change In The Baltic Sea Region - Comparing Foreign Policies

by Ainius Lasas, David J. Galbreath e Jeremy W. Lamoreaux

103,35€ + 10% CARD

 Continuity and Change in the Baltic Sea Region uncovers the Baltic States' foreign policy transition from Socialist Republics to EU member-states. Situated between the Russian Federation and Northern Europe, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have had to manoeuvre within an often delicate sub-region. Since independence, the foreign policies of the Baltic States have been dominated by de-Sovietization and European integration. Lying at the crossroads between small state theory and identity politics, this analysis engages with the development of Baltic foreign policies as post-Soviet, small and transitioning states. The authors argue that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania dictated their early foreign policy agendas based on a process of identity construction and as a response to their regional environment. This process took the Baltic States from East to West in their foreign policy aspirations. Key factors in foreign policy making and implementation are discussed, as well as external factors that shaped Baltic foreign policy agendas. Overall, the book illustrates how continuity and change in the Baltic foreign policies has been shaped by both 'hard' and 'soft' factors. It is a study in the foreign policies of transitioning states and in this regard illuminates a much larger research area beyond its geographic focus.
ENGLISH

Neighbours Or Enemies? - Germans, The Baltic And Beyond

by John Hiden e Martyn Housden

88,78€ + 10% CARD

 This is the first attempt to redress the injustice done to the memory of German minorities by the popular equation of 'Lebensraum' and Nazism; minorities, many of whom chose to be neighbours rather than enemies and who over time peacefully shared with other nationalities the territorial space east of the Reich. Their borderland experiences, particularly in the Baltic region, the historic interface between East and West, are all the more relevant as Hitler's regime recedes into the past and Europe seeks to renew itself in the wake of the Cold War.
ENGLISH

Lost And Found - The Discovery Of Lithuania In American Fiction

by Ausra Paulauskiene

95,40€ + 10% CARD

 Ausra Paulauskiene's book Lost and Found: The Discovery of Lithuania in American Fiction targets American as well as European scholars in the fields of literature, ethnic studies and immigration. The author discovers obscure texts on Lithuania and alerts Western and Eastern academia to their significance as well as the reasons for their neglect. For the first time, Abraham Cahan's autobiography The Education of Abraham Cahan and Ezra Brudno's autobiographical novel The Fugitive receive an extensive coverage, while Goldie Stone's My Caravan of Years and Margaret Seebach's That Man Donaleitis (sic) receive their first scholarly consideration ever. The author argues that misrepresentations, misattributions and exclusions of Lithuanian legacy in the U.S. were produced by major political events of the twentieth century.
ENGLISH

Lithuania 1940 - Revolution From Above

by Alfred Erich Senn

156,35€ + 10% CARD

 In June 1940, as Nazi troops marched into Paris, the Soviet Army marched into Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; and weeks later, USSR ratified the Soviet takeover of these states. For half a century, Soviet historians insisted that the three republics had voluntarily requested incorporation into the Soviet Union. This title presents this account.
ENGLISH

Vasily Sesemann - Experience, Formalism, And The Question Of Being

by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein

197,43€ + 10% CARD

 Born in Vyborg in 1884 by parents of German descent, Vasily (Wilhelm) Sesemann grew up and studied in St. Petersburg. A close friend of Viktor Zhirmunsky and Lev P. Karsavin, Sesemann taught from the early 1920s until his death in 1963 at the universities of Kaunas and Vilnius in Lithuania (interrupted only by his internment in a Siberian labor camp from 1950 to 1956). Botz-Bornstein's study takes up Sesemann's idea of experience as a dynamic, constantly self-reflective, ungraspable phenomenon that cannot be objectified. Through various studies, the author shows how Sesemann develops an outstanding idea of experience by reflecting it against empathy, Erkenntnistheorie (theory of knowledge), Formalism, Neo-Kantianism, Freudian psychoanalysis, and Bergson's philosophy. Sesemann's thought establishes a link between Formalist thoughts about dynamics and a concept of Being reminiscent of Heidegger. The book contains also translations of two essays by Sesemann as well as of an essay by Karsavin.
ENGLISH

Baltic Postcolonialism

231,88€ + 10% CARD

 Emerging from the ruins of the former Soviet Union, the literature of the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia is analyzed from the fruitful perspective of postcolonialism, a theoretical approach whose application to former second-world countries is in its initial stages. This groundbreaking volume brings scholars working in the West together with those who were previously muffled behind the Iron Curtain. They gauge the impact of colonization on the culture of the Baltic states and demonstrate the relevance of concepts first elaborated by a wide range of critics from Frantz Fanon to Homi Bhabha. Examining literary texts and the situation of the intellectual reveals Baltic concerns with identity and integrity, the rewriting of previously blotted out or distorted history, and a search for meaning in societies struggling to establish their place in the world after decades - and perhaps millennia - of oppression. The volume dips into the late Tsarist period, then goes more deeply into Soviet deportations to the Gulag, while the main focus is on works of the turning-point in the late 1980s and 1990s. Postcolonial concepts like mimicry, subjectivity and the Other provide a new discourse that yields fresh insights into the colonized countries' culture and their poignant attempts to fight, to adapt and to survive. This book will be of interest to literary critics, Baltic scholars, historians and political scientists of Eastern Europe, linguists, anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, working in the area of postcommunism and anyone interested in learning more about these ancient and vibrant cultures.
ENGLISH

Upton Sinclair: The Lithuanian Jungle - Upon The Centenary Of The Jungle (1905 And 1906) By Upton Sinclair

by Giedrius Subacius

197,43€ + 10% CARD

 In his legendary novel The Jungle (1905 and 1906), Upton Sinclair included a conspicuous number of Lithuanian words, phrases and surnames. This volume is the first attempt to analyze aspects of Lithuanian linguistic and historical data from The Jungle. Sinclair discovered the Lithuanian language in Chicago and explored it with pleasure. He even confessed to having sang in Lithuanian. If you look for "a Lithuanian linguist" working in field-research conditions in Chicago's Back of the Yards-there is Upton Sinclair! The book targets Sinclair's motives for choosing Lithuanian characters, his sources and his work methods in "field-research" conditions in Chicago. Some real-life individuals-Lithuanian name-donors for the protagonists of The Jungle-are presented in this volume. Certain details of the turn-of-the-century Chicago depicted in The Jungle are also revealed-for example, the saloon where the actual Lithuanian wedding feast took place and its owner. This volume is of interest to American literary historians, sociolinguists, language historians, and those interested in the history of Lithuanian immigration to America and the immigrant experience in Chicago.
ENGLISH

Loyalty, Dissent, And Betrayal - Modern Lithuania And East-Central European Moral Imagination

by Leonidas Donskis

197,43€ + 10% CARD

 Loyalty and betrayal are among key concepts of the ethic of nationalism. Marriage of state and culture, which seems the essence of the congruence between political power structure and collective identity, usually offers a simple explanation of loyalty and dissent. Loyalty is seen as once-and-for-all commitment of the individual to his or her nation, whereas betrayal is identified as a failure to commit him or herself to a common cause or as a diversion from the object of political loyalty and cultural/linguistic fidelity. For conservative or radical nationalists, even social and cultural critique of one's people and state can be regarded as treason, whereas for their liberal counterparts it is precisely what constitutes political awareness, civic virtue, and a conscious dedication to the people and culture. "This book is the first attempt to provide a discursive map of Lithuanian liberal and conservative nationalism. Analyzing the works and views of dissenters and critics of society and culture, we can reveal a mode of being of liberal nationalism as a social and cultural criticism. This volume is of interest for intellectual historians, social theorists, students of East-Central European thought, and anyone interested in Baltic studies and the new members of the EU. Dissent: act of betrayal, or loyalty? Leonidas Donskis' new remarkable study is one consistent, thorough and dedicated effort to provide an answer to that question." - Zygmunt Bauman (from the Preface)
ENGLISH

Baltic States And Their Region - New Europe Or Old?

197,43€ + 10% CARD

 With EU and NATO membership for the Baltic States now a reality, this volume examines the relationship of the three countries, their constituent peoples and their surrounding region to the wider Europe, both historically and in the period since 1991. In particular, the contributors seek to locate the Baltic area within the manifold debates surrounding the concepts of "new" and "old" Europe, including those occasioned by the current conflict in Iraq. Covering issues of identity, sovereignty, minority rights, security and relations with Russia the work assesses the likely contribution of this region to an enlarged Euro-Atlantic community. It will appeal to specialists and students in the fields of area studies, history, politics and international relations.
ENGLISH

Estonia - Identity And Independence

197,43€ + 10% CARD

 In the span of only seventy years, Estonia first proclaimed its independence, was occupied and deprived of its sovereignty, saw many of its citizens deported, and yet managed to recover its independence. How did this small nation keep its language and traditions alive during half a century of occupation, and how did it maintain such a vivid sense of identity? For the first time in English, this book gives a comprehensive view of the events which shaped the destiny of contemporary Estonia. The Editor, Jean-Jacques Subrenat, has called upon an unusually broad spectrum of the best experts (in history, archeology, political science, genetics, literature), but also on some of the leaders who took part in the rebuilding of Estonia, to offer more than a history, rather a unique testimony on a nation reborn. Estonia: Identity and Independence provides rare insight into the many aspects of a country whose location in Northern Europe, within the European Union, and as a NATO ally, but also as a close neighbour of Russia, deserves the attention of scholars, journalists, and informed readers today. This volume includes a thorough chronology of Estonia (from prehistory to accession to the European Union), and a brief c.v. of each co-author. Estonia: Identity and Independence is also available in three other languages (Estonian, Russian, French).
ENGLISH

Vanished World Of Lithuanian Jews

197,43€ + 10% CARD

 "Papers presented in this collection were delivered at the international conferences in Nida (1997) and Tel'siai (2001), Lithuania"--P. (4) of cover.
ENGLISH

Forgotten Pages In Baltic History - Diversity And Inclusion

178,88€ + 10% CARD

 The years from 1918 to 1945 remain central to European History. It was a breath-taking time during which the very best and very worst attributes of Mankind were on display. In the euphoria of peace which followed the end of the First World War, the Baltic States emerged as independent forces on the world stage, participating in thrilling experiments in national and transnational governance. Later, following economic collapse and in the face of rising totalitarianism among even Europe's most cultured nations, Baltic communities succumbed to nationalism too. During wartime, Baltic peoples became both victims and, sometimes, victimisers. Ultimately their victimhood lasted until the end of the Cold War, yielding consequences still discernible at the start of the twenty first century. Taking the period 1918 to 1945 as pivotal, this collection of essays examines some of the key themes in Baltic History as they are emerging today. These include appreciations of identity, autonomy and the rights of national minorities; the everyday and social foundations of international security; and the importance of historical memory to popular and political identities.
ENGLISH

Last Ambassador - August Torma, Soldier, Diplomat, Spy

by Tina Tamman

141,78€ + 10% CARD

 Estonian ambassador August Torma had a protracted and unconventional relationship with the British Foreign Office. Appointed to the Court of St James's in 1934, Torma lost his government in 1940 when the Soviet Union overran his country, but continued to live at the legation in London and visit the Foreign Office. Gradually, however, his diplomatic standing was eroded because of Soviet demands. For Torma there was the very real fear that Britain might recognise the Soviet occupation of his homeland and he continued to reiterate his faith in international law in the hope that Estonia's stolen independence would be restored one day. He died in 1971, twenty years before the country regained its lost freedom. This book is a biography of Torma who had a remarkable life: he assisted in the creation of the Estonian state in 1918-20, worked for it during the inter-war period and struggled to keep its cause alive during and after the Second World War; it is also a study of the awkward relationship between the ambassador and the Foreign Office that lasted for more than three decades.
ENGLISH

Post-Communist Democratisation In Lithuania - Elites, Parties, And Youth Political Organisations. 1988-2001

by Diana Janusauskiene

100,70€ + 10% CARD

 Post-Communist Democratisation in Lithuania: Elites, Parties, and Youth Political Organisations. 1988 - 2001explains post-communist changes in Lithuania. The transformation of political party system, political elites and youth political organisations in Lithuania are examined in light of democratisation in other post-communist countries. By linking theories of democratisation and elites to actual events, the book provides an analytical framework for interpreting political regime change and development in Lithuania. The book is based on five assumptions: (1) democratisation in Lithuania belongs to a 'Western type' of democratic development; (2) elites and nationalism were the major forces in modernisation; (3) Lithuanian elites have used the favourable conditions of perestroika and were the major actors in regime transformation; (4) the crop of political elites in Lithuania undergoes a generational change, and youth political organisations are very important in this process as they serve as schools for future politicians; and (5) class theory is less useful than elite theory when analysing the process of democratisation in Lithuania.
ENGLISH

Soldiers Of Memory - World War Ii And Its Aftermath In Estonian Post-Soviet Life Stories

234,53€ + 10% CARD

 Soldiers of Memory explores the complexities and ambiguities of World War II experience from the Estonian veterans' point of view. Since the end of World War II, contesting veteran cultures have developed on the basis of different war experiences and search for recognition in the public arena of history. The book reflects on this process by combining witness accounts with their critical analysis from the aspect of post-Soviet remembrance culture and politics.The first part of the book examines the persistent remembrance of World War II. Eight life stories of Estonian men are presented, revealing different war trajectories: mobilised between 1941 and 1944, the narrators served in the Red Army and its work battalions, fought against the Soviet Union in the Finnish Army, Waffen-SS, Luftwaffe, the German political police force and Wehrmacht, deserted from the Red Army, were held in German and Soviet prison and repatriation camps.The second part of the book offers a critical analysis of the stories from a multidisciplinary point of view: what were the possible life trajectories for an Estonian soldier under Soviet and German occupations in the 1940s? How did the soldiers cope with the extreme conditions of the Soviet rear? How are the veterans' memories situated in terms of different memory regimes and what is their position in the post-Soviet Estonian society? What role does ethnic and generational identity play in the formation of veterans' war remembrance? How do individuals cope with war trauma and guilt in life stories? Offering a wide range of empirical material and its critical analysis, Soldiers of Memory will be important for military, oral and cultural historians, sociologists, cultural psychologists, and anybody with an interest in the history of World War II, post/communism, and cultural construction of memory in contemporary Eastern European societies.
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