End of cultural & historical post-Soviet period and Russian propaganda in the Baltic States

• In Event: Post-Communist Russian Influence in the Baltic States

Abstract

Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February, changed the post-Cold War orientation of Western Europe and had a profound impact on the West's attitude towards Russia. The paper analyses how Russia's imperialist position was disseminated through soft power in the Baltic States when Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, when Russian propaganda was taken to the next level - as the geocentric model of Russkiy Mir - and reinforced by various mechanisms directly supported by the Russian Federation, either through direct political action or through unofficial networks. Around 2005, a geo-cultural concept was introduced in Russia, aiming at a "soft" cultural imperialism analogous to the US cultural penetration. A new propaganda trend in Russia emerged when the Baltic countries and Russia categorically disagreed on the interpretation of the events of 1939-1940. Russian propaganda sought to spread the Russian version of the Second World War in the Baltic States. Russian propaganda now emphasises the re-establishment of Russia as an empire in the Soviet Union, the importance of Russian imperial nationalism and the rejection of Western values, because opposition to the decline of Russian power is a form of Russian patriotism which does not recognise the principle of peaceful coexistence of nation states. From the begining of war in Ukraine Russia is pursuing an hard imperial policy that integrates the legacy of both Tsarist and Communist Russia. The paper also analyses how the Baltic countries have continued to distance themselves from Russia's cultural and historical sphere since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Short Bio

VYGANTAS VAREIKIS is a Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology in Klaipėda University (Lithuania). In 1980-1985 he studied history in Vilnius University. Graduated B.A. Proceeding to M.A., 1985. 1988-1992 doctoral studies in Vilnius University. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Vytautas Magnus University in 1999 for dissertation “Political and military activity of the Lithuanian Riflemen Union (1919-1923)”. 1992-1994 Lecturer of Modern European History and Political Sciences in University of Klaipėda. March 1996 Visiting professor in Gothenburg University, Sweden.2001-2019 Head of History Department, University of Klaipėda. In 2002 he took an internship in Lady Magdalene Hall, Oxford University. He has participated in scientific conferences in universities and research institutions in Germany, Poland, Italy, UK, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Italy, USA etc. In general, his research is focused on the 19th-20th century Lithuanian history with a focus on Jewish – Lithuanian relations and anti-Semitism, Lithuanian military history and propaganda, the history and memory of World War I and WWII in Lithuania. His recent book published in 2021 (a co-authored collective study) “Macikai; A place of Remembrance on the Edge of Europe” deals with the issues of remembrance POW and Gulag place in Macikai site.

Author

• Vygantas Vareikis, University of Klaipeda, Lithuania