Exiled Memories and Soviet Realities in Baltic Return Journeys

• In Event: Exile Memory and the Connection to the Homeland through Narratives of Displacement and Return

Abstract

This paper examines how Baltic exiles navigated memory, identity, and belonging during their return journeys to the Soviet-occupied Baltic republics, revealing the stark contrast between nostalgic recollections and the realities of Soviet rule. For those who fled Soviet annexation during and after the Second World War, the homeland remained an imagined space, preserved in pre-Soviet independence and cultural memory. However, upon return—often through tightly controlled visits arranged by “Intourist”—exiles encountered a landscape marked by Russification, ideological monuments, and economic transformation, carefully curated to project Soviet progress. Soviet authorities sought to control these encounters, directing visitors to selected sites, limiting unsupervised interactions, and using propaganda to reframe the historical narrative of annexation. This paper investigates how exiles experienced these journeys, the restrictions they faced, and the emotions of dislocation, loss, and political awakening that followed. Many struggled with the erasure of familiar landmarks, the suppression of national identity, and the absence of loved ones, reinforcing their sense of exile rather than reconciliation. For others, the visits strengthened their political resolve, fueling Cold War activism and advocacy for Baltic independence. 

Author

• Marta Starostina, U of Birmingham (UK)