We vs. They: The Image of the Enemy in Pro-Soviet and Anti-Soviet Propaganda in Lithuania, 1988-1991

• In Event: Revolt of Words: Inverting the New Political Vocabulary in Late Perestroika Eastern Europe

Abstract

The conflict between Lithuania and Moscow in the late Perestroika period let to informational confrontation. At a time of political struggle, the authorities actively used the rhetoric the Second World War and pre-war period. Less than for three years (1988-1991), Lithuanians became "nationalists" and "fascists", Russian speakers became "invaders" and "usurpers". The report analyzes the rhetoric of both sides and how it was being changed under influence of various domestic and international events.

Author

• Kestutis Bartkevicius, Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum (Lithuania)