Gaps and other traces of soviet censorship in Balys Sruoga’s work „Dievų Miškas“ („Forest of the Gods“)

Abstract

Balys Sruoga’s “Forest of the Gods” is widely regarded as his most mature work and as a canonical piece of Lithuanian literature. It is well known worldwide and has therefore been translated into many languages. Between 2024 and 2025, Mahir Gamzajev, Miglė Dulskytė, and Jinseok Seo translated it into Azerbaijani, French, and Korean, respectively. These latest translations were based on a new edition of the work. This edition was prepared in 2025 at the Lithuanian Literature and Folklore Institute in collaboration with the translators. During the Soviet era and the years of independence, three historically significant editions of “Forest of the Gods” were published (in 1957, 1997, and 2005). These editions gradually revealed more of the authentic text that had previously been censored. More than twenty years have passed since the last edition was published in 2005. This article reviews the changes that have occurred in the study of “Forest of the Gods” over this period, and explains why another edition of the work is needed. The new edition is presented in detail, explaining what will differentiate it from previously published texts and answering which interventions (Stalinist censorship, Soviet editing, or authorial language standardization) remain evident in all published texts.