Istorija / History

Nine Documents, from the Turkish Archives on Konstantin Regel’s Planned Scientific Trip to Turkey in 1933

Šarūnas Rinkevičius — 2024-05-17

Abstract. Konstantinas Regelis was a famous botanist working in Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas from 1922 to 1940. Following his scientific voyage to Türkiye in 1932, the next year he was planning his another scientific voyage to Türkiye which, eventually, did not take place due to professor’s illness. Based on the findings in the Turkish archives, 9 documents on the planned trip were translated from Turkish and French to Lithuanian containing two letters written by Konstantinas Regelis himself as well as internal communication documents between the Turkish Embassy in Germany, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye and the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Türkiye. The documents reveal various details about the planned trip.

St. Joseph’s Lithuanian Roman Catholic Association of Labor and the Labor Movement (1915–1922)

Egidijus Balandis — 2024-05-17

Abstract. This article aims at revealing the stance of the St. Joseph’s Lithuanian R.-C. Association of Labor (USA) towards the labour movement in 1915–1922. It explores 1) the attitudes towards the economy, workers’ conditions and solutions that were suggested in various publications of the organisation; 2) its strategies and examples of direct participation in the broader labour movement. Being critical towards the contemporary capitalist system in the USA, the organisation promoted the idea of “industrial democracy” that was based on the institution of justly distributed private property as an alternative. The organisation was seen by its leaders as a school to develop (in the light of Christian Democratic ideology) important habits of cooperation between workers. Prepared in this way, members of the association were supposed to join and did join broader movements and actions of American labourers.

Visions of the Re-Established State of Lithuania in the Deliberations of Expatriate Political Organizations

Juozas Banionis — 2024-05-17

Abstract. The article is devoted to defining the possible political contours of the restored Lithuanian state. They are drawn following the traces of the deliberations of the main organizations of the Lithuanian diaspora that existed in the West in the last century (1940–1994). The author includes the Lithuanian Council of America, the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Freedom Committee, and the World Lithuanian Community as the main organizations of our diaspora.

Aimed at Sniečkus but hit Berklavs... Twists and Turns of the Thaw Policy in Soviet Lithuania in 1958–1959

Vladas Sirutavičius — 2024-05-17

Abstract. De-Stalinisation not only formed prerequisites for the liberalisation of social and political life but also encouraged tensions between the “periphery” (the elites of the Soviet republics) and the “centre” (Moscow). Conflicts between the leaderships of Soviet Latvia and Azerbaijan and Moscow are better known to historiography. However, practically at the same time, tensions arose between the first secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party, A.
Sniečkus, and the leaders of the USSR. The tensions were fueled by the reform of the education system initiated by N. Khrushchev, the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and a particularly new cadres policy (refusal of the principle of promoting national cadres to leadership positions in the republics.) The article discusses the course of conflicts and answers the question of how and why A. Sniečkus was successful in preventing tensions
between the republic and the centre.

The USSR’s Stance on the Introduction of Martial Law in Poland in the Light of General Wojciech Jaruzelski’s Visit to Moscow on March 1–2, 1982

Marek Jabłonowski — 2024-05-17

Abstract. This article discusses a particular moment in the history of Polish-Soviet relations when the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic decided to impose martial law in the early 1980s after the turbulent months of the first Solidarity. The intervention of the power ministries in the internal life of the country and the consequent marginalisation of the Polish United Workers’ Party – under the auspices of Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski – was criticised in Moscow. This study presents selected declassified documents from the Office of the Council of Ministers of the PPR, which reveal doubts and fears of the Polish side prior to the planned visit of the official party and government delegation to the USSR in March 1982. The material also offers insights into some of the remarks that the Soviet side communicated to its Polish partners during the visit.

Correspondence of Tadeusz Katelbach from Poland - a historical source about Lithuania

Juozas Skirius — 2024-05-17