National or multicultural? A common narrative about history in the Baltic states after 1991

ENIn this article, I describe common narratives of history in postcommunist Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and explore the intersection between multiculturalism and memory politics. I argue that dealing with history is a challenge in these countries and can be seen as part of a broader issue of memory politics in societies that have experienced trauma during the Nazi and Soviet eras. The hypothesis that I developed, based on my empirical analysis, is that it makes visible how a difficult process of negotiating competing memories can, under certain circumstances, lead to dialogical remembrance. The article also pays attention to unexpected events, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which gives a new dynamic to this process. The original contribution of this article is an analysis of historical narratives in three national museums, with a special focus on how these museums deal with the injustices and traumas experienced by different ethnic groups in the Baltic states. The final section of the article is devoted to the reaction of people in these countries to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and how this relates to the politics of history created in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia after 1991. Keywords: memory conflicts; politics of history; national identity; multiculturalism; national museums and monuments. [From the publication]

• Culture of memory and politics of history in Lithuania in 1989-2018 / Alvydas Nikžentaitis. Institute of National Remembrance Review 2019, 1, p. 119-163.
• National museums in Lithuania: a story of state building (1855-2010) / Eglė Rindzevičiūtė. Building national museums in Europe 1750-2010. Linköping: Linköping University Electronic Press, 2011. P. 521-552.