Etniškumas, identitetas ir atmintis socialinių mokslų teorijose
ENThe first chapter of the monograph provides an overview of the theoretical and methodological approaches of the study. We draw on theories of social memory and identity as the theoretical basis (see e.g. Halbwachs 1980; Tonkin 1995; Assman 2008; Lawler 2010; Pettai 2011; Fentress, Wickham 1992; Connerton 1998), and we contextualise our research findings by comparing them with research on memory and identities conducted in Lithuania, the Baltics, and in other societies (see e.g. Cheskin 2016; Dawson 1996; Golubeva 2010; Klumbytė 2000, 2006, 2010, 2017; Ramonaitė 2013; Šutinienė 2003, 2013; Vyšniauskas 2022 etc.). Researchers stress that memories are directly related to our identity, a way of saying who we are (Halbwachs 1980; Tonkin 1995; Pettai 2011). Individual memories can be seen as creating social / collective memory, but at the same time, collective memory enables to link personal experiences and memories to the wider social group (Halbwachs 1980; Assman 2008). In a sense, the connections between individual and social memories are important and directly signal to us the interconnectedness or differences existing both within and between groups or communities (Fentress, Wickham 1992; Connerton 1998; Assman 2008). The past is constructed from the perspective of the present (Tonkin 1995; Skultans 1998; Šutinienė 2016 b; Lawler 2010). [...].The monograph draws on several types of sources - press analysis and data from field research. Field research was carried out between May 2021 and August 2022 in Vilnius, Šalčininkai, Šalčininkai District and Visaginas. The locations selected for the fieldwork were those where Lithuanian residents of different nationalities live. Most of the interviews were conducted with Lithuanian residents who identify as Russian, Russian-speaking or Polish, some — with Lithuanians. A total of 62 unstructured and life story interviews were analysed. The fieldwork participants were asked to tell their life stories. The period of restoration of Lithuania's independence was seen as a part of the participant's life story. The participants in the study belong to the middle and senior generations, majority of them were active participants in the processes of restoration of Lithuanian statehood at the end of the 20th century. The analysis focuses on the ways the past is memorized and interpreted, the ways self in the past is constructed in the present moment (see Skultans 1998; Šutinienė 2003, 2016 b), as well as when and how inter-ethnic relations are constructed retrospectively.The qualitative content analysis of the press aims to reveal the individual and collective experiences of the Russian and Polish minorities regarding their participation in the events related to the period of restoration of Lithuanian statehood, as reflected in the Russian and Polish language press. In order to achieve this goal, a selection of press publications published in 1988-1991 was initially made. Among the Russian-language publications, the newsletters "Vozroždenije" and "Echo Kaunasa" published by the Sąjūdis, as well as the newspapers "Soglasije" and "Kaunasskiy vestnik" were selected for the qualitative content analysis. The Polish-language press items selected included the newspaper "Znad Wilii", which supported the development of dialogue between Lithuanians and Poles, and "Nasza gazeta", a publication of the Lithuanian Polish Union, which actively defended the interests of the Polish minority. To determine the extent to which the events of this period directly impacted the period of Lithuania's restoration to statehood is presented from the perspective of the Russian and Polish national minorities. Our analysis included the weekly newspaper "Ekspress-Nedelia", the online dailies LRT Novosti and DELFI, the newspaper "Kurier Wileński" and the magazine "Magazyn Kurier Wileński". In the next step of the research, articles were selected from all these publications. The main criterion for the selection of articles was that they included ethnicity (Russian and Polish) as linked to the important events leading to the restoration of Lithuanian statehood during the 1988-1991 period. We included texts on the celebration of the anniversaries, national holidays and commemorative days of importance for the collective memory of the Russian and Polish national minorities. [From the publication p. 241-243]
