Lithuania’s cultural elite, born from 1970 to 1980. Group, class and generational identities

ENThe objective of this chapter is to explore the socialisation of those members of the Lithuanian cultural intelligentsia born between 1970 and 1980 in two different political systems: late socialism in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Lithuania. The chapter addresses the question of how this part of the Lithuanian cultural elite, who were born and experienced their primary and secondary socialisation during the Soviet period but who transitioned to ‘adulthood’ (Arnett 2001: 133–143) during the period of the Reform Movement and the transition to the market economy, construct their social and cultural identity. The aim is to highlight the specific features of members of the cultural elite born from 1970 to 1980 as a particular generation distinct from those of their parents and grandparents by positioning this generation in the present, which defines their relationship to their experiences gained during the Soviet era, the years of transition and the post-Soviet period. [Publisher annotation]