Political reconsideration of the Soviet past: attitudes and actions of the Lithuanian elites

Different political elite groups of post-communist Lithuania offer different accounts of the Soviet past. Even twenty years later, after the collapse of communism Lithuanian politicians (with the exception of certain conservative anti-nostalgic leaders allied with some populists) still do not have a unified and coherent view on the Soviet political and social practices, truths, and methods. However, conservatives are very consistent in their restrictive views about the past and are willing to engage in propagating decision-making that prevents them from repeating the actions of the past. Social democrats, liberals, and populists are much more internally divided and tend to display lukewarm attitudes towards the Soviet past and its political reconsideration. Yet, the present analysis of the adopted laws and public policies, alongside a study on the attitudes of political elites make it possible to conclude that anti-nostalgia, the negative assessment of the Soviet life-style, criticism of it and attempts to keep the former Soviet decision makers out of Lithuania’s public administration are key ways of treating the past in Lithuania. All efforts to accommodate a more permissive attitude towards the Soviet past and civil servants whose career began under the Soviets do not find much support within the Lithuanian elite

Kandidatų į Seimą požiūriai į atminties politiką pokomunistinėje Lietuvoje

The paper dwells on the longitudinal data set of Lithuanian parliamentary candidates’ views and investigates the post-communist politics of memory. The analyzed surveys are conducted in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Several hypotheses regarding the impact of time, democratic consolidation and geopolitical challenges on the national level of the politics of memory are tested, and we examine differences among party families regarding the politics of memory. The list of dependent variables of this study includes the attitudes of the parliamentary candidates and their determination to implement lustration, ban the public display of Soviet symbols and implement the claim that Russia must compensate the damage inflicted on Lithuania during the Soviet occupation. The study reveals that the politics of memory remains a matter of contention shaped by the dynamic interaction of three kinds of logic: transitional (based on the need to mark a break from the previous regime), post-transitional (encouraged by expiring early transitional conventions and re-articulated geopolitical visions), and partisan (inspired by multi-party electoral competition).Straipsnyje aptariamas ir analizuojamas kandidatų į Lietuvos Respublikos Seimo narius požiūrių į atminties politiką duomenų rinkinys. Analizuojamos ãpklausos, atliktos 2008, 2012 ir 2016 metais. Tikrinamos kelios hipotezės dėl laiko, demokratinės konsolidacijos ir geopolitinių iššūkių įtakos atminties politikai, nagrinėjami partijų šeimų skirtumai atminties politikos atžvilgiu. Šios studijos priklausomų kintamųjų sąrašas apima kandidatų į parlamentarus nuostatas ir jų pasiryžimą įgyvendinti liustraciją, uždrausti viešą sovietinės simbolikos demonstravimą ir įgyvendinti reikalavimą, kad Rusija atlygintų žalą, Lietuvai sukeltą per sovietų okupacijos metus. Tyrimas atskleidžia, kad atminties politika yra intensyvių politinių ginčų objektas, kurį formuoja dinamiška trijų logikų sąveika: pereinamojo laikotarpio (poreikio išreikšti atotrūkį nuo sovietinio režimo), posttranzitinio (kurį skatina nustojantys galioti ankstyvojo pereinamojo laikotarpio susitarimai ir naujai peržiūrimos geopolitinės vizijos) ir partinio (įkvėpto daugiapartinės rinkimų konkurencijos)

Europeanness of Lithuanian Political Elite: Europhilia, Russophobia and Neoliberalism

The article describes and analyzes the evolution of Lithuanian political elite’s attitudes towards the European Union (EU) and its governance during the past decade (2004-2016). First, it reviews changes in the composition of Lithuania’s political elite and assesses EU related policy decisions, which reveal the complex interrelations between national and supranational politics in a small but illustrative post-communist state. Second, it presents an analysis of the Lithuanian political elite’s attitudes, which were surveyed in 2007, 2009 and 2014; it examines trends in the elite’s attachment to Europe, their perceptions of threats to EU cohesion, changes in the levels of their trust in EU institutions, their conceptions of European governance, and their stances towards the management of financial and economic crisis. Comparing the three surveys captures evolution of the attitudes of the by and large consensually pro-European Lithuanian political elite. The Europeanness of the Lithuanian political elite also increases, an attitude which appears to be more a response to Russia-induced geopolitical destabilization than to the 2008 financial crisis

Attitudes of Parliamentary Candidates towards the Politics of Memory in Post-Communist Lithuania

The paper dwells on the longitudinal data set of Lithuanian parliamentary candidates’ views and investigates the post-communist politics of memory. The analyzed surveys are conducted in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Several hypotheses regarding the impact of time, democratic consolidation and geopolitical challenges on the national level of the politics of memory are tested, and we examine differences among party families regarding the politics of memory. The list of dependent variables of this study includes the attitudes of the parliamentary candidates and their determination to implement lustration, ban the public display of Soviet symbols and implement the claim that Russia must compensate the damage inflicted on Lithuania during the Soviet occupation. The study reveals that the politics of memory remains a matter of contention shaped by the dynamic interaction of three kinds of logic: transitional (based on the need to mark a break from the previous regime), post-transitional (encouraged by expiring early transitional conventions and re-articulated geopolitical visions), and partisan (inspired by multi-party electoral competition)

Social security discourses in a non-democratic state: Belarus between Soviet paternalistic legacies and neo-liberal pressures

The article presents an analysis of social security discourses produced by contending political actors in non-democratic Belarus. Initially, we outline the current situation of social security policies in Belarus. Then we identify key concepts regarding social security and examine how they are used in presidential campaigns of 2006, 2010 and 2015. We focus on political candidates’ perception of responsibilities and distribution of duties among different welfare agents (state, business, society and family). President Lukashenka incrementally enriches his idea of the social security – predominantly organized by a paternalistic state – with neo-liberal elements (oriented towards free market) and conservative values (cherishing traditions and the family). The alternative candidates highlight important social problems and propose innovative ideas. The non-democratic leader appropriates social security ideas from the opposition. The Belarusian case is an example of pragmatic autocracy which constructs its social policy discourse using paternalistic legacies, populist promises and references to the free market, yet the arbitrary and repressive state maintains the monopoly

From Scientific Communism to Political Science: The Development of the Profession in Selected Former Soviet European States

The chapter explores the trajectories of the evolution of political science (PS) in four former Soviet Socialist Republics (Estonia and Lithuania, the Republics of Moldova and Belarus) after the USSR collapse. Departing from the premise that PS is appreciated as the science of democracy, the authors claim that its identity and autonomy are particularly important. Research shows that PS in these countries started from the same impoverished basis (“scientific communism”), but it soon took diverse trajectories and currently faces specific challenges. Democracy, pro-Western geopolitical settings and the shorter period of Sovietization contributed to the faster and more sustainable development of PS in two Baltic States. However, in Estonia, political developments have led to the retrenchment of PS and to downsize of universities’ departments and study programmes. In Lithuania, political scientists are very visible in the public sphere. In Moldova, its uncertain geopolitical orientation and a series of internal political conflicts have led to the weak identity of PS and questionable prospects for its further institutionalization. In authoritarian Belarus, PS as an academic discipline exists within a hostile political environment and under a hierarchical system of governance offering practically no degree of academic freedom

Grilles d'analyse de l'élite économique post-soviétique

A threefold change (economic reform, democratization and a redefinition of the state's role) characterizes the post-Soviet transition. The post-Soviet economic elite should be studied by using various approaches proposed by economists, political scientists and sociologists. The one best suited to current conditions is the institutional approach, which considers the elite to be made up of individuals holding strategic positions in the country's major economic organizations. This approach needs to be completed with "qualitative" analyses (for example, in terms of a "social project") if we are to better understand actors' strategies in the post-Soviet economy, which is paradoxically both fluid and rigid. Ultimately, a multidisciplinary inquiry is needed, since the subject of the post-Soviet economic elite cannot be separated from the political, economic and institutional processes now under way in the ex-USSR and in most of its former satellites.Un triple changement (réforme économique, démocratisation et redéfinition de l'État) caractérise la transition post-soviétique. L'élite économique post-soviétique doit être étudiée à la lumière des différentes approches proposées par les économistes, les politologues et les sociologues. La plus adaptée aux conditions actuelles est l'approche institutionnelle selon laquelle l'élite économique comporte des individus occupant des positions stratégiques au sein des organisations importantes de l'économie nationale. Il convient de compléter cette approche par des analyses d'ordre "qualitatif (par exemple, celle du "projet social") si l'on veut mieux comprendre les stratégies des agents dans le champ économique post-soviétique, qui associe de manière paradoxale fluidité et traits corporatistes. En définitive, c'est une recherche pluridisciplinaire qui s'impose, le thème de l'élite économique post-soviétique ne pouvant être dissocié des processus politiques, institutionnels et économiques en cours dans l'ex-U.R.S.S. et la plupart de ses anciens satellites.Matonyte Irmina. Grilles d'analyse de l'élite économique post-soviétique. In: Revue d'études comparatives Est-Ouest, vol. 29, 1998, n°1. pp. 97-119

Politicheskoe pereosmyslenie sovetskogo proshlogo: ustanovki i dejstvija litovskih jelit [Political reconsideration of the Soviet past: attitudes and actions of the Lithuanian elites]

Different political elite groups of post-communist Lithuania offer different accounts of the Soviet past. Even twenty years later, after the collapse of communism Lithuanian politicians (with the exception of certain conservative anti-nostalgic leaders allied with some populists) still do not have a unified and coherent view on the Soviet political and social practices, truths, and methods. However, conservatives are very consistent in their restrictive views about the past and are willing to engage in propagating decision-making that prevents them from repeating the actions of the past. Social democrats, liberals, and populists are much more internally divided and tend to display lukewarm attitudes towards the Soviet past and its political reconsideration. Yet, the present analysis of the adopted laws and public policies, alongside a study on the attitudes of political elites make it possible to conclude that anti-nostalgia, the negative assessment of the Soviet life-style, criticism of it and attempts to keep the former Soviet decision makers out of Lithuania’s public administration are key ways of treating the past in Lithuania. All efforts to accommodate a more permissive attitude towards the Soviet past and civil servants whose career began under the Soviets do not find much support within the Lithuanian elite

L'évolution des orientations axiologiques de l'élite économique post-communiste en Lituanie, 1999-2000

Since the Soviet system's collapse in Eastern and Central Europe, a new economic elite is emerging; its existence is based on the economy's autonomy. The development of this post-Soviet elite is linked to legitimizing private property and free enterprise ; introducing the principles of a market economy ; and opening national economies to foreign capital and international trade. Structurally, the economic elite is made up of decision-makers in the political-economic, bureaucratic-economic, and banking spheres and in public and private companies. This entrepreneurial elite is centrifugal, releasing as it does creative social forces and activating changes inside the ruling class. What shifts in values have marked the mentality of the new economic elite in Lithuania?II y a dix ans, le régime soviétique s'est effondré en Europe centrale et orientale. Depuis lors, on peut raisonnablement parler de l'émergence d'une élite économique post-soviétique puisque son existence même dépend de l'autonomie de la sphère économique. Son développement est lié à la légitimation de la propriété et de l'initiative privées, à l'introduction des principes de l'économie de marché et à l'ouverture des économies au capital étranger et au commerce international. Structurellement, elle regroupe les décideurs des domaines politico-économique, économico-administratif, bancaire et des entreprises publiques et privées. L'élite économique des entrepreneurs est centrifuge, elle libère des forces sociales créatrices et accélère les changements au sein de l'élite au pouvoir. Après avoir cherché à définir et conceptualiser sa problématique, l'auteur s'intéresse plus précisément à l'élite économique lituanienne et à l'évolution de ses orientations axiologiques.Matonyte Irmina, Scaggion Alexandre. L'évolution des orientations axiologiques de l'élite économique post-communiste en Lituanie, 1999-2000. In: Revue d'études comparatives Est-Ouest, vol. 32, 2001, n°3. 1989 comme mouvement social. L'Allemagne et l'Est européen. L'Eurasisme d'extrême droite en Russie. pp. 57-84