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Copyright of Political Science Studies / Studia Politologiczne is the property of University of Warsaw and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In multi-ethnic societies, one way in which ethnicity manifests itself is in classifying people according to their ethnic origin. Such classification is based on stereotyping and is typically achieved by emphasizing certain common characteristics rather than individual particularities. Both lived experience and folklore corroborate the fact that ethnic stereotypes, ethnic self-awareness, and identity are also influenced by historical circumstances. This article focuses on Lithuanians' and Latvians' attitudes towards Poles and Germans, and towards one another during the period between the eighteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. The aim of this article is to reveal how the folklore of the two neighbouring nations, Lithuanians and Latvians, depicts the aforementioned ethnic groups; what historical events, cultural and social factors determined the similarities and differences in their portrayal in Lithuanian and Latvian folklore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the ethnographic principle is rarely found in the literature, and there is hardly a legal qualification for it. However, historical material (in cases of the Lithuanian, Czech, Bulgarian and Polish peoples) indicates that the ethnographic principle is a significant political and geopolitical phenomenon. This phenomen is especialy characteristic of the development of the peoples of the region of Central and Eastern Europe. First, the ethnographic principle was closely related to the national principle, although it did not coincide with it. The concept of the ethnographic principle points to the special anatomy of nation states, where the basis is ethnic / linguistic culture. Secondly, the advancement of culture to the fore indicated the recognition of its significance, which had not happened before. Consequently, it was a question of freeing this culture from the restrictions imposed on it and even compensating for the damage caused to it. Thirdly, the culture, raised to the state level, needed appropriate guarantees for the future. The article reveals the tendency of great states at the level of their policies and propaganda to act according to the ethnographic principle, thereby encouraging the formation of national states. However, when the latter became a fact, another tendency arose: the Western world began to apply the criteria of a liberal civil society to new states (according to the principle of jus civis romanus sum). This was too hard for the new states. In this context, the alternative was the Soviet ethno-federalist protectorate, which, although under the conditions of a repressive system, actually continued to implement the projections of the ethnographic principle. A fixed paradox: the ethnographic principle, which originated in the West as a variant of democratization, gained strength thanks to Russia, while the West remained, as it were, in aristocratic opposition to this course. The ethnographic principle has not yet acquired a clearer legal legitimacy. But as a historical category, it can serve as a study of the history of Modern times, and especially the Soviet period.

In the present study we investigate the mutability of essentialist ingroup and outgroup attributions in relation to positive and negative ingroup trait priming for ethnic minority and majority members in two countries (Study 1 in Austria: with Austrians and Austrian Turks; Study 2 in Lithuania: with Lithuanians and Lithuanian Poles). Both studies demonstrate that essentialist ingroup-attributions were lower when both minority and majority members were encountering negative (as compared to neutral/positive) ingroup traits. Only minority members raised the level of essentialist ingroup-attributions with positive ingroup trait priming. Additionally, Study 2 compared essentialist attributions in two regions (typical and numerically reversed minority-majority groups). The typical majority Lithuanians and “reversed” Poles attributed a lower level of ingroup-essence than the typical minority Poles and “reversed” Lithuanians. With ingroup trait priming, the “reversed” groups showed the same pattern, changing the levels of self-attributed essence like the ethnic Lithuanians/Poles in typical regions. The results demonstrate the mutable use of group-based essentialist self-attributions as a response to manipulation of positive/negative trait presentation of the ingroup. Consequently, group-essentialization is not a static property of a group but situationally and strategically variable. Exploration of reversed minority-majority situations reveals additional aspects of this variability.

The article discusses the key features and trends of the repertoire of Catholic funeral hymns, functioning in Lithuania in both Polish and Lithuanian; at the same time attempts are made to grasp the possible causes of mutual interactions and influences. In combining literary and ethnological approaches, field research data, historical sources, printed and manuscript hymns are analysed and interpreted, related scientific literature is examined. The conclusion is reached that the similarity and commonalities of the Lithuanian and Vilnius Region Poles’ folk piety funeral repertoire were, and still are, a result of similar cultural conditions. The basis of the old repertoire is primarily determined by trends, influences, and themes coming from Poland, while the areas of the modern repertoire’s influence are much broader: both general international trends and a broad mutual influence can be noted. In Lithuania’s villages and cities it is still common practice to invite a group of hymn-singers to a funeral wake and burial ceremony. Singing of funeral hymns is an old tradition, likely coming from the 17th c., from Poland, slowly covering also the territory of modern-day Lithuania and gradually settling down, gaining distinct regional features. However, we do not have any accounts as to whether a folk piety funeral repertoire existed in Lithuanian – it likely formed later. The texts of funeral songs can be divided into several groups according to their origin and function: some are adapted from church liturgies and are traditional church hymns, while others were created at different times by either anonymous local authors or well-known songwriters. Some hymns, for a long time, functioned as part of the liturgy of death and funerals, they established themselves in the practice of folk piety, while others became part of the funeral repertoire when they came into it from various thematically-fitting church calendar holidays or they were created by known or (more often) anonymous songwriters, then spreading among the people. The similarities of the repertoire of Lithuanian and Polish funeral songs are first of all a result of close cultural conditions. The texts of the oldest repertoire of funeral hymns were usually translated from Polish to Lithuanian, with the former taking root in the practices of folk piety much earlier. The melodies of hymns also mostly came from Poland; many are of liturgical origin, although over the centuries they grew into the local musical environment and gained a distinctive tone. The trends of the formation of the new hymns (from the beginning of 20th c. until now), on the one hand, are a continuation of the previous ones; however, on the other hand, local (Lithuanian) features, resulting from the faster and wider spread of information, become clearer, as well as various international influences. A certain group of hymns exists only in Lithuania, we can clearly see the influence of the Lithuanian environment on the poetry and melodics of Polish-language funeral hymns. This repertoire spreads only through writing down by hand the texts, while melodies are learned by ear; they are not published in any hymnals approved by the Church.

Copyright of Studies of Lithuania's History is the property of Lietuvos Istorijos Studijos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Kultura Slowian is the property of Jagiellonian University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Ober-Ost administration instated in 1915 covered a fragment of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania; a territory contested by Germany and Russia, inhabited by a nationally and religiously diverse society, with the Polish-Jewish city of Wilno as its central point. The German policies exploited the national aspirations of both the Lithuanians and the Belarusian leaders to dissolve the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Contrary to the Belarusian leaders focused on short-term benefits, the Lithuanian politicians proved more resourceful in using the seemingly pro-Lithuanian and pro-Belarusian policies towards obtaining their own nation state. The Germans discriminated the Lithuanian Poles in terms of rights to political activity, even when conducted without subsidies from the occupier. The disunity with the local society progressed and benefited the supporters of Polish national policies, however few in Wilno in 1915. The German authorities successfully pushed the Lithuanian Poles, so far seeking consensus with other local communities, towards merging with the post-war Polish state announced by the Act of 5th November 1916. The Germans backed the creation of small, interdependent Lithuanian and Belarusian states. The Lithuanians however issued a second declaration of independence (16.02.1918), thus becoming the only ones to benefit from Germany's military defeat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the relationship between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Khanate of Kazan. The aim of this study is to analyze the dynamics and characteristics of the relations of the Kazan Khanate with Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Jagiellonian eastern policy is rightfully considered as one of the most important policy directions of the Polish Kings and Grand Dukes of Lithuania in the 16th century. Researchers have traditionally paid much more attention to the history of relations of the Crimean Khanate with Lithuania and Poland. Relations of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with Kazan Khanate have been considered in the source study articles by D. Mustafina and B. Trepavlov analyzing the content of documents preserved in the Lithuanian State Archives (Lithuanian Methric). The main theme of this article is the military and political history of Eastern Europe in the first half of the 16th century. The author aims to clarify to what extent the European policy of the Kazan Khanate depended on the personalities of Sahib Giray and Safa Giray and their personal relations with Sigismund I the Old. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the author is the first to present to the researchers’ attention a complete picture of the Kazan-Lithuanian relations rather than focusing on particular issues of relations between the individual Grand Dukes and khans. The article examines the history of the interaction of the Kazan Tatars with Lithuanians and Poles in the context of relations of Lithuania with the Russian State and Crimean Khanate. Attempts to establish an anti-Russian alliance were undertaken during the first half of the 16th century. Mohammed Amin, from the dynasty of Ulugh Muhammad, expressed interest in the establishment of the union in 1506 only by the fact that it was profitable for him. In 1516–1518, the proposals of Sigismund I the Old to make an alliance did not meet the response in Kazan. In general, the dynasty of Ulugh Muhammad was not a supporter of rapprochement with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The real union between the Kazan Tatars and Lithuanians became possible only during the second rule of Safa Giray in Kazan. Only once and namely in 1535–1537, the Lithuanians supported Kazan in the war against the Russians. The continuous contact between the Kazan Khanate and Grand Duchy of Lithuania was only possible when the alliance was supported by the Crimean Khanate. Mutual raids of the Cossacks of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and troops of the Tatar frontier beys were one of the main destabilizing factors in the relationship between the Jagiellonians and Girays. The Kazan embassy to the Lithuanians and Poles in 1551 found no response from Sigismund II Augustus. The Jagiellonians were not interested in an alliance with the Kazan Tatars. Only the Crimean Girays and eastern Nogays were the staunch allies of Kazan.

On 27 October 1939, Vilnius and its region de facto became a part of Lithuania. The process of integration of the city and the whole region into the Republic of Lithuania, which also involved the resettlement of certain public authorities and institutions in the historical capital, began. The article analyses the transfer of Lithuanian public authorities and institutions from Kaunas to Vilnius between 1939 and 1940, reveals the position of the Lithuanian government regarding their relocation to Vilnius, its mechanism, discusses the results achieved, their statistical expression, and the impact on the ethnic-demographic situation in Vilnius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is on the relationship between a dominant nominal Lithuanian majority and a Polish minority in regions with either a straight dominance of the majority or with a high proportion of minority members, who outnumber the national majority. Compared to 'normal' regions, the latter situation creates an inverted power differential that we expect to have an impact on how the two groups essentialize their own and the other group's ethnic identity, how they stereotype the out-group and how they cope with the perceived change in power balance by more or less disparaging the others. We analysed the discourse in eight focus group discussions with members of both groups comprising a total of 66 participants. As expected, the nominal minority exhibited a tendency to self-essentialize more than the majority in general. Members of the Lithuanian majority that was locally outnumbered by the minority also self-essentialized but to a lesser degree and additionally used marked arguments of in-group favouritism at the Poles' expense in their discourse. Members of the unambiguous majority were the most 'politically correct' participants by conspicuously favouring a non-generalising and anti-essentialist conversation. The findings are discussed in terms of inter-group relations and implications for politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Humanitarica Universitatis Saulensis is the property of Acta Humanitarica Universitatis Saulensis and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyzes the opposition of Polish and Lithuanian identities as presented in Lithuanian media outlets. It is assumed that an information war is being waged against the Polish cultural minority and that the instigators of this war are achieving their goal, i.e., being Polish bears a negative association in the public consciousness, which also construes Poles as enemies. The article investigates the means by which this negative opinion about the Polish nationality in Lithuania is formed. The conclusions are based on an analysis of four articles and more than 40 headlines published in 2012–2013, and show that the editors of Lithuanian media outlets regularly present news about events in Poland and/or Poles themselves by choosing information that casts aspersions on the country and its inhabitants. The readers of the Lithuanian media are constantly fed the idea that Poles are characteristically nationalistic. Indeed, the media frequently discuss the danger to Lithuanians posed by Poles in Lithuania. This phenomenon can be explained by the Copenhagen School’s Theory of Securitization: a problem that is technical in nature is given the status of an existential threat. Texts often convey the antithesis Poles—Lithuania, in which the first element is given only negative features and the second only positive. Attention is also drawn to the distorted usage of the word “discrimination”: in Lithuanian media outlets it is applied when discussing the stronger member of the conflict.

Based on archival and historiographical materials, the article addresses the development of Lithuanian schools in Vilnius in the period 1920-1939; it reveals their situation in the context of education of other ethnic groups in the city and considers whether the situation of Lithuanian education was in any way exceptional; the article discloses the problems faced by Lithuanian schools in Vilnius. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kaunas History Chronicle is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article analyses the demographic development of the city of Vilnius in 1944–1951; it attempts to answer what approach was followed by the party leadership of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic towards the demographic problems of Vilnius, what decisions were made to solve them, why such particular decisions were taken and what their results were. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Soter: Journal of Religious Science / Religijos Mokslo Žurnalas is the property of Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Theology-Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Respectus Philologicus is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ethnicity Studies / Etniskumo Studijos is the property of Lithuanian Social Research Center and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The author of the article, on the basis of Lithuanian and Polish archival and historiographic material, analyses ethnic relations in the Eastern and Southeastern Lithuania in 1953-1959. The article defines the factors which determined ethno-demographic changes in this region, reveals the attitude of the authorities of the Lithuanian SSR towards ethnic problems of the region as well as discusses relations between the Lithuanians and the Poles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Man & the Word / Zmogus ir zodis is the property of Vytautas Magnus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the census coordinated by the Germans in May 1942 in the population of Vilnius, Lithuania. The main aim of the census is to determine the number of Jews who survived the German occupation of the city. The census indicates the existence of various ethnic groups in the city. The said census reflects the annihilation of Jews under the German regime. American geographer Theodore Weeks claimed that a new Lithuanian city had arisen from the ruins of the old Polish-Jewish one.

The genetic composition of the Russian population was investigated by analyzing both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome loci polymorphisms that allow for the different components of a population gene pool to be studied, depending on the mode of DNA marker inheritance. mtDNA sequence variation was examined by using hypervariable segment I (HVSI) sequencing and restriction analysis of the haplogroup-specific sites in 325 individuals representing 5 Russian populations from the European part of Russia. The Y-chromosome variation was investigated in 338 individuals from 8 Russian populations (including 5 populations analyzed for mtDNA variation) using 12 binary markers. For both uniparental systems most of the observed haplogroups fell into major West Eurasian haplogroups (97.9% and 99.7% for mtDNA and Y-chromosome haplogroups, respectively). Multidimensional scaling analysis based on pairwise FST values between mtDNA HVSI sequences in Russians compared to other European populations revealed a considerable heterogeneity of Russian populations; populations from the southern and western parts of Russia are separated from eastern and northern populations. Meanwhile, the multidimensional scaling analysis based on Y-chromosome haplogroup FST values demonstrates that the Russian gene pool is close to central-eastern European populations, with a much higher similarity to the Baltic and Finno­Ugric male pools from northern European Russia. This discrepancy in the depth of penetration of mtDNA and Y-chromosome lineages characteristic for the most southwestern Russian populations into the east and north of eastern Europe appears to indicate that Russian colonization of the northeastern territories might have been accomplished mainly by males rather than by females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]