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The paper discusses the possibility of smart thematic village development and presents the results of qualitative research aimed at determining why some smart thematic villages are developing while others are not. The grounded theory approach was used for semi-structured interviews. This empirical study investigates four thematic villages in Lithuania, which have an official status and are currently operating and one non-developing thematic village. The structured grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, Corbin & Strauss, 2015) was employed to analyse the collected data using open, axial and selective coding techniques. The grounded theory of the thematic village development was built around the core category (a critical success factor of the development of a smart thematic village), i.e. weighed involvement of thematic village actors in thematic village activities context. The main condition of thematic village development is context for thematic village actors weighed involvement. This is context for theming, digital solutions to facilitate collaboration, communication, accessibility and problem-solving at various levels in the thematic village. Thematic village actors get involved in thematic village activities only when they have specific context – Global, National, Local institutional, Village Community and Individual. The more favorable the context, the more weighted involvement is and the more benefits thematic village actors and other stakeholders get, the more possibilities they create for sustainable smart thematic village development.

The article is based on data from ethnographic field research that was conducted in Vilnius and the Vilnius are in 2017–2020 and in Sofia in 2019. To meet the aims of this research comparing interactions between neighbours in the cities of Sofia and Vilnius respectively, I analysed two types of neighbourhood: the formal, which is determined by territorial proximity and the necessity of mutual assistance; and the informal, which is based on friendly feelings and the desire to spend leisure time and celebrate together. However, the specific features of field research in these cities highlighted another aspect of the neighbourhood, namely, how it functions in public and private spaces. A majority of respondents associated friendship with visiting one another at home, while birthdays were the most common celebration for spending time together. Older respondents, mostly those who were from villages, remember how neighbours would interact in the village environment and how they brought this concept of neighbourhood to the city, naturally comparing it with the situation there and pointing out generational differences. However, in the opinion of the majority, the city environment changed the nature of interactions between neighbours and created a unique concept of neighbourhood that was based on close social links, which sometimes developed into friendship.

Šio straipsnio tikslas – palyginti draugų bendrą laisvalaikį skirtingo tipo Vilniaus apskrities gyvenvietėse: kaime, mieste ir didmiestyje. Straipsnis didesne dalimi pagrįstas lauko tyrimų duomenimis, išnaudojant pusiau struktūruoto interviu teikiamas galimybes. Lyginant ilgesnės trukmės, su kelionėmis susijusias laisvalaikio formas, pastebimos didesnės tokio draugų laisvalaikio galimybės didmiestyje, mieste. Tuo tarpu remiantis trumpalaikio draugų laisvalaikio formų analize, straipsnyje daromos išvados, kad tiek sovietmečiu, tiek ir pastaraisiais metais didesnio skirtumo tarp skirtingo tipo vietovių bendro draugų laisvalaikio nėra. Tai lemia nedidelis tirtų vietovių atstumas iki didmiesčio, kita vertus, ir turizmui sukurta laisvalaikio bei pramogų infrastruktūra. Šiuos skirtumus dar labiau mažina vis didesnis laisvo laiko, perkeliamo į virtualią erdvę, kiekis. The aim of this article is to compare the leisure time of friends in different parts of the Vilnius area: a village, a town and the city. The study is based to a great extent on fieldwork, using the opportunities of semi-structured interviews. Comparing longer-term, travel-related forms of leisure, there are greater opportunities for such friends’ leisure time in the big town or city. Meanwhile, based on an analysis of short-term forms of friends’ leisure time, the article concludes that both in Soviet times and in recent years, there is no great difference between common leisure in different types of settlements. This is due to the short distance to Vilnius, the big city, of the areas studied. On the other hand, the leisure and entertainment infrastructure was created for tourism. These differences are further reduced by an increasing amount of free time being spent in cyberspace.

This article deals with the important issue concerning that small towns and villages play an important role in the development of many European regions, not only from the point of view of agricultural function, but also due to the preservation of identity and heritage as well as social relations and management of spatial structures. On the other hand, in small towns and villages, there are growing problems related to the migration of people to big cities, leaving farms and villages. Progressive unemployment is observed, especially in peripheral areas. The research question is: what are the similarities and differences of social and spatial relations between small towns and surrounding villages in the selected countries? The article aims to present the interface between social and spatial relationships in small towns and surrounding villages in the context of analyzing the potential of rural areas and models for their development. Authors compared the specificity of small towns and villages of selected regions of Poland, Lithuania, and Slovakia. The following methods were used in the research: analysis and synthesis of literature and documents (legal and strategic), descriptive method, secondary data analysis, comparative method, visual data representation, case study.

The paper deals with the situation of entrepreneurship in three rural cross-border regions of Lithuania bordering on Kaliningrad Region and Poland, i.e. with Jurbarkas, Silutė, and Vilkaviskis districts. The entrepreneurship factors in rural areas have been summarised, the outcomes of the research in the entrepreneurship factors of the rural areas of Lithuanian cross-border regions have been presented, and the factors impeding business development in the region have been named. In the contemporary society, the significance of the impact of entrepreneurship in economic, social, and psychological processes of the society development has been increasing. The direction of the society progress and the trajectory of its development is related to its members’ entrepreneurship abilities and opportunities. Individual’s entrepreneurship contributes to the perception and identification of the new opportunities of activity development, thus increasing the social welfare. KEYWORDS: entrepreneurship, rural areas, factors of entrepreneurship. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/rfds.v12i1.699

Šiame straipsnyje kaip daugialypis kultūros paveldo objektas nagrinėjamos Raudondvario (Kauno r.) senosios kapinės XVIII a. pabaigoje – XX a. 1-ojoje pusėje. Kreipiamas dėmesys tiek į materialųjį, tiek į nematerialųjį (anapusinio pasaulio vaizdiniai, papročiai) kapinių paveldą. Darbo tikslas yra atskleisti įvairialypes Raudondvario senųjų kapinių paveldo vertes, remiantis tiek rašytiniais šaltiniais (prisiminimais, archyviniais dokumentais, bažnytinėmis metrikų knygomis), tiek ikonografija ir kartografija (istoriniais žemėlapiais, nuotraukomis, piešiniais). Straipsnis padalintas į tris dalis. Pirmojoje aptariama Raudondvario senųjų kapinių atsiradimo ir raidos istorija, antrojoje nagrinėjama šių kapinių istorinė vertė, pasireiškianti per čia palaidotus žymius žmones, susijusius su istoriniais įvykiais ir reiškiniais. Trečiajame skirsnyje analizuojamos antkapinių paminklų epitafijos. Tyrimo eigoje buvo padaryta keletas išvadų. Raudondvario senosios kapinės mena Abiejų Tautų Respublikos didikų laidotuvių tradicijas (Zabielienės laidotuvės XVIII a. pabaigoje). XIX a. kapinių panoramoje vyravo mediniai kryžiai; akmeninius paminklus statė tik turtingieji. XX a. pirmojoje pusėje kapinėse palaidota nemažai knygnešių, Antrojo pasaulinio karo metais – nepriklausomai Lietuvai nusipelniusių kariškių ir rezistentų. Antkapių epitafijos Raudondvario senosiose kapinėse žymi dvi kultūrines epochas – lenkiškąją (XVIII–XX a.) ir lietuviškąją (XX a.). Epitafijose atsiskleidžia gili pamaldumo Mergelei Marijai tradicija. Raudondvario senųjų kapinių raidos istorija atspindi ne tik miestelio, bet ir tautos kultūrinį kitimą. This article discusses the Old Cemetery of Raudondvaris (Kaunas district) in the late 18th century – the 1st half of the 20th century, viewing it as a multifaceted object of cultural heritage. Attention is paid to the material cultural heritage of the cemetery, as well as to intangible cultural heritage (images of the afterlife, traditions). The aim of this work is to reveal the variety of cultural values connected to the Old Cemetery of Raudondvaris, basing the research on the data extracted from written sources (memoirs, archive documents, church metrical books), as well as from iconography and cartography (historical maps, photographs, drawings). The article is divided into three parts. The first one discusses the history of Raudondvaris Old Cemetery founding and development. The second part discusses the historical value of Raudondvaris Old Cemetery, which manifest itself via famous people, who are connected to historical events and were buried here. In the third chapter tombstone epitaphs are analyzed. As a result, several conclusions were made. The Old Cemetery of Raudondvaris is connected to the tradition of noblemen funerals in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (the funeral of Mary Theresa Zabiełło at the end of 18th century). In the 19th century wooden crosses were dominant in the cemetery panorama; to erect stone tombstones could only afford rich people. In the first half of 20th century at Raudondvaris Old Cemetery were buried a number of Lithuanian book smugglers (knygnešiai), during the Second World War – several distinguished military resisters. Tombstone epitaphs at Raudondvaris Old Cemetery signify two cultural periods: Polish (18th–20th century) and Lithuanian (20th century). Epitaphs reveal a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The history of Raudondvaris Old Cemetery reflects the cultural development of the town, as well as the history of the nation.

Like many other Central and Eastern European countries Lithuania has been experiencing significant socio-spatial transformations since the 1990s. One of the most prominent of these transformations is associated with the residential suburbanization of its major cities. The suburbs are the only areas in Lithuania where the population has been growing in recent decades, while the country has lost almost one quarter of its population. Although, extensive urban growth is a common feature for all large Lithuanian cities, it is more noticeable in Vilnius. Due to its historical and geographical context, Vilnius, and the region surrounding it, is in an area where rural-urban transformation also means transformation of the social, ethnic, and political landscape. The aim of this article is to obtain more insight into the recent process of the fast, but weakly controlled, residential suburbanization of Vilnius. The focus is on understanding the scale of suburbanization and its impact on the social and physical environment. In this study, we use quantitative data on population and residential constructions as well as presenting some visual material. Our results show that the new suburban-style settlements are spatially dispersed. New residential areas have emerged within the city limits, along its administrative boundary as well as in the most peripheral parts of the Vilnius metropolitan region. In terms of the morphology and physiognomy, a great suburban diversity exists in and around Vilnius, and different building styles are mixed creating a rather chaotic landscape, with little interference from urban planners and no clear vision for the future.

Research into the community customs in the second half of the 20th century and the early 21st century in villages, towns, and cities near Vilnius allowed to distinguish two types of neighbourhoods: distant (official) and close (informal) ones. The first one was determined by territorial proximity, the second is revealed in more than just territory. The former is exposed also as a group formed around common interests, people, who are free to choose to spend leisure time or celebrate special occasions together. The festive communication results in sort of a ritual year of the neighbours, covering the common neighbours’ celebrations of life cycle as well as calendric cycle festivals and holidays. A close neighbourhood based on spending leisure time and celebrating together in some cases determines certain differences between neighbours of different religions. I’ll look at this process analyzing different types of settlements, showing the development of neighbourhood relations during the last 60 years.

Straipsnyje sisteminių šaltinių kompleksų pagrindu nagrinėjamas ikikrikščioniškojo laikotarpio laukų ryšys su XVI a. bajorų laukais ir XVII–XVIII a. bajorkaimiais. Tyrimui pasirinktas Žemaitijos Karšuvos mažojo pavieto pavyzdys. Sugrupavus apdorotą šaltinių medžiagą įrodomas laukų ir bajorkaimių vardų tęstinumas, iš to darant prielaidą dėl lauko struktūros tęstinumo bajorkaimiuose. Pritaikius kartografavimo metodiką atkuriama Karšuvos bajorkaimių ir kaimų geografija. Reikšminiai žodžiai: laukas, bajorkaimis (akalica), Žemaitija, Karšuva, padūmės cenzo registrai, onomastika. This paper examines the connection of pre-Christian fields with the 16th c. noblemen’s fields and the 17th–18th c. noblemen’s villages (okolica) on the basis of systematic source complexes. The sample of Karšuva district (powiat) in Samogitia was chosen for the study. After grouping the processed source material, the continuity of the names of the fields and noble villages is proven, thereby assuming the continuity of the field structure in the noble villages. After applying the mapping methodology, the geography of the noble villages and peasant villages of Karšuva is restored. Keywords: field, noblemen’s village (okolica), Samogitia, Karšuva, registers of fireplace census, onomastics.

Šiame straipsnyje pristatoma inovatyvios pilietinės edukacijos projekto praktika, adaptuojant integruoto mokymosi metodiką "Pilietis" darbui su kaimo vietovių jautriausių grupių vaikais ir jaunimu. Pasitelkiant veiklos tyrimo dalyvaujant strategiją, atlikti giluminiai interviu su jaunimo centre (1), vaikų dienos centre (3) ir atvirose jaunimo erdvėse (1) keturiose skirtingose kaimiškose gyvenvietėse dirbančiais jaunimo darbuotojais, kurie įgyvendino vietinius projektus. Rezultatai parodė, kad pilietiškumo interpretacija ugdant vaikus ir jaunuolius iš jautresnės aplinkos turėtų būti kontekstualizuota konkrečiose situacijose ir integruota į individualius poreikius, siekius bei galimybes. Rezultatai suteikia įžvalgų, kaip plėtoti pilietinį ugdymą dirbant su jautriausių grupių vaikais ir jaunimu mažesnėse gyvenvietėse. Esminiai žodžiai: pilietinis ugdymas, socialinės inovacijos, pozityvioji socializacija. This article aims to present the practice of an innovative civic education project, adapting the integrated learning methodology "Project Citizen" to work with children and young people from vulnerable groups in rural areas. Using a participatory action research strategy, in-depth interviews were carried out with youth workers working in a youth centre (1), a day-care centre (3) and an open youth space (1) in four different rural settlements, who were implementing local projects. The results showed that the interpretation of citizenship in the education of children and young people from more vulnerable backgrounds should be contextualised in specific situations and integrated with individual needs, aspirations and capacities. The results provide insights into how to develop citizenship education when working with children and young people from vulnerable groups in smaller settlements. Keywords: civic education, social innovation, positive socialisation.

Straipsnyje apibrėžiama monografinio metodo samprata ir pristatoma monografinių tyrimų atsiradimo bei plėtros raida. Apžvelgiamas tokių „atraminių“ šių tyrimų atstovų kaip Frédérico Le Play, Dimitrie Gusti ir Franciszeko Bujako indėlis į sociologijos mokslą. Taip pat atkreipiamas dėmesys, kokią vietą užima monografiniai tyrimai Lietuvos sociologijoje, konstatuojant, kad Lietuva turi savo monografinių tyrimų istoriją, tačiau šie tyrimai nepatenka į sociologų analizės lauką. Straipsnyje argumentuojama akademinių diskusijų svarba siekiant įteisinti monografinius tyrimus Lietuvos sociologijoje. Tai leistų išplėsti į sociologijos istorijos akiratį įtrauktinų darbų aprėptį ir į Lietuvos kaimo tyrimus pažvelgti bendros europinės tradicijos kontekste. The article defines the concept of the monographic method and presents the development of the emergence and evolution of monographic research. The contribution of such key representatives of these studies as Frédéric Le Play, Dimitrie Gusti and Franciszek Bujak to the science of sociology is reviewed. Attention is also paid to the place of monographic research in Lithuanian sociology, stating that Lithuania has its own history of monographic research, but this research does not fall within the focus of sociologists’ analysis. The article argues the importance of academic discussions in order to legitimise monographic research in Lithuanian sociology, which would create opportunities to expand the scope of works to be included in the history of sociology and look at Lithuanian rural research in the context of a common European tradition.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama Pirčiupių memorialo – pirmojo Lietuvos SSR įsteigto memorialo „hitlerinio teroro aukoms“ atminti – raida ir Pirčiupių kaimo sunaikinimo istorijos vaidmuo sovietinėje ir nepriklausomos Lietuvos atminimo kultūrose. Sovietmečiu naudojantis šia istorija siekta pagrįsti esminį ideologinį teiginį, jog nacių represijų, teroro ir masinių žudynių taikinys buvo visa „tarybų“ Lietuvos visuomenė, sykiu diegtas ambivalentiškas Pirčiupių kaip taikaus lietuvių valstiečių kaimo, sunaikinto hitlerininkų, ir aktyvaus „partizanų kaimo“ vaizdinys. Atgimimo laikotarpiu Pirčiupių memorialo akcentas ir vienas iš Lietuvos SSR kultūros kanono simbolių – Motinos skulptūra – nebuvo pašalinta, tačiau pati Pirčiupių sunaikinimo istorija, dėl kontrreakcijos į intensyvią Pirčiupių istorijos panaudą sovietmečiu ir šiuo laikotarpiu sukurtas reikšmines asociacijas, kitų Lietuvos atminimo politikos prioritetų bei socioekonominių aplinkybių tapo antraeile atminimo vieta bei ilgainiui palankia terpe trečiosioms šalims plėtoti savąjį istorijos naratyvą. Esminiai žodžiai: Pirčiupiai, Pirčiupių Motina, paminklai, kultūros paveldas. The article examines the development of the Pirčiupiai Memorial – the first memorial established in Soviet-occupied Lithuania to commemorate the victims of Hitler’s terror – and the role of the story of the destruction of the village of Pirčiupiai in the of Soviet culture of memory and then in independent Lithuania. At the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, as the Khrushchev regime renewed and reinforced the narrative of the Great Patriotic War, the story of the destruction of the village of Pirčiupiai was singled out as one of the most important symbols of this period. During the years of Soviet occupation, this story was used first of all to justify the fundamental ideological assertion that the target of Nazi repression, terror, and mass murder was the whole of “soviet” Lithuanian society and the Lithuanians; 2) to marginalize the significance of the victims of the Jewish genocide; and 3) to conceal the crimes committed by the USSR army and the NKVD forces in the rural areas of eastern Lithuania in 1944–1945: the mass burning of villages and the repression of civilians. The Soviet narrative maintained the ambivalent images of Pirčiupiai as (1) a peaceful Lithuanian village that was destroyed by Germans and the “bourgeois nationalists” who assisted them, and (2) a village that resisted and supported Soviet partisans (this image was strengthened over time), with an emphasis on the storylines of the village that was “burned alive” and “resurrected from the ashes” in the Soviet period. The monument to the Mother of Pirčiupiai was not affected by the wave of removal of Soviet-era monuments from Lithuania’s public spaces in 1989–1991. This exception can be explained by 1) the fact that the monument stood on the authentic site of the mass murder, and 2) the universal semantics of the object (the figure of a grieving mother). The history of the destruction of Pirčiupiai itself, 1) due to the counter-reaction to the intensive use of it during the Soviet period and the set of associations created during this period, 2) other priorities of Lithuanian commemoration policy, and 3) socio-economic circumstances, became a secondary commemorative site in the Lithuanian memorial landscape. The failure of Lithuanian public organizations, various interest groups, and political elites to identify Pirčiupiai as an important memorial site for the collective identity of the Lithuania society (or even for their own “political visibility”) eventually created a favorable environment for the representatives of third authoritarian countries (Russia and Belorussia) to develop their own neo-Soviet historical narrative. Since 24 February 2022, following Russia’s invasion and genocide of Ukraine, the soft regulation of historical imagery, which was carried out for many years by representatives of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus at public events in Pirčiupiai and other places of IIWW, is no longer working and does not seem to have any future. Keywords: Pirčiupiai, Mother of Pirčiupiai, monuments, cultural heritage.

The article focuses on the issue of rural population wellbeing (WB) in Lithuania and Poland using data from different Rounds of European Social Survey (ESS). WB research at the local territorial level, including rural areas in the both countries, has not sufficiently been analyzed. Literature shows that WB research may influence the shaping of the future of rural communities because it concerns local people, their choices, and overall WB. Accordingly, the issue of the WB of the rural population becomes central to the viability and successful development of rural areas from the scientific, practical, and political approaches. The research goal is to identify the specifics of the wellbeing of rural residents in Lithuania and Poland and determine their differences from the territorial perspective. The following research methods were used: literature analysis and synthesis, comparative analysis, and statistical analysis methods. The differences in the analysis of the selected socio-economic factors (gender, age and income) showed what has a greater impact on the WB of the rural population in both countries. The WB in rural areas of Lithuania was lower than in Poland, although it was increasing in the both countries over time. The article initially focuses on the theoretical approach towards the WB and its research on rural areas, and then proceeds to the results of the rural population research by comparing the two countries.

Seniūnijos, tarp jų ir kaimiškosios, yra arčiausiai kiekvieno visuomenės nario poreikių. Tačiau šios institucijos šiuo laikotarpiu patiria didelius iššūkius, nes turėdamos gana ribotą savarankiškumo laipsnį ir ribotos kompetencijos darbuotojus, turi atsakyti už paskirtas funkcijas bei tikslus, nors galėtų atsakyti už daugiau funkcijų būdamos savarankiškesnės, nes yra arčiau žmonių ir labiau suvokia jų poreikius. Galima pastebėti, kad kintantys ir didėjantys šiuolaikinės visuomenės poreikiai skatina nuolatinį mokymąsi ir naujų kompetencijų įgijimą. Dažnai kyla klausimas, kurie dalykai ir kokiu mastu ugdo profesinę kompetenciją, o ypač praktinius jos aspektus. Pastaruosius identifikavus, būtų galima tobulinti mokymosi procesą, gerinti teorinių žinių perteikimo ir praktinių įgūdžių ugdymo ryšius. Šitai padėtų skatinti studijuojančius ar ketinančius studijuoti asmenis analizuoti turimas praktines kompetencijas ir tikslingai pasirinkti mokymo programas. Straipsnyje analizuojama kaimo plėtros administratoriaus funkcijų transformacijos svarba bei veiklos problemos kintančioje aplinkoje. Straipsnyje, remiantis mokslinės literatūros šaltinių analize ir empiriniais tyrimais, aptariamas kompetencijų turinys, nagrinėjamos transformacijos prielaidos ir poveikis tiek mokymo procesui, tiek darbo aplinkai. Municipalities and elderships, including rural ones, are the closest to the needs of each member of the society. Yet these organizations are currently facing great challenges. The article analyses the significance of the transformation of rural development administrators’ functions and issues related to their activities in the changing environment. To identify the most significant knowledge and skills that are required of a rural development specialist. The main “existing” activity functions were identified, and potential activity functions related to strategic and potential documents of the EU and Lithuanian rural development were proposed. Based on the analysis of scientific sources and empirical research, the article discusses the content of competences, the conditions for transformation and the impact on both the teaching process and the working environment.

Background and Objectives: Reduction in health inequalities is a highly important task in public health policies worldwide. In Lithuania, inequalities in mortality by place of residence are among the greatest, compared to other European Union (EU) countries. However, studies on inequalities in mortality by place of residence over a long-term period have not been investigated in Lithuania. The aim of this study was to present changes in mortality inequalities in urban and rural populations during 1990–2018. Materials and Methods: Mortality rates from all causes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, external causes, and gastrointestinal diseases in urban and rural population by sex were calculated per 100,000 populations and were standardized by age. Inequalities in mortality were assessed using rate differences and rate ratio. For the assessment of inequality trends during 1990–2018, the joinpoint regression analysis was applied. Results: Mortality between urban and rural populations varied. In rural areas, mortality lower than that in urban areas was observed only in 1990 among women, in case of mortality from cancer and gastrointestinal diseases (compared with in 2018) (p &lt, 0.05). In 2018, mortality from all causes, cardiovascular diseases, and external causes in urban and rural areas was lower than in 1990 in both sexes. However, mortality from gastrointestinal diseases was higher (p &lt, 0.05). In 2018, mortality from cancer among both sexes was lower only in urban areas (p &lt, 0.05). Mortality inequalities between rural and urban areas decreased statistically significantly only among men from external causes and from all causes (respectively, on average, by 0.52% per year and, on average, by 0.21% per year). Meanwhile, mortality from cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases increased in both sexes, and mortality from cancer and all causes of death increased among women. The increase in the inequalities of mortality from gastrointestinal diseases was the most rapid: among men—on average, by 0.69% per year, and among women—on average, by 1.43% per year, p &lt, 0.0001. Conclusions: During 1990–2018, the inequalities in mortality by place of residence in Lithuania statistically significantly decreased only among men, in terms of mortality from external causes and from all causes. Therefore, reduction in inequalities in mortality must be the main the health policy challenge in Lithuania.

Publikuojami du dokumentai – su kolektyvizacijos pradžia (1949 m.) ir patirtimi gyvuojant kolūkiams (1955 m.) susiję gyventojų skundai Ministrų Tarybai. Tai įdomūs informatyvūs istorijos šaltiniai, nušviečiantys Lietuvos kaimo gyventojų pastangas susitelkti ir protestuoti dėl juos užgriuvusių nelaimių, reakcija į pirmojo pokarinio dešimtmečio politinio klimato permainas. Kita vertus, šie šaltiniai demonstruoja režimo požiūrį į neparankų protesto „liaudies balsą“: dokumentų originalai tapo daiktiniais įrodymais baudžiamosiose bylose, persekiojant pareiškimus išdrįsusius parašyti žmones. [...]

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze inequalities of amenable mortality by place of residence and its changes in Lithuania during 1990-2019. STUDY DESIGN A record-linked cohort study. METHODS Information on deaths was obtained from Statistics Lithuania and the Institute of Hygiene. Mortality rates from amenable causes of death by urban and rural among men and women were calculated per 100,000 population and were standardized by age. Inequalities in mortality were assessed using rate differences. For the assessment of the trends of mortality and its inequalities during 1990-2019, joinpoint regression analysis was applied. RESULTS During 1990-2019, amenable mortality of men and women in rural areas was higher compared to urban areas (P

Šiame straipsnyje nagrinėjami skirtumai tarp miesto ir kaimo dvidešimties metų tarpsnyje (2002–2021) pajamų ir subjektyvaus materialinės padėties vertinimo aspektais. Siekiama įvertinti, ar skirtumai pagal šiuos rodiklius padidėjo, sumažėjo ar nepakito. Empirinių duomenų baze čia pasitarnavo Visuomenės nuomonės tyrimų centro „Vilmorus“ reprezentatyvių apklausų duomenys, taip pat Lietuvos statistikos departamento atliekamų apklausų rezultatai. Kartu, čia yra nagrinėjamos pajamų šeimos nariui matavimo metodologinės problemos reprezentatyviose atrankinėse gyventojų apklausose. Raktažodžiai: pajamos šeimos nariui, materialinės padėties vertinimas, skirtumai mieste ir kaime, reprezentatyvios apklausos. The differences in evaluation of the economic situation of the households during 2002-2021 in urban and rural areas are analysed in the paper. The task of this analysis is to evaluate the changes in the difference between urban and rural areas: the differences are growing or decreasing during twenty years. The empirical basis for this study are the results of representative surveys conducted by Public opinion research center „Vilmorus“ and the results of regular representative sample surveys conducted by Lithuanian Department of Statistics. The results of surveys show that income per family member increased even 5 times during twenty years. The highest income is being fixed in Vilnius, lower in other towns, and the lowest – in rural areas. The difference in income between different type of residence (big towns, province centers, rural areas) now (2021) is a little smaller compared to 2002. The exception is capital Vilnius – the difference among Vilnius and Lithuania's average is considerable. Three other indicators of financial situation of the households were analysed: probability of making savings over the next 12 month, forecast of the financial situation of household over next 12 months, change in the economic situation of the household over the last 12 months. The subjective evaluations are better in urban areas compared to rural areas (savings – at the first, after that – situation over last 12 months, and the lowest, only small differences in optimism towards the future). On the other hand, the differences didn't change considerably during 20 years. So, the analysis of the results of representative sample surveys shows, that perception of the financial situation in towns are better compared to rural area. On the other hand, there are no evidence that these differences are deepening. Keywords: income per family member, financial situation of the household, differences in urban and rural areas, representative surveys.

Regional parks in Lithuania preserve the most valuable physical and cultural components of the landscape, NATURA 2000 habitats, etc. They are usually located in natural or seminatural landscapes of rural areas. These territories, however, have a higher depopulation rate than urbanised districts. Still, conservation priority areas were expected to attract young families as permanent residents and make their population more stable. This study aims to investigate changes in the rural population in three regional parks of the Klaipėda county to determine the number of abandoned villages (with no residents) and vanishing ones (with a population

The present study demonstrates the possibilities for assessment of the financial autonomy of rural municipalities using the TOPSIS method. The study aimed to design and empirically verify the model for assessment of the financial autonomy of rural municipalities. As a result of the empirical study, an integrated system for assessment of the financial autonomy of rural municipalities was designed. The applicability of the TOPSIS method is demonstrated by the assessment of the financial autonomy of rural municipalities performed for two regions of Lithuania in the period 2009–2019. The empirical study showed that medium-low level of financial autonomy was characteristic of all the rural municipalities in the selected regions. On one hand, the findings suggested the presence of “convenient dependence” of the rural municipalities on the centralised allocation. On the other hand, they signalled the lack of the incentives for the rural municipalities to make use of the capacities and create sustainable, stable economic and social prospects.

Taikant P. Laslett namų ūkių klasifikaciją, straipsnyje atliekamas Kražių ir Užvenčio parapijų gyventojų namų ūkio ir gyvenviečių mikroistorinis, demografinis ir kaimotyrinis tyrimas. Siekiama išsiaiškinti, kaip koreliuoja namų ūkio dydis ir struktūra su gyvenvietės dydžiu ir ar tikrai Žemaitijoje vyravo sudėtinis namų ūkis. Remiantis Kražių ir Užvenčio RKB parapijiečių sąrašais ir vizitacijomis patvirtinama, kad gyvenvietės tipas darė įtaką namų ūkio dydžiui ir struktūrai, taip pat, jog branduolinis namų ūkis sudarė ženklią abiejų parapijų namų ūkių dalį. The article deals with the relation between the settlement and household of inhabitants in the first half of the nineteenth century in Kražiai and Užventis parishes, Samogitia. In the middle of the twentieth century, John Hajnal and Peter Laslett started researching the history of resident households. The researchers formulated theoretical and methodological basics for household analysis and encouraged other history researchers and demographers to undertake similar studies. Researchers who analysed households in Central and Eastern Europe refuted or corrected numerous statements by John Hajnal and Peter Laslett. They found that the most common household in Central and Eastern Europe was the nuclear household, although in many cases it was possible to find extended households. However, there is no clear relationship between the institution and the household. After analysing the aforementioned documents, it was discovered that during the first half of the nineteenth century, the nuclear household dominated the parishes of Kražiai and Užventis. However, the extended family is dominant in the towns of Kolainiai and Pakražantis. The single-person household dominated folwarks and manorial settlements. The relationship between the settlement and the household was significant. Eight types of settlements existed in the parishes of Kražiai and Užventis in the first half of the nineteenth century: the town (miestas, miasto), the township (miestelis, miasteczko, мњстечко), the manor (dvaras, dwór, majątek, имњние), folwark (palivarkas, folwark, фольварк), the manor village (bajorkaimis, okolica, околица), the village (kaimas, wieś, деревня), behind the wall (užusienis, zaścianek, застенок), and the felling (apyrubė, obręb, обруб). The smallest household was in the town of Kražiai, while the biggest household was found in the manor estate in Užventis parish.

This research aims to explore the evolution of rural social enterprises in the Baltic states by highlighting the factors that influence their development and the interplay among their different stakeholders. Specifically, the article addresses the following aspects: processes and factors that facilitate or hinder the development of rural social enterprises, financial and policy challenges and barriers encountered and ways in which social enterprises overcome them; collaborations developed between social enterprises and their stakeholders and clients; development support needs of social enterprises; rural SE models. This chapter provides information about the earlier issues by presenting a cross-case analysis of rural social enterprises from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Kaimiškos teritorijos Lietuvoje jau kuris laikas patiria neigiamų pokyčių: per tris dešimtmečius gyventojų skaičius jose sumažėjo 270 tūkst., o 2011 m. duomenimis, daugiau nei 4 tūkst. kaimo gyvenviečių jau buvo negyvenamos. Kaimo bendruomeninės organizacijos (KBO) neretai įvardijamos kaip vienas iš veiksmingiausių kaimiškų teritorijų plėtros įrankių, sudarančių sąlygas teritorijų vystymui pagal principą „iš apačios į viršų“. Dėl šios priežasties KBO tapo šio straipsnio tyrimo objektu. Straipsnyje siekiama pristatyti ir moksliškai interpretuoti bendruomenės ir kaimo bendruomeninės organizacijos apraiškas bei sąsajas, išanalizuoti KBO tinklo Lietuvoje teritorines ypatybes. Teritorinė analizė atlikta naudojantis VšĮ Lietuvos kaimo verslo ir rinkų plėtros agentūros, Oficialiosios statistikos portalo ir georeferencinių erdvinių duomenų rinkinio duomenimis. Duomenys apdoroti ArcGIS programine įranga. Rural areas in Lithuania have been experiencing negative changes for some time now: over three decades, the rural population has decreased by 270 thousand; moreover, 2011 data shows that more than 4 rural settlements were no longer inhabited. Rural community organizations (RCO) are often identified as one of the effective tools that can slow down these negative changes and enable development of rural areas. Based on similar essential elements (social capital, identity, leader) RCO can be considered as an institutionalized form of community. They both depend on human resources and their relationships. In 2020, total of 1,887 rural community organizations were registered in Lithuania, their network consisted of 1,745 rural settlements. 118 of these had more than one RCO in their territory, as a result, rural community organizations were clustered in area. The estimated average distance between RCO was 3.7 kilometers. The analysis revealed that a statistically significant part of the RCO is concentrated near municipal administrative centers: at a distance of 10 kilometers from them (that is, 37.3% rural areas of the country), 45.2% of all rural community organizations are concentrated. Due to demographic trends, territorial disparities in representation occur: the smallest representation is in the suburban municipalities near the big cities, and the highest one is in the sparsely populated municipalities of South-Eastern and Northern Lithuania.

Šiame straipsnyje pristatomos studentų, dalyvavusių VOMB projekto Baltijos šalių ture, patirtys. Patirtinio mokymosi pagrindinis bruožas – mokymosi aplinkų įvairovė, kuri dažniausiai kuriama už mokymosi institucijos ribų organizuojant kūrybinio pobūdžio veiklas ir studentus įtraukiant į projektus ar tyriminę veiklą. Kolbo patirtinio mokymosi teorija nusako pagrindinius patirtinio mokymosi etapus, tokius kaip konkreti patirtis, reflektyvus stebėjimas, abstrahavimas ir konceptualizavimas, ir galiausiai aktyvus patirčių pritaikymas, kitaip sakant eksperimentavimas. Staripsnio tikslas – atskleisti patirtinio mokymosi naudą dalyvaujant projekte „Villages on Move Baltic“ studentų požiūriu. Tyrimo medžiaga ir metodai. Patirtinio mokymosi paradigma ir studentų, dalyvavusių VOMB projekte, refleksijomis buvo grindžiama tyrimo metodologija. Studentai aktyviai įsitraukė į tyrimo metodologijos kūrimą, dirbdami grupėse diskutavo, kokie 7 svarbiausi klausimai leistų įvertinti šio projekto rezultatyvumą edukaciniu ir tolimesnio projekto tobulinimo požiūriu. Straipsnio autoriai šiuos klausimus išanalizavo, susistemino ir pateikė studentų individualiam reflektavimui. Studentai raštu pateikė savo refleksijas, pagal struktūruotą apklausos formą raštu. Tyrimo duomenų analizės metodas - turinio analizė. 17 studentų, dalyvavusių VOMB projekto Baltijos šalių ture, atstovavo Lietuvai, Latvijai, Danijai, Suomijai. Studentai iš Estijos (3) dalyvavo tik pirmame etape, kuomet diskutuojant studentų grupėse buvo rengiami pirminiai klausimai. Studentai atstovavo sveikatos mokslų, socialinio darbo, pedagogikos, vadybos ir ekonomikos studijų kryptims. Rezultatai. Visų šalių studentai išsakė pozityvų požiūrį į dalyvavimą VOMB projekto Baltijos šalių ture, kuris vyko aplankant renginius, organizuojamus Lietuvoje, Latvijoje, Estijoje, Suomijoje. Studentai įžvelgia naudą šiais aspektais: a) galimybė teorines žinias pritaikyti praktiškai, o tai leidžia siekti teorijos ir praktikos vienovės; b) įgytų žinių panaudojimas būsimoje profesinėje veikloje; c) įgyta tarptautinė patirtis ir patobulintos ar įgytos tarpkultūrinės kompetencijos. Dalyvavimas šiame projekte taip pat naudingas asmenybiniu ir socialiniu požiūriu. Ateityje organizuojant panašaus pobūdžio veiklas derėtų atsižvelgti į studentų pageidavimus, tokius kaip – daugiau laiko skirti neformaliam bendravimui projekto metu bei ankščiau ir daugiau suteikti informacijos, susijusios su renginiais, į kuriuos bus vykstama. Studentai siūlo šiuos fizinį aktyvumą skatinančių renginių kokybės vertinimo kriterijus: “Didelis dalyvių skaičius”, “Patrauklios fizinio aktyvumo formos”, “Įvairių socialinių žmonių grupių įtraukimas”, “Dėmesys ekologiniu požiūriu”, “Dėmesys dalyvių saugumui”. Išvada. Studentų dalyvavimas VOMB projekto Baltijos šalių ture leido jiems tobulinti bendrąsias kompetencijas ir siekti asmeninio ir profesinio tobulėjimo. From solid, hands on experience with the challenges of intercultural differences to a significantly changed personal mindset and a new perception of their individual education programmes, a student survey provides new evidence of the advantages of experiential learning. Experiential learning encompasses a variety of out-of-classroom-activities including project based learning, internships, service learning, participation in the research and other student creative work experiences. Kolb’s experiential learning theory (KELT) is comprised of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The aim - to reveal benefits of experiential learning based on student participation in the project “Villages on Move Baltic” (VOMB) tour. Material and methods. Experiential learning and experience reflection hold a significant role as an educational methodology, and it is a shared value to prepare students for the challenges in a changing world by developing professionals who can think critically and reflectively. As mandatory assignment during the tour, the student collective formulated seven questions, and an analysis of the students’ individual replies to and reflections on these questions forms the basis of this article. Qualitative research – more specifically a content analysis – was used in this study, that was conducted based upon the replies from participating students from Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Denmark (N=17). Except for three from high school level, students represented BA-programmes within health care, physiotherapy, social work, community pedagogy, and innovation & entrepreneurship. Results. Students expressed their positive attitude on the participation in the Baltic Tour. Students‘ reflections highlighted various scenarios of future life and career. The learning potential of the Baltic Tour can be described in three areas. Students, regardless of nationality, expressed a) cohesion of the theory and practice; b) knowledge application in a professional perspective; c) intercultural and international experience. Student reflections revealed that participation in the Baltic Tour influenced personal growth, social competencies development and improvement of cognitive skills. Student reflections on the Baltic Tour itself included appointing more attention to informal communication during the tour and more information and involvement before. In addition, more activities in cross-nation groups and the use of creative team building tools were recommended. Students’ view to criteria for the quality of VOMB-ideas mentioned “Large number of participants“, “Attractive types of physical activities”, “Involving people from all social groups“ and “Ecological approach and security during events“. Conclusions. Students’ survey based on the project “Villages on Move Baltic” tour highlighted the benefits of participation to personal abilities, key competencies and professional skills improvement.

Socialinė infrastruktūra dažnai apibrėžiama, kaip įvairios paslaugos teikiamos vietos gyventojams (bendruomenei), patogumai ir viešos erdvės, ryšius ir bendravimo tinklus tarp vietos gyventojų formuojantis vietovės elementas. Taip pat pažymėtina, kad socialinė infrastruktūra gali būti vertinama ir kaip svarbus veiksnys sukuriantis sąlygas sėkmingesnei integracijai ir dalyvavimui visuomeniniame gyvenime, atveria didesnes galimybes vietos gyventojams, užtikrina žmogiškųjų teisių realizavimą, prisideda prie aukštesnės gyvenimo gerovės kūrimo. Socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugų svarbos vietos bendruomenės gyvenimo gerovei klausimas Lietuvos socialinių mokslų diskurse išplėtotas nepakankamai. Šiame straipsnyje keliamas tyrimo tikslas – išanalizuoti, kaip socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugos prisideda ir skatina vietos benduomenės gerovę. Tyrimas buvo atliktas pritaikius teorinius ir empirinius tyrimo metodus. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad poreikių socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugoms nustatymas gyventojų gerovės kontekste yra per mažai nagrinėjamas, nors ir yra neabejotina sąlyga siekiant aukštesnės jų gyvenimo gerovės. Socialinės infrastruktūros paslaugų teikimas sudaro galimybes aukštesnei gyvenimo gerovei formuotis ir tikslinga dėmesį atkreipti į šių paslaugų teikimo galimybes pagal gyvenamąją vietovę, atsižvelgti į tai, kaip vietos gyventojai jaučiasi ir vertina šias paslaugas bei kaip vertina savo būsimą gyvenimą. Social infrastructure is largely related to various services for community, facilities and public spaces, relationships and networks among local community members. It is therefore obvious that social infrastructure could be viewed as an important factor for creating better opportunities for integration and participation in society, fostering functional capabilities of a community, acknowledging human rights, improving judgements related to overall life satisfaction. The links between social infrastructure services and focus on local community wellbeing in Lithuanian’s social science discourse has not been substantiated sufficiently yet. Consequently, this article aims at disclosing the importance of social infrastructure services in promotion of local community wellbeing. The research question of this article is formulated as follows: how social infrastructure services contribute and could promote wellbeing of local community. The methodological background is based on both theoretical and empirical findings pertaining to the topic. The research results have suggested that the need of local community for social infrastructure services should be evaluated more carefully in the context of wellbeing. These services have been found to play significant role in reaching a certain level of wellbeing in view of the place where people live, how they feel and how to evaluate the future of their living.

Straipsnyje keliama tyrimo problema yra sietina su socialinio verslumo Lietuvos kaimo plėtroje svarba. Tyrimo tikslas – numatyti socialinio verslumo reiškinio tendencijas Lietuvoje, pristatyti sėkmės pavyzdžių ir pateikti rekomendacijas, kaip pagerinti socialus verslumo situaciją kaimo vietovėse. Socialinis verslumas yra tik besivystantis Lietuvoje tiek politinių teisinių dokumentų prasme, tiek praktiniais verslo pavyzdžiais. Jaunimo verslumo Lietuvos aukštosios mokyklose tyrimo duomenys leidžia teigiamai vertinti verslumo plėtros potencialą ir jaunų verslių žmonių galimybes kurti verslą. Lietuvoje socialinis verslumas reikalauja tiek mokslinio dėmesio, tiek praktinių sprendimų, susijusių su sąlygų šiam verslui gerinimu. Kaimo vietovės yra potenciali terpė vystytis šeimos verslui, ypač įtraukiat jaunus žmones į socialines veiklas, tačiau reikalauja dar nemenkų pastangų tiek tobulinant verslo aplinką, tiek motyvuojant gyventojus užsiimti tokiu verslu. The research problem lays upon disclosing the importance of role of social entrepreneurship in rural development of Lithuania. The paper thė tendencies of social entrepreneurship in Lithuania, to present successful examples of such business for providing recommendations how to improve sit-uation in rural areas in terms of social entrepreneurship development. Lithuanian government has made some steps towards development of social enterprises, social entrepreneurship, and social in-novation, but the a lot remains to be improved. The roots of family business go back only above 20 years and have rather poor traditions in Lithuania. It is tightly related to rural areas especially than agriculture economies are acting as family farms with potential of young social businesses.

Trys Rytų Baltijos valstybės – Lietuva, Latvija ir Estija, nepaisant istorinės raidos panašumo, turi kai kurių apgyvendinimo sistemos skirtumų. XX a. dešimtajame dešimtmetyje Baltijos šalys atgavo nepriklausomybę, tačiau joms, kaip ir kitoms posovietinėms šalims, kilo naujų iššūkių, kurie vis dar formuoja gyvenviečių sistemą. Atkūrus nepriklausomybę, miesto statusą gaunančių arba prarandančių gyvenviečių buvo santykinai nedaug, ryškiausias miestų skaičiaus pokytis buvo Lietuvoje, kai per trisdešimtį nepriklausomybės metų šalies miestų tinklas sumažėjo 11-a miestų. 1989–2019 m. gyventojų skaičiaus pokytis buvo neigiamas beveik visuose Rytų Baltijos valstybių miestuose. Lietuvoje vidutinis miestų gyventojų skaičius sumažėjo 30,1 %, Latvijoje – 24,8 %, Estijoje – 29,1 %. Toks dramatiškas miestų gyventojų skaičiaus mažėjimas nulėmė tai, kad visose trijose valstybėse sumažėjo didelių – daugiau kaip 100 tūkst. gyventojų turinčių gyvenviečių skaičius. Apskritai Baltijos šalyse vyrauja mažų miestų sistema. Didžiausias neigiamas gyventojų skaičiaus pokytis Baltijos šalyse buvo pasienio ir atokesnėse vietovėse įsikūrusiuose miestuose. Lietuvoje sparčiausiai miestai mažėjo šiaurės rytinėje bei pietinėje dalyse. Santykinai mažiausias miestų gyventojų skaičiaus pokytis buvo šalies centinėje ir vakarinėje dalyse. Latvijoje miestai sparčiausiai tuštėjo šalies vakaruose – Vidzemės ir Latgalos regionuose, mažiausiai kito Pierygos regionas. Estijoje sparčiausiai miestai mažėjo šalies šiaurės rytinėje ir centrinėje dalyse. 1989–2019 m. šiek tiek sumažėjo greta sostinės esantys miestai, o šalia Talino esantis miestas Sauė per tiriamąjį laikotarpį išaugo net 30 %. Dar sovietmečiu Latvijos ir Estijos respublikų gyvenviečių sistemos formuotos monocentrinu pagrindu. Dėl to šiose valstybėse iki šiol išlikusi monocentrinė miestų sistema. Didelė gyventojų, pramonės ir paslaugų dalis sutelkta sostinės regionuose, nes tai patraukliausios teritorijos investuotojams. Tad gyventojų skaičius šiuose didmiesčiuose toliau auga. Tai lemia teritorinius skirtumus tarp sostinės regiono ir likusios šalies dalies. Abi šalys savo planavimo dokumentuose plėtoja policentrinį požiūrį į gyvenviečių plėtrą. Lietuvoje dėl tolygesnio gyvenviečių planavimo sovietmečiu gyventojai pasiskirstę tolygiau. Šalyje yra keturi miestai, kuriuose gyvena daugiau nei 100 tūkst. gyventojų, o atotrūkis tarp sostinės ir kitų didžiųjų miestų ne toks akivaizdus kaip Estijoje ar Latvijoje. Vis dėlto ir Lietuvoje vyksta metropolizacijos procesas. Spontaniška miestų raida aplink didžiuosius miestus kelia nemažus iššūkius šių teritorijų gyventojams dėl nepakankamai išvystytos infrastruktūros. Šiuo metu visose trijose valstybėse mažėja miestų gyventojų skaičius, o gyvenviečių sistemose vyrauja nedideli, iki 20 tūkst. gyventojų, miestai. Tačiau pastebimas ir priešingas procesas – mažesnių miestų, išsidėsčiusių aplink didžiuosius miestus, augimas. Nors bendras kaimo gyventojų skaičius sparčiai mažėja, visose valstybėse greta didžiųjų miestų esančiose gyvenvietėse kaimų gyventojų skaičiaus auga. Vidutiniškai trečdalis Lietuvos, Latvijos ir Estijos gyventojų gyvena kaimuose, šis santykinis dydis tarp trijų valstybių skiriasi nedaug, tačiau socialiniai, demografiniai bei ekonominiai procesai Baltijos valstybėse lemia, kad kaimų skaičius nuolat mažėja. 2001–2011 m. Lietuva prarado 1699 kaimus. Augantys miestai centrai traukia kaimų gyventojus, todėl nepalankioje geografinėje vietoje įsikūrę kaimai mažėja ir nyksta, o arčiau centrų esančios gyvenvietės auga ir plečiasi. Estijoje, remiantis paskutinių dviejų visuotinių gyventojų surašymo duomenimis (2000 m. ir 2011 m.), bendras kaimų skaičius sumažėjo 172 gyvenvietėmis ir 2011 m. tebuvo 4438 kaimai. 85 % Estijos kaimų turėjo iki 100 nuolatinių gyventojų. Latvijoje 2000–2017 m. kaimų gyventojų skaičius mažėjo visoje šalyje ir visuose regionuose, išskyrus Pierygos regioną, kuriame kaimų gyventojų skaičius išaugo dvigubai: 2017 m. šiame regione gyveno 43 % visų šalies kaimo gyventojų. Kartu pastebima užmiesčių plėtra. Lietuvoje tokia plėtra vyksta aplink sostinę Vilnių, Kauną ir Klaipėdą. Estijoje ir Latvijoje – aplink sostines. Atlikus trijų didžiausių kiekvienos valstybės miestų gyventojų skaičiaus kaitos prognozę 2020–2023 m. laikotarpiui, numatomas Talino ir Vilniaus miestų augimas. Likusiuose miestuose gyventojų skaičius tuo laikotarpiu turėtų mažėti. The purpose of this study is to find out how the settlement systems in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia changed during the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, and what the trends for further urban change are. In the Soviet period, single farms that existed in all three east Baltic countries were destroyed. The inhabitants of single farms were moved to central settlements. Cities grew in all the republics, especially in the largest centres. A network of satellite settlements grew up around the capitals, which was particularly dense around Tallinn and Riga. The capitals and their surrounding settlements are currently growing at a very high speed in all the east Baltic countries. This concentrates administrative functions and a highly skilled workforce, and attracts the most investment. As a result, peripheral areas, especially villages, are disappearing, and their inhabitants are emigrating. Such areas are becoming unattractive to business. In order to show the situation, the authors used a comparative analysis method, as well as cartographic, graphic and other methods. The anticipation of settlement principles and trends is one of the most important tasks of regional policy in each country. Therefore, an interpolation method was used to make estimates of the urban population in the three largest cities in the east Baltic countries from 2020 to 2023. The trend analysis indicates that the populations of most of the largest cities in the east Baltic countries will decrease.

The article is based on the field research material, the work of ethnologists and data from the literature. It reveals the origins of the Pentecost and Corpus Christi feasts in historical perspective and their role in the Lithuanian rural culture in the first half of the 20th century. It is noted that the ecclesiastical nature of the Pentecost and the Corpus Christi celebration was determined by the Catholic liturgy with its traditions in the rural areas, manifesting in various forms of folk culture. For example, birch twigs used in the context of Pentecost and the Corpus Christi feast would become a ritual symbol in shepherdsʼ customs. Greenery, consecrated during the Pentecost and the Corpus Christi feasts, were important in folk rites and customs. The material presented in the article suggests that various consecrated greenery have often been used as inventory having a magical meaning. However, the interpretations of the same consecrated herbs were various in different regions, villages or individuals lives. Therefore, the study of the peculiarities and content of the Pentecost and the Corpus Christi feasts allowed to clarify the territorial peculiarities in Lithuania and to achieve their connections with similar Byelorussian ritual practices. It has been noticed that the use of birch twigs and consecrated greenery for magical purposes in the village existed in the form of specific actions and as a folk knowledge. This led to the content of the use of greenery in folk religiosity. The magical significance of sacred items was primarily attributed to the hope of receiving their assistance in various areas of people’s daily lives. Also, greenery was a folk tradition during religious festivals.

Childhood memories about the meals of the village people and a little bit of the town of Joniškis. There are meals that are common only in the region, the taste of which I feel in my mouth all my life, which I miss, which I always hope to taste when I visit the people of Joniškis. In writing, I mainly relied on the meals prepared by my mother Liucija Količiūtė-Kerelienė (1896–1994), who came from the village of Ropininkai, and the stories about my grandmother Barbora Kulbokaitė-Kolyčiuvienė (1860–1912), who came from the nearby village of Kirnaičiai, and grandfather Augustas Kolyčius (1845– 1939) from Ropininkai village. What back in the 19th century they cooked, baked, soured, salted, smoked, dried, what they treated themselves to during the holidays, what they liked, what they ate during harvest times, during quite frequent fasts, by what they pampered children or the sick. The meals I described were eaten even in the 18th, 19th centuries and in the first half of the 20th century. And from the traditions of grandparents they reach the 17th century. From generation to generation.

Straipsnyje apžvelgtos Žagarės apylinkių kaimų žemėvaldos pertvarkymo planų ypatybės XX a. pradžioje. Po užsitęsusio stabilumo ir stagnacijos laikotarpio dar Valakų reformos (XVI a.) laikais formuotas kaimų žemėvaldos modelis pradėtas iš esmės pertvarkyti, rengiant projektinius planus atskiriems apylinkių kaimams. Jų pobūdį tuomet lėmė ne vien Rusijos imperijos tuometinės politinės nuostatos, bet ir vietiniai ypatumai. To laiko dokumentuose buvo užfiksuoti anuometinio kaimiškojo gyvenimo šiose apylinkėse momentai (nuo buvusios socialinės ir turtinės diferenciacijos iki vietinių sąlygų įvairovės). Žagarė was probably one of the oldest regions of Baltic agriculture. Since the Volok Reform (16th c.), a system of street-and-strip villages was formed there, with then advanced system of communal three-field crop rotation and sectional land ownership. Due to historical circumstances, that system had not been significantly modernized for several centuries, and in the 19th century became anachronistic, hindering further agricultural progress. Known plans for the rearrangement of landowning in the old villages around Žagarė were prepared in 1909–1914. In 1915, with the beginning of the German (imperial) occupation, and in 1918, with the beginning of the creation of an independent state of Lithuania, the above-mentioned landowing rearrangement plans could not be implemented due to the collapse of the Russian occupation system. At least part of those plans were already validated by the relevant institutions of the Republic of Lithuania in later times. With such nostrification, it was apparently acknowledged that the land ownership plans prepared in 1909–1914 were in the interests of many villagers and did not substantially contradict the provisions of Independent Lithuania. Those plans describe the situation around 1910–1930, provide a lot of important information about the villagers of that time, the land they owned, etc. Those documents also provide broader insights into the situation of the old villages there and their inhabitants.

Eimuntas Nekrošius (1952–2018) pasaulinę šlovę pelnęs Lietuvos režisierius. Straipsnyje tiriami iki šiol neanalizuoti etninio paveldo vaizdiniai, atėję į spektaklių režisūrą iš tradicinės lietuvių kultūros. Pasirinkti penki Nekrošiaus kūrybos viršūnę žymintys spektakliai: Williamo Shakespeare’o „Hamletas“, „Makbetas“, „Otelas“, Johanno Wolfgango von Goethe’ės „Faustas“, „Giesmių giesmė“ pagal Šventąjį Raštą. Identifikuojami etninės kilmės vaizdiniai, atskleidžiama jų simbolinė prasmė, susijusi su režisieriaus pjesės interpretacija, pasaulėžiūra, objekto reikšme lietuvių liaudies kultūroje. Dalis iš jų savo kilme siekia baltų paveldą, tokie kaip rato sukimas, mazgo rišimas, luoto panaudojimas, kaulo padėjimas / pakabinimas scenoje. Katilas, būgnas, kailiniai, pjūklas, senovinis lygintuvas ir kiti daiktai bei jų vaizdiniai yra atėję iš liaudies buities, papročių. Nagrinėjamas taip pat simbolinis kaimo jaunimo žaidimų pritaikymas aktorių judesiams spektakliuose. Atliktas tyrimas prisidės siekiant geriau suvokti Nekrošiaus kūrybos savitumą, jo svarbą Lietuvos kultūrai. Esminiai žodžiai: Eimuntas Nekrošius, Hamletas, Makbetas, Otelas, Faustas, lietuviška tapatybė, kaimo kultūra, baltai. Eimuntas Nekrošius (1952–2018) is a Lithuanian stage director who won worldwide fame. The article deals with the Lithuanian identity manifesting itself in the productions by this stage director using ethnographic data in his five performances that marked the pinnacle of his creative work: the performances are based on the following dramas: Hamlet, Otello, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Song of Songs from the Bible. Eimuntas Nekrošius drew much of his creative inspiration from Lithuanian traditional and professional culture. As he was born in a Lithuanian village, finished secondary school in a provincial town of Šiluva, he was familiar with the images of everyday life and customs from his early childhood and later they were revived in his imagination when reading ethnology books and works of fiction – books by Marius Katiliškis, Saulius Šaltenis, Leonardas Gutauskas and works by other Lithuanian writers. On the basis of all this, Nekrošius created Lithuanian ethnic stylistics by staging literary productions not only by local but also foreign authors – works of English, German, Kirghiz, ancient Jewish writers. Deep Catholic faith brought from Šiluva is clearly distinct in the conception of his productions, distinguishes itself in the humanistic assessment of the events being represented. Reading works by the philosopher Antanas Maceina helped Eimuntas Nekrošius express the national identity. Lithuanian ethnic influence is particularly noticed in the stage properties and actor’s movements. The place of a thing in a performance varies: sometimes it is central and sometimes peripheral. Prevailing theatrical images encompassing the whole contents of the history being represented play a significant role: In his performances Eimuntas Nekrošius used a great number of movements taken over from Lithuanian folk games. For example, Macbeth speaking with his head bent down, when representing the beginning of his downfall, is taken from the game „Climb to the flitch“ played by the young people of the village; Faust’s walking with his eyes closed and hands outstretched forward symbolising his scientific searches, is created according to a game that was popular in the countryside; the devils’ turning somersaults before a romance between Faust and Margaret starts; witches’ dancing the polka after Macbeth has been trapped. And many others. All this renders dynamics and Lithuanian authenticity to the performances. The ethnic images revealed in the article show that Eimuntas Nekrošius was a carrier of the Lithuanian identity in the modern world. Keywords: Eimuntas Nekrošius, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, Faust, Lithuanian identity, rural culture, the Balts.

Straipsnyje pateikiami analizės rezultatai ne tik atspindi miesto ir kaimo gyventojų užimtumo skirtumus, bet ir netiesiogiai iliustruoja situacijos darbo rinkoje pokyčius Lietuvos regionuose. Remiantis statistiniais rodikliais, straipsniu siekiama įvertinti miesto ir kaimo tikslinių gyventojų grupių padėties darbo rinkoje (užimtumo) skirtumus ir atskleisti stebimas tendencijas jų integracijos į darbo rinką galimybių požiūriu. Straipsnyje vertinami jaunimo, pagyvenusių žmonių, vyrų ir moterų situacijos darbo rinkoje skirtumai. Atsižvelgiant į žmogiškųjų išteklių trūkumo problemą, analizėje naudojamas aktyvių žmogiškųjų išteklių panaudojimo koeficientas, kuris įvertinamas remiantis Statistikos departamento duomenimis. Didelis dėmesys straipsnyje taip pat skiriamas ir tikslinių demografinių grupių aktyvumo darbo rinkoje bei nedarbo analizei. Results provided in this article not only reflect employment differences between rural and urban population but also indirectly illustrate changes in the labour market across regions in Lithuania. Using statistical indicators, the goal of this article is to evaluate the labour market situation of the target groups from rural and urban populations as well as to reveal observed trends of their integration into the labour market. Employment differences of the youth, elderly, men, and women in the labour market are evaluated. Taking into account the lack of labour force in Lithuania, the analysis uses the coefficient of active human resources utilisation, which is estimated on the basis of data from the Department of Statistics. The article also pays great attention to the analysis of the activity of the target demographic groups in the labour market and unemployment. The performed analysis shows a very high territorial differentiation of employment in urban and rural populations, as well as other labour market indicators in the country. The importance of the problem in question is indicated by, probably, the largest gap in the employment rate between urban and rural populations in Lithuania, compared to the EU in 2019. Particularly high differences in the employment rate in Lithuania also exist at the level of individual target groups. The employment rate between the elderly and women differed the most, with smaller relative differences between men. In 2019 the employment in the city exceeded its corresponding value in the countryside for elderly by 17.8 %, for women by 17.6 %, for men by 12.6 %. Only in the youth age group this relative difference was insignificant. Judging by the country's economic activity and employment indicators during periods of economic upturn, the elderly are the most dynamically growing group in the labour market. Increasing the activity of the elderly largely compensates for the lack of labour resources in the country. However, one of the most important obstacles to the growth of employment of older people in the country is the significant difference of this indicator in urban and rural areas. It is important to note that in terms of changes in the socio-demographic structure of the population, young people are gradually replacing older people in the labour market. However, the importance of the integration of the older population into the labour market, both in the whole country and its regions, is determined by the fact that with the declining number of labour resources in the younger age groups, young people cannot completely replace the elderly. This leads to an accelerating process of aging of labour resources (especially in smaller regions of the country). This way, relatively more older people remain in regional labour markets for a longer time. During the global economic crisis, the unemployment rate of rural youth significantly exceeded the value of this indicator in urban areas. Despite the fact that the observed difference had declined, it has remained high throughout the past decade. Due to the impact of the economic crisis, the normal youth unemployment rate during 2010–2011 reached as much as four-tenths of the workforce. However, it is important to note that, as early as in the second half of the last decade, the demographic youth unemployment rate was already lower than that of the elderly. This shows that the situation is changing in a youth-friendly direction. The highest unemployment rate for men in urban regions was recorded in 2001 (21.6 %) and in rural regions – in 2010 (24,7 %). The trend in the number of unemployed men was similar to the overall unemployment rate, although during periods of economic boom, the number of unemployed men decreased significantly faster than the overall unemployment rate due to the impact of demographic factors in the city. Due to the less affected services sector during the last economic crisis, women were able to keep more jobs than men, and this resulted in lower unemployment of women. During the previous economic upswing, women unemployment rate had traditionally been lower than male unemployment rate, but the observed differences had declined significantly. However, during the crisis periods, the differences in unemployment rates between urban and rural women were very high.

Straipsnio objektas - Lietuvos tradicinė kaimiškoji kultūra, kaip ilgaamžis fenomenas, nulėmęs lietuvių ir kitų baltų tautų etnokultūrinės ypatybės esminius ypatumus ir gyvavęs iki XX a. vidurio; jos paveldas. Tikslas - trumpai apžvelgti lietuviškosios (ir baltiškosios) tradicinės kaimiškosios kultūros ištakas ir jos raidą XII-XX a., sugretinti jų su Europos analogiškais fenomenais; parodyti esamus skirtingumus tarp padėties šioje srityje Lietuvoje ir išsivysčiusiose Vakarų šalyse, to priežastis ir pasekmes.

Iki šiol lietuvių kalbos žodynuose buvo fiksuojama viena daiktavardžio kaimietis, -ė reikšmė: „kaimo gyventojas“. Dabar Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyne nurodoma ir kita šio žodžio reikšmė: „menk. sakoma apie neišsilavinusį, prasto skonio ir pan. žmogų, kuris nebūtinai kilęs iš kaimo.“ Pripažįstant pastarąją reikšmę tenka konstatuoti, kad kaimietis (kaip dominantė) patenka ne tik į sąvoką „kaimo žmogus“ reiškiančių sinonimų eilę, bet ir į menkinamąją reikšmę reiškiančių artimos reikšmės (sinonimiškų) žodžių eilę. Todėl tikslinga apžvelgti išsiplėtusią kaimiečio sinonimiką. Sinonimų žodynuose 1-osios reikšmės būdingiausi sinonimai yra sodietis ir valstietis. Valstietis įtrauktas į sąvoką „kaimo žmogus“ nusakančių sinonimų eilę su nuoroda „nutolusios reikšmės žodis“; jo žodyninis apibrėžimas yra „kas verčiasi žemės darbu, žemdirbyste“. Toks apibrėžimas leidžia prie kaimiečio „kaimo gyventojo“ sinonimų eilės prišlieti žemdirbio (dominantė) sinonimų eilę: laukininkas, ūkininkas ir kt.; valstietis susieja tas dvi sinonimų eiles. Antrajai kaimiečio reikšmei artimą sinonimų eilę sudarytų prastuolis, prasčiokas, taip pat, išeinant už bendrinės kalbos ribų, svetimybė mužikas, žargonybė runkelis. Straipsnyje su daiktavardžiu kaimietis, -ė, laikantis plačios sinonimų sampratos, reikšmė̃s, konotacijos ir vartojimo atžvilgiu gretinami šie žodžiai: sodietis, valstietis, žemdirbys, laukininkas, ūkininkas, prastuolis, prasčiokas, mužikas, runkelis. Medžiaga rinkta iš visų Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos tekstyne pateikiamų stilių kontekstų, taip pat iš kitų dabartinės lietuvių kalbos tekstų. Earlier, dictionaries of the Lithuanian language would record only one entry of the meaning of the noun kaimietis, -ė (‘a male / female villager’ in Lithuanian): “a village inhabitant”. Presently, the Dictionary of the Literary Lithuanian Language (Lith. Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas) indicates another meaning of the word: “pejorative meaning – an uneducated, of bad taste, etc. person who not necessarily comes from a village”. Acknowledging the latter meaning, it remains stating that kaimietis (as a dominant) falls not only to the row of synonyms with the concept “a village man”, but also to the row of similar words (synonymous) bearing a pejorative meaning. Therefore, it is purposeful to review the extended synonymy of the noun kaimietis. The dictionaries of synonyms display the most characteristic synonyms of the first meaning: sodietis (‘a homestead peasant’) and valstietis (‘a peasant’). The word valstietis is included in the row of synonyms characterising the notion “a village man”’, with reference to “a word with a distant meaning”; its definition in the dictionary is “the one who is engaged with the earthwork, agriculture work”. Such definition allows the row of synonyms žemdirbys (‘an agriculturalist’) (as a dominant) joining the row of synonyms of kaimietis meaning “a village inhabitant”: laukininkas (‘a field peasant’), ūkininkas (‘a farmer’), etc.; valstietis is the link between these two rows of synonyms. The second row of synonyms with a similar meaning to that of kaimietis would comprise prastuolis (‘a lowbrow’), prasčiokas (‘a hick’); also, outside the limits of the literary language, it includes a barbarism mužikas (‘a kern’), a jargon word runkelis (‘a person as mindless as a beetroot’). The article maintains a broad notion, meaning, connotation and use of synonyms of the noun kaimietis, -ė; thus, the following words are compared: sodietis; valstietis; žemdirbys, laukininkas, ūkininkas, prastuolis, prasčiokas, mužikas; runkelis. The material was collected from all texts of different styles presented in the Corpus of the Contemporary Lithuanian Language (Lith. Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos tekstynas), also from other texts of the contemporary Lithuanian language.

Gyventojų demografinė situacija yra reikšmingas regionų funkcionavimo veiksnys. Esant palankiems demografiniams rodikliams gyvenvietės yra ne tik gyvybingos, bet ir išlaiko vystymosi tendenciją. Išskirtinio dėmesio reikalauja kaimiški regionai, todėl straipsnyje analizuojami skirtingo – silpno, vidutinio ir stipraus – kaimiškumo lygio regionai. Kaimiškų savivaldybių plotas yra didžiausias, todėl jos sparčiausiai patiria neigiamas demografines transformacijas, dėl kurių intensyviai keičiasi gyventojų tankumas. Dėl prastėjančios demografinės situacijos 36 proc. kaimiškų savivaldybių praranda savo gyvybiškumą, todėl ypatingą dėmesį reikia skirti tolygiam socialiniam ir ekonominiam regionų vystymui, kurio pagrindas – demografinis gyvybingumas. 42 proc. savivaldybių situacija nesikeičia, bet, vertinant bendras Lietuvos demografines tendencijas, galima daryti prielaidą, kad šios savivaldybės laikui bėgant taip pat patirs demografinių iššūkių. Ir tik 22 proc. kaimiškų savivaldybių būdinga gerėjanti situacija, kurią lemia jų geografinė padėtis – nedidelis atstumas iki didžiųjų miestų. The researchers from Lithuanian Institute of Agrarian economics confirmed that classification of Lithuanian regions by rurality into 5 groups is a more comprehensive method to reveal economic and social differences of the regions than the method used by the government at the present by classifying regions in to the problematic and non-problematic regions (Melnikienė et al., 2011). The object of the research – municipalities of different rurality degree. The objective of this paper – to analyze population density and demographic situation from 2011 to 2018 changes in municipalities of different rurality degree in Lithuania. Our research has revealed, that on average rural municipalities cover area 10 times larger than urban municipalities and 1,2 times larger than semi-urban municipalities. Taking into account population density, natural population change, net migration, old-age dependency ratio in 2011 and 2018, it was found that 10 municipalities are improving, 19 municipalities - unchanged and 16 municipalities - worsening.

Sėkmingas ir efektyvus socialinių inovacijų vystymo procesas priklauso nuo suinteresuotųjų įtraukimo, jų interesų pasiskirstymo ir bendradarbiavimo ryšių. Tačiau galima pastebėti, kad sudėtinga identifikuoti visus suinteresuotųjų ryšius, funkcijas, kurias jie vykdo vystydami socialines inovacijas. Šio straipsnio tikslas – identifikuoti suinteresuotųjų įtraukimo principus į socialinių inovacijų vystymo procesą kaimiškose vietovėse. Straipsnyje pateikiamas tyrimas, kuris buvo atliktas vertinant aplinkos pasiruošimą socialinių inovacijų vystymo procesui per sisteminius pokyčius bei interviu metu, kurie vyko su suinteresuotomis organizacijomis Rokiškio rajone. Tyrimo metu buvo nustatyta, kad organizacijų įtraukimas priklauso nuo vedančiojo lyderio bei įsitraukimo motyvų. Taip pat įsitraukus į socialinių inovacijų vystymą, organizacijos pasidalina atsakomybėmis, gali kooperuoti turimus išteklius, kad egzistuojanti socialinė problema, būtų išspręsta kuo efektyviau. The successful and efficient process of developing social innovations depends on the involvement of stakeholders, the distribution of their interests and the links of cooperation. However, it can be observed that it is difficult to identify all the relationships of stakeholders, the functions they perform in the development of social innovation. The aim of this article is to identify the principles of stakeholder involvement in the process of social innovation development in rural areas. The article presents a study that was conducted to assess the preparation of the environment for the process of social innovation development during systemic changes and during interviews with interested organizations in Rokiškis district. The study found that the involvement of organizations depends on the leading leader and the real motives for involvement. Also, by engaging in the development of social innovations, organizations share responsibilities, can co-operate with available resources to solve an existing social problem as effectively as possible.

Lietuva, tapusi ES nare, pradėjo gauti paramą žemės ūkio produkcijos gamybos procesams modernizuoti, ūkininkų pajamoms palaikyti, kaimų infrastruktūrai atnaujinti ir žmonių gyvenimo kokybei gerinti. Šiai paramai administruoti ūkininkai, vietos valdžios institucijos ir bendruomenės turėjo įsisavinti ES paramos procedūras bei naują bendradarbiavimo kultūrą. Visa tai darė įtaką bendruomenėms ir jų nariams. Todėl svarbu įvertinti, kaip ji paveikė kaimo žmonių socialinį kapitalą, kuris yra vienas iš veiksnių, užtikrinantis gyvenimo kokybę. Straipsnio tikslas – įvertinti ES paramos poveikį kaimo gyventojų socialiniam kapitalui ir pateikti pasiūlymų kaimo vietovių socialinėms problemoms spręsti. Tikslui pasiekti apklausti Lietuvos kaimiškųjų seniūnijų seniūnai. Kaimo bendruomenių gyventojai tampa labiau motyvuoti, pasitikintys savo jėgomis, bendruomenėse didėja pačių bendruomenių narių organizuojamų renginių skaičius, žmonės pradeda kurti sau laisvalaikį ir savarankiškai spręsti iškylančias problemas, didėja savipagalbos mastai, kaimo gyventojai savo gyvenamajai aplinkai skiria vis daugiau dėmesio ir išteklių. Didėjantis kaimo gyventojų socialinis kapitalas yra tas potencialas, kuris turi būti panaudotas kaimo ateities iššūkiams spręsti. After joining EU Lithuania started to receive the support for modernization of agricultural production processes, to maintain farmers' income, upgrade rural infrastructure, improve people's quality of life. Farmers, the local authorities, as well as rural communities had to absorb EU support administration procedures, what formed a new culture of communication. That is why it is important to analyze what was the EU support impact on rural residents, especially their social capital, which is one of the sources to improve life quality and well-being. The purpose of this article is to assess the impact of EU support on rural residents’ social capital. To achieve the set goal Lithuanian rural wards’ elders were selected as representatives of the local authorities. Survey results showed that the rural communities residents became more motivated, self-reliant, the number of cultural and other events increased, the residents began to build their leisure. And pay more attention and resources for the maintenance of living environment and rural landscape.

Lietuva, įstojusi į ES, jau daugiau kaip dešimtmetį gauna paramą žemės ūkio produkcijos gamybos procesams modernizuoti, ūkininkų pajamoms palaikyti, kaimui atnaujinti ir kaimo žmonių gyvenimo kokybei gerinti. Lietuvos savivaldybės pagal tekusią KPP 2007–2013 paramą labai skyrėsi ir tos paramos poveikis skirtingoms savivaldybėms turėjo būti skirtingas. Tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti KPP 2007–2013 programos priemonių įgyvendinimo poveikį Lietuvos kaimiškiesiems regionams. Tyrimo rezultatams pasiekti, Lietuvos savivaldybės pagal tekusią KPP paramą buvo suskirstytos į tris grupes: gavusios didžiausią, vidutinę ir mažiausią paramą. Pagal pasirinktą rodiklių sistemą, aprašančią kaimą, kaip visumą, buvo tiriamas tos paramos poveikis šių savivaldybių grupių demografinei situacijai, ekonominei, socialinei ir gamtinei aplinkoms, lyginant vidutines 2004–2008 m. laikotarpio, kai parama nebuvo gaunama, reikšmes su atitinkamomis 2009–2015 m. laikotarpio reikšmėmis, kai parama jau buvo gaunama. Rezultatai parodė, kad savivaldybių grupėje, gavusioje didžiausią paramą, palyginti su kitomis dviem savivaldybių grupėmis, sulėtėjo grynosios emigracijos ir gyventojų skaičiaus mažėjimo tendencijos, labai padidėjo materialinės investicijos žemės ūkyje, miškininkystėje ir žuvininkystėje, bendras deklaruojamas plotas ir plotas tenkantis 1-ai paraiškai. Veikiančių MVĮ ir užimtųjų dalies pokyčiai nebuvo tokie ryškūs. After joining EU Lithuania for more than a decade is receiving support for agricultural production modernization, maintaining farmers' income, for upgrading rural areas, for improving quality of life of rural population. Support coming for municipalities from RDP 2007–2013 measures implementation differs very much and it could be supposed that the impact of the support had to be different. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the implementation of RDP 2007–2013 program measures for Lithuanian rural regions. For the investigation purposes Lithuanian mu- nicipalities were divided into three groups according to received support per 1 ha of agricultural land: the biggest, medium and least. According to the chosen system of indicators describing the rural areas as a whole, it has been studied the impact of support demographic situation, economic, social and natural environments. Average data of two periods: 2004–2008 without the support were compared to the average data of the period of 2009–2015 when the support has already been obtained. The investigation showed that the municipal group that received the highest support, compared with the other two municipal groups demonstrated better results: the net emigration and depopulation trend slowed, a significant increase in capital investment in agriculture, forestry and fisheries is observed, the overall area declared and the area per one application is stated. Differences in number of operating SMEs and the share of employed out of the working-age people were not as great to compare with other two municipality group indicator’s values.

The present study aims to determine and evaluate the negative consequences of the implementation of the direct payments financial support mechanism under the Common Agricultural Policy on the rural sustainability of Lithuania. Interviews of experts and a combination of the analytic hierarchy process with three different measurement scales and the analytic hierarchy process with triangular fuzzy numbers were employed in order to evaluate and rank the negative effects of the direct payments mechanism of the Common Agricultural Policy. It was revealed that high land prices, decreasing diversification of cultivated crops, land degradation, and financial indebtedness of farmers can be attributed to direct payments and these consequences have a significant negative impact on the rural sustainability of Lithuania. The necessity of using a combination of different evaluation scales and techniques was confirmed.

This article reports on the evaluation of the wellbeing of rural people in Lithuania. Literature analysis and empirical findings suggest that research on wellbeing has received scant attention, especially at the local level in Lithuania. Although, to date, some research has been carried out on other specific factors of wellbeing such as belonging to a particular social group, wellbeing in the city, or wellbeing related to job environment, etc., far too little attention has been paid to socio-demographic variables. These limitations call for a more comprehensive discussion and analysis of the situation of a wellbeing and its tendencies in rural areas. The aim of this research is to evaluate the relationship between wellbeing and socio-demographic characteristics of residents of rural areas in Lithuania. Statistical calculations evaluating the wellbeing of rural people were made by using data from the last Round 8 of the European Social Survey. The findings show that the wellbeing of rural people is related to socio- demographic characteristics. People living in big cities of Lithuania rate their happiness higher than those living in towns or small cities and rural areas; residents of rural areas of Lithuania who live with children are happier and more satisfied with life than those living without children at household grid; weak and negative, but statistically significant, correlations between happiness and age, and satisfaction with life and age were observed; younger residents in rural areas of Lithuania are happier and more satisfied with life in comparison to older ones; the longer people study, the happier and more satisfied with life they are; divorced are less happy and satisfied with life than those who have never been married as well as those who are legally married or are widows/widowers; people who study are happier and more satisfied with life than those who work, are unemployed or retired.

Purpose – The goal of the article is to distinguish the key skills and characteristics of a leader aiming a successfully developing community. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative analysis of empirical data was carried out. The method of the research – a questionnaire-based survey and descriptive statistical analysis. The generalized results of the research are presented in diagrams and tables. Findings – It was determined that in order to be an effective leader in rural communities, a person should be highly initiative and motivated to work for the prosperity of the community. Also, characteristics of responsibility, energy, and ability to summon the members of the community to seek for common goals were distinguished. The results of the research also revealed that trust in the leader is higher in communities that are highly focused on the goal. The respondents link the leader’s ability to rally the members of the community to focus on a goal with better effectiveness of project execution, more successful attraction of funding for activities, better representation of the community members’ interests and strengthening of the community itself. Research limitations/implications – the research was conducted in a frame of a single Lithuanian region – 10 communities in Druskininkai municipality were examined. Due to this limitation, we can only evaluate the insights of the research as general tendencies. Practical implications – the results of this research may be beneficial to community leaders in strengthening their communities and improving the quality of their activities. Originality/Value – based on the results of the research, the authors compiled a concept of leadership expression in rural communities, the purpose of which is to motivate teamwork in rural communities by developing leadership, strengthen the communities and improve the quality of their activities. The article is based on a new approach to a community leader’s ability to reach results relevant to the community.

Luksnėnai is a village in Alytus parish, about 6 – 8 km away from Alytus town by the road Alytus – Simnas – Marijampolė, on the eastern shore of Luksnėnai Lake. There are no exact data when the village of Luksnėnai was founded. The name has been found in the archives since 1807, it was then written Luksneni, in 1914 it was Luksniany, and in 1957 and to date it has been Luksnėnai. In 1933 old graves were found on the shores of the lake, and only in 1989 archaeologists became interested in them. Seven tombs dating back to the middle of the 17th century and beginning of the 18th century were found in an excavated digging. Just across the road from Luksnėnai settlement is Luksnėnai Lake. The lake has an area of 62 ha, a length of 2.2 km, and a width of 0.5 km. The maximum depth of the lake is 7.4 m, and the average depth is 4.2 m. The inhabitants of Luksnėnai did not escape exile in the postwar period. The families of Šakaliai, Platūkiai, Daugininkai, Baciuškai, and Ivašauskai suffered exile. The deported families were suspected of being partisan or holding more than 20 acres of land. In 1952 «The Young Guards» collective farm was founded, including Luksnėnai. Ignas Šakalis, the landless and the illiterate, was elected the first chairman of the collective farm, but he was quickly replaced. In 1958 the collective farm was reorganized into a Soviet farm and named the Luksnėnai Arboretum. In the Soviet period, Luksnėnai was the central settlement of the Soviet horticultural economy. In 1973 Luksnėnai Arboretum was merged with Alytus district «Ateitis» collective farm and was named after Luksnėnai Horticultural Farm. Around 1918 – 1920 the first school was founded at Ališauskai house in Luksnėnai village. Later, the primary four-elementary school was opened in the Česynai house until 1936 when Laurynas Radžiukynas Elementary School of Kurnėnai was opened. The cultural life of Luksnėnai became very famous when, in 1970, Genovaitė and Raimundas Švabai started working at the Luksnėnai Culture House, at the invitation of the farm manager Mindaugas Šatkauskas. About 2 km north-west of Luksnėnai there is Anniškis mound, at about 11 km to Alytus from Anniškis village. It is one of the oldest settlements in the district with two lakes Pluvija and Aniškis. The 180-hectare Aniškis Manor, which was established in 1519-1522, is also widely known. Archaeological remains were found in Aniškis mound. There are legends to this day about the mound. Another notable place is the village of Balkūnai (only about 3 km from Kurnėnai school), where the museum of the artist Antanas Žmuidzinavičius is established.

The issues of the development of thematic villages are mostly investigated in Poland, Austria, Lithuania. Village development theming is usually defined as a strategy or model. It acts as a vehicle for village renewal, enabling even small villages to develop successfully in the age of globalization. An experiential marketing strategy guides village development towards sustainability and helps to ensure integration between village environmental, economic and social development dimensions. Thematic villages play a heuristic role, they "push" locals and customers out of established spaces, village storytelling schemes, and encourage the search for alternative life, behavior and business models. This research aim was achieved: to determine the characteristics of the village theming development: thematic space, integrated (complex) consumption, co-creation, recreation, interests (needs), experience. Thematic analysis, collation and other methods of scientific literature were applied. Representatives of the various stakeholders must be involved in the village development theming characteristics package planning, management and control processes. There is a two-way communication between the development of various thematic objects in economic, social and environmental terms and the creation of a thematic space which must serve not only the interests of the visitors but also the inhabitants.

Introduction -- On Some Aspects of the Shrovetide Origin and Development -- The Ratio of the Ritual and Entertainment Functions of the Shrovetide Customs -- Songs of the Shrovetide characters ('beggars', 'Jews', and 'Gypsies'). Noise and Music in the Shrovetide Carnival ; The Issue of the Genre ; The Christmas - Shrovetide Season Entertainments ; The Features of Melodics ; Anthropomorphic Characters of the Shrovetide Carnival ('Beggars', 'Jews', and 'Gypsies'): the Relationship of the Songs and the Ethnosocial Reality ; Begging, the "Žemaitijan Beggar', and the Shrovetide 'Beggars' ; The Content and Music of the Shrovide 'Beggar' Songs/Hymns ; The Jews in Lithuania and the Shrovetide 'Jews' ; The Content and Music of the Shrovetide 'Jew' Songs ; The Romani and the Shrovetide 'Gypsies' ; The Content and Music of the Shrovetide 'Gypsy' Songs ; Lašininis [Porky, Fatso] and Kanapinis [Hempen Man, Hemper] -- Latvian songs of the Autumn and Winter calendrical festivals. An Overview of the Customs Associated with the Carnival Characters of Calendrical Festivals ; An Overview of the Carnival Character Songs During the Autumn-Winter Calendrical Festivals ; Shrovetide (Metenis, Vastlāvis) and Tenis' Day (Teņa diena) Songs ; The Costumed 'Awakener' (Bubuļi, Budēļi, Buduļi) Songs ; The Costumed 'Stilt Walker' (Ķekatas, Ķekatnieki) Songs ; The Costumed 'Gypsy' Songs ; The Christmas Songs ; The Carnival Songs of Autumn Festivals -- Shrovetide in the written sources of the 15th through the 18th century. Theatrical Events and Shrovetide in the Noblemen's Palaces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ; Shrovetide Performances of the Jesuit School Theatres and Paratheatrical Events ; Music in Theatrical and Paratheatrical Events: Contacts of Ecclesiastical and Folk Music -- Urban Shrovetide in the first half of the 20th century: reflections on celebration in the Lithuanian Press. The First Publications on Shrovetide in Lithuanian Periodicals ; An Overview of Ethnographic Contributions ; Forms, Organisers, and Aspirations of the Urban Shrovetide Celebration ; The Shrovetide Events’ Programmes ; Meals and Drinks of the Urban Shrovetide ; Echoes of the Wedding Season in the Urban Shrovetide Celebration ; The Press on the Carnivals Around the World -- The Shrovetide, or the ushering-out of Winter, festival in the Soviet era. Name Change from the Shrovetide to the Ushering-out of Winter Festival Dissemination and Limitations ; Levelling or Transformation of Traditions? ; Changes in the Structure and Characters of the Shrovetide Festival ; Music in the Soviet-Era Shrovetide ; Festival Organisation Problems, Recommendations, and Criticism ; Border Markers of the Soviet Era --- Summary -- Literature -- Sources -- Index of Personal Names -- Index of Place Names. The songs of the costumed characters in the Shrovetide processions - 'beggars', 'Jews', and Gypsies' - as well as the songs about them have been sung in Žemaitija up to the present times. Alongside with the documented sociocultural context, they reveal the processes of the musical folklore survival, its recording, studies, interpretation, and the use in the cultural policies, their links with real life, and the opportunities of sociocultural engineering. Should we assume that archaic calendrical folk songs existed in pre-Christian times in Žemaitija and later disappeared, it is likely that, due to the zealous activities of Catholic bishops in Žemaitija in the fields of church singing, the vacuum was filled, to use the contemporary term, by "folklore pop singing". Those were humorous songs, depicting representatives of different social classes and characterised by the contemporary structure and the common European musical stylistics, or else parodies of church hymns. The structure of the lyrics and melodies of the 'beggar', 'Jew', and 'Gypsy' songs testified to a rather late period of their formation. Their targeted investigation in the last decade of the 20th and the early 21st century, when the informants were asked questions not only about the specific 'beggar', 'Jew', and 'Gypsy' songs, but also about the repertoire performed during Shrovetide, and the studies of the ancient folklore archives proved that the songs of such a character had stayed in people’s memory, sometimes coming out in public, for at least two centuries. Given the evidence of the written sources and the sociocultural context, one has to admit that the origin of the examined songs can by no means be related merely to the Shrovetide environment. That is especially true of the 'beggar' songs/hymns. However, in the late 19th century, or, more precisely, in the early 20th century, those s On the one hand, they have always been a syncretic genre, related both to the sociocultural and the calendrical festival environments. On the other hand, independent fields of their existence are evident. The same can be said of a number of other songs of 'prestigious' or 'non-marginal' genres (wedding, family, military, etc.), as the present genre classification of folk songs is a conventional matter. The idea of the late origin of the Žemaitijan costumed character songs and their "transfer" from the community to calendrical songs was confirmed by their comparison with the Latvian autumn-winter calendrical songs, the points of contact at the formal level being the features typical of the late layer of Latvian songs. The fragmentary written information of the 15th through the 18th century about the Balt/Lithuanians Shrovetide celebration came from the urban environment, affected by the Western European traditions, customs, and the forms and ways of celebration. The said background must have affected the daily life and festivals of the neighbouring rural lifestyle: unfortunately, there are no direct data about the rural Shrovetide celebrations. The regulations of the creators of the Lithuanian system of education, who at the initial stage were simultaneously disseminators of the Christian faith, contained information about the Shrovetide Festival in the urban environment as well as the aspiration to control it and about the dissemination of such celebratory traditions, or the conception of the festival, to the provinces of Lithuania. Therefore, unsurprisingly, the first information from the rural environment that appeared in the early 19th century included authoritative prohibitions, constraints, and encouragements to control oneself and to "celebrate properly", i.e. in compliance with the Catholic morality norms. The early 19th century writings of the clergy as well as of first ethnographers testified to the fact of the urban fashion of carnivals spreading to villages, even if it was not clear to what extent. They spread from the centre, i.e. cities and monasteries, to remote provinces and were mixing and transforming into specific, sometimes hard-to-recognise forms. In the late 19th and the early 20th century, the period of formation of European nation states, idealised rural culture was chosen as an ideological tool, and simultaneously as a means. In the first half of the 20th century, the rural Lithuanian Shrovetide customs were written or spoken about as extinct or on the verge of extinction that were to be urgently saved. The encouragements came to focus on the village and to oppose the rural culture to the global one. The original cultural process changed its direction to the opposite one and moved from provinces to towns. The process gave rise to different cultural hybrids, or they were modelled consciously. That was true of the ruralstyle Shrovetide and other calendrical and non-calendrical festivals that were celebrated in towns since the first half of the 20th century. The structure of the Shrovetide festival that has evolved from fragments over the centuries and its both rural and urban "ideological" content show the commonality with the customs of many Western European countries at a certain macrolevel. At the microlevel, which included also folk songs, local features were revealed. Moreover, the lyrics and music of songs in the ritual and non-ritual milieu "lived" their own lives, sometimes they separated, and sometimed merged into one. That was especially evident in the late layers of musical folklore. [...]

This chapter provides a survey of the political, socio-economic and demographic development of the Baltic countries. It is meant to give readers a general understanding of the setting in which large urban housing estates were built from the 1960s to the 1980s. The chapter begins with an account of the history of the Baltic countries, including their emergence as independent nations, their incorporation into the USSR and their reappearance on the world map in 1991. The second section analyses the modernisation of the Baltic economies, the Soviet strategies for industrialisation and their impact on the housing sector. The Baltic region enjoyed somewhat higher living standards and exhibited greater openness to Western influences than other union republics, which made Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania attractive to economic migrants from other parts of the USSR. The analysis also shows that the Baltic countries experienced demographic modernisation earlier than other regions of the USSR. A high demand for labour is driven by Soviet strategies for economic development, and slow population growth in the host countries, particularly in Estonia and Latvia, contributed to the persistence of high levels of immigration throughout the post-war decades. Due to their large numbers, migrant workers significantly transformed the composition of the urban population in the Baltic countries. Through a combination of factors, including the housing allocation mechanism, immigrants gained privileged access to new accommodation, and they became over-represented in the housing estates. This development connects the future of the housing estates with the integration of immigrants who settled in the region during the Soviet era.

Straipsnyje daugiausia dėmesio skiriama pažangių kaimų vystymo problemai, susijusiai su tvaria kaimo plėtra. Tyrimo tikslas – identifikuoti prielaidas kaimo vietovių pažangai ir pažangaus kaimo vystymosi varomąsias jėgas. Tyrimo objektas – pažangaus kaimo vystymosi principai ir varomosios jėgos. Atliekant tyrimą taikyti mokslinės literatūros, dokumentų, gerosios praktikos pavyzdžių analizės, sisteminimo, sugretinimo ir kiti metodai. Teoriškai nustatytos ir pilotinėms vietovėms tirti pagrįstos pažangaus kaimo vystymosi varomosios jėgos kaip skaitmeninės ir kitos atviros inovacijoms platformos; dalijimosi ekonomika; žiedinė ekonomika; bioištekliais (atsinaujinančiais ištekliais) pagrįsta ekonomika; atsinaujinanti energija; kaimo turizmas, apimantis ekologinį, sveikatai palankų maistą ir poilsį, rekreacinį turizmą; socialinės inovacijos kaimo paslaugų ir verslumo srityje; įtraukios socialinės infrastruktūros, partnerystės organizacinio mechanizmo kūrimas ir diegimas. Vietos ir tarptautinių organizacijų patirtis, gerosios praktikos pavyzdžiai padėjo suvokti pažangaus kaimo vystymosi varomąsias jėgas ir pagrindinius principus. Atvejo analizė atskleidė, kad trys iš penkių pasirinktų pilotinių kaimų turėjo potencialą naujovėms, iš dallies taikė sumanaus kaimo vystymo principus. Pagrindiniai apribojimai buvo technologinių, skaitmeninių, bioenergijos naujovių diegimas ir žmogiškųjų išteklių trūkumas. Traditional and emerging interest networks supported by the advancement of digital and telecommunication technologies, the growing use of bioenergy and the ability to take advantage of knowledge beneficial for local populations and business development promote strategic breakthroughs of rural communities. The paper focuses on the problem of the smart village development with respect to a sustainable rural regional development. The aim of the research is to identify the preconditions for rural area progress and smart rural villages driving forces in Lithuania. The research object concerns the principles and driving forces of the development of smart villages. The research methods inter alia included analysis, systematization, and comparison of scientific literature, documents, and good practice examples. Analysis of the experiences of villages and local/international organizations and research into the best practices helped to identify the drivers and the key principles of the smart village development. The case study revealed that three out of five selected pilot rural areas of Lithuania have an innovative potential with some of the smart village principles adopted. The main constraints identified by the study were related to the lack of technological, digital or energy efficiency innovation and human resources in rural areas.

Straipsnyje apžvelgtos Europos ir Lietuvos tradicinių kaimų raidos ypatybės antrajame tūkstantmetyje. Konstatuotas Žagarės apylinkių (kaip nuo seno žemdirbystei naudoto derlingų dirvų ploto) išskirtinumas. Tose krašto valdovo žemėse, veikiausiai dar XVI a. II pusėje, vykdyta Valakų reforma, suformuojant didelius gatvinius rėžinius kaimus. Jų pobūdis rodo, kad tos apylinkės tuomet buvo tankiai apgyventos. Tuomet suformuota žemėvaldos ir žemėnaudos sistema beveik nepaliesta išliko iki XX a. pradžios, ilgam stabdydama teritorijos ūkinę ir socialinę raidą, bet padėdama išlaikyti archajiškas tradicijas, lietuvišką etnokultūrinį paveldą. The old cultures and civilizations in Europe were created and existed as the agrarian ones. Significant changes in the West of the continent began only in the 18th–19th centuries, when industrialization, urbanization, etc. developed dramatically, changing the nature of the agrarian societies. It is noteworthy that until then, the rural life in Western Europe was transformed, with more innovative village structures taking place. Such changes occurred much later and more slowly in the so-called New (Eastern and part of Central) Europe (e.g. only in 1861, the tsarist Russia started to abolish the serfdom). Žagarė region was reformed, probably at the end of the 16h century, according to the former model of the Volok Reform. Some elements of the territory structure (roads, etc.) have remained until today. The German map of Žagarė region, which revealed the state of the second half of the 19th century, shows that up to the beginning of the 20th century there was still the archaic street-and-strip type system of the villages, which helped to preserve old traditions of rural life, stable ethnocultural heritage and other things, but for a long time stopped the economic and social development of villages.

Straipsnyje analizuojama miesto reprezentacija sovietmečio vaidybiniame lietuvių kine. Kaip ir bet kuris kitas tikrovės objektas, miestas kine yra antrinė tikrovė, meninės interpretacijos vaisius. Kartu miesto vaizdai filme atspindi konkretaus laikotarpio individualiai ir kolektyvinei sąmonei būdingą santykį su šia tikrove. Atlikta lietuvių vaidybinio kino urbanistinių erdvių analizė atskleidžia, kad kinematografinė erdvė gali būti traktuojama kaip tapatybių ir jausenų projekcijas kuriantis ir reprezentuojantis sudėtinis konstruktas, atspindintis laikmečio reikalavimus, idėjas, kino madas ir „slepiantis“ realias sociokultūrines ir sociopolitines slinktis. The article analyzes urban representations of Soviet-era Lithuanian cinema. Like any other object of reality, the city in cinema is a secondary reality, the fruit of artistic interpretation. At the same time, images of the city in film can reflect individual and collective consciousness of the period. The analysis of urban space of Lithuanian feature cinema reveals that cinematographic space can be treated as a composite construct, which creates and represents projections of identities and feelings, reflects demands, ideas, cinema fashions of its time and “hides” real sociocultural and sociopolitical discourses. Most of Soviet-style feature films much easier incorporate countryside spaces, images, landscapes and lifestyle. Meanwhile the city often not only creates an impression of a claustrophobic space, but even looks very decorative. It seems that most of filmmakers can’t identify cities with their own, Lithuanian, national living space. In search of identity or inspiration they turn to idealized village, agrarian culture and its images. Therefore, the city of Soviet Lithuanian cinema is more likely to become a space of collapsed hopes, prison, ideological repressive space, which is stuck between the present and the past. Filmmakers, like their characters, run to the shelter of nature, the mythologized, well-decorated farmstead, where archetypal father and mother figures or a calm, meditative landscape await. It seems that movie characters (and filmmakers), who have escaped from the socialist reality and its challenges to the landscapes of nature and village, have never returned.

This article reveals the importance of social infrastructure (hereinafter SI) services to rural people, overall rural development and its interface with green economy in Poland and Lithuania. Social infrastructure services are recognized as basic services which are useful and used by people in everyday life regardless of where people live. Development of these services is a key issue when it is analysed in the rural context because it includes various services for local community, facilities, relationships and networks which is not always the focus even in scientific discourse. Social infrastructure services can be considered as important element of rural people integration, fostering their capabilities and acknowledging human rights. The research question of this article is – how the importance of social infrastructure services in rural areas appears? The aim of the research is to disclose the importance of social infrastructure services in rural areas. There were used both theoretical and empirical research methods exploring the evaluations about of social infrastructure services in Poland and Lithuania by using empirical data from European Social Survey. The research results disclosed that the differences between two countries are not very strong and between rural and urban areas are slightly noticeable in some aspects. In Poland the state of education services in rural areas and small towns was rated little higher than in Lithuania, while perception of health services is much better in Lithuania, especially in big cities. Lithuanian residents trust the police more than Polish people but their feeling of safety is noticeably lower.

Vanda Zaborskaitė yra itin tiksliai reziumavusi sovietinės ideologijos požiūrį į kaimą: [K]aimas - visokio konservatyvumo terpė: jis tamsus, prietaringas, visais atžvilgiais atsiliekantis nuo miesto, kur susispietę švietimo židiniai, istorinės pažangos veiksniai. Miestas - proletariato buveinė, gamybos pažangos ir kartu visokios pažangos nešėjas. Šviesa visados sklindanti iš miesto į kaimą - niekados priešingai. Kaimui esą visada būdinga priešintis pažangai, laikytis senų papročių ir prietarų. Ypatingo socialinio blogio nešėjai - turtingesnieji ūkininkai, buožės, aršūs, žiaurūs ir negailestingi varguomenės išnaudotojai.526 Dar 1848 m. išleistame "Komunistų partijos manifeste" įrašyta frazė apie "kaimo idiotizmą" ypač pirmaisiais sovietiniais metais buvo dažnai kartojama, o literatūra privalėjo į skaitytojų sąmonę įdiegti kaimo sovietinimo teisėtumą ir būtinybę bei pateisinti tariamos pažangos vardu vykdomas represijas. [...]