Papers by Odeta Rudling
Canadian Slavonic Papers Revue Canadienne des Slavistes , 2023
The success of mass mobilization in Lithuania against Soviet rule in the late 1980s can be attrib... more The success of mass mobilization in Lithuania against Soviet rule in the late 1980s can be attributed in part to the spread of the ethnocultural movement in the post-Stalin era. Characterized in this paper as the “rustic turn,” it began in the late 1950s with the Soviet-wide rehabilitation of kraevedenie (local area studies), part of Khrushchev’s effort to rejuvenate grassroots political participation across the USSR. In Soviet Lithuania, the rehabilitation of kraštotyra had the unintended consequence of restoring nation-building practices from the interwar period and reintegrating individuals repressed under Stalin into public life. Rather than shaping Soviet subjects, the ethnocultural movement developed rituals of transformation that imbued the rustic ethnic past, not the Soviet future, with the aura of sacrality. Ostensibly apolitical, the movement nevertheless cultivated strong associative ties among citizens from various walks of life. With the outbreak of free discussion under glasnost, mass gatherings built upon the rituals of the ethnocultural movement to generate a community of affect grounded in nostalgia for a lost, mythical past and the trauma of displacement under the Soviet regime.
Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung, 2021
This contribution aims to demonstrate that and to what extent the Soviet kraevedenie strengthened... more This contribution aims to demonstrate that and to what extent the Soviet kraevedenie strengthened the role of Lithuanian history during the late socialism (1956–1973). The Post-Stalinist memory politics encouraged the creation of local historical narratives within the context of people’s friendship and Soviet patriotism. This policy enabled a reemergence of pre-soviet Lithuanian history in the public discourses and culture that focused on medieval past and some more recent events. Established together with domestic tourism in the early 1960s, the kraevedenie institutions of Lithuanian SSR quickly turned into an essential platform for popularization of Soviet as well as national memory. This memory focus had to do with the omnipresence of history within the competences of the institution. This as well as the fact that the historical research of was performed using personal approach and continuing the krevedenie traditions of the interwar period enabled questioning of the history version of the communist party. These specific preconditions made possible to explore Lithuanian national past within the kraevedenie activities even though the main focus was devoted to the communist partisans or veterans of the World War II. It was the popularity of the “feudal” and “bourgeois” past of Lithuania that concerned the KGB the most as early as in the early 1960s. Some kraevedenie expeditions concentrated on objects of Lithuanian medieval past. A lot of interest—triggered by the former political prisoners was also paid more recent events such as the activism of the antiSoviet partisans, deportations and other repressions of the regime. Also Lithuanians living outside of the LSSR and certain important figures of Lithuanian national pantheon played a role.
Forschungen zur baltischen Geschichte, 2019
In the 1960s, Soviet Lithuania witnessed the rise of an intensified interest in
paganism. Aiming ... more In the 1960s, Soviet Lithuania witnessed the rise of an intensified interest in
paganism. Aiming to diminish the influence of the Roman Catholic Church,
the Communist Party promoted Lithuanian pre-Christian customs and rituals
that, in turn, not only became a successful instrument against Catholicism but
also an effective stimulus of nationalism. Arising within the framework of academic
touristic clubs, this interest turned into a deep study of the proto-Balts,
their mythology, and their way of life, soon becoming the basis for an entire
system of values based upon the superiority of Lithuanian ancestors. The biography and works of Vilhelmas Storostas (German: Wilhelm Storost), a.k.a. Vydūnas, a writer, theosophist, and nationalistic activist in the late 19th and early 20th century in Eastern Prussia, played a central role in the development of their world views. The newfound popularity of Vydūnas’s thinking as well as the influential writings on the proto-Balts and their Indo-European links by the American scholar Marija Gimbutas (Lithuanian: Gimbutienė) were essential in the creation of a new, primordialist concept of Lithuanianhood. Theinfluence of their work was felt not only in the self-reflection of the movement but also in the construction of their religious neo-pagan practices.
Book Chapters by Odeta Rudling
The Oxford Handbook of Slavic and East European Folklore, 2023
This chapter examines the enduring presence of pre-Christian, Pagan religious elements in Baltic ... more This chapter examines the enduring presence of pre-Christian, Pagan religious elements in Baltic folklore—the related but distinct folk traditions of Lithuania and Latvia—and the purposes these remnants of Baltic Paganism serve as expressions of ethnic and/or national identity. Particular attention is paid to a genre of folk songs known as dainasin Latvia and dainos in Lithuania, solstice celebrations, ancestral rites, and folk symbols. The Indo-European background of Baltic languages and mythology is also discussed along with the utilization of Pagan gods, symbols, and traditions in national independence movements and their continuing resonance in post-Soviet Baltic society and culture.
Socialist Aesthetics Visual cultures of Late Socialism, 2018
schildert die Ausformung nationaler Folklore-Gruppen im Rahmen sowjetischer Nationalitätenpolitik... more schildert die Ausformung nationaler Folklore-Gruppen im Rahmen sowjetischer Nationalitätenpolitik einerseits und der Erschaffung einer lokalen Massenkultur andererseits. Am Beispiel Litauens zeigt die Verfasserin zwei unterschiedliche ästhetische Entwürfe der Volks-musik. Neben dem in der Stalin-Ära herausgebildeten Modell sanktionierter Folklore-Shows bildete sich in den 1970er Jahren eine akademisch und intellektuell angetriebene Bewegung, die eine vom Dorf inspirierte, vermeintlich authentische Folklore auf die Bühne brachte. This article examines the establishment of national folklore groups within the framework of Soviet nationalities policy and the creation of a local mass culture. The author discusses Lithuania in order to illustrate the Soviet Union's hybrid methods of constructing folklore that created two different aesthetic approaches to folk music. Alongside the model of officially sanctioned folklore shows from the Stalin period, in the 1970s an academic and intellectual movement emerged that sought to bring to the stage an "authentic" folklore inspired by the village.
Reviews by Odeta Rudling
Posters by Odeta Rudling
Drafts by Odeta Rudling
The conference aims to draw international attention to the Lund University Library's unique and u... more The conference aims to draw international attention to the Lund University Library's unique and under-researched collection of testimony documents from survivors of Ravensbrück-Nazi German concentration camp for women. Various aspects of women and girls' experiences in concentration camps will be discussed, including psychological and sexual abuse, acts of resistance and everyday relations among inmates and between inmates and perpetrators. In addition, the conference will address the methodological challenges associated with the creation and analysis of early postwar testimonials.
MANAGERS AND RESEARCHERS LAB PROGRAMME
Books by Odeta Rudling
Harrassowitz. Verlag, 2023
Odeta Rudling analysiert in Von der nationalen Form zum nationalen Inhalt die Ausformung der sowj... more Odeta Rudling analysiert in Von der nationalen Form zum nationalen Inhalt die Ausformung der sowjetischen Folklorepolitik, die zwischen 1940 und 1990 zur Übertragung und partiellen Übernahme des sowjetischen Modells in der litauischen SSR führte. Mit dem Fokus auf lokale Akteure und deren Rolle in diesem Prozess veranschaulicht sie sowohl die Techniken der Eliten als auch die inhaltliche Transformation der Volkskunst, die sich einerseits auf der Mikroebene des staatlichen Volksmusikensembles, andererseits auf der Makroebene der staatlichen Massenkultur manifestierte.
Im Zentrum des Buchs steht die Frage danach, wie die Sowjetisierungsbestrebungen im Bereich der Folklorepolitik umgesetzt wurden und in welchem Verhältnis sie zur litauischen Nationsbildung standen. Vor dem Hintergrund der Forschung zur sowjetischen Nationalitätenpolitik demonstriert die Autorin, wie und weshalb die kulturpolitischen Maßnahmen zur Kontinuität der Neo-korenizacija beitrugen und damit auch der litauischen Nationsbildung mittels Sowjetisierung Vorschub leisteten. Die Stimulierung der nationalen Identität wird hier anhand zweier zentraler Erzählstränge aufgezeigt, mit der staatlichen folkloristischen Politik auf der einen und einer antimodernistischen ethnonationalistischen Bewegung auf der anderen Seite, die, obwohl sie sich getrennt voneinander entwickelten, im Spätsozialismus interagieren mussten und schließlich in den späten 1980er Jahren zur treibenden Kraft der „Singenden Revolution“ wurden.
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Papers by Odeta Rudling
paganism. Aiming to diminish the influence of the Roman Catholic Church,
the Communist Party promoted Lithuanian pre-Christian customs and rituals
that, in turn, not only became a successful instrument against Catholicism but
also an effective stimulus of nationalism. Arising within the framework of academic
touristic clubs, this interest turned into a deep study of the proto-Balts,
their mythology, and their way of life, soon becoming the basis for an entire
system of values based upon the superiority of Lithuanian ancestors. The biography and works of Vilhelmas Storostas (German: Wilhelm Storost), a.k.a. Vydūnas, a writer, theosophist, and nationalistic activist in the late 19th and early 20th century in Eastern Prussia, played a central role in the development of their world views. The newfound popularity of Vydūnas’s thinking as well as the influential writings on the proto-Balts and their Indo-European links by the American scholar Marija Gimbutas (Lithuanian: Gimbutienė) were essential in the creation of a new, primordialist concept of Lithuanianhood. Theinfluence of their work was felt not only in the self-reflection of the movement but also in the construction of their religious neo-pagan practices.
Book Chapters by Odeta Rudling
Reviews by Odeta Rudling
Posters by Odeta Rudling
Drafts by Odeta Rudling
Books by Odeta Rudling
Im Zentrum des Buchs steht die Frage danach, wie die Sowjetisierungsbestrebungen im Bereich der Folklorepolitik umgesetzt wurden und in welchem Verhältnis sie zur litauischen Nationsbildung standen. Vor dem Hintergrund der Forschung zur sowjetischen Nationalitätenpolitik demonstriert die Autorin, wie und weshalb die kulturpolitischen Maßnahmen zur Kontinuität der Neo-korenizacija beitrugen und damit auch der litauischen Nationsbildung mittels Sowjetisierung Vorschub leisteten. Die Stimulierung der nationalen Identität wird hier anhand zweier zentraler Erzählstränge aufgezeigt, mit der staatlichen folkloristischen Politik auf der einen und einer antimodernistischen ethnonationalistischen Bewegung auf der anderen Seite, die, obwohl sie sich getrennt voneinander entwickelten, im Spätsozialismus interagieren mussten und schließlich in den späten 1980er Jahren zur treibenden Kraft der „Singenden Revolution“ wurden.
paganism. Aiming to diminish the influence of the Roman Catholic Church,
the Communist Party promoted Lithuanian pre-Christian customs and rituals
that, in turn, not only became a successful instrument against Catholicism but
also an effective stimulus of nationalism. Arising within the framework of academic
touristic clubs, this interest turned into a deep study of the proto-Balts,
their mythology, and their way of life, soon becoming the basis for an entire
system of values based upon the superiority of Lithuanian ancestors. The biography and works of Vilhelmas Storostas (German: Wilhelm Storost), a.k.a. Vydūnas, a writer, theosophist, and nationalistic activist in the late 19th and early 20th century in Eastern Prussia, played a central role in the development of their world views. The newfound popularity of Vydūnas’s thinking as well as the influential writings on the proto-Balts and their Indo-European links by the American scholar Marija Gimbutas (Lithuanian: Gimbutienė) were essential in the creation of a new, primordialist concept of Lithuanianhood. Theinfluence of their work was felt not only in the self-reflection of the movement but also in the construction of their religious neo-pagan practices.
Im Zentrum des Buchs steht die Frage danach, wie die Sowjetisierungsbestrebungen im Bereich der Folklorepolitik umgesetzt wurden und in welchem Verhältnis sie zur litauischen Nationsbildung standen. Vor dem Hintergrund der Forschung zur sowjetischen Nationalitätenpolitik demonstriert die Autorin, wie und weshalb die kulturpolitischen Maßnahmen zur Kontinuität der Neo-korenizacija beitrugen und damit auch der litauischen Nationsbildung mittels Sowjetisierung Vorschub leisteten. Die Stimulierung der nationalen Identität wird hier anhand zweier zentraler Erzählstränge aufgezeigt, mit der staatlichen folkloristischen Politik auf der einen und einer antimodernistischen ethnonationalistischen Bewegung auf der anderen Seite, die, obwohl sie sich getrennt voneinander entwickelten, im Spätsozialismus interagieren mussten und schließlich in den späten 1980er Jahren zur treibenden Kraft der „Singenden Revolution“ wurden.