Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the expeditions to Siberia organised by the Lithuanian organisation Misija Sibiras (Mission Siberia). I interpret these journeys as secular pilgrimages through which young Lithuanians commemorate their past and deal with the painful heritage of their country.

Paper long abstract:

The Baltic Countries gained their independence from the Soviet regime in 1991. Since then, these newly independent countries have dealt with their painful past in various ways. My study explores alternative means of commemoration of the dark heritage of the deportations perpetrated in Lithuania by the Soviet Union.

This paper focuses on the organisation Misija Sibiras, which every year gives the opportunity to selected participants to undertake an expedition to Siberia, where the labour camps were set up during the Soviet period. Inspired by the concept of rites of passage developed by Van Gennep (1960), I describe these journeys as rituals through which young Lithuanians experience the pain of displacement and come back to their country indelibly transformed. I argue that these expeditions could be interpreted as secular pilgrimages, through which the participants perform their national belonging and identity while engaging with the difficult past of their country.

My presentation draws on ethnographic research I conducted in Lithuania. Data I collected during my fieldwork include an interview with one participant of the expedition and information I gathered from social media platforms. Here, I analyse this material in relation to the notion of rites of passage and I discuss the meaning of this pilgrimage in the Baltic country.

This research contributes to the debate on postmemory (McDowell, 2016) in Lithuania. By exploring the case study of Misija Sibiras, it highlights the shift from traditional sites of memory, such as museums, towards new and alternative practices of commemoration of the past.