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Paper short abstract:

The folklore movement arose in Lithuania in the 1960s, and Vilnius University was one of its central foci. The participants were brought together by the lectures they heard, singing evenings, and folklore-collecting expeditions; they created a ‘parallel society’ which shared its anti-Soviet values.

Paper long abstract:

In Soviet times, the fields in Lithuania underwent reclamation, farmers from their homesteads were moved to collective farms, and many young people moved from villages to larger cities. Although the post-war migration of the Lithuanian people did not take them far it nonetheless caused some deep psychological consequences. The young people who left their villages experienced a longing for their native places and kept thinking of their homesteads, their tall trees, gardens, yards, and paths. They became members of urban folklore groups and expressed this longing by singing.

The folklore movement arose in Lithuania in the 1960s, it took shape in the capital, and Vilnius University was one of its central foci. The movement manifested itself through the reviving of traditional culture, activities of folklore groups, and the like.

The communities of folklore groups and circles differed considerably from anonymous gatherings of urban residents in Soviet factories, canteens, or public transport. The members of the former trusted one another and voiced views in their private communication that were contrary to official statements. Sociological research into Soviet society has revealed that the members of the folklore movement created a ‘parallel society’, and it was a form of national resistance. Those who protected traditional culture and nurtured the Lithuanian identity were seen as reliable individuals with whom one could talk about aspirations for freedom.