Paper Short Abstract:

The paper focuses on the forgotten narratives of Lithuanian religious dissidents (Roman Catholics) in the totalitarian Soviet Union. The research focuses on the problem of spiritual resistance which has so far not been sufficiently appreciated in scientific discourse. Religious dissidents can still be identified as forgotten, marginalized people, whose voices were not only ignored but also misinterpreted in the Soviet-era Lithuania.

Paper Abstract:

The paper focuses on the forgotten narratives of Lithuanian religious dissidents (Roman Catholics) in the totalitarian U.S.S.R. The official rhetoric of the Soviet propaganda “claimed that ethnography was supposed to highlight the achievements of socialism, deepen internationalism” of the Soviet people, but in reality, the majority of provincial ethnographers strengthened local ethnic identities by studying the traditional cultures of local peoples (Jääts, Karm 2024: 85). However, certain groups of people and communities which existed in Lithuania during the Soviet era, were not only excluded from the public life, but stigmatized to the extent that they were forbidden to be included into the public discourse by the Soviet ideology and propaganda.

This paper focuses on the problem of spiritual resistance which has so far not been sufficiently appreciated in scientific discourse. Religious dissidents can still be identified as forgotten, marginalized people, whose voices were not only ignored but also misinterpreted in the Soviet-era Lithuania. In order to restore justice, modern ethnologists should re-examine the contribution of the Soviet-era religious dissidents to the development of the political society. The article is based on the author's field research data and the memories of religious dissidents about their life in Soviet-era Lithuania.

The preliminary results of the research show that the main survival strategy of Lithuanian religious dissidents living under the Soviet totalitarian regime were different forms of silent resistance. On the other hand, publicity measures used by the Roman Catholics worldwide helped them fight against the injustice and slander of the Soviet propaganda.