Europast

Svečias: Saulius Grybkauskas
Epizodo vedėja: Violeta Davoliūtė

Kuo sovietų nomenklatūros gyvenimas skyrėsi nuo eilinių Lietuvos gyventojų kasdienybės? Kokia šios temos tyrimų reikšmė šiandien, kai sovietmetis jau tampa kultūrinės vaizduotės objektu? Ar jau gebame kalbėti apie jį be supaprastinimų ar nostalgijos?
 
Šiame EUROPAST tinklalaidės epizode projekto vadovė prof. Violeta Davoliūtė kalbasi su Lietuvos istorijos instituto istoriku dr. Sauliumi Grybkausku, tyrinėjančiu sovietinės sistemos veikimą, sovietmečio Lietuvos ūkio plėtrą, tautinę politiką, nomenklatūrą, taip pat KGB ir kitų režimo institucijų vykdytą visuomenės kontrolę bei represijas.
 
Pokalbio centre – vėlyvojo sovietmečio elito kasdienybė Lietuvoje. Aptariama, ar nomenklatūros gyvenimas iš tiesų buvo „saldus“, kokios privilegijos jį skyrė nuo daugumos visuomenės ir kokią kainą už tai teko mokėti – politinę, moralinę ar asmeninę. Taip pat keliamas klausimas, ar ši tema šiandien tinkamai pristatoma kultūrinėse bei edukacinėse iniciatyvose. Pokalbyje reflektuojamos Lietuvos nacionaliniame muziejuje rodytos parodos „Spąstai su centriniu šildymu“ ir „Saldus (nomenklatūros) gyvenimas“, kvietusios naujai pažvelgti į sovietinės sistemos socialinę hierarchiją.
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EUROPAST tinklalaidė nagrinėja karščiausias Europos visuomeninės istorijos problemas. Joje tyrinėjame kompleksiškas ir ginčytinas viešosios atminties erdves, atminties aktyvizmą ir gerąsias visuomenės įtraukimo į dialogą apie praeitį praktikas.

Ši tinklalaidžių serija yra EUROPAST projekto, finansuojamo Europos Sąjungos lėšomis (sutartis Nr. 101079466), dalis. Daugiau: www.europast.vu.lt

Muzika: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

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Ep.18: What do we know and what don't we know about the Soviet-era elite?

Guest: Saulius Grybkauskas
Host: Violeta Davoliūtė

How did the life of the Soviet nomenklatura differ from the everyday reality of ordinary Lithuanians? What is the relevance of this topic now, when the Soviet era is increasingly becoming an object of the cultural imagination? Are we able to discuss it today without simplifications or nostalgia? 
 
In this episode of the EUROPAST podcast, Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė speaks with Dr. Saulius Grybkauskas, a historian at the Lithuanian Institute of History, who researches the functioning of the Soviet system, the economic development of Soviet Lithuania, nationalities policy, the nomenklatura, as well as the social control and repression carried out by the KGB and other regime institutions.
 
At the center of the conversation is the everyday life of the Soviet elite in Lithuania. The discussion explores whether the life of the nomenklatura was actually “sweet,” what privileges distinguished it from the majority of society, and the price paid to have them—political, moral, or personal. The episode also raises the question of whether this topic is adequately represented in current cultural and educational initiatives. In particular, the conversation reflects on two exhibitions at the National Museum of Lithuania – “Trapped (with Central Heating)” and “The Sweet Life (of the Nomenklatura)”– which invited visitors to take a fresh look at the social hierarchy of the Soviet system.
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

Guest: Dora Komnenovic
Hosts: Violeta Davoliūtė, Rūta Vyšniauskaitė

What does it mean to do history? And what does it mean to do it not just for the public, but with the public? How can historical knowledge become accessible, engaging, and relevant beyond academia?

In the latest EUROPAST podcast episode, Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė and doctoral researcher Rūta Vyšniauskaitė speak with Dr. Dora Komnenovic (University of Luxembourg) about public history in practice and the creation of Luxembourg’s first-ever history festival, Histofest.

Dr. Komnenovic shares her personal journey into public history and introduces Histofest - an “edutainment” initiative in Luxembourg that turned visitors into history-makers through interactive activities like an archival photo challenge and a book binding workshop, alongside films and exhibition features that sparked critical reflection on figures like Tito and Ceaușescu - even bringing the latter’s hologram to Luxembourg. The episode also explores the big questions in public history today: how can we measure its real impact, and how might digital tools and AI transform this endeavour?

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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

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Epizodas 17: „Histofest“ Liuksemburge: ką reiškia kurti visuomeninę istoriją

Svečiuose: Dora Komnenovic
Epizodo vedėjos: Violeta Davoliūtė, Rūta Vyšniauskaitė

Ką reiškia kurti istoriją? Ir ką reiškia ją kurti ne tik visuomenei, bet kartu su visuomene? Kaip istorinės žinios gali tapti prieinamos, įtraukiančios ir aktualios už akademinio pasaulio ribų?

Naujausiame EUROPAST tinklalaidės epizode prof. Violeta Davoliūtė ir doktorantė Rūta Vyšniauskaitė kalbasi su dr. Dora Komnenovic (Liuksemburgo universitetas) apie visuomeninės istorijos praktiką ir pirmojo Liuksemburgo istorijos festivalio „Histofest“ sukūrimą.

Dr. Komnenovic dalijasi savo patirtimi ir pristato „Histofest“ – „edutainment“ (švietimo ir pramogos) iniciatyvą Liuksemburge, kuri lankytojus pavertė istorijos kūrėjais per interaktyvias veiklas, tokias kaip archyvinių nuotraukų iššūkis ir knygrišystės dirbtuvės, taip pat filmus ir parodos elementus, skatinusius kritiškai apmąstyti istorines asmenybes, pavyzdžiui, Tito ar Ceaușescu – pastarojo hologramą netgi atgabenant į Liuksemburgą. Epizode taip pat nagrinėjami esminiai klausimai visuomeninei istorijai šiandien: kaip galime įvertinti jos poveikį ir kaip skaitmeniniai įrankiai bei dirbtinis intelektas gali ją pakeisti?
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EUROPAST tinklalaidė nagrinėja karščiausias Europos visuomeninės istorijos problemas. Joje tyrinėjame kompleksiškas ir ginčytinas viešosios atminties erdves, atminties aktyvizmą ir gerąsias visuomenės įtraukimo į dialogą apie praeitį praktikas.

Ši tinklalaidžių serija yra EUROPAST projekto, finansuojamo Europos Sąjungos lėšomis (sutartis Nr. 101079466), dalis. Daugiau: www.europast.vu.lt

Muzika: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

[English below]

Svečiuose: dr. Akvilė Kabašinskaitė
Epizodo vedėja: prof. Violeta Davoliūtė 

Kaip valstybės paverčiamos nematomomis ir vėl tampa matomomis?

Tai esminis mokslininkės dr. Akvilės Kabašinskaitės neseniai apgintos disertacijos klausimas. Kasmet minėdami Laisvės gynėjų dieną didžiuojamės tomis dienomis Lietuvos nepriklausomybę gynusių žmonių drąsa, tikėjimu suverenia Lietuvos valstybe ir užduodame sau šį klausimą.

Tad šiandien dalinamės naujausiu EUROPAST tinklalaidės epizodu, kuriame prof. Violeta Davoliūtė kalbasi su neseniai Sorbonne Nouvelle universitete daktaro disertaciją apgynusia mokslininke dr. Akvile Kabašinskaite apie Lietuvos vaizdinį Prancūzijoje nuo Antrojo pasaulinio karo pabaigos iki šių dienų. Mokslininkės aptaria naratyvinės diplomatijos bei diasporos svarbą valstybės įvaizdžio užsienyje palaikymui ir valstybingumo atkūrimo procesams, o taip pat brėžia įdomią paralelę tarp mažų valstybių padėties pasaulio politikoje praeityje ir šiandien.

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EUROPAST tinklalaidė nagrinėja karščiausias Europos visuomeninės istorijos problemas. Joje tyrinėjame kompleksiškas ir ginčytinas viešosios atminties erdves, atminties aktyvizmą ir gerąsias visuomenės įtraukimo į dialogą apie praeitį praktikas. 

Ši tinklalaidžių serija yra EUROPAST projekto, finansuojamo Europos Sąjungos lėšomis (sutartis Nr. 101079466), dalis. Daugiau: www.europast.vu.lt 

Muzika: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021. 



Episode 16: Lithuania in France after World War II: Erased from the map and the imagination?

Guest: Dr. Akvilė Kabašinskaitė
Host: Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė 

How do states or nations vanish and become visible again?

This is the central question explored in the doctoral dissertation recently defended by researcher Dr. Akvilė Kabašinskaitė. Every year, as we commemorate the Day of the Defenders of Freedom, we take pride in the courage of those who defended Lithuania's independence. We honor those who preserved the vision of a sovereign state even when it seemed impossible.

In that spirit, we are sharing the latest EUROPAST podcast episode. Prof. Violeta Davoliūtė speaks with Dr. Kabašinskaitė (Sorbonne Nouvelle University) about the perception of the Lithuanian state in France from the post-war era to the present day.

They discuss the crucial role of "narrative diplomacy" and the intellectual diaspora in maintaining the state's image abroad and paving the way for the restoration of statehood. They also draw a compelling parallel between the geopolitical position of small states in the past and today.
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past. 

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt  

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

[English below]
Svečiuose: Stanislovas Stasiulis
Epizodo vedėja: Violeta Davoliūtė

Šiame epizode EUROPAST projekto komandos vadovė Violeta Davoliūtė su istoriku Stanislovu Stasiuliu kalbasi apie propagandą, visuomenėse gajų sentimentų pasitelkimą politiniams tikslams ir atsparumą dezinformacijai šiuolaikiniame pasaulyje.

Kaip atrodė propaganda Lietuvoje Antrojo pasaulinio karo metais? Kuo panašūs Sovietų Sąjungos ir nacistinės Vokietijos naudoti propagandos metodai? Kokios skirtingos technologijos buvo naudojamos įvairiose okupuotose Rytų Europos šalyse? Ar šiandien esame atsparesni propagandai?
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EUROPAST tinklalaidė nagrinėja karščiausias Europos visuomeninės istorijos problemas. Joje tyrinėjame kompleksiškas ir ginčytinas viešosios atminties erdves, atminties aktyvizmą ir gerąsias visuomenės įtraukimo į dialogą apie praeitį praktikas.

Ši tinklalaidžių serija yra EUROPAST projekto, finansuojamo Europos Sąjungos lėšomis (sutartis Nr. 101079466), dalis. Daugiau: www.europast.vu.lt

Muzika: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

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Episode 15: Propaganda from the Second World War to today: are we more resilient yet? [In Lithuanian]

Guest: Stanislovas Stasiulis
Host: Violeta Davoliūtė

In this episode, EUROPAST project lead Violeta Davoliūtė speaks with historian Stanislovas Stasiulis about propaganda, the exploitation of prevailing societal sentiments for political goals, and whether we are more resilient to disinformation in the modern world.

What did propaganda look like in Lithuania during the Second World War and its aftermath? How similar were the methods used by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in Lithuania? What different technologies were employed across various occupied Eastern European countries? Are we more resilient to propaganda today?
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.

In the final episode of the mini-series "Fights for Freedom", the EUROPAST podcast turns to Ukraine to understand how memories of the past shape the present in times of war.

In conversation with Stefanie Eisenhuth, Franziska Davies, and Iuliia Skubytska, the episode explores long traditions of Ukrainian resistance, the evolution of Ukrainian memory politics, and how history and memory have been mobilised in the Russian-Ukrainian war.  

Host: Janine Funke
Guests: Stefanie Eisenhuth, Franziska Davies, and Iuliia Skubytska
Production: Tim Schleinitz
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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt

Host: Janine Funke
Guests: Corinna Kuhr-Korolev, Daria Ganzenko
Production: Tim Schleinitz


In the 4th episode of the mini-series "Fights for Freedom", the podcast turns to the imperial center to ask what happened when the Soviet system unravelled. 

The late 1980s and 1990s were years of transformation marked by reform and hope, but also crisis, social decline, and contested memory. While often described as a “collapse,” many Soviet structures and ways of thinking endured, shaping the new Russian state in ways still visible today. Understanding this era is key to making sense of Russia’s present and its ongoing war against Ukraine.

To explore the blurred lines between collapse and continuity, the episode brings together two historians from the Leibniz-Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam: Corinna Kuhr-Korolev and Daria Ganzenko. Together, they reveal how memory and culture shaped Russia’s passage from empire to post-Soviet statehood and how echoes of that transition still resonate today.  

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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past.

The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt

Host: Janine Funke
Guests: Abigail Scripka, David Jishkariani,
Production: Tim Schleinitz

In this episode, the podcast turns to Central Asia and the South Caucasus to explore how the intertwined histories of empire, resistance, and identity continue to shape the region’s present. In conversation with Abigail Scripka, doctoral candidate at the Central European University and the Leibniz-Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, we focus on Kazakhstan - often seen as a Soviet periphery, yet whose protests tell a more complex story. From the student uprising in Almaty in 1986 to Bloody January in 2022, these demonstrations reveal both enduring resistance to authoritarian rule and a struggle over memory in a state negotiating its Soviet legacy and fraught relationship with Russia.

The discussion then turns to the South Caucasus, where Soviet nationality policies left deep and lasting marks. Moscow’s 1920s policy of “indigenisation” soon gave way to repression and centralisation, paving the way for competing national narratives in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. David Jishkariani, historian and archivist, reflects on how these narratives have evolved and how they remain contested today. Together, these stories from Kazakhstan and the Caucasus reveal how the legacies of Soviet rule continue to shape struggles over identity, sovereignty, and the power to narrate the past.  

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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past. The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466).
More: www.europast.vu.lt

In the second episode of the mini series "Fights for Freedom", EUROPAST podcast turns to Poland and the Baltic states in the 1980s to explore how grassroots movements challenged Soviet rule during the final decade of the USSR. Florian Peters, historian of Central and Eastern Europe at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, joins our host, Janine Funke, to discuss the Polish uprising of 1980 and examines how workers, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens mobilised to demand social and political change.

The episode also features Epp Annus, a postcolonial scholar and Associate Professor at Tallinn University, who delves into the “Singing Revolution” in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Through peaceful mass demonstrations, collective singing, and the revival of cultural expression, Baltic activists demonstrated how identity and memory could become powerful instruments of resistance.

Together, the guests reflect on how these movements reshaped the political landscape of Eastern Europe and why the legacy of nonviolent, community-driven resistance continues to matter today.

Host: Janine Funke
Guests: Florian Peters, Epp Annus
Production: Tim Schleinitz

In this episode, the first of the mini series "Fights for Freedom", EUROPAST team heads Violeta Davoliūtė and Juliane Fürst join the podcast to introduce a new thematic mini-series on the contested memories of uprisings against Soviet rule in Eastern Europe. They discuss how memory, already a sensitive and contested terrain, has become an increasingly politicised battleground in light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The conversation highlights how the EUROPAST project navigates these challenges and explores how the past is remembered, forgotten, or strategically reshaped.

The episode also features an interview with Jens Schöne (Deputy Berlin Commissioner for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship and Department Head at the Leibniz-Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam), who guides listeners through the history of the first major uprising against Soviet rule in Eastern Europe: the events of June 17, 1953, in East Germany.

Together, the guests reflect on what makes memories of resistance so powerful and so contested - and why these historical debates matter urgently today.

Host: Janine Funke
Guests: Violeta Davoliūtė, Juliane Fürst, Jens Schöne
Production: Tim Schleinitz

Guest: Jan Kubik
Hosts: Violeta Davoliūtė, Dovilė Budrytė

In this episode of the Europast podcast, hosts Professor Violeta Davoliūtė ((Vilnius University, Lithuanian Institute of History) and Professor Dovilė Budrytė (Vilnius University / Georgia Gwinnett College / Vytautas Magnus University) are joined by renowned political scientist Professor Jan Kubik (Rutgers University) to explore the critical intersection of political populism and the misuse of history. 
Professor Kubik revisits his influential typology of memory actors, focusing on the central conflict between "mnemonic warriors"—who promote a single, binary, and often fictionalized version of the past—and "mnemonic pluralists," who advocate for complexity, debate, and the inclusion of multiple perspectives.
The discussion tackles pressing questions: How do populist movements weaponize historical narratives to create "us vs. them" dichotomies? How does this assault on history sustain authoritarian regimes and threaten democratic institutions? And what is the role of public history in a world where the past has become a battleground?
This conversation offers a vital framework for understanding the high-stakes struggle over memory and its central role in the fight to defend democracy today.

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In the EUROPAST Podcast, we explore Europe's most pressing challenges of public history. We investigate the complex and contested spaces of public memory, memory activism and best practices for engaging the public in a dialogue about the past. The podcast series is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union under the WIDERA programme (EUROPAST project, Grant Agreement No. 101079466). More: www.europast.vu.lt 

Music: Istok Zapad, Whiteheads. ℗ Croatia Records, 2021.