The new Vilnius museum will remind you of how a Soviet man was molded: a generation has grown up that does not know the time

Did the Soviet government succeed in creating a Soviet man and in what way was he molded?

Dovilė Lauraitienė, the director of the Tuskulėnai Peace Park Memorial Complex, likened the exhibition to a laboratory. “It just came to our knowledge then. The predominant red color in the corridors is reminiscent of Soviet times, where a Soviet man was created. How much has been created – each visitor will have to answer personally. This museum exhibition is aimed at different groups of age: both those who lived at that time, experiencing positive or negative emotions, as well as the younger generations who do not know the time. An audio guide has been created, it is possible to go through the museum exhibition with it, listen to the memories of the people, live that period, ”he said.

According to R. Miknevičius, the main essence of this museum is to show whether the Soviet authorities succeeded in creating a Soviet man or not, and in what way he was molded.

The museum has five exhibition rooms on the themes of culture, moral and values ​​change, religion, identity transformation and daily life.

“The Soviet government tried to eliminate the idea of ​​the past based on these aspects and change it to a new one: socialist and communist ideology. All the exhibits in the corridors consisted of three levels: what the Soviet government officially portrayed on the posters, how it was people really felt in those frames. And the third level – all deviations, underground, communist resistance, “explained R. Miknevičius.

The culture room consists of several subtopics: art, science, diaspora. What did the Soviets do with Lithuanian culture? Artists couldn’t create what they wanted. First, they had to rely on social realism. What is it? Such a question arose for scientists, what should they portray? Various artistic expressions were prohibited, you couldn’t look at what was happening in the West, you had to do what was ordered by the Soviet authorities. And this meant the representation of Soviet heroes and the progressive communist world, ”R. Miknevičius told the artists about the restrictions of the Soviet period, adding that maneuvering was difficult.

“The first level is the image of Lenin. For Lenin, you, as an artist, could get the most money, it was financially worth it to paint leaders. The second level is an ex-libris, more neutral artwork. ¿ Could artists have been able to create pop art’ą? Definitely not. On the third level, a secret wood carving, depicting the partisans. A living work like yours couldn’t be officially shown! You would be kicked out of the creative industry immediately. Creative organizations supervised what the artist did. ”R. Miknevičius spoke briefly about the challenges art faced during the Soviet era.

Science was extremely important in the Soviet era, but it happened in the later Soviet era. However, during Stalin’s rule, according to R. Miknevičius, an interesting phenomenon took place: disciplines such as cybernetics, genetics and psychotherapy were banned.

“Why? It did not conform to communist ideology. Period. Later, in the Soviet era, nuclear physics and mathematics reached a high level, achieved achievements, the space industry was fully exploited, abundantly funded, it was necessary compete with the West, “continued the guide.

The Soviet people were well aware of the meaning of “slow schizophrenia.” “If it goes against the system, grab and stick a label: a crazy schizophrenic. This term has been used in repressive psychotherapy. If you are against the Soviet regime, you are crazy. You cannot be against the government, so young and healthy people who disobeyed the system ended their days in psychiatric centers, “he noted.

A new man came, a communist

Entering the Hall of Morals and Values, R. Miknevičius emphasized that when the Soviets arrived, Lithuania was a Christian state with ten commandments from God, which every Christian had to keep.

“A new man has arrived, a communist. Wasn’t it necessary to obey the same commandments or did other rules arise? Yes, there is a completely new Bible: the communist with the communist builder’s code. There are twelve points in it that should have shown what do to be a true Soviet citizen: love the Soviet homeland, support the Communist Party, the only and best in the world. Did the people under pressure follow that? The old values ​​were weakened and the new man did not consider these new values ​​as a truth He became indifferent to the system, to the ideology, two-faced: he said only what was needed. And he kept everything he had in mind. One says and the other thinks. Among the exhibits are all the attributes of a friend Friends are the ones in charge of keeping order, usually ordinary people who helped the militia, ”said R. Miknevičius about the exhibits.

Everything related to religion, in the words of R. Miknevičius, was suppressed: atheization took place. “Closed churches, monasteries. The Soviet Union had to be an atheist state. Those who professed religion were slandered and dubbed. At the time, this was normal, although article 58 of the Soviet Constitution stated that hatred of religion was prohibited. But we see from a variety of historical sources that this is another Soviet paradox. Warehouses were set up and priests were recruited instead of churches, ”lamented the guide.

He emphasized the emergence of the chronicle of the Lithuanian church in 1972. “The underground publication wrote about the real situation of believers in Soviet Lithuania. During the Soviet era, man could not celebrate Christmas or Easter, forbidden holidays. Instead, the Soviets raised the New Year holidays and Mardi Gras. The major holidays: May 1 (Labor Day) and November 7 (Anniversary of the October Revolution), May 9 (Victory Day). Finally, International Women’s Day (March 8) appeared, ”said R. Miknevičius.

It may be exceptional, but little

Speaking about the fourth, the Identity Transformation Hall, R. Miknevičius said that the Soviets had rewritten all existing history: they considered the interwar government to be fascist.

“We Soviets liberated you Lithuanians, for which you should be grateful, this is how you tried to justify their arrival. There was nowhere to go, so he rewrote history: you needed help, we came and freed ourselves. What did you do with the nationality? All republics would become one nation, erasing the memory of past independence. The main culture and language is Russian. However, Lithuanians were allowed to use folklore, song festivals in national costumes. One of those apolitical accents is yes, it can be exceptional, but not much. Just to show its past, just “, – R. Miknevičius defined the peculiarities of the Soviet era.

Each room also has an interactive space (terminals) where visitors can see different activities: Soviet propaganda and unmasking videos, a photo gallery, a questionnaire and an explanation of the vocabulary used in the Soviet era.

“In the terminal deconstructions of lies and video materials are shown: various reports and chronicles. In the hall of culture, in this case, for example, about art, the Iron Curtain, where the Lithuanian was, behind her In a separate room, each material is different. And by completing the questionnaire, you can find out how much is homo sovieticus? The ideological level can be tested in an interactive space by answering the questions in the questionnaire, according to the Soviet five-point system, ”said D. Lauraitienė.

The inaugural museum includes more than 200 exhibits presented by museums, libraries, archives and individuals at the request of the Lithuanian Research Center on Genocide and Resistance. The exhibition “Project – Homo Sovieticus” is not exhaustive, it will be developed taking into account the reactions of the public and the historical research.