184 Book Reviews centralized leadership, in contrast to Lithuania, was not established. There were regional organizations: the National Kurzeme Organiza­ tion of Latvian Partisans (1945), the National Vidzeme Movement of Latvian Partisans (1944-1948), the Latvian Union of Fatherland Guards (Partisans) (LTS(p)A) in Latgale (1945). The latter organization imi­ tated the structure of the Latvian army, its four divisions; it also made unsuccessful attempts to unify the partisan movement. Nevertheless, the leaders of these organizations (K.Rusovs, A. Cirulis (Varpa), pas­ tor A. Juhnevics, K. Blumbergs, V Mundure (Marta Skuja)) as well as the leaders of partisan detachments (such as P. Cevers) contributed greatly to the survival of the resistance movement. On February 1, 1954 there were still 105 partisans in Latvia. However, in 1956 they either surrendered or perished. On the basis of thoroughly collected and profoundly analyzed documentary material the author presents a comprehensive panorama of the partisan movement, the activities of separate organizations and the chronological stages of the struggle for freedom. To our knowl­ edge this is the only detailed history of the Latvian partisan warfare there is. In its turn, it will enable historians of Lithuanian 'resistance to draw generalized conclusions on the basis of more than their own country's experience, and, at the same time, develop new research as­ pects.

Arvydas Anusauskas Lithuanian Institute of History

Anatol Lieven. Pabaltijo revoliucija. Estija, Latvija, Lietuva - kelias i nepriklausomyb~. Vilnius: Baltos lankos, 1995, 475 pp. (Translated by Rasa AsminaviCiiite and Ausra Cizikiene from: Anatol Lieven. The Baltic Revolution. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence. Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1993.

It is little wonder that Anatol Lieven's book has already re­ ceived and is likely to receive the most varied and controversial evalu­ ation in future. Some reviewers have hurriedly called it 'anti-Baltic', stressing all along that each Lithuanian on his/her way to Europe should read it, while others, reservedly recalling the author's background, were expressly doubtful about the abilities of this 'rootless cosmopolitan' to understand the history of the small nations, constantly living in the 'mortal' danger of the loss of their cultural and national identity. Most of the reviewers, however, seem to be uniform in their conclusion that Lieven's book represents a typically Western attitude towards the three Baltic nations, their historical past and present.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 07:29:51PM via free access Book Rcwicvs 185 This conclusion suggests an idea that the author basically ad­ heres to the stereotypical standpoint with regard to the Baltic nations, characteristic of a certain segment of Western society. Depending on the constellation of international politics, that standpoint fluctuates between utmost indifference and paternal benevolence (the Baits, con­ sistently struggling for freedom, have overcome the horrid monster of the Communist empire) or between a definitely negative and an openly hostile viewpoint, claiming that the Baltic nations are foolhardy na­ tionalists, traditionalists, anti-Semites, haunted by all kinds of phobias and national hatred. In his book Lieven keeps away from such reason­ ing and absolutely groundless evaluations. This kind of attitude, taken by the author, was emphasized by Czeslaw Milosz in his review of the book (by the way, in one of the first on the book). 1 In Lieven's words, the Baits" ... are better off getting criticism, which is basically sympa­ thetic rather than the odious mixture of ignorant goodwill, hypocriti­ cal rhetoric and indifference which has characterized so much of the West's approach to the region". Thus, the author, in the first place, is critical of his own cultural environment and its deep-seated stereo­ types. Such criticism prevented Lieven, unlike most other Western journalists, politicians and even researchers, from 'lumping' the Baltic states together and regarding them as identical. Despite some histori­ cally formed regional uniformity (in Russia and later in the Soviet Union all the three countries were looked upon as most europeanized pe­ ripheries, the 'West' of the Empire, and after the restoration of their statehood, as a 'bridge' between the West and Russia), the Baltic states, to Lieven's way of thinking, are sufficiently diverse and may "experi­ ence very different fates in the years to come." Therefore, in order to substantiate this supposition, the author has devoted a lot of space to the description of the peculiarities of the political, social and cultural development of the three nations since olden times. The book does not even shun the analysis of the national character, which is a rather 'slippery' topic from the scientific point of view. For the same reason, the process of restoring and consolidating the statehood is being analysed in a wide political, social and cultural context, without con­ fining oneself td a merely formal aim: to consistently relate and com­ pare the course of the struggle for independence in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in 1987-1992. 2 Apparently, Lieven's main objective is to understand the back­ ground of the modernization of the political and social system in three similar, yet not identical, societies and to realize the feasibility of the

'The translation of the review was published in Atgimimas, nos. 1-2, 1994. 2An unbiased account of those events in Lithuania was given by the exile historian A. E. Scnn in his book Lithuania Awakening. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. The publication was translated into Lithuanian in 1992. Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 07:29:51PM via free access 186 Book Reviews formation of a stable democratic political system in the Baltic coun­ tries. In the first place the author does his best to bring out the differ­ ences and the specific character of the processes going on in these countries regardless of outward similarity. According to Lieven, his book is 'a study of politics and political culture'. Therefore, he at­ taches greater significance to the historical, social, cultural and politi­ cal context in the struggle for the re-establishment of statehood rather than to the fact of the declaration of independence or the unpredict­ able changes in the relations with Moscow. On the other hand, Lieven is likewise consistent in critically treating the statehood history of the Baltic nations between the wars, especially the then political elite as well as the dominant ideology - nationalism. In his opinion this period deserves exceptional consider­ ation since the experience of independence in the course of 1918-1940 was one of the principal factors to have formed the mentality of the new political elite in the Baltic countries. The Baits themselves, how­ ever, look upon this period with too great an exaltation. A sufficiently critical approach to the national states that sprang up after the collapse of empires in Central and Eastern Europe, typi­ cal of English-language historiography, undoubtedly influenced the au­ thor of this publication, too. (In the back cover of the book it is written that Lieven is not only a journalist, and a very good one at that, but a professional historian, too.) According to this historiographical school of thought nationalism should be regarded as one of the most signifi­ cant constitutionalizing and consolidating elements of post-imperial­ ist societies. Incidentally, the concept bears no pejorative connotation in scientific studies. It serves to define a specific model of the community's cultural and ideological identity and the type of the state. (The names of such scholars as Hugh Seton-Watson, Joseph Rothschild and - from the younger generation- George Schopflin are worth men­ tioning in this regard). Thus, nationalism helped to found or re-establish the inde­ pendent national states as well as to resist Sovietization after the loss of statehood. On the other hand, the predominance of a more 'closed' ethnic or ethnolinguistic nationalism in the society's consciousness, where the attachment to a national community was based upon com­ mon origin, language and customs rather than upon common civic­ political culture, - none of this gave an impetus to society's democrati­ zation, to the integration of national minorities into the political sys­ tem and the formation of civic society. In the long run, affected by unfavourable internal and external factors, the predominance of this ideology completely discredited democracy and enabled the introduc­ tion and acceptance of authoritarian regimes between the wars. In principle, Lieven managed to reveal the contradictory role, which nationalism played in the history of the Baltic peoples (see Chap-

Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 07:29:51PM via free access Book Rcwicvs 187 ter: [sivaizduojamos tautos: kultu1inio atgimimo ciklai (Imagined Na­ tions: Cycles of Cultural Rebirth), p. 114-135). To his way of thinking, nationalism also plays a crucial social role in post-communist societ­ ies: " ... nationalism alone can awaken cynical and disillusioned peoples to a spirit of sacrifice and common purpose." On the other hand, ethnonationalism is a threat to the democratization, security and sta­ bility of those newly recreated states and societies. In the words of the author, the security of the Baltic states depends not only "on interna­ tional developments, which the Baltic leaders cannot control, but also on internal ethnic peace, for which they bear the chief responsibility." It is only natural that so much space in the book is given to the na­ tional politics, to the problem of national minorities, to the analysis of the citizenship Jaws, etc. It goes without saying that loyal national minorities, integrated into the political system and fully enjoying every right to give expres­ sion to their cultural and socio-political needs without feeling any dis­ comfort or discrimination, are an important factor in the security and stability of the Baltic states. Bearing in mind the intentions of a cer­ tain part of Russian politicians to escalate the question of the Russian minority, settled in the so-called 'near abroad', the aim of its integra­ tion becomes even more important. Constructively solving that prob­ lem, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia would turn out more attractive to the West. It is only natural. It should likewise be taken into consider­ ation that in reality the integration of national minorities is a lengthy and complex process, and any attempts at hastening it, without due regard to concrete social conditions, may bring about undesirable, if not detrimental, consequences. One of more essential internal fac­ tors, peculiar to all three societies, is ethnonationalism, predominant in the mentalities of the national majorities and minorities. It drives the representatives of a national minority to the withdrawal into them­ selves and keeping away from the political system, looked upon as a tool of discrimination in the hands of the majority. On the other hand, national majorities more often than not identify civic integration with cultural and national assimilation of the minority. It does not certainly mean that socio-political integration of national minorities is not fea­ sible in the Baltic countries. The principal factors, stimulating integra­ tion, might be the following: bilateral agreements 'not to politicize' the minority problems (Lithuanian and Polish agreements serve as a good example); successful realization of socio-economic. reforms and a possibility for the national minority to make use of their results, as well as the 'openness' of the states and societies to the West (that would inevitably increase the confidence of the minority in the exist­ ing political system and would foster its desire to get integrated into that system); the prevailing negative attitude on the part of Western democracies towards the state policy of cultural and national assimila­ tion. Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 07:29:51PM via free access 188 Book Reviews One more stand, taken by the author, is of no less importance. A critical approach towards the inter-war experience of statehood and the inordinate amount of attention to the problem of national minori­ ties stimulated Lieven to analyse the three Baltic countries as a multi­ cultural area. The chapter Dingusieji atlantai: pusiau uimirstos Pabaltijo tautos (Lost Atlantises: The Half-Forgotten Nationalities of the Bal­ tic) is devoted to these problems. The author has shown great profes­ sional competence as a historian while clarifying the complex and of­ ten painful relations of the Polish, German and Jewish people with the modern nationalism of the Baits. Lieven's reasoning, correct from the scientific point of view, only confirms the idea that in order to more objectively understand the development of diverse national cultural traditions in a multi-national society it is absolutely necessary to inves­ tigate them not in isolation but in their close interrelationship. Though nationalism, due to its exceptional significance for the history of the three Baltic nations, is one of the most essential themes of the book, much attention in it is also given to other no less interest­ ing and intriguing problems. Yet the limited scope of the review does not allow to enlarge upon them. Nevertheless, at least one issue is worth commenting and considering briefly. The book abounds in the author's reasoning about the modernization perspectives of the politi­ cal system and economic reforms in the Baltic. The reader has also a good opportunity to compare the processes of modernization both af­ ter 1918 and 1990. True, the book ends with the developments of 1992 - the year when the economic and social reforms had hardly started and their outcome and results had not yet made themselves manifest, and only the introduction to the book, written in 1994, contains a con­ cise review of the recent changes. In the first period political modern­ ization met with failure in all the countries: unstable democracies were replaced by a comparatively gentle authoritarianism. Nevertheless, regardless of uneven development and various hardships in the eco­ nomic and social spheres, there have been serious achievements. At present, the conditions for the democratic political system of the West­ ern type to become firmly established in the Baltic countries are more favourable, in the first place due to the increased prestige of interna­ tional democracy. Only a deep democratization of society is sure to pave the way for the Baltic nations to join the West European eco­ nomic and security alliances. Influenced by these factors, the present­ day social political elite of the three countries is more inclined to par­ ticipate in 'the democratic political game' than its predecessor. (On the other hand, anti-modernistic attitudes are still typical of a certain part of the population, since westernization is often linked with the loss of national identity.) The rate of economic and social transforma­ tion, however, is much slower, and one could speak about a certain asymmetry of the political and economical modernization of the Bal-

Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 07:29:51PM via free access Book Rcwicvs 189 tic states. Hence, the political elite will not only have to tackle the problem of 'ethnic peace' but also a no less complex issue of securing 'social peace'. In summing up, it could be stated that Anatol Lieven's book is a fine example of historical and political journalism. Certainly, some of his conclusions and generalizations call for additional investigations and possibly closer specifications. Nevertheless, the author managed to avoid simplifications, characteristic of this genre of writing, and pro­ duced an objective analysis of the historical, political, cultural and so­ cial development of the three Baltic nations.

Vladas SirntaviCius Lithuanian Institute of History

Z. B. Saknys, Jaunimo brandos apeigos Lietuvoje XIX a. pabaigoje- XX a. pirmojoje pusejeLietuvos etnologija, I, Vilnius, 1996. 212 p. Z. B. Saknys, Youth Initiation Rites in Lithuania (end of the nineteentth- first half of the twentieth centuries) Lietuvos etnologija, I, Vilnius, 1996. 212 pp.

This study represents the first volume of theLietuvos etnologija (Lithuanian Ethnology) series. The book analyses rites surrounding the coming of age (physically and socially) of young people in villages and small towns of Lithuania and ethnic Lithuanian areas at the end of the nineteenth and during the first half of the twentieth century. This is the first such work in Lithuania. It is based on field research caried out in 1989-1995. Seventy-nine% of 523 data entries on initiation rites used in this work were recorded as answers to our questionaires. Comparative analysis was made on the grounds of in­ vestigations relating to initiation rites practised in other European countries. The main aim of this study is to examine: how social commu­ nities legitimate the passage from childhood to youth, a domain of an autonomous age group. According to social institutions established to mark youth ma­ turity, we distinguish the following five types of initiation rites: Type 1: rites practised in the family (after the first menstrua­ tion; after the first baking of bread); Type 2: rites practised in the immediate community (i.e. with neighbours) (in the pirtis, a Lithuanian bathhouse) or in the jauja (a barn where flax was broken); Type 3: rites practised during village community festivities (a wedding);

Downloaded from Brill.com10/03/2021 07:29:51PM via free access