Historians As Nation State-Builders: the Formation of Lithuanian University 1904–1922
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Audronė Janužytė HISTORIANS AS NATION STATE-BUILDERS: THE FORMATION OF LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY 1904–1922 ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Tampere, for public discussion in the Pinni auditorium B1097 of the University, Kanslerinrinne 1, Tampere, on May 28th, 2005, at 12 o’clock. U n i v e r s i t y o f T a m p e r e T a m p e r e 2 0 0 5 ACADEMIC DISSERTATION University of Tampere, Department of History FINLAND Copyright © Audronė Janužytė Editorial Board: Matti Alestalo Marjatta Hietala Jouni Häkli Pertti Koistinen Jyrki Käkönen Eveliina Permi Sales Bookshop TAJU Yliopistonkatu 38, 33014 Tampereen yliopisto Tel. (03) 215 6055 Fax (03) 215 7685 email taju@uta.fi http://granum.uta.fi Cover drawing of the central building of the University of Lithuania (Vytautas Magnus University) by Laura Leščinskaitė. Layout: Aila Helin Printed dissertation ISBN 951-44-6312-9 Electronic dissertation Acta Electronica Universitatis Tamperensis 441 ISBN 951-44-6313-7 ISSN 1456-954X http://acta.uta.fi Cityoffset Oy Tampere 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Th e re-establishment of independent states in Europe at the end of the 20th century made it possible for historians in those states to benefi t from free international cooperation. Th e ultimate value of such cooperation is the ability to share historical knowledge and experience. Th e years 1992–1993 were especially signifi cant for me as a historian because I then had the opportunity to study history and complete my master’s thesis Th e Infl uence of Political Events on the Development of Historical Science in Lithuania 1918–1956 (supervisor Professor Stephen Fischer Galati) in the Central European University in Budapest. Th e spring term of 1995 was another signifi cant period in my professional life because of my visit to the University of Joensuu in Finland. Making the acquaintance of and working with the then Professor of History at the University of Joensuu, Marjatta Hietala, led me to make essential revisions of the subject of my doctoral thesis. Her straightforward questions on how Lithuanian historiography developed in the inter-war period set me once again to explore the sources on the formation of the Lithuanian state at the beginning of the 20th century. Analysing the activities and the written works of the inter-war Lithuanian historians we concluded that the fi rst historians had been politicians who directly participated in the creation of the independent state of Lithuania. Th us the subject of my dissertation was generated. Th is doctoral thesis, which took a long time to write, was commenced in Budapest and completed in Finland, and now has fi nally developed into a book. Th is work truly would not have been possible without the generous assistance of the people, whose contribution I acknowledge with great pleasure. My fi rst thanks are due to my supervisor, Professor Marjatta Hietala at the University of Tampere, for those long hours she has spent discussing, reading, and commenting on my texts, for her constant help and encouragement, as well as for fi nding the funds for writing the thesis and publishing the book. I have always and everywhere felt her professional supervision, and her responsible and caring attitude towards me as a doctoral student and a person. I also thank warmly the examiners of my manuscript, Professor Emerita Aira Kemiläinen of the University of Jyväskylä and Professor Miroslav Hroch of Charles University in Prague, for their constructive criticism, perceptive comments, and their helpful suggestions for revisions. My deepest thanks are due also to the scholars in the project Scholars, Science, Universities and Networks as Factors Making Cities Attractive (a long term analysis in an international context) and especially to Dr. Mervi Kaarninen at the University of Tampere and Dr. Timo Rui of the University of Joensuu. Th ey both have read and insightfully commented on draft chapters of the thesis and in many ways contributed to the completion of the process. I am grateful to my fi rst teacher at the Vilnius Pedagogical University, ProfessorAldona Gaigalaitė, whose profound knowledge of Lithuanian historiography fostered my understanding of the political situation in Lithuania at the beginning of the 20th century. I am most thankful to Associate Professor Eugenijus Jovaiša of Vilnius Pedagogical University, who provided me with perfect working conditions for the completion of my thesis and for the preparation of maps as well as for the selection of the photographs in the book. I am also grateful to Professor Pertti Haapala of the University of Tampere who has always been willing to help me with my organisational problems. I wish also to express my particular thanks to the Coordinator of North American Studies Sari Pasto, Librarian Teijo Räty, and Department Secretary Riitta Aallos at the University of Tampere, as well as the International Relations Manager, Sofi ja Pivoriūnienė, of Vilnius Pedagogical University who all helped me with various practical problems in the fi nal stages of the research. I am also truly grateful to the Nordic Council of Ministers for granting me an eleven-month fellowship for my post-graduate studies at the Universities of Joensuu and Tampere in 1996–1997, as well as to the Academy of Finland, for granting me a one-year scholarship for fi nishing my doctoral thesis at the University of Tampere in 2002–2003. I wish to extend my warmest thanks to the board that kindly accepted my work into its series Studies in European Society and Politics and, personally, to Eveliina Permi who has been most helpful in all matters concerning the publication. I am also thankful to Ms Lina Guobienė who kindly corrected some of my English language. Similarly, I give my warmest thanks to Dr. Robert E. Bell, who has given me most useful advice in making my doctoral thesis more readable. Naturally, I also owe my heartiest thanks to my parents Adelė and Petras Janužiai, my sister Zita and her husband Valius Kildišas and my friends Loreta Žadeikaitė, Regina and Dainius Nojikai, Violeta and Kęstutis Vilučiai for their understanding and support during the lengthy period of writing. Vilnius, April 2005 Audronė Janužytė CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 11 Lithuanians in the past ........................................................................11 Political and cultural agendas: towards the nation state ..................17 Th e object of this research. Th e contribution of historians ............37 Research questions ..............................................................................44 Th eoretical background ......................................................................47 New approaches in the thesis .............................................................53 Th e methods and the sources .............................................................55 1. THE HISTORIANS’ CONCEPT OF NATIONALISM AND THE POLITICS OF INDEPENDENCE ....................63 1.1. Petras Klimas’ concept ......................................................................64 1.1.1. Th e role of language in national and political identity ........... 68 1.1.2. National consciousness and the will to form an independent Lithuania .............................................................80 1.1.3. Culture and history .................................................................... 82 1.1.4. Vision of the future – the national ideal ................................... 88 1.2. Is nationalism the underlying idea of the twentieth century? Th e fate of Lithuania .........................................................................89 1.3. Independence and ways to achieve independence ..........................96 1.3.1. A possible plebiscite ................................................................... 99 1.3.2. Th e reaction of Klimas to the plebiscite proposed by the Bolsheviks ..........................................................................101 1.3.3. Th e Lithuanian path to independence: Klimas’ proposals ..................................................................................102 1.4. Stages of creating an independent state ........................................105 1.5. Forms of governing the Lithuanian state ......................................106 1.5.1. Th e proposal for a constitutional monarchy: Purickis and Voldemaras ........................................................106 1.5.2. A joint Lithuanian and Latvian Republic: Šliūpas ..............112 1.5.3. Th e union with Belarus ..........................................................117 1.6. Th e territory of the nation state – the ethnic-national law ........118 1.7. Relations with neighbouring countries: Th e Vilnius question and the Gardinas delegation ...........................................................125 1.8. National minorities and the founding of the nation state ...........131 1.9. Education: illiteracy as an obstacle in building of the nation state ................................................................................138 2. THE CONCEPT OF A NATIONAL VILNIUS UNIVERSITY 1915–1919 .................................149 2.1. Th e moderators of the national Vilnius University in Autumn 1915–May 1918: Purickis, Šliūpas and Klimas ..........150 2.2. Th e re-establishment of a national Vilnius University May 1918–January 1919: Voldemaras, Purickis, Biržiška,