Constructing Soviet Cultural Policy Cybernetics and Governance in Lithuania after World War II Egl Rindzeviit Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 437 Tema Q (Culture Studies) Linköping University, Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture Linköping 2008 Linköping Studies in Arts and Science No. 437 At the Faculty of Arts and Science at Linköpings universitet, research and doc- toral studies are carried out within broad problem areas. Research is organized in interdisciplinary research environments and doctoral studies mainly in gradu- ate schools. Jointly, they publish the series Linköping Studies in Arts and Sci- ence. This thesis comes from the Department of Culture Studies (Tema kultur och samhälle, Tema Q) at the Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture (ISAK). At the Department of Culture Studies (Tema kultur och samhälle, Tema Q), culture is studied as a dynamic field of practices, including agency as well as structure, and cultural products as well as the way they are produced, consumed, communicated and used. Tema Q is part of the larger Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture (ISAK). Distribution: Tema Kultur och samhälle Campus Norrköping Linköping University SE 601 74, Norrköping, Sweden Egl Rindzeviit Constructing Soviet Cultural Policy Cybernetics and Governance in Lithuania after World War II ISBN 978-91-7393-879-2 (Linköping University) ISSN 0282-9800 ISBN 978-91-89315-92-1 (Södertörns högskola) Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations 31 ISSN 1652-7399 © Egl Rindzeviit Institutionen för studier av Samhällsutveckling och Kultur 2008 Cover design by Povilas Utovka, www.utovka.com Cover photo by Agn Gintalait Printed by Intellecta In the memory of my grandparents Marcelis, Vytautas, Konstancija and Sofija To my parents Nijol and Ramutis Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................... 9 I. Prologue: A Journey into the Soviet Governance of Culture......................... 13 II. Introduction: Theoretical Framework and Method....................................... 19 Previous Research and Problem Areas ........................................................ 20 a) Cybernetic Techno-science .................................................................. 21 b) Cultural Policy..................................................................................... 26 Theoretical Framework: Governmentality ................................................... 31 Method .......................................................................................................... 35 a) Translation........................................................................................... 36 b) Materials and Sources ......................................................................... 37 c) Periodisation........................................................................................ 45 Disposition.................................................................................................... 45 III. Historical Background................................................................................. 49 Lithuanian State Cultural Policy before the Soviet Occupation................... 50 The Soviet Occupation.................................................................................. 63 The Nazi Occupation .................................................................................... 65 Soviet Re-occupation .................................................................................... 67 Soviet Cultural Policy................................................................................... 68 The Ministry.................................................................................................. 71 The Rationales of Soviet Cultural Policy...................................................... 77 The Ministers of Culture ............................................................................... 81 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 88 IV. The Economic Configuration of Soviet Cultural Policy ............................. 89 Some Features of the Soviet Economic System............................................. 91 Economic Indicators of the Cultural Sector ................................................. 93 Commensurability: Calculable Culture on Display...................................... 95 Culture as a Service Sector........................................................................... 99 The Material Base of Culture ..................................................................... 108 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 109 V. Cybernetic Management: Setting the Preconditions for the Scientific Governance of Culture .................................................................................... 111 Cybernetics ................................................................................................. 113 a) A Note on “upravlenie” and “valdymas”.......................................... 114 b) From American to Soviet Cybernetics ............................................... 115 c) From Moscow to Vilnius: The Beginnings of Soviet Lithuanian Cybernetics............................................................................................. 120 From Scientific Management to Cybernetic Management ......................... 125 a) Writing Cybernetic Management....................................................... 130 b) Cybernetic Machines of Management................................................ 139 c) Limitations of Industrial AMS............................................................ 143 d) “Viskas buvo visai kitaip” ................................................................. 147 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 149 VI. Cybernetic Rationalisation of Culture: From Knowledge to Steering ...... 151 Why Bring Together Cybernetics and Culture? (1965-68)......................... 153 a) Venclova versus Trinknas ................................................................ 156 b) To Translate or Not?.......................................................................... 162 Cybernetic Control Appropriated............................................................... 168 1) System ................................................................................................ 171 2) Feedback and Prediction ................................................................... 174 3) Automation......................................................................................... 182 Silenced Voices ........................................................................................... 185 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 189 VII. From Hope to Discontent: Soviet Cultural Policy in the Grip of the Scientific-Technical Revolution...................................................................... 191 STR and Labour.......................................................................................... 195 Poverty and STR ......................................................................................... 198 From Limits of Growth to Limits of Governance: Culture and Nature ...... 200 STR – The Soviet Idiom of the Modern Condition ...................................... 206 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 210 VIII. Cultural Policy in Conflict with Calculating Communism..................... 213 Numbers Disenchanted ............................................................................... 215 The Poverty of Technology ......................................................................... 219 1) Libraries, Museums, Music................................................................ 220 2) The KGB ........................................................................................... 224 1986 and After: Taking Culture Out of the Bureaucrat’s Briefcase........... 228 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 242 IX. Conclusions ............................................................................................... 245 X. Sources and Bibliography........................................................................... 254 XI. Appendix ................................................................................................... 274 Tables and Figures Table 1. “Culture” and “Art” in the Classifier of National Economy 76 Table 2. The All-Union and Lithuanian SSR Ministers of Culture, 1953- 1990 86 Table 3. New AMS in the Soviet Union, 1966-89 142 Figure 1. The Budget of the Soviet Union: Expenditures 105 Figure 2. Employment of the Inhabitants of Lithuanian SSR 106 A Note on Transliteration In transcribing Russian the Congress Library transliteration table was followed without using the diacritic signs. Exceptions were made for traditional uses of famous names, for example Trotsky. The original transliteration was retained in texts quoted in English. Lithuanian is used in the original spelling, except when the names are better known in their anglicised versions, like Shtromas and Misiunas. When considered important, translations of the titles were provided. All translations