Laura Astsaturian’s Presentation: «Identity and Memory of the Deportees’ Descendants from Lithuania: Field Work Experience»

On December 12th, 2024, within the framework of the regular seminar "Dialogue between Russia and Europe: the View of Young Researchers" the research assistant of the Laboratory and PhD Student Laura Astsaturian made the presentation

Laura shared her experience in field work and analysis of collecting data on identity and memory of deportees’ descendants from Lithuania living in Russia. The research focuses on the deported during the Soviet repressions Lithuanians and their descendants. The field work was conducted in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Republic of Buryatia, Irkutsk oblast, Altai Krai, Republic of Karelia, St-Petersburg and Moscow. 
During the Soviet repressions 1940-1941 and 1945-1953, the number of people deported from Lithuania reached 100-130 thousand people, according to various estimates.The first wave of deportations affected mainly the ruling and intellectual elite, while later the demographic composition of the exiles changed. Lithuanians were mainly sent to special settlements in Siberia, the Far East and Kazakhstan. After the amnesty and release, their migration back to Lithuania began, but there were also Lithuanians who remained in place or returned from Lithuania back to Russia. In the 1990s, Lithuanian communities were formed in Russian cities. At the same time, the large cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow attracted more people to study and earn money, then the Siberian communities consisted largely of repressed Lithuanians and their descendants. Lithuanians were the first to organize expeditions to places of deportation and burials, install memorial signs and crosses there, and take care of the graves. For Siberian Lithuanians, family history becomes an important part of identity; meetings dedicated to religious holidays become unifying for the community. The distance from Lithuania and the gradual loss of ties with it play a major role. At the same time, the territorial proximity to the places of deportation contributes to the support of practices of commemoration of ancestors.