Postcommunist Transformation as Dismantling of the Soviet Modernity Project

Project idea

The objective of the project – to examine the experiences of Lithuanians during the transformation period and to assess whether and how the post-Soviet transformation may be regarded as the ending of the Soviet modernity project. This research aims to analyse how the collapse of the Soviet modernity project and its political deconstruction has been experienced by the people of Lithuania, what kind of emotions this period evokes today and why, what aspects of transformation are recalled as the most vivid, traumatising, cheerful or astonishing. Also, it attempts to understand whether and how these narratives of the post-communist transformation can be interpreted as the experiences of the conclusion of the modernization process.

The goals of the project:
1. To identify the essential traits of the Soviet modernity in Lithuania that may be significant for the transformation period and to formulate the theoretical and methodological guidelines of the research.
2. To collect data from several regions of the country on the experiences of its inhabitants during the transformation period, employing the method of biographical interview. 50 to 60 interviews will be conducted.
3. To examine whether and how the transformation narratives reflect themes on the essential traits of the Soviet modernity (e.g., industrialization, collectivisation of agriculture, atheisation, and other aspects). Also, to assess the position that these themes take on in mentioned narratives.
4. To conceptualize the post-Soviet transformation by assessing the research data in the context of modernization theories provided by the post-revisionist Sovietology and Sociology.
5. To present project results to Lithuanian and international academic communities.