Lietuvos istorijos metraštis

This article examines the transformation of the political life of Lithuanian World War I refugees in Russia between 1915 and 1918. Particular attention is devoted to the profound impact of the Russian Revolution: whereas at the outset of the war many Lithuanian political leaders supported the principles of autonomy and federalism, in its aftermath a growing number began to openly advocate for independence. The article provides a revisionist analysis of the proceedings and resolutions of the Petrograd Seimas, the most significant political event for Lithuanians in Russia, and assesses the consequences of the Bolshevik coup for Lithuanian refugees – ranging from the radicalisation of certain political currents to the dismantling of the refugee relief network and the escalation of terror.

The article analyses the Polish, Russian, and Jewish youth self-education circles active in Vilnius in the 1870s, and their connections with the nihilist and narodnik movements operating in the Russian Empire. The main focus is on the problem of reconciling the ideologies of socialism and nationalism that arose among members of these circles, as well as on their reflections concerning the overcoming of national conflicts and the modernisation of local society. During the period under consideration, several parameters of ideological compatibility can be discerned, depending on: (a) the degree of national homogeneity within a given self-education circle; (b) the greater or lesser, collective or individual, historical memory of the North-Western Region; and (c) the positive or negative experiences of the sociopolitical and cultural environment, and of interethnic relations. In addition, one of the most important elements uniting all youth circles was the generational conflict – that is, the sociocultural rebellion against the patriarchal traditionalism of the elders and the mental constructs that preserved a serfdom-era worldview.

Joachim Lelewel, a historian educated at the University of Vilnius, was one of the most significant representatives of the critical approach to historical sources in Polish historiography. August Ludwig Schlözer, a linguist, gained renown above all for his critical edition of the ‘Nestor Chronicle’, the final volume of which appeared just as Lelewel was beginning his academic career. This article examines how, and to what extent, Lelewel’s intellectual work in the critical analysis of historical sources was influenced by Schlözer’s methods. Through a close reading of Lelewel’s writings, it will be shown how he adopted categories developed by Schlözer, at times even employing them against Schlözer himself. Lelewel’s engagement with Schlözer not only reflects the wider Enlightenment debates on historical method, but also complicates simplified models of knowledge transfer between scholars from Western and Central-Eastern Europe.

This article presents an analysis of the urban development of Samogitia’s border with the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia from the end of the 16th to the early 19th centuries by looking at the history of the small town of Vegeriai as one of the more important cases. The research shows that border-town urbanisation was slow and irregular, coming in three waves where the third and last wave in the late 16th to early 17th century was particularly long. Three attempts at founding the small town of Vegeriai are discussed (in 1602, 1652 and 1754), which were initiated by representatives of families belonging to the Samogitian elite. The importance of liturgical life on the small town’s appearance and its vitality are highlighted. Attention is also drawn to the fact that in the second half of the 18th century Vegeriai became an important border communications hub between Samogitia and the Duchy of Courland, where a multinational community was being formed, trade ties were being developed, and the influence of the Jews and the arriving German Lutherans increased.