Faculty of History

Sukurta: 09 April 2024

7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7280
E-mail: http://www.if.vu.lt
Dean – Dr Loreta Skurvydaitė

STAFF
56 teachers (incl. 49 holding research degree), 22 research fellows (incl. 16 holding research degree).

DEPARTMENTS OF THE FACULTY
Department of Ancient and Medieval History
Department of Archaeology
Department of Modern History
Department of Theory of History and History of Culture
Bioarchaeology Research Centre
Centre for Stateless Cultures
Centre for Studies of History of East European Jews

RESEARCH AREAS
History of Lithuania
• Sources
• Historiography
• Heritage
• Memory
Prehistory and Archaeology of Lithuania

DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS MAINTAINED IN 2023
D. Baltramiejūnaitė. Typology and Chronology of Wheel-shaped Ceramics from the 10th to 13th Centuries (Based on the Data of Lithuanian Archaeological Monument Research).
T. Krutulys. Historical Narratives in the Lithuanian periodical press in Lithuanian language from 1904 to 1944.
L. Nekrašas. “Frontline Area”: State and Society in Lithuania’s Borderland with Poland in 1920–1939.
E. Šatavičė. Neolithic Communities and their Pottery in Southeast Lithuania.
A. Terleckas. Creating a Kolkhoz Society: the Sovietization of the Lithuanian countryside (1940–1965).

MAIN CONFERENCES ORGANIZED IN 2023
1. International Congress Rethinking Ukraine and Europe: New Challenges for Historians, https://vilniuscongress.com/lt/pradzia;
2. International Conference Josaphat Kuntsevych: History, Heritage, Memory, www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/2113-tarptautine-konferencija-juozapatas-kuncevicius-istorija-palikimas-atmintys-2023-10-13-14;
3. The 12th International Conference Strategies and Methods in Archaeological Research of Readings of prof. Jonas Puzinas, www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/2128-vu-istorijos-fakultete-vyks-12-oji-tarptautine-moksline-jono-puzino-skaitymu-konferencija-archeologiniu-tyrimu-strategijos-ir-metodai-2;
4. International Conference Vilnius and Its Communities in the 13th-21st Centuries: Seven Centuries of the History of Coexistence, www.istorija.lt/tarptautine-moksline-konferencija-vilnius-ir-jo-bendruomenes-xiii-xxi-a.-septyni-sugyvenimo-mieste-istorijos-simtmetciai/1240;
5. International Conference Popular Participation in Authoritarian Governance in the USSR.

MAIN SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2023
1. Grant HORIZON ERC-2022-COG for the project MILLWAYS: Past and Future Millet Foodways (ERC CoG 101087964). Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen. 2023–2028.
2. 2 nd. Baltic Geopolitics Summer School Border Infrastructures Changes and Socio-Cultural impact, organised jointly by the Centre for Geopolitics (POLIS, Cambridge), university of Gdansk (Poland), university of Greivsfald (Germany), University of Vilnius.

DEPARTMENT OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY

7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7297
E-mail

Head – Assoc. Prof. Liudas Jovaiša

STAFF
Professors: Dr R. R.Trimonienė (part-time).
Associate professors: Dr T. Čelkis, Dr V. Dolinskas (part-time), Dr M. Jakulis, Dr L. Jovaiša, Dr E. Saviščevas.
Assistents: Dr N. Dambrauskaitė (part-time), Dr Antanas Petrilionis.
Chief Researchers: Dr I. Valikonytė, Dr A. Ragauskas.
Researchers: Dr N. Dambrauskaitė (part-time), Dr A. Pister-Gainienė (postdoc, part-time).
Junior researchers: N. Šlimienė, S. Viskantaitė-Saviščevienė.
Doctoral students: J. Ambrazas, K. Čižauskas, R. Miškinytė, P. A. Stepavičius.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
• History of Lithuania: sources, historiography, heritage, memory
• Society of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (henceforth the GDL) in the 14th-16th centuries
• Research and publication of the 1st Lithuanian Statute (1529) and the Lithuanian Metrica (the so-called Court Record Books of the 1st half of the 16th century)
• History of the GDL in the 2nd half of the 18th century
• Woman’s Status in the GDL in the 16th Century
• Life of Christian Churches and Religions in the GDL in the 16th-18th Centuries
• Jagiellonians in Europe in the 15th-16th centuries
• History of the Teutonic Order
• Culture and Heritage of the GDL
• History of GDL Regions (especially Samogitia)

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2023
National Research Projects
Research Council of Lithuania. Local Society and Central Power. Their interactions (Case of Šiauliai Economy in the 17th c. - beginning of 18th c.) (No. S-LIP-20-48). Prof. R. R. Trimonienė. 2020–2023.
The main goal of the project is to thoroughly study how the concept of the local community (the case of Šiauliai Economy is taken as an example for case study) was formed and manifested in the Early Modern Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its structure, community relations and communication forms with authorities at various levels. This investigation is based on the microhistorical approaches of the new political and social history, on the abundance of the survived sources from Lithuanian and foreign archives.

Research Council of Lithuania. Cuisine of the Rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th Century and the First Half of the 17th Century (No. MIP-20-226). Dr N. Dambrauskaitė. 2020–2022 (2023).
The aim of the project is to explore the cuisine of the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century and the first half of the 17th century by analysing various historical sources, especially rulers' account books, and also the data of archaeological research.

Research Council of Lithuania. Legal Culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: The Rulers Court in the End of the 15th-16th Century (No. S-LIP-19-70). Prof. I. Valikonytė, 2019–2022 (2023).
The most important task is to analyse the ruler’s court and its’ branches formation history which has not received researchers’ attention yet. The most important sources are the Ruler’s court books included in Lithuanian Metrica. These books contain the documents which enable the research of the concept of the grand duke´s (as the head of the judiciary) administration of justice, legal consciousness, the development of legal thought, the application of laws and the culture of its obeying i.e. the principle of realisation of the concept non rex est lex, sed lex est rex. It also helps to analyse the ruler’s (as the head of the legislative institution) contribution and role in the perfection of juridical norms and concretely the content of the Lithuanian Statute.

Research Council of Lithuania. Former Jesuits in Lithuania after 1773: a Collective Biography (No. S-MIP-22-41). Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša. 2022–2025.
The idea of the project (research) is the fate of the Jesuits who lived and worked in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania after the abolition of the Jesuit order in 1773. The activities of the former Jesuits after 1773 in Lithuania have not been systematically studied, more information is available only about the Jesuits who worked in the Education Commission system, and the biographies of the Jesuits who did not teach are very little known. The research should answer the questions: how many Jesuits and why did they choose one or another way of life (to be a teacher, to be a priest in a parish, to join the Jesuits who were officially active in Belarus, to return to private life)?; what part of the Jesuits remained faithful to the old identity and continued to maintain mutual relations, what were the mutual relations of this informal group and what was their significance?; What was the contribution of the former Jesuits to the church and cultural life of Lithuania at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century? The results of the research will be published in a monograph with an appendix - a compendium of biographies of former Jesuits active in the LDK after 1773.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Chamber of Notaries (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)
National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Lithuania)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. R. R. Trimonienė
• editorial board member of the journal Istorija (History), https://ejournals.vdu.lt/index.php/istorijoszurnalas/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Humanitarica Academiae Saulensis, www.zurnalai.vu.lt/actahas/about/editorialTeam.
Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas
• editor in chief of the serial publication Chronicon Palatii Magnorum Ducum Lithuaniae, www.valdovurumai.lt/muziejaus-veikla/leidiniai/chronicon-palatii-magnorum-ducum-lithuaniae-vol-4-mmxivmmxvi;
• member of the scientific council of the year-book Muzealnictwo (Museology), https://muzealnictworocznik.com/resources/html/cms/SCIENTIFICCOUNCIL;
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Museologica Lithuanica, www.journals.vu.lt/acta-museologica-lithuanica/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the publication Kronika Zamkowa. Roczniki (Castle Chronicle), www.zamek-krolewski.pl/historia/kronikazamkowaroczniki;
• editorial board member of the serial publication Fontes et studia historiae universitatis Vilnensis, www.vu.lt/studijos/priemimas/133-apiemus/fontes-et-studia/4207-redaktoriu-kolegija;
• editorial board member of the serial publication Artifex Novus. Pismo Instytutu Historii Sztuki Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie (Journal of the Institute of Art History of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw).
Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša
• academician of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science, www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=19&lng=1;
• editor in chief of the journal Bažnyčios istorijos studijos (Studies in Church History), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=111&lng=1;
• editorial board member of the journal Fontes Historiae Lituaniae, www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=123&lng=1;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademijos metraštis (Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science Annuals), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=105;
• editorial board member of the journal Religinės kultūros paveldo studijos (Studies in Cultural Heritage of Religions);
• editorial board member of the series Lietuvos sakralinė dailė (Sacral Art of Lithuania).

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. International symposium on Jesuit Studies Circa Missiones: Jesuit Understanding of Mission through the Centuries, Lisbon (Portugal). Report Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša Mision of the Extinct Society: Interrupted? Continued? Transformed? Former Jesuits in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania after 1773.
2. International conference Josaphat Kuntsevych: History, Heritage, Memory irca Missiones: Jesuit Understanding of Mission through the Centuries, Vilnius (Lithuania). Report Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša The Memory and Cult of Saint Josaphat in the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania.
3. International conference Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 18th Century, Vilnius (Lithuania). Report Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša Experiences of the Former Jesuits of Lithuania in the Schools of the Commission for National Education.
4. International conference The Birth of the Clinic: Hospitals and the Institutionalisation of Health Care in Central and Eastern Europe, 1784–1914, Prague (Czech Republic). Report Assoc. Prof. M. Jakulis The Foundation of the General Hospital in Vilnius at the End of the Eighteenth Century.

MOST IMPORTANT RECEIVED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR R&D ACTIVITIES
1. Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas The Order “Unity and Will? (All-Ukrainian Association “Country”, Ukraine).

MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. R. R. Trimonienė
• member of the board at the “Aušros” Museum in Šiauliai;
• member of the commission for Commemoration of Notable Individuals, Historical Dates, and Events in Šiauliai City at the Šiauliai City Municipality, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/6760a0c053b311ec86bdcb0a6d573b32/asr.

Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas
• member of Board of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, www.vda.lt/lt/apie-vda/akademijos-struktura/taryba/tarybos-nariai.
• member of Scientific Board of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, www.lnb.lt/naujienos/6693-suformuota-nauja-nacionalines-bibliotekos-mokslo-taryba.
Dr T. Čelkis
• member of the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, www.lma.lt/lmaja-sudetis-ir-kontaktai-2.
Dr N. Dambraukaitė
• member of the Lithuanian Heraldry Commission (The Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania), www.lrp.lt/lt/prezidento-institucija/prezidento-funkcijos/heraldika/34206;
• member of the Commission for Granting Permits to Use Official Symbols of the Republic of Lithuania in a Trademark or Design.

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY

7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7284
E-mail

Head – Prof. Albinas Kuncevičius

STAFF
Professors: Dr A. Kuncevičius, Habil. Dr M. Michelbertas (professor emeritus), Dr G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen (part-time).
Associate professors: Dr A. Luchtanas, Dr A. Merkevičius, Dr G. Piličiauskienė (part-time), Dr J. Poškienė, Dr E. Šatavičius, Dr G. Vėlius.
Assistant professors: Dr J. Kozakaitė (part-time), Dr K. Minkevičius (part-time).
Lecturers: A. Žilinskaitė (part-time).
Teaching assistants: R. Augustinavčius (part-time).
Doctoral students: M. Abdrakhamov, I. Brindzaitė, J. Čičiurkaitė, K. Karanikola, L. Muradian, A. Rusteikytė, A. Zagurskytė.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Prehistoric and historical archaeology of Lithuania and neighbouring countries (research of material and spiritual culture, landscape studies)
• Archaeology of the Balts
• Methodology of archaeological research
• Bioarchaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Archaeological heritage management

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2023
National Research Projects
Research Council of Lithuania. Functional Development of Mounds: From the Fortified Settlement to the Residence of the Duke (No. S-MIP-21-22). Assoc. Prof. G. Vėlius. 2021–2024.
The main object of this research is a complex of 4 hillforts located in the UNESCO-protected Kernavė archaeological site. The aim of the project is to identify and precisely chronologise the functional development of the Eastern Lithuanian hillforts and the activities carried out on them during the Iron Age and the Middle Ages (8th century BC - 14th century AD). At the same time, an attempt was made to reveal the dynamics and chronology of the transformation of the natural, uninhabited landscape of the Kernavė hillforts into a cultural landscape. In 2023 three geophysical methods were used: magnetometry, GPR and ERT. These surveys were followed by archaeological coring. The interdisciplinary research data were synthesised to determine the evolution of the hillforts' residential and defensive functions. In 2023 zooarchaeological analysis has been carried out. The final calculations have been made, and it is already possible to make the first insights into the economy and diet of the inhabitants of Kernavė from the 8th century BC to the 14th century.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
University of Tartu (Estonia)
University of Helsinki (Finland)
University of Latvia (Latvia)
Institute of Archaeology University of Wrocław (Poland)
University of Stockholm (Sweden)
Administration of the State Cultural Rezerve of Kernavė (Lithuania)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. A. Kuncevičius
• board member of The Society of Lithuanian Archaeology, http://lad.lt/lietuvos-archeologijos-draugija/vadovybe;
• editor-in-chief of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Baltica, http://journals.ku.lt/index.php/AB/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Lituanistica, www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/index.php/lituanistica.
Prof. emeritus M. Michelbertas
• foreign corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute (Deutsches Archäologisches Institute);
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam.
Assoc. Prof. A. Merkevičius
• editorial board member of the journal Estonian Journal of Archaeology, https://kirj.ee/estonian-journal-of-archaeology-editorial-board;
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Archaeologica, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/16000390/homepage/editorialboard.html;
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvos archeologija (Lithuanian Archaeology), www.istorija.lt/leidiniai/mokslo-zurnalai-ir-testiniai-leidiniai/lietuvos-archeologija/674#tab-editorial_board.
Assist. Prof. Dr Karolis Minkevičius
• member of the Scientific Committee of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany.
Assoc. Prof. E. Šatavičius
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• member of Union of Prehistorical and Protohistorical Sciences Commission The Final Paleolithic of Northern Eurasia, www.uispp.org.
Assoc. Prof. G. Vėlius
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• member of the Organizing Committee of the International Scientific Conference Strategies and Methods in Archaeological Research of Readings of prof. Jonas Puzinas XII, www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai.
Assist. A. Žilinskaitė
• chairwomen of The Society of Lithuanian Archaeology, http://lad.lt/lietuvos-archeologijos-draugija/vadovybe;
• member of the Organizing Committee of the International Scientific Conference Strategies and Methods in Archaeological Research of Readings of prof. Jonas Puzinas XII, www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai.

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. XXIX European Congress of Archaeologists (EAA), Belfast (Northern Ireland). Report Assoc. Prof. G. Vėlius (with co-authors R. Vengalis, M. Pilkauskas) The Hillforts of Kernavė: More Boreholes – More Knowledge.
2. XXIX European Congress of Archaeologists (EAA), Belfast (Northern Ireland). Report: Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė (with co-authors G. Vėlius, K. Minkevičius, R. Vengalis, M. Pilkauskas) Animal Welfare in Lithuania in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period: Exploited and Sometimes Perhaps Loved.
3. XXIX European Congress of Archaeologists (EAA), Belfast (Northern Ireland). Report: Dr K. Minkevičius (with co-authors G. Vėlius, R. Vengalis, G. Piličiauskienė, M. Pilkauskas) Changes in Chop Cultivation during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in Southeastern Baltic: a Case Study of Kernavė.
4. Congress of the North European Archaeobotany Group, Lund (Sweden). Report Dr K. Minkevičius (with co-author Dalia Kisielienė) Agrarian Landscapes of the Roman Period: Interactions between Humans and the Environment in 1st – 4th c. AD in Lithuania.

MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. A. Kuncevičius
• member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, www.lma.lt/akademijos-nariai;
• member of Scientific Commission of Archaeology of the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/4d6e7402d25911ed9b3c9397e1236c2a?jfwid=2r1mnh0a.
Assoc. Prof. A. Luchtanas
• member of 4nd Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/3c41c1517bff11e98a8298567570d639?jfwid=zjgvs4rs8.
Assist. Prof. Dr K. Minkevičius
• member of Scientific Commission of Archaeology of the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/4d6e7402d25911ed9b3c9397e1236c2a?jfwid=2r1mnh0a.
Assoc. Prof. A. Merkevičius
• member of 4nd Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/3c41c1517bff11e98a8298567570d639?jfwid=zjgvs4rs8.
Assoc. Prof. J. Poškienė
• vice chairwoman of the Committee of Humanities and Social Sciences, Research Council of Lithuania, www.lmt.lt/en/about-the-research-council/vice-chair/2684;
• chairwoman of the Board of the State Cultural Reserve of Kernavė, www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/4bf93a30174c11ebb0038a8cd8ff585f;
• chairwoman of the Steering Group for the Management Plan of the UNESCO World Heritage Kernavė Archaeological Site, www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/140637e0fde611ec8fa7d02a65c371ad.

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN HISTORY

7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7286
E-mail

Head – Prof. Arūnas Streikus

STAFF
Professors: Dr A. Streikus.
Associate professors: Dr D. Bukelevičiūtė, Dr A. Jakubčionis, Dr S. Kaubrys, Dr R. Kraujelis (part-time), Dr T. Vaiseta.
Assistant professors: Dr A. Abromaitis (part-time), Dr N. Černiauskas (part-time), Dr M. Ėmužis, Dr R. Gaidis, Dr K. Kilinskas, Dr V. Klumbys (part-time), Dr A. Terleckas, Dr I. Zakšauskienė.
Lectures: A. Grodis.
Research professors: Dr Z. Butkus (part-time), Dr M. Drėmaitė (part-time), Dr M. Gutauskas (part-time), Dr J. Mačiulytė (part-time), Dr K. Sabolius (part-time), Dr A. Streikus (part-time), Dr N. Šepetys (part-time), Dr D. Veteikis (part-time).
Senior researchers: Dr I. Gečienė-Janulionė (part-time). Dr E. Jekabsons (part-time), Dr S. Kulevičius (part-time), Dr I. Misiūnė (part-time), Dr R. Skorupskas (part-time), Dr T. Vaiseta (part-time), Dr G. Vėlius (part-time).
Research fellows: Dr T. Boriak (part-time), Dr V. Bukaitė (part-time), Dr D. Čiupailaitė-Višnevska (part-time), Dr V. Daraškevičiūtė (part-time), Dr M. Ėmužis (part-time), Dr D. Galdauskaitė (part-time), Dr T. Šarūnas (part-time).
Research assistants: A. Grodis (part-time), Dr K. Jonutis (part-time), R. Rožėnė, Dr A. Terleckas (part-time).
Trainee-researcher: Dr I. Ėmužienė (postdoc).
Doctoral students: K. Bėčiūtė, D. Indrišionis, P. Japertas, A. Miller, I. Rasickaitė, R. Roženė, I. Stanevičius, K. Stponavičiūtė, A. Suchodolskytė, D. Tarvydaitė, A. Terleckas, T. Vaitelė, A. Žirlys, J. T. Žukas.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Lithuanian history in the 19th century
• History of the Russian Empire in the 19th century
• Lithuanian international relations in the 1920s–1930s
• Political, social and cultural life in Lithuania during the interwar period
• Problems of the national and religious minorities in Lithuania and Klaipėda district
• Military history. War and society
• Soviet occupation and re-occupation of Lithuania
• Anti-Soviet resistance in Lithuania: armed and unarmed resistance
• Soviet Lithuania and western countries during the Cold War
• Religion and society in 20th century Lithuania
• Cultural, social and everyday life in Soviet Lithuania
• Research on the modernization of history studies
• (Post)authoritarian landscapes
• History of the Lithuanian diaspora in the 20th-the 21st centuries
• History of Soviet propaganda and communication

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2023
National Research Projects
Research Council of Lithuania. Cross Junction of England, France, Russia and Germany Interests in Baltic States in 1918–1920 (No. S-MIP-21-46). Dr K. Kilinskas. 2020–2024.
Searches of the primary sources in Lithuanian Central State Archives, Latvian State Historical Archive, Public record office in London, German military archive in Freiburg am Bresgau, Archive of Herder institute in Marburg were performed.

Research Council of Lithuania. Vatican and Lithuania during the World War II and Cold War (1939–1958) (No. S-LIP-22-59). Prof. A. Streikus. 2022–2024.
Search of primary sources in Vatican archives was performed. Selected archival documents were translated, supplied with comments, introduction prepared. Results of research were also presented in the publication:
“Ecclesiastical Communication between Rome and Soviet Lithuania”, Nuova Storia Contemporanea, 2022, vol. 26/2, p. 133–143.

Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project Soviet Lithuanian Public Communication for the Lithuanian Diaspora in North America (1944–1991): Participants, Channels, Responses (No. S-PD-22-8). Dr I. Ėmužienė. 2022–2024.
An analysis of relevant historiography and archival material was carried out. Conducted research internship in Lithuanian diaspora archives in the USA. The research project was presented at the international conference.

Research Council of Lithuania. The Trial, History, Regimes of Language: Reconstruction and Interpretation of the Origins and Impact of the 1962 Show Trials in Kaunas and Vilnius (No. S-MIP-23-60). Dr T. Vaiseta. 2023–2026.
In the first years of the research, the analysis focused on historiography. The search, selection and initial analysis of sources was also carried out. At the same time, the first scheduled interviews were conducted.

Research Council of Lithuania. Research Center “(Post)authoritarian landscapes” (Nr. (1.78 Mr) SU-3408). Prof. A. Streikus, 2023–2027.
Formation of the research teams, discussion of their investigation scopes.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Oulu university (Finland)
The International Border Studies Center (IBSC) at the University of Gdańsk (Poland)
University of Lancaster (UK)
Gdansk University, Faculty of History (Poland)
Cambridge University Center for Geopolitics, Baltic Geopolics Programme (UK)
Stanford University, Stanford Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (USA)
Genocide and Resistance Research Center (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)
National Museum of Lithuania (Lithuania)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. Z. Butkus
• editorial board member of the journal Latvijas Universitātes Raksti. Vēsture (Scientific papers of University of Latvia. History)
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Humanitarica Universitatis Saulensis, www.su.lt/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=597&Itemid=538&lang=lt;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Lituanistica, www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/index.php/lituanistica.
Prof. A. Streikus
• academician of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science, www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=19&lng=1;
• editor in chief of the journal Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademijos metraštis (Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science Annuals), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=105;
• editorial board member of the journal Bažnyčios istorijos studijos (Studies in Church History), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=111&lng=1;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/about/editorialTeam.
Assoc. Prof. D. Bukelevičiūtė
• a member of Advisory board of of the Transcultural Encounters Research Center of the University of Oulu, Finland, www.oulu.fi/transculturalencounters/node/53304;
• editorial board member of the journal Studia Politica Slovaca, www.sav.sk/?lang=en&doc=journal-list&journal_no=80;
• editorial board member of the journal Istorija. Mokslo darbai (History. Research Papers), www.istorijoszurnalas.lt/index.php/IS/about/editorialTeam.
Assoc. Prof. A. Jakubčionis
• member of the council of War History Centre;
• editorial board member of the journal Genocidas ir rezistencija (Genocide and Resistance), http://genocid.lt/centras/lt/1199/a;
• adviser of the journal Politologija (Politology), www.journals.vu.lt/politologija/about/editorialTeam;
• council member of the book series Lietuvos valsčiai, www.versme.lt/projektas.htm.
Assoc. Prof. S. Kaubrys
• editorial board member of the journal Faravid, www.pro.tsv.fi/pshy/english.htm;
• editorial board member of the journal Revista Romana de Studii Baltice si Nordice (The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies), www.scipio.ro/web/rrsbn;
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Historica Universitas Klaipedensis, http://briai.ku.lt/leidiniai/acta-historica-universitatis-klaipedensis/redaktoriu-kolegija/;
• editorial board member of the journal Lituanistica, https://www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/public/journals/8/Editorial_EN.pdf;
• editorial board member of the series Lietuvos valstybingumo paveldas (Heritage of Lithuania’s Statehood).
Assoc. Prof. T. Vaiseta
• executive secretary of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), www.zurnalai.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/about/editorialTeam.

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. International conference Psychiatry and Addictions in the 20th Century, Strasbourg, Maison interuniversitaire des sciences de l’homme, Strasbourg (France). Report Assoc. Prof. T. Vaiseta When Everyone and No One Believes: A Treatment of Alcoholism in the Soviet Psychiatric Hospitals (1944–1990).
2. The 15th Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe (CBSE) Turning Points: Values and Conflicting Futures in the Baltics, Kaunas (Lithuania). Report Assoc. Prof. K Kilinskas Supplying Lithuanian Army with Weapons at the Clashes of Interests between Entente and Germany in 1919-1920.
3. The Baltics geopolitics symposium 2023 From chaos to the New World Order: The Baltic in the aftermath of the First World War, 1918-1922, University of Cambridge (UK), Report Assoc. Prof. K Kilinskas Supply of arms to Lithuania at the clash of Allies and Gemany foreign policy interests.

MOST IMPORTANT RECEIVED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR R&D ACTIVITIES
1. Assist. Prof. V. Klumbys, Assoc. Prof. T. Vaiseta, monograph The Little O: Culture of Sexuality in Soviet Lithuania, Book of the Year in the Category of Best Documentary, in Lithuanian National Book Awards, 2023.

MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. Z. Butkus
• member of the Commission of Scholarship Nomination of the Vilnius City History Researchers.
Prof. A. Streikus
• chairman of the council of Adolfas Damušis Democratic Studies Centre at Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania;
• member of the working group for the exhibition The Theatre of Censorship: Audio-visual Arts in Soviet Lithuania and their Ideological Control, Museum of Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema.
Assoc. Prof. D. Bukelevičiūtė
• member of Jonava District Municipality Pranas Dovalga Award Commission.
Assoc. Prof. A. Jakubčionis
• member of the research group of the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania.
Assoc. Prof. Tomas Vaiseta
• member of the Commission of the Vilnius City Municipality Programme “Create Vilnius”.
Dr N. Černiauskas
• member of the Council of Lithuanian Radio and Television;
• member of the Historical Memory Commission in Vilnius City Municipality;
• member of the Commission of the Vilnius City Municipality Programme “Create Vilnius”;
• member of the Commission of Scholarship Nomination of the Vilnius City History Researchers.
Dr M. Ėmužis
• chairman of 5th Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture;
• member of the Historical Memory Commission in Vilnius City Municipality;
• member of the curators group at the National Museum of Lithuania (exhibition Fighting Women).
Dr R. Gaidis
• member of 2th Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture.

MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. Tomas Vaiseta
• screen writer and participant at TV show Women Streets (National Broadcaster), 8 series, www.lrt.lt/mediateka/video/moteru-gatves.

DEPARTMENT OF THEORY OF HISTORY AND CULTURAL HISTORY

7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7288
E-mail

Head – Prof. Alfredas Bumblauskas

STAFF
Professors: Habil. Dr T. Bairašauskaite (part-time), Dr A. Bumblauskas, Dr M. Dremaitė, Dr I. Vaišvilaitė, Dr J. Verbickienė.
Associate professsors: Dr N. Babinskas (part-time), Dr G. Kirkienė, Dr S. Kulevičius (part-time), Dr G. Potašenko, Dr E. Raila, Dr L. Skurvydaitė (part-time), Dr N. Šepetys, Dr R. Šermukšnytė, Dr A. Švedas (part-time), Dr D. Troskovaitė.
Assistents: Dr A. Gieda, Dr V. Janušauskaitė (part-time), Dr A. Naudžiūnienė (part-time).
Lecturer: D. Vitkauskaitė.
Research fellows: Dr I. Leonavičiūtė.
Doctoral students: D. Čypaitė, L. Hall, I. Kudrešova, D. Misevičius, L. Mumgaudytė, V. Pilkauskienė, R. Puodžiūnienė, D. Skarolskis, M. Valančiauskienė, S. Valiūnaitė, I.Šuopytė.
Postdoc researcher: Dr A. Černauskienė

RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Theoretical, methodological and historiographical problems of history
• History of Lithuanian culture
• Theoretical and didactical aspects of history of Lithuanian culture
• Historical culture and forms of cultural identity of Lithuanian society
• Individual and collective forms of historical memory
• Cultural heritage studies
• Studies of Lithuanian ethnic and confessional minorities
• Everyday life and domestic history
• Functions of history in the contemporary society

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2023
National Research Projects
Research Council of Lithuania. Early Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Typological Context of Peripheral European Societies: Revision of the Concept of Early Feudalism (No S-LIP-21-32). Assoc. Prof. N. Babinskas. 2021–2024.
Project‘s research is a systemic analysis and typological reinterpretation of social structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the 13th – 14th centuries in the comparative context of peripheral European societies. It would contribute to the comparative historical sociology of pre-capitalist societies and would question or at least modify the thesis of the early feudalism (perceived as a mode of production) of GDL. Project‘s goal: to verify the concept of the early feudalism of pre-christian GDL with the help of the model of Early Central European state (ignored so far by the Lithuanian historiography).

Research Council of Lithuania. Tadas Daugirdas: Archaeology of "three-colors" Identity (No. S-LIP-20-13). Assoc. Prof. E. Raila. 2020–2023.
The aim of the project is to prepare the academic study devoted to the biography of Tadas Daugirdas (1852–1919). Daugirdas belonged to the ranks of the activists of the Lithuanian national reawakening that had a significant impact on the making of the national self-awareness and creation of the statehood symbols, but who were left behind in the backyard of historical memory. His personality reflects well the transformations of the Lithuanian identity marking the formation the type of the Lithuanian intelligentsia that was emerging at the turn of the 19th and the 20th centuries. His activities covered at least a few areas of cultural and social life: painting, archaeology, museology, ethnology, journalism. His biography is an integral part of the Lithuanian cultural history.

Research Council of Lithuania. Pranciškus Smuglevičius – an Outstanding Representative of European Enlightement in Lithuanian–Polish Commonwealth (No S-LIP-22-70). Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė. 2022–2024.
The purpose of this project is to research the important, but little or even not studied at all aspects of Pranciškus Smuglevicius personality and the scope of his activities, as well as to present Smuglevičius as Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and European cultural actor. His personality and activities will be examined in the context of the ideas of Enlightenment Age, in order to reveal the originality and individuality of Smuglevičius, as Enlightement personality. The project intend to research the environment of Smuglevičius, analyze the political aspects of his art and it's influence.
Publications: Irena Vaišvilaitė, “Pranciškus Smuglevičius ir Roma”, Conservatio Lituana, vol. I, p. 96–119.

Research Council of Lithuania. Art Creation in Kaunas Ghetto: Issues of the Representation of Reality (No. S-LIP-22-71). Assoc. Prof. N. Šepetys. 2022–2024.
Research on the memory and representation f the reality of the ghettos of Lithuanian Jews has been developed in various ways both in Lithuania and abroad. The analysis focuses on photography, the artistic legacy of individualaretists, and, less frequently, on groups of artistic phenomena (portraits, children‘s drawings, images of terror, etc.). A deepening approach to the history of the Second World War, a widening knowledge of daily life in Lithuanian ghettos, a growing amount of factual information (reconstruction of biographies of artists who were marginalised for a long time etc.) encourage us to0 perceive and interpret the pfenomenon of the visualisation of life in the ghetto as a holistic phenomenon by identifying its peculiarities, origin, genesis, forms of expression, functioning at the time of creation, and the impact and role in formation of the discourse of Holocaust memory.
The project, whose activities are based on a case study –a research of the representation of the reality of the Kaunas Ghetto – would help to reconstruct the phenomenon of the visualisation of the ghetto‘s reality in a multifaceted way, highlighting the perspective of the victims of the Shoah – both the survivors and the victims –ant to offer a new powerful way of reading this information which cast modern imagination. The research would allow us to fill in some important factual gaps and theocratically assess the state of the historiography that relies on, or even replicates, the abundant but sometimes haphazard use of primary sources: it is hoped to consistently reconstruct the history of the creation and discovery of the Abraham Tory archive, to broaden the understanding of the intentions of the archive‘s creator, to reveal the connections between artists and their clients, to investigate the biographies of the artists who were active in the Kaunas ghetto, both local Jews and the Jews from abroad, and to explore the motives and forms of their activities.

Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project Evaluation and Preservation of Post-War Concrete Architecture: The case of Lithuania (No. S-PD-22-88). Dr A. Černauskienė. 2022–2024.
Modern architectural heritage is strongly linked to the materiality and technology used to implement the buildings. Concrete is one of the most ubiquitous post-war building materials, the potential of which has been exploited by architects and engineers in a variety of innovative ways, leaving a legacy of exceptional architecture till our days. However, concrete's character and specificity as an architectural material must be carefully evaluated and examined from a cultural heritage perspective regarding various value aspects, including sustainability. The aim of the project is to develop guidelines for the preservation of post-war concrete architecture and to promote recognition of built heritage based on concrete in Lithuania.

Research Council of Lithuania. Migration, Heritage and Resilience: Lithuanian Architects and Architecture in the crisis period 1939–1959. (No. S-VIS-23-3). Prof. M. Drėmaitė. 2023–2026.
The historical study of Lithuanian architecture and architects is intended to determine how and in what forms groups of professionals (architects) during the period of geopolitical challenges (1939-1959) maintained their relationship with their architectural heritage (tangible and intangible) during different stages of forced migration and in different environments (World War II in Lithuania in 1939-1944), emigration to the West (1945-1949 in DP camps in Germany and 1949-1959 in the USA) and internal migration in Lithuania, in relation to the activities of immigrated leading architects (1945-1959 in Vilnius). Applying the theory of symbolic geographies (Peteri 2010) and based on historical examples, the ways in which architects act as a professional group in crisis situations and the role of architectural heritage in the resilience of cultural identity are analysed.

Research Council of Lithuania. Enhancing Lithuanian Society through Heritage Communities: Challenges and Opportunities. (No. S-VIS-23-13). Assoc. Prof. S. Kulevičius. 2023–2026.
Cultural heritage occupies a crucial place in the framework of contemporary society: it is one of the most important elements in the formation of a society's identity or self-understanding, and can mobilise and consolidate society, legitimising its social fabric and values. Heritage resources can be a tool for overcoming crises, for tolerating diversity and for consolidating other contemporary values and changing cultural identities. This is how heritage is perceived by global (UNESCO) and European (European Union, Council of Europe) institutions. In order to ensure the universal realisation of human rights, the consolidation of democracy and cultural diversity, the Council of Europe adopted the Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention, 2005), which sets out the fundamental principles for the protection of heritage in the 21st century, based on human rights and European values. Faro Convention establishes the category of the 'heritage community' as the subject of the implementation of its principles. In the context of the Faro Convention, the project aims at researching and assessing of the current situation, problems and opportunities of the participation of heritage (local and imagined) communities in heritage conservation processes in Lithuania, their role in conflicts related to the heritage field, and to provide appropriate recommendations at the state (strategic) and local level (using sociological, communication, historical research approaches, case studies of the heritage system, conflicts and good practices). The final object and aim of the project is to contribute to equal opportunities for participation and expression in the fields of culture and heritage in Lithuania, identification and development of prerequisites and tools for such participation, and the development of appropriate self-awareness at community level.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Delft Technical University (Netherlands)
Institute of Ukrainian History (Ukraine)
Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine)
Ukrainian Catholic University (Ukraine)
Department of Cultural Heritage (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)
Polish Institute in Vilnius (Lithuania)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. A. Bumblauskas
• editorial board member of the journal Studia dziejów Panstwa i Prawa Polskiego (Studies in History of Polish State and Law), https://szd.ka.edu.pl/about-us/;
• member of the Scientific Editorial Council of the journal Archiwum Emigracji. Studia–Szkice–Dokumenty (Archives of Emigration. Studies–Essays–Documents), www.bu.umk.pl/Archiwum_Emigracji/gazeta/rada-naukowa.html;
• member of Academic Board of the the journal Polish Journal of Eastern Studies, english.studium.uw.edu.pl/przeglad-wschodni/;
• editor in chief of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), https://www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/editorial-board;;
• editorial board member of the journal Kultūros barai (Culture Fields), www.kulturosbarai.lt/viesieji-oirkimai/;
• editorial board member of the journal Naujasis židinys-Aidai, https://nzidinys.lt/redakcija.
• member of the organizing committee of the international scientific conference Vilnius and Lviv in the Multicentre Space of Central and Eastern Europe, Vilnius (Lithuania), www.if.vu.lt/external/if/files/renginiai/vilnius_lvivas_internetui__compressed.pdf.
Prof. M. Drėmaitė
• member of Architectural Historians Network EAHN;
• national coordinator COST Action Middle Class Mass Housing, coordinator ISCTE-IUL (Lisbon, Portugal), www.cost.eu/actions/CA18137/#tabs+Name:Management%20Committee
• member of the Lithuanian Society of Art Historians;
• member of Scientific Council of Lithuanian Institute of History, www.istorija.lt/apie/struktura/mokslo-taryba/44;
• editorial board member of the journal Architecture and Urban Planning, https://aup-journals.rtu.lv.
Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė
• editorial board member of the journal Naujasis Židinys-Aidai, https://nzidinys.lt/redakcija;
• editorial board member of the journal Tsaitschrift (צייַטשריפֿט) (European Humanities University, Vilnius), https://en.ehu.lt/magazines/.
• editorial and scientific board of the journal Eastern European History Review, www.easterneuropeanhistory.eu/it/editorial-and-scientific-board-information/.
Assoc. Prof. S. Kulevičius
• member of Scientific Council of Lithuanian Institute of History, www.istorija.lt/apie/struktura/mokslo-taryba/44;
• editorial board of the journal Iсторико-культурні студії (Historical and Cultural Studies), http://science.lpnu.ua/hcs/editorial-board;
• member of the organizing committee of the international scientific conference Vilnius and Lviv in the Multicentre Space of Central and Eastern Europe, Vilnius (Lithuania), www.if.vu.lt/external/if/files/renginiai/vilnius_lvivas_internetui__compressed.pdf;
• member of the organizing committee of the international scientific conference Josaphat Kuntsevych: History, Heritage, Memory, Vilnius (Lithuania).
Assoc. Prof. L. Skurvydaitė
• member of the organizing committee of the international scientific conference Rethinking Ukraine and Europe: New Challenges for Historians, Vilnius (Lithuania);
• member of the organizing committee of the international scientific conference Culture and Imaginary Facing the War, Vilnius (Lithuania).
Assoc. Prof. N. Šepetys
• special editor of the journal Naujasis židinys-Aidai, https://nzidinys.lt/redakcija.
Assoc. Prof. A. Švedas
• member of Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies;
• member of the International Commission for the History and Theory of Historiography;
• member of International Network for Theory of History, www.inth.ugent.be;
• participant of Annual ASEEES (Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies);
• co-founder and organiser Vilnius Symposium on Late and Post-Soviet Issues.
Assoc. Prof. N. Babinskas
• chairman of the Association of Transnational History;
• member of the European Network in Universal and Global History (ENIUGH);
• member of the Romanian Association for Nordic and Baltic countries;
• editorial board member of the journal Valahian Journal of Historical Studies, www.vjhs.ro/editorial-board.

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. International seminar Extraction and Escape, Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies, Aarhus (Denmark). Report Assoc. Prof. N. Babinskas Whether Feudal and if Ever Feudal? Towards a Typology of Early Medieval Peripheral European Societies: The Cases of Sweden and Kievan Rus' in Around 1000-1200 AD.
2. International conference Cultural Heritage: Innovative Approaches and Sustainable Development, Lviv (Ukraine). Report Ass. Prof. . Šermukšnytė, J. Sabonaitytė, D. Vinciūnas, Formation of Civil Resistance Values in History Lessons: Case Analysis of One Vilnius High School.
3. International conference Europe. Capital. Transformations: Vilnius in the 19th and 21st Centuries, Vilnius (Lithuania). Report Dr I. Leonavičiūtė Expressing Historical Memory at Stephen Bathory University, or How Joachim Outstripped Adam.
4. International conference Decolonisierung in Mittel-, Sud, - und Osteuropa, Munich (Germany). Invited key speaker Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė at the panel Politics of Memory and History.

MOST IMPORTANT RECEIVED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR R&D ACTIVITIES
1. Assoc. Prof. G. Kirkienė, Knight's Cross of the Order of Gediminas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
2. Assoc.Prof. G. Kirkiene, awarded by the Charitable Foundation in Kiev The Crown of Princes Ostrogski" with the honorary award - Order of the First Degree;

MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. T. Bairašauskaitė
• member of the Committee of Humanities and Social Sciences, Research Council of Lithuania , www.lmt.lt/en/about-the-research-council/contacts/2279/committee-of-humanities-and-social-sciences/d22.
Prof. M. Drėmaitė
• member of the Scientific Board of the Joint Programming Initiative Cultural Heritage (2020-2023, EU), www.heritageresearch-hub.eu/homepage/joint-programming-initiative-on-cultural;
• leader of the expert group preparing the Kaunas Modernism nomination file for the UNESCO World Heritage Centre;
• member of the Lithuanian Culture and Arts Council, https://lrkm.lrv.lt/lt/struktura-ir-kontaktai/tarybos-kolegijos-komisijos-ir-darbo-grupes/lietuvos-kulturos-ir-meno-taryba;
• member of Commission of Experts on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/4ca716d2eeb911e99ab7ff5a9ea34fcc?jfwid=oou0hruq2.
Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė
• member of the Council of Lithuanian Radio and Television;
• chair of the International Board Trustees of the Thomas Mann Cultural Center, www.mann.lt/index.php;
• member of the National ICOMOS Committee.
Assoc. Prof. G.Kirkienė
• expert on the logo development committee Logo for 400 Years of the Martyrdom of St. Joseph Kuncevich, Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Assoc. Prof. S. Kulevičius
• member of Commission of Experts on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/4ca716d2eeb911e99ab7ff5a9ea34fcc?jfwid=oou0hruq2;
• member of the National Commission for Cultural Heritage, https://vkpk.lt/en/about-us/commission-members.

Assoc. prof. N. Šepetys
• member of the Working Group of the Freedom Struggle and State Historical Memory Commission of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania;
• chairman of the Expert Commission of the Lithuanian Science Council;
• chairman of the Vilnius university Senate Studies Committee.
Assoc. Prof. R. Šermukšnytė
• member of the Council National Museum of Lithuania;
• member of the Council of Trakai History Museum;
• member of the experts commission on the Evaluation of Applications for the Dissemination of Knowledge and Rehabilitation of the Immovable Cultural Heritage.
Assoc. prof. A. Švedas
• member of the Council of the Lithuanian Institute of Culture;
• member of the Council of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore;
• member of the curatorship of the Thomas Mann Center;
• member of the Art Council of the Vilnius Small Theater;
• member of the Council of the National Museum of Lithuania.
Dr V. Janušauskaitė
• member of the National Commission for Cultural Heritage, https://vkpk.lt/en/about-us/commission-members;
• member of the Vilnius City Immovable Heritage Assessment Council, Vilnius City Municipality, https://aktai.vilnius.lt/document/30294152;
• member of the Architects’ Chamber of Lithuania;
• member of the Architects’ Professional Certification Commission.

MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
1. Prof. A. Bumblauskas, a series of video lessons “Interesting history lessons” (Delfi Plius), www.delfi.lt/temos/idomiosios-istorijos-pamokos#/.
2. Assoc. Prof. L. Skurvydaitė, Assoc. Prof. E. Raila, participation at TV show Women Streets (National Broadcaster), www.lrt.lt/mediateka/video/moteru-gatves.
3. Assoc. Prof. A. Švedas, host a radio show “Homo cultus. The Territory of the Historian” on LRT Klasikos radijas, www.lrt.lt/tema/homo-cultus-istoriko-teritorija;
4. Assoc. Prof. S. Kulevičius, heritage festival Heritas (together with partners).

BIOARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH CENTRE

21 Čiurlionio, LT-03101 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7284
E-mail

Head – Prof. Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen

STAFF
Professors: Dr Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen.
Associate professors: Dr G. Piličiauskienė.
Lecturers: Dr J. Kozakaitė (part-time).
Assistants: R. Karaliūtė (part-time), M. Abdrakhmanov.
Researchers: Dr M. Depaermentie, P. Guzowsk; P. Pokorny.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Palaeodiet
• Past food systems
• Crop cultivation and processing strategies
• Plant remains
• Zooarchaeology
• Prehistorical migrations
• History of hunting, fishing, animal husbandry
• Earliest appearance and geographical origins of agriculture in the east Baltic Region
• Economy of prehistoric populations in Central Asia
• Human osteology and paleopathology
• Epidemiology
• Forensic bioarchaeology

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2023

International Research Projects
HORIZON ERC-2022-COG. MILLWAYS: Past and Future Millet Foodways (ERC CoG 101087964). Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen. 2023–2028.
The project will use broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) – and will bridge a large geographic territory tracking the earliest millet dispersals across eastern-central Europe from the mid. 2nd mill. BCE onwards along the south-north axis all the way to millet cultivation limit. The project will utilize the high carbon isotope values of millet, resulting from its C4-photosynthetic pathway in conjunction with the distinct miliacin biomarker in order to identify its consumption, with respect to shifting climates, human mobility, demographic categories of sex, age and changes of plant use across historical times.
Publication: G. Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, R. Laužikas, “A Brief History of Broomcorn Millet Cultivation in Lithuania”, MDPI Agronomy, 2023, vol. 13(8), 2171.

Contractual Research
Permanent contracts (analysis of the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological material across sites in Lithuania and beyond).

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
University of Tartu (Estonia)
University of Helsinki (Finland)
Center for Baltic and Scandinavian Archeology (ZBSA) (Germany)
Max Planck Institute for the Science and Human History Jena (Germany)
Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Japan)
Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University (Poland)
Stockholm University (Sweden)
School of Archaeology, University of Oxford (UK)
National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Lithuania)
National Museum of Lithuania (Lithuania)
Kaunas T. Ivanauskas Zoology Museum (Lithuania)
Ata Kyzylorda University (Kazakhstan)
Uniwersytet w Białymstoku (Poland)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen
• reviewer in: Nature: Scientific Reports; Open Archaeology; Archaeological Research of Eurasia; Antiquity; Quaternary International; STAR; Science;
• head editor of a special issue (together with Xinyi Liu) Millet and Pseudocereals: New Insights into Archaeobotany, Plant Domestication and Global Foodways, www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/special_issues/millet_archaeobotany_domestication;
• associate editor of the journal Archaeological Research in Asia;
• editor of the journal Kamena Doba Ukrainy (Stone Age of Ukraine);
• member/expert of the ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments and Sites).
Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė
• review editor of Zooarchaeology specialty section of a multidisciplinary journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-archaeology/sections/zooarchaeology/editors.

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. ISBA10. Keynote Prof. G. Motuzaite Matuzeviciute Biomolecular Approach to Millet Journey across Time and Space, https://isba10.ut.ee/program.
2. XXIX European Congress of Archaeologists (EAA), Belfast (Northern Ireland). Report: Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė (with co-authors G. Vėlius, K. Minkevičius, R. Vengalis, M. Pilkauskas) Animal Welfare in Lithuania in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period: Exploited and Sometimes Perhaps Loved.

MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen
• member of Scientific Commission of Archaeology of the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/9de3400296e311eaa51db668f0092944?jfwid=2r1mnh0a

MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
1. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzeviciutė Keen, Invited lecture at Washington University of St. Louis Globalization in Prehistory: Reflection and Perspectives.

CENTRE FOR STATELESS CULTURES

7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7293
E-mail:

Head – Assoc. Prof. Grigorijus Potašenko

STAFF
Associate professors: Dr G. Potašenko

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Region’s stateless minority cultures (cultures that do not benefit from the moral and material support of a “home country” anywhere):
• Yiddish
• Old Believers
• Tatars
• Karaimes
• Roma multicultural studies

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2023

National Research Projects
Research Council of Lithuania. The Old Believers’ Church in Lithuania (1918-2018) (No S-LIP-19-69). Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko. 2018–2023.
The main object of this research in 2023 was to review and partially correct the texts of the monograph (930 pp. without index) and the collection of sources (430 pp. with index) after editing the Lithuanian language (January - September), as well as to prepare an index of personal names for the collection of sources and start preparing of index of personal names for the monograph.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Old Believers Research Commission of the International Committee of Slavists
Torun Mikołaj Kopernik university (Poland)
Institute of Social Research (Lithuania)
National Minorities Department under the of Lithuania Republic Government (Lithuania)
Department for the Protection of Antique Monuments (Estonia)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko
• member of Old Believers Research Commission of the International Committee of Slavists (www.staroobr-kom.ru);
• vice-chairman of Lithuanian Slavists Society;
• editorial board member of the journal Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski (East European Review), www.uwm.edu.pl/cbew/p.wschodnioeuropejski.html;
• editorial board member of the journal Fontes Slaviae Orthodoxae, http://www.uwm.edu.pl/slowianie/index.php/czasopisma/Fontes_Slaviae_Orthodoxae.

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. International Conference Language and Culture of the Old Believe, Tartu (Estonia). Report Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko (with coauthor) G. Frolov and Rezekne Icon Painting Center (online).
2. The 11th International Congress of Belarusian Studies, Gdańsk (Poland). Report Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko First Time in Europe. Re-emigration, the Formation of the Old Believer Church in Lithuania and its Official Recognition (“Provisional Rules” of May 20, 1923)“.

MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko
• member of the Academic Committee on National Minorities (Department of National Minorities, Ministry of Culture of Lithuania).

CONSULTATIONS PROVIDED BY THE UNIT TO THE PUBLIC OR ECONOMIC ENTITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko
• consultations and comments during the preparation of the document “Lithuania 2050” for the Chancellery of the Government of Lithuania, related to the situation of national minorities and integration in Lithuania

MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko
• science popularization book История Данилишкской старообрядческой общины и Свято-Троицкий храм = Grigorijus Potašenko, Daniliškių sentikių bendruomenės istorija ir Šv. Trejybės cerkvė.

CENTRE FOR STUDIES OF HISTORY OF EAST EUROPEAN JEWS

7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 67 212902
E-mail:

Head – Prof. Jurgita Verbickienė

STAFF
Professors: Dr J. Verbickienė.
Assistants: Dr A. Naudžiūnienė, Dr D. Troskovaitė.

RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Studies of history and heritage of East European Jews (including the Karaite’s communities)
• Socio-economic and socio-cultural history of Jews in Lithuania (14-20th century)
• Education and presentation of Jewish heritage in contemporary society
• Antisemitism studies
• Jewish migration from Eastern Europe

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
Research Council of Lithuania. The Infrastructure of the GDL Border with Prussia: A Study of Social Environment and Economic Efficiency in the Second Half of the 18th Century (S-MIP-21-50). Prof. J. Verbickienė, 2021–2024.
The borderland between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Prussia was one of the major locations of foreign trade. It comprised the movement of goods by land and waterways, as well as a wide infrastructure of trade, services for traveling tradespeople, and border control. Using the documents prepared by the officials of the GDL Treasury, which provide a detailed description and evaluation of the existing infrastructure, reveal the different capacities of separate customs, the extent of smuggling, and the movement of goods, as well as the accounts of transportation of goods composed by nobles’ officials, and other sources, the project aims to examine the infrastructure of the GLD-Prussian borderland, its social environment and economic efficiency. The analysis of the movement of goods to and from the border (their assortment, quantities, and modes of transportation in relation to seasonal change) enables to reveal the network of individuals responsible for the transportation as well as the duration of the process, and to explore other hitherto largely ignored topics, such as the modus operandi of tradespeople, alternative ways of trading (smuggling), ways to circumvent the border control, and the everyday life of the people and officials living and operating on the borderland between Prussia and the GDL. The central research question is how the region, which enabled, supposedly, the largest flow of goods, functioned and what was its economic throughput, which objects constituted the borderland’s infrastructure and what changes it underwent in the course of time. The development of the traveling algorithm, as well as the analysis of topics, related to the quality and quantity of the infrastructure, economic and social functioning of the borderland region and neighboring localities in the second half of the 18th century will be based on methods of historical research and the techniques digital humanities.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Graz University (Austria)
German Historical Institute (Poland and Vilnius Brunch)
Hebrew University Jerusalem (Israel)
Tel-Aviv University (Israel)
Jewish Historical Institute (Poland)
Warsaw University (Poland)
Southampton University (UK)
Texas State University (USA)
Yeshiva University (USA)
YIVO Institute (USA)
Association of Jewish Cultural Road / Jewish Heritage Lithuania (Lithuania)
Institute of Lithuanian History (Lithuania)
Kėdainiai Regional Museum (Lithuania)
Lituanian Radio and Television (LRT) (Lithuania)
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Lithuania)
Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History (Lithuania)

OTHER REEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. J. Verbickienė
• member of the Association of Baltic Regional Studies;
• member of European Association of Jewish Studies;
• member of the World Union of Jewish Studies;
• member of the National Congress of Lithuanian Historians;
• editorial board member of the journal Przeszłość demograficzna Polski. Materiał i Studia (Poland’s Demographic Past, https://wnus.edu.pl/pdp/pl/page/1457673467,
• editorial board member of the journal Цаитшрифт (European Humanities University, Vilnius).
Dr D. Troskovaitė
• member of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies;
• member of the European Association of Jewish Studies;
• member of the World Union for Jewish Studies.