Burial sites of Soviet soldiers from World War II: (II) instruments of soft power
II World War II

In 2000, work began at the burial sites of Soviet soldiers from World War II: their concrete structures were replaced, the bodies of the buried were recalculated, and new records appeared. The reconstructions took place at the initiative of the Russian Federation and at their expense. And they took place according to their images or expectations, to the extent that the guardians of Lithuanian heritage, memory, and statehood allowed them to unfold (forbade them, did not notice, did not realize). Below are several paradoxes that illustrate these actions and what was behind them. The story of 2000–2010 is told, which later in Lithuania could no longer develop in the direction necessary for one interested party. However, it is an eloquent story, testifying that heritage can also be used as an instrument of soft power by another state, with which it wants to consolidate its power.

Numbers and forgeries. In the case of Lithuania, after 1990, the burial sites of Soviet soldiers from World War II found themselves in an unfavorable environment: in the pro-Lithuanian environment, they are identified as foreignness or at least do not have the opportunity to spread as places of memory of dominant groups and be what they were created for. However, despite such circumstances, after 2000, different processes took place than one might expect: these places did not decrease, but on the contrary, they increased. The trustee of the Russian Embassy in Lithuania, the Public Institution “War Heritage Institute”, submitted its own list of burial sites of Soviet soldiers. In 1973 – 176, in 1990 – 167, in 2016 – 160. This is how many burial sites of Soviet soldiers from World War II are recorded in official documents of the Lithuanian heritage protection system. However, according to the institute, in 2010 There were 213 such places in Lithuania. So 46 places (22 percent) more, if we compare them with the data of 1990. Was it not so carelessly calculated and inventoried in the Soviet era, the most precious national asset, its pride? Are the new places found by the institute real? Let's check:

• at least 8 of them were buried with one soldier each – these are more like graves than cemeteries; at least 7 more places resemble graves but are not cemeteries , where 2–4 people were laid to rest;
• at least 7 of them are events (deaths, battles), but not burial sites – there are probably no bodies lying there;
• at least 11 of them are related to the Bolshevik invasion of 1919, the elimination of Soviet activists in 1941 (June Uprising), the partisan fighting of 1944–1953, but not the Great Patriotic War , and the bodies of Soviet partisans, Soviet activists, partisans, Holocaust victims, but not soldiers - these are graves of other bodies, or the number of those other bodies is not inferior to the number of remains of soldiers who fell in World War II.

Heritage is usually falsified not just for the sake of it, but to bring benefit. The compilation published by the institute replaced the Soviet-era map of the burial places of Soviet Union soldiers in Lithuania. The goal is to discover/invent as much of the Great Patriotic War heritage as possible in the Lithuanian landscape.

Stone and meanings. Work was done not only with numbers, but also in the landscape and stone. After the reconstructions, new records appeared at the burial sites – the cemetery of Soviet soldiers who died in the 1941–1945 war . They differ from the concepts used in the Soviet era ( the cemetery of Soviet soldiers of the Great Patriotic War ) and today's Lithuanian terminology ( the burial place of Soviet soldiers of the Second World War ). Thus, after the reconstructions, the term Great Patriotic War, which is harsh to Lithuanians and no longer compatible with political correctness, has disappeared. However, the truth is that the sound has been changed, but not the content. The Great Patriotic War refers to the war that began in 1941. Namely 1941, not 1939. The term is cunning and insidious, because it conceals the events of 1939–1941. a series of events when the Soviets, under the guise of World War II, carried out occupations of other countries. Replacing the term Great Patriotic War with the words War of 1941–1945 did not change anything – the meaning remained the same. It may have been a painful bow (a concept that was itself a history, a symbol and a place of memory was sacrificed), but it played into the dominant narrative of the place. If we were to learn the history of World War II from the burial sites of Soviet soldiers, we would believe that this war began in 1941. If we recall the network of sites created during the Soviet era and that it has essentially remained that way to this day, we would hardly find a textbook on World War II in Lithuania with a larger circulation (in terms of accessibility).

Memory wars. During the Soviet era, places commemorating post-war events were viewed with reserve. There were such places, they were turned into monuments, but there was no rush to publicize them or elevate them to objects of national significance, for example, to declare them cultural monuments. The creators of the new collection were bolder – at least 7 such places were included in the collection, some of them reconstructed. When we enter places called “Cemetery of Soviet soldiers who died in the 1941–1945 war” or “Cemetery for Soviet soldiers and victims of fascism who died in the 1941–1945 war”, such entries greet us at the entrance, and we find other inscriptions in them: “unknown people’s defender”; “district secretary / 1907–1941”; “village party leader / 1904–1946”; "newcomer / 1885–1946" etc. According to the narrative constructed in these places: those who died after 1945 are victims , their abusers are fascists , and what happened is a continuation of the war against fascism . In the modern Lithuanian narrative, everything is laid out differently: the first would be thugs, criminals and scoundrels, the second would be partisans, heroes, and the fight against the occupiers and for Freedom was going on. These two narratives are not parallel. They fundamentally negate each other and compromise is impossible here.