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Author : D. Surzhik
Research associate, Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Science
(History)
IN HIS LATEST MONOGRAPH, "By Fire, Bay-
onet and Flattery," Vladimir Simindey investigated
an important problem that has so far remained
barely analyzed in Soviet/Russian historiography,
viz. interpretations of history and impacts of World
Wars One and Two on the Baltic republics and their
development between the wars as presented by of-
ficial analysts in the Baltic states. The author has
pointed out that the works recently published with
official support in the three Baltic states offer a nationalist interpretation readily accepted in the
academic, educational and socio-political spheres.
His book based on the latest articles that appeared in historical journals, official multivolume
publications and booklets issued by museums offers objective assessment of their content.
The monograph consists of three parts, each dealing with a distinctive subject and its interpre-
tations in fundamental official historiographical works, the legal basis that regulates the studies
of history, main trends and assessments of historical works in the Baltics (the Republic of Latvia
serves a pertinent example), as well as some of the author's reviews of historical works and doc-
umentary publications that appeared in 2009-2012.
The author has demonstrated a good knowledge of the region's specifics and the specifics of
the knowledge of the region among the Russian readers.
The author has rightly pointed out that the contemporary Baltic historians do not pay equal at-
tention to the above-mentioned events and their studies are not equally profound.
Vladimir Simindey relies on the most illustrative works dealing with the period when the Baltic
republics became independent to analyze the methodology used by the contemporary Baltic au-
thors. Many of them are not alien to irrelevant "apocalyptical forecasts" that associate the events
of 1917-1919 and 1939-1940 with the "modernization" of history.
The reviewed monograph contains a conceptually important observation: Each republic treats
the history of the revolutionary events of 1917-1922 in its own specific way. The Lithuanian au-
thors offer a detailed investigation of the social and economic hardships caused by World War
One; their Latvian colleagues pay more attention to the 1917 February revolution and the related
discussions in the Latvian political class of that time.
The reader cannot miss the description of wide anti-Hitler sentiments and protests in the Re-
public of Latvia in 1933-1934 supported by the Social-Democrats in the Latvian parliament.
However, Latvia retreated after a short and cruel customs war with the Third Reich and never
dared to resume its efforts to cut short Nazi propaganda on its territory.
http://interaffairs.ru
Vagaries of Historical Memory in the Baltics