Virginijus SAVUKYNAS
Manipulations in the political field
In the broadest sense, manipulation is an attempt to make others do as you like. Asking, threatening, offering, corruption and blackmail are various forms of manipulation. Political life is impossible without manipulation because it is intended that ideas become collective actions and decisions. By exploiting these concepts of manipulation, the interest groups and their leaders are chasing their own personal and selfish goals (page 2).

Vytautas RUBAVIÈIUS
Nomenclature's memory's discourse and the politics of identity
Part I. After their independence, Lithuanian society is experiencing a two-fold distancing from the past, marked by two mnemonic waves. The crimes of the Soviet regime were recorded by the memoirs of deportees, meanwhile the new century is marked by another type of memoirs – those written by former communist officials with an aim of reconstructing the past so that their images become positive. The latter wave became stronger supported by memoirs of former cultural nomenclature and academic elite. The author analyzes the politically-legitimizing aspect by comparing memoirs of various groups of the nomenclature (page 6).

Kêstutis SKRUPSKELIS
How was it that we were born Lithuanians?
Sometimes we witness attempts to force Lithuania's development into the opposition between civic and national state, and accordingly the first one is considered democratic, tolerant and much higher than the latter. The opposition between civic and national state is an abstract model, and as other theoretical constructions it only partially reflects reality. There is no civic "classical democracy" where group identity does not restrict the expression of the individual as a citizen of a certain state, writes the professor of philosophy (page 13).

Almis GRYBAUSKAS
Poems (page 21)

Edvardas GUDAVIÈIUS
Dots through two dots
The death of Gintaras Beresnevièius is a great loss. The author and renowned historian remembers his two meetings with recently deceased young mythologist and scholar of religions Gintaras Beresnevièius. "We served the same Muse, but we chose different ways: he followed Algirdas Julien Greimas, I followed Henryk Lowmianski. We were separated by a legendary part of Lithuanian chronicles. He treated it as an authentic source of information, I – as a humanistic artistic creation of historiography (page 24).

Kêstutis SAPOKA
Marginal aesthetics: some conceptual possibilities
The author analyzes on what ground we can treat art therapy and psycho-pathologic expression as aesthetic phenomena (page 26).

Rita MIKUÈIONYTE
The aesthetic intentions of NijolE SaltenytE
About the artist's exhibition in gallery "Aukso pjuvis" (page 33).

Audronis LIUGA
Old intrigues during the season of no intrigue
This theatre season lacked intrigue. Not the intrigue of sports competitions where the winners are decided on. The only intriguing parallels were Faust by Eimuntas Nekrosius and Ivona the Duchess of Burgundy by Jonas Vaitkus. Both plays were manifestations of Lithuania's theatre's dependence on artistic opposition between Nekrosius and Vaitkus: introvert reconsideration of self and critical outlook of social reality (page 34).

Ramune BALEVIÈIUTE
The Longing of Heroe
The creation of an actor is the most sensitive part of theatrical art and it reacts rapidly to social and artistic changes. The theatre critic discusses four roles played by actors this season: Faust played by Vladas Bagdonas (directed by Nekrosius), Foyerbach played by Valentinas Masalskis (in Tankred Dorst play "I, Foyerbach", directed by Masalskis), The Unknown, played by Vytautas Anuzis (directed by O. Korsunovas, in The Road to Damascus by Strindberg) and Aldona Bendoriute's roles in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, directed by Kristian Smeds) (page 38).

Sarune TRINKUNAITE
When "an actor is the stage"
This was the motto of "New Drama Action 07". Different forms of expression and the unique and specific nature of each performer reflect the variety of acting styles and offers a great potential to the actor's theatre (page 44).

Audrone GIRDZIJAUSKAITE
A Small Script to Remember Saulius
Memoirs about the recently deceased and renowned Lithuanian film critic Saulius Macaitis (page 49).

Vita GRUODYTE
A look at contemporary Lithuanian composers' situation
Young Lithuanian composers have become very visible on the music scene, and their peculiarities have become exposed. Not only in a stylistic aspect, but in a social and economic sense. It was thus an impulse to concentrate on the changes in the musical environment. The idea of the poll was stimulated by a wish to make them respond to some essential questions (page 56).

Nora IKSTENA
Old cranks of Elza Kuga
Short-story (page 59).

Skaidra TRILUPAITYTE
Global museums of the XXI century, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the rhetoric of Vilnius' cultural planning
Globalisation and so-called new economy overturned traditional concepts of city planning, which considers culture a as less important component of economic and cultural development. It was understood that the case might be to the contrary. Shopping malls, recreational centres, and new stadiums have become catalysts of city growth. New museums have also brought important changes that are discussed in the article (page 64).

Andrius MARTINKUS
The Russian Idea in the philosophy of "Eurasians": History and Present
Recently there have been many discussions about the future and of the quality of democracy. The state of democracy of our big neighbour, however, is analyzed very superficially in mass media. The author reassesses the rich Russian historical and cultural-philosophical tradition, especially the line of though of "Eurasians" that came into being in the thirties in the twentieth century and which recently has become active (page 77).

Mindaugas TAMOSAITIS
The policy of the Lithuanian government toward the Left and the Communist Intelligentsia during 1927-1940
It was during this period, when the Leftist ideology became popular in Europe and Lithuania, that the Leftist intelligentsia of the country paved way for the spread of Communist ideology. Students of Kaunas' Vytautas Magnus University that belonged to several groupings were especially active. The state was unable to stop the penetration of Communist ideology at this university. No wonder that these activists were promoted to leading posts at the beginning of Lithuania's occupation (page 83).

Albertas JUSKA
What the Lithuanian government and inhabitants of Klaipeda were unable to understand in 1923-1939
The author investigates the mistakes made by Lithuanian government in the Klaipeda region. He asks what happened to make Lithuanians elect only five delegates to local parliament, and often backed German parties and their candidates, why so many people sent their children to German schools, and why the region gave itself up to German or even Nazi ideology. The historian suggests that we should look back at the beginning of the twentieth century in order to find explanations (page 90).

Rimvydas PETRAUSKAS
About the Grand Lithuanian Duchy After the Lublin Union
Review of the book by Mathias Niendorf, Das Grossfurstentu Litauen. Studien zur Nationsbildung in Fruhen Neuzeit (1569-1795), Harrassowitz Verlag, 2006, p. 329 (page 95).

Aleksandra ALEKSANDRAVIÈIUTE
Review of a book by Grazina Martinaitiene Kontuso juostos Lietuvoje, Vilnius: Kulturos, filosofijos ir meno institutes, 2007, p. 404 (page 99).

Algimantas VALANTIEJUS
Essayistic variations of love themes reading Zygmunt Bauman
Review of the book by Zygmunt Bauman "Likvidi meile. Apie zmoniù rysiù trapuma (Liquid Love), [translated from English by Almantas Samalavièius], Vilnius: Apotrofa, 2007, 274 p. (page 102).

Krescencija SURKUTE
Claustrophobia
Ironical essay on Lithuania's political life (page 110 ).

Published 2007-10-25