Almantas SAMALAVICHIUS. Urban spaces and the culture of groceries. During the period of dependence, urban structure of Lithuanian cities was largely affected by Soviet policies of urbanisation and industrialization. Presently, those who have the largest influence on municipal policies and the changes in the planning of urban spaces are mostly (chain) shopping centres and shopping malls – developed by people with financial power to control not only municipal but state government as well. The author of the essay explores the present-day climate of nihilism and ignorance responsible for enormous damage done to Lithuania's capital as well as provincial towns that have so far managed to maintain their original historical structure. He also traces the line of Western economic and social thinking that over several decades provided alternatives for a different kind of approach, and insists that through fifty years of dependence we missed some important social lessons (page 2).

Ruta BAGDANAVICHIUTE. Hopes and despair of Lithuanian academic intellectual circles. Today, culture and education are opposed to business and politics. In order not to loose the identity of our country among other identities, it is important to create a positive self-image. Lithuania and the Baltic region in general could lead the way in the development of humanities and prolific cultural studies (page 6).

Algimantas VALANTIEJUS. Economics, politics, and religion or sociological marginal readings (II). From the point of view of implementation of democratic government, the revolution in Lithuania lacked competence (that is pardonable, since it is just a starting point – people were naïve and romantic) but was also cynical. After implementing government from above and dressing in credentials given to it by the nation, political power split the country into profitable and non-profitable parts and sold the freedom of the whole community (very cheaply) to the capitalist economic market and in the initial phase destroyed the principle that assures that power represent society and not just itself (page 12).

Vygantas VAREIKIS. Live myths or who made Klaipeda region "free"? Seventeen years have passed since restoration of independence, but many researchers still guard the mysteries of the uprising of 1923 and disseminate new myths, using the arguments that were popular among émigré and Soviet Lithuanian historians. Soon, there will be new articles about "eternal strife" of inhabitants of Lithuania Minor to join Lithuania, as well as myths about Martynas Jankus and local rebels who joined Lithuanian military and paramilitary troops to make Klaipeda region "free". Historical arguments that contradict these opinions will be left on the margins (page 18).

Audrius GERULAITIS. Lithuanian prospect for Lithuanian youth. What are the prospects for school leavers on the university market and students on the job market? Students blame the quality of studies, employers blame former students. Who will work up the courage to demand real reform of a rotten system? (page 22)

Herkus KUNCHIUS. The ray of Kalibatas. Short story (page 23).

Irena ALEKSAITE. The close meeting of periods. "Patriots" staged by Jonas Vaitkus may be called a continuation of political satire, headed off by Witold Gombrowicz's Ivonna, Princess of Burgunda, not to mention strongly critical plays staged by the director in Kaunas and Vilnius theatres. Now Vaitkus has discovered playwright Petras Vaichiunas, writes the theatre critic in a review about the play "Patriots", staged in Jaunimo theatre (page 27).

Laima KANOPKIENE. The drama of everyday beauty. Review of the painter Bronius Grazys's exhibition in Vilnius "Lietuvos aidas" gallery (page 32).

Violeta KRISTOPAITYTE. Improvisation on motifs of nature and femininity. About the exhibition of jewellery artist Regina Nemanyte-Rinkevichiene in Kaunas "Aukso pjuvis" gallery (page 33).

Sigita KASPARAITE. In the park of documents or "Life on both sides of Nemunas". Alytus in documents, libraries and museums. New exposition of Alytus land museum "Life on both sides of Nemunas" became an image representing various periods in the history of Alytus, as well as the history of the whole country. Exposition is important because the history represented scatters stereotypic myths claiming that Alytus was an industrial city; it reflects various aspects of genius loci (page 36).

Max ALHAU. Poems. Translated from French by Tomas Taskauskas (page 38).

Anette BALDAUF. Shopping town USA. Victor Gruen, Cold War and the shopping mall. Victor Gruen completed major urban interventions in the US and western Europe that fundamentally altered the course of western urban development. Anette Baldauf describes how Gruen's fame rests mostly on the insertion of commercial machines into the decentred US suburbs. These so-called "shopping towns" were supposed to strengthen civic life and structure the amorphous, mono-functional agglomerations of suburban sprawl. Yet within a decade, Gruen's designs had become the architectural extension of the policies of racial and gender segregation underlying the US postwar consumer utopia. Continuation (page 40).

Literary perspectives. "It is a paradox, but after a long period of enclosure and isolation we know very little about what is happening in literatures of other countries. Despite (or because) of multitude translations it becomes difficult to find out what tendencies take place in other European (or regional) literatures. With the help of Eurozine, the journal will try to fill in this gap publishing analytical overviews of literatures of other European countries, hoping that this series will contribute to "The reading year" (2008)." The "perspectives" are started by an introductory essay of Eurozine's editor in chief Carl Henrik FREDRIKSSON "The re-transnationalization of literary criticism" and Estonian literary critic Märt VÄLJATAGA "Waiting for the great Estonian novel". (page 45)

Contemporary philosophers discuss Nietzsche. From Kritika & Kontext. Continuation (page 52).

Elvyra VALIUKAITE. About an artist who was forgotten at home. Biocritical notes on painter Vytautas Kasiulis, who left for Paris after WWII (page 60).

Valdas PAPIEVIS. Kasiulis in Paris. From the talks with artist Vytautas Kasiulis's wife Brone Kasiuliene (page 61).

Mindaugas PELECKIS. Origins and prospects of New Age (I). The year 1971 is considered the birthday of the New Age movement – when a book by Baba Ram Dass "Be here now" and the periodical East-West Journal was published. However, the roots of the movement are traced in writings of Alice A. Bailey. The so-called Western esoteric tradition was influenced by Kabalists, Gnostics, works by Paracelsus and Jacob Boehme, masons, spiritists and theosofic doctrines. The first part of the article is a discussion of what New Age is. Lithuanian movements are being surveyed(page 67).

Inga BARANAUSKIENE. Survila – the forgotten son of Lithuanian Grand Duke Kestutis. Lithuanian chronicles claim that Kestutis had six sons. Alas, while indicating the number of his sons, chronicles did not mention their names. Identification of two of them became the historians' headache since the second half of the fifteenth century. Where did the sixth son disappear to? Maybe chroniclers forgot to mention him? Basing her concept on Vygandas Marburgietis, author of the fourteenth century chronicle where it says Butautas fled to the Order "with his brother Survila", the historian puts forth the hypothesis that Survila was one of Grand Duke Kestutis' sons and became a traitor (page 75).

Arvydas SLIOGERIS. Plato in Maria's land. Review of the book by Naglis Kardelis "Vienoves izvalga Platono filosofijoje" (The insight of unity in Plato's philosophy) (page 80).

Tomas KIAUKA. Has Christianity a future? Review of the book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer "Pasipriesinimas ir nuolankumas. Laiskai ir uzrasai is nelaisves" (Widerstand und Ergebung, 1951), translated from German by Irena Tumavichiute (page 85).

Deimante SEPORAITYTE. About borderlands: let's meet there. Review of the book by Arturas Tereskinas "Ese apie skirtingus kunus: kultura, lytis, seksualumas" (Essay about different bodies: culture, gender, sexuality) (page 91).

Krescencija SURKUTE. Tscheslavius positura. Ironical essay on Lithuania's cultural and political life (page 94)

Published 2008-04-17