Work

An Authoritarian Landscape: Transformation of the Soviet Lithuanian Countryside Through the Life and Art of Lida Meškaitytė

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The article explores the concept of the Authoritarian Landscape, defined as a physical and perceptual environment shaped by authoritarian regimes. In such contexts, cultural landscapes are restructured to serve ideological and political agendas, simultaneously influencing environmental experiences in ways that often lead to the erosion of local identities and agency. To get to the bottom of this, the case study of Smalininkai—a former German river harbor and border city, transformed into a new agricultural center during the second Soviet occupation of Lithuania—is analyzed. The miniature paintings and ego documents of a self-taught artist Lida Meškaitytė provide a unique account of this transformation. While her life story and naïve paintings are co-opted by ideological narratives, contributing to the creation of a new local identity, her artistic practices also stand for subjectivity, resistance, and eco-consciousness under an oppressive regime.

Source: Space and Culture

DOI: 10.1177/12063312251363076

Author: Rugilė Rožėnė

Institution: Vilnius University

Language: English

Topic: Eastern European Communism and Reforms

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650