Ramonaitė links Soviet nostalgia to grief over lost industry

Some Lithuanians’ less critical view of the Soviet past may reflect nostalgia for industrial life rather than support for the Soviet system, political scientist Ainė Ramonaitė told LRT.lt.

Ramonaitė, a professor at Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science, said people in interviews often describe grief over the economic changes after 1990, including the collapse of factories, communities and ways of life. They remember the late Soviet period as a time when industry expanded and factories and cities were built.

She said these accounts closely resemble the experiences of people in deindustrialised regions in Western countries, where the loss of industry has also prompted sadness and a sense of collective loss, even though it did not necessarily mean an economic downturn.

Ramonaitė said the similarities have led her to question whether what was often labelled Soviet nostalgia in Lithuania is better understood as nostalgia for an industrial past. In Lithuania, that sentiment is often found among supporters of the political left and voters who turn to parties presenting themselves as rescuers.

Such resentment can be channelled by more radical political parties, she said. In the West, it has been used to explain support for Donald Trump, Brexit and the Alternative for Germany party. Ramonaitė said a similar dynamic could help explain some Lithuanian voters’ support for political “saviours”, including Remigijus Žemaitaitis, who can draw on accumulated anger without offering solutions.