Abstract
In declaring Russia the successor state to the USSR in 1991, the Kremlin sought to retain and restore its political and economic influence in the so-called post-Soviet area—Central Europe, the Baltic countries, and Central Asia. The Kremlin-controlled media are currently engaged in strengthening the myth of the Soviet Union as a success story. In today’s Russia, and in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, the three Baltic countries occupied by the USSR after the Second World War, a narrative combining the ideas of ‘Soviet investment’ and ‘ungrateful Baltic people’ is being popularised: the Baltic states are clearly demonstrating their lack of gratitude for generous Soviet era policies, while attempts to describe the Soviet occupation from the Baltic point of view are dismissed as falsification of history.
The purpose of this article is to describe the main directions used in Soviet propaganda to deceive society about the socio-economic situation in Latvia, and in the Baltic states in general, during the first decade of the Soviet occupation (1940–1950). The article also offers insight into the socio-economic realities of the period of occupation and the current topicality of the issue—links between Soviet propaganda and the current communications policy of the Russian Federation.
Keywords—Latvia, Baltic states, USSR, Russia, Soviet propaganda, myths, strategic communications
About the Author
Gatis Krūmiņš is Senior Researcher in Communications Ecosystems and Technologies and Associate Professor of Media and Communications at the Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in Latvia. His main areas of interest are economic history and the role of history in strategic communications.
Bibliography
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Annus, Epp, ‘Between Arts and Politics: A Postcolonial View on Baltic Cultures of the Soviet Era’, Journal of Baltic Studies, Vol. 47, № 1 (January 2016)
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‘Ėkspert: 2020 god stanet dlja Pribaltiki perelomnym’ [Expert: 2020 Will Be a Turning Point for the Baltic states], RuBaltic.ru, 30 September 2016. [accessed 12 July 2017]
‘Počemu ėkonomika Pribaltiki byla xoroša tol’ko v sostave SSSR’ [WhyWas the Baltic Economy Good Only in the USSR?], Stena.ee, 23 August 2016. [accessed 12 July 2017]
‘Po “okkupacionnomu mifu” Pribaltiki udarili arxivnymi faktami’ [According to the “occupation myth” of the Baltic states, they were Struck by archival Facts], RuBaltic.ru, 17 December 2015. [accessed 12 July 2017]
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Soviet Union: Who, to Whom, and How Much?], Republished by Politrussia. com, 26 April, 2016, [Accessed 27 June 2018]
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Video
Gatis Krūmiņš, ‘Keep permanently’, video, Vidzemes Augstskola, 18 March 2017.
Archival materials
Russian Federation Archives
Archive of the Socio-political History of the Russian Federation, f. 600 (Documents of the Latvian Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union), descr. 1, f. 3, pp. 85–91.
Archive of the Contemporary History of the Russian Federation, F. 5 (Administration of Central Committee of Communist Party of Soviet Union), descr. 24 (Agriculture Sector), f. 534, p. 96.
Latvian National Archives
F. 101. (Documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia), descr. 1, f. 49, p. 57 (Report for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—About the Results of the work of Latvian Industry, First Quarter, 1941);
F. 101. (Documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia), descr. 55. (Documents of year 1985), f. 28. (Secret reports to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Soviet Union), pp 12–13.
F. 202. (Documents of the Bank of the USSR, Latvian Branch in Riga), descr. 1-a (Secret Documents), f. 1 (Accounting Reports Regarding Revenues
and Expenditures of the Soviet Central Budget in the Latvian SSR—secret documents, 1946–1965) and descr. 2 (Accounting and Financial Reports), f. 512 (Revenues and Expenditures from the Latvian SSR—Latvian SSR and USSR budgets, 1946–1947), f. 517 (Revenues and Expenditures from the Latvian SSR—Latvian SSR and USSR Budgets, 1948), f. 545 (Revenues and Expenditures from the Latvian SSR—Latvian SSR and USSR Budgets, 1949);
F. 327 (Ministry of Finance of the Latvian SSR), descr. 20 (Accounting and Financial Reports), f. 208 (Revenues and Expenditures from the Latvian SSR— Latvian SSR and USSR Budgets, 1950).
F. 389 (Ministry of Trade of the Latvian SSR), descr. 1, f. 248 (Reports Regarding Trade Prices).
Lithuanian National Archives
Lithuanian National Archive: F R-871 (Documents of the Bank of the USSR, Lithuanian Branch in Vilnius), descr. 6. (Accounting Reports), f. 3. (Accounting Reports Regarding Revenues and Expenditures of the Soviet Central Budget in the Lithuanian SSR—secret documents, 1948), pp. 8–9; f. 4. (Accounting Reports Regarding Revenues and Expenditures of the Soviet Central Budget in the Lithuanian SSR—secret documents,1949), pp. 2–4.
National Archives of Estonia
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