Rasa Vasinauskaitė (PDF)
https://doi.org/10.53631/MIS/2025.17.5
Using propaganda analysis and press publications from 1940-1941, the article reconstructs the process of establishing the Vilnius State Theatre. This process is related to the occupation and incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union in 1940. When analyzing press („Vilniaus balsas“, „Lietuvos aidas“, „Tarybų Lietuva“) publications and artists’ speech, attention is drawn to ideological rhetoric, the glorification of the Stalin cult, and the tasks of socialist life and socrealist art. The opening ceremony of the theatre (1940 10 06), the first performances („The Good Hope“ by Hermann Heijermans and „Armoured Train 14–69“ by Vsevolod Ivanov), and the position of the theatre director Romualdas Juknevičius are described. The opening of the theatre in Vilnius was part of Soviet ideological propaganda, which also determined the fate of Juknevičius. The process of establishing and opening the Vilnius State Theatre is viewed as a Stalinist political spectacle, the participants of which adhered to its performance rules.
Keywords: indoctrination, propaganda, Soviet occupation, press, Vilnius Drama Theatre, Romualdas Juknevičius