Tautinis komunizmas ir jo raiška. Istoriografiniai problemos aspektai
National Communism and Its Expression. Historiographical Aspects of the Problem

Summary/Abstract: The article addresses several major issues: first, it discusses the concept of national communism on the basis of Anglo-Saxon historiography; second, it deals with the change in the content of the concept of national communism in academic literature (Cold War, after the Cold War); third, it analyses how the phenomenon of national communism is addressed in the most recent Western, Lithuanian historiography, as well as the historiography of the neighbouring countries, primarily Poland and Russia. Generally speaking, it can be asserted that in theoretical terms national communism was grounded on the idea of harmonisation of universal communist ideology and national particularism. As a rule, the concept “national communism” was used in historiography to define several tightly interrelated aspects: first, the autonomy of Central European Countries falling to the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union after World War II in respect of “the imperial centre”, otherwise called “national specificity” of creation of socialism in the region. In other words, the concept of national communism marked the digression from the “real socialism model” existing in the Soviet Union; second, the Western historiography on the Cold War often saw “national communism” as a certain challenge or opposition to Moscow’s unification policy. Therefore, the Hungarian and Polish “autumn” in 1956 and the Czechoslovak “spring” in 1968 were, as a rule, considered the supreme form of “national communism”; third, national communism was believed to be the outcome of evolution of the Soviet regime. The establishment of the Soviet system, social–economic development of the Soviet Bloc countries created preconditions for the formation of a less ideologized public – political elite. The process of de- Stalinization and detotalitarization created preconditions for a more autonomous policy implemented by communist party figures. Such elite was more preoccupied with the meeting of the needs of their country and society rather than the common needs of the “Soviet camp”. When addressing the expression of national communism in the Soviet Union, it can be concluded that national communism, as a rule, did not have a consistent and complete political programme. The development of national communism was affected by two major circumstances: first, occasionally, national communism was a reaction to the centralist unification policy implemented by Moscow, which certain “local” communist party figures considered incorrect and violating the interests of the Soviet republic due to various motives. Thus, in other words, national communism was a phenomenon determined by various circumstances – primarily, political centralism, bureaucracy, Russification; second, similar to the case of Central European satellites, in Soviet republics national communism was the outcome of evolution of the political system influenced by de-Stalinisation. While national commun

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