Didysis apakimas: tendencija ar naivumas?
The Great Blindness: Is it a Tendency or Naivety?

Summary/Abstract: In the 4th decade of the 20th century the increase of the Soviet Union’s influence was noticeably felt in Western Europe. However, while estimating complicated geopolitical changes of that period it would be erroneous to assume that the countries of the world, considering Nazism as their formidable enemy, adopted a more lenient position towards communism. The stance of Paris and London towards Moscow in the 4th decade of the 20th century was not consistent. It changed depending upon transformations of the geopolitical situation in Europe. During this period, a part of Western intelligentsia also felt some sympathy towards the Soviets, and this was conditioned, to some extent, by the seeming pacifistic policy of the Soviet Union (only in the first half of the 4th decade) and Moscow’s active propaganda of “a social way of life”. However, there were deeper causes which lay in the very nature of artistic intelligentsia and its attitude towards politics. In order to investigate how Lithuanian writers’ attitude towards the Soviet Union changed during this period, we should take a closer look at the theory of politics. Practical, theoretical and artistic attitude towards politics differs just as differs the understanding of politics by practitioners, theoreticians and artists. Balanced distribution of the spheres of influence by the above mentioned groups of people is relevant for political life. Any imbalance in political life may lead to political perturbations; this is what happened in Lithuania in the 4th decade of the 20th century. Some literary people who analysed the change in Lithuanian writers’ political orientation, also lacked a proper understanding of the theory of politics. Therefore, the conception of the term “turning left” (i. e. becoming more radical), coined by B. Vaškelis, dissociated social democrats from the party system of the Republic of Lithuania. P. Cvirka’s, V. Krėvė-Mickevičius’, S. Nėris’ and other famous Lithuanian writers’ appearance in the Soviet camp should not be treated in the same way. Next to many similarities, there existed differences.

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