Propagandinė literatūra: nuo ideologinės mimezės iki mitografijos vėlyvojo stalinizmo laikotarpio lietuvių literatūra
Literature of propognada. From ideological mimesis to mythography: Lithuanian literature in the late Stalinist period

Summary/Abstract: In this article relationships between totalitarian propaganda in Lithuanian literature are analyzed from functional and symbolic perspectives. The emphasis is on critical, mimetic, mythographical, model and falsification functions of propaganda evident in the official Lithuanian Soviet literature from 1940 to 1953- Two types of propaganda are singled out in the article, the ideological and the pragmatic. Since Soviet propaganda emphasized in particular the pragmatic purposes of systematic persuasion, ideological beliefs and routine public propaganda were more important to writers and propagandists than creative thinking about the tasks of literature or the need to engage in persuasion. Most writers of the totalitarian period simply imitated the more effective rhetorical models or patterns and disguises, competing among themselves in matters of loyalty to the regime in power. In the case of Stalinist propaganda, mimesis had not only persuasive but first of all ritualistic purposes, akin ro games played in accordance with very strict rules. At the same time, Soviet propagandists and litterateurs had to be careful to remember what type of propaganda campaign was being waged by the party's official institutions, first of all by the party leader himself (Stalin), also the Central committee of the Communist party and the Party Congress. Thus mimetic propaganda required that one follow three kinds of rules: ideological, campaign-related and creative. By contrast, genuinely autonomous literature follows only its own mimetic traditions and seeks to perform its own inherent tasks. The creative function of Soviet propaganda literature can be defined by two different processes, persuasive mythography and artistic creativity. The former seeks to create symbols and legends and to propose original interpretations of historical events. The latter contains elements that could be interpreted from traditional literary perspectives characteristic of stylistic, rhetorical, genre, narrative or linguistic analyses. Pamphlets, poems, novels are legitimate genres that can be used for propaganda purposes. Pamphlets offer particularly convenient venues of criticism for the purpose of propaganda and the denunciation of hostile "enemy smiles" or intents. Propaganda verses are used to support or create new myths and symbols for use by a totalitarian society. Novels, however, can be used for the purpose of systematic persuasion only if they are included in the educational programs for schools, colleges and universities or are related to popular interpretations of historical legends. Stalinist epic novels often strove to create new legends surrounding historical events, class struggle and the role of the party in the advance of the proletariat.

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