Interpretation of Historical Facts in Documentary Movies about the Occupation of Lithuania in 1940 by Soviet Troops

Abstract

The idea of using the arts, namely films of different genres, as an instrument of soft power and a tool of propaganda is not a new thing in the foreign policy of the Russian Federation. Its roots reach back to 1917 when the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, brutally seized power in Russia. In Soviet times, history was a political tool for turning people into patriots. A similar strategy is evident in the current internal and external policy of the Russian Federation. The author of this paper explores the genesis of this cultural policy, including the approach toward painful historical events between neighbouring countries, and the significant changes in this approach in the minds of top Russian officials over the last decade. The promotion of certain narratives through the cinematic arts is a powerful instrument in the Kremlin’s soft power weaponry arsenal in the epoch of hybrid wars. For example, films have been used to justify the occupation of the Baltic States, as well as part of Poland and Romania in 1940. The author analyses the film Unlearned Lessons: The Baltics, a documentary about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939 and the following occupation of the three small independent Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, by the Soviet Union in 1940. The main aim of this research is to show that the interpretation of historical facts in the visual arts is one of the elements of Russian soft power. The article presents the various tools (What) and methods (How) used to convey the desired narrative about the past.