Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis

The survey and excavation of bunkers and dug-outs from the anti-Soviet partisan war in Lithuania which started in 2010 was a turning point both in the research into guerrilla warfare and Lithuanian archaeology. The next decade was marked by an increasing number of surveys and excavations at Lithuanian guerrilla war sites, the expanded directions of research, and their dissemination both to scholarly and general audiences becoming an integral part of Lithuanian archaeology. The article outlines the research into guerrilla war sites that were conducted in Lithuania between 2010 and 2019, presents their results, and discusses the survey and excavation directions of bunkers, dug-outs and their surroundings, camps, battlefields, disposal sites, and other partisan war sites. The author outlines the changes that have taken place in the research into the partisan war, and discusses the significance of archaeological data and the future prospects of research into the anti-Soviet partisan war in Lithuania as a separate field of archaeology.

Between 1944 and 1953, the Soviet security forces sought to suppress the armed resistance in Western Ukraine and Lithuania by applying similar kinds of measures. These resistance movements were not directly related to each other, but there were similarities and differences. In Western Ukraine, the movement covered a bigger area, with a correspondingly larger number of people living there, and the fighting, especially in the initial period, was fiercer compared to Lithuania. The article compares these anti-Soviet resistance movements according to several criteria. The author puts the main focus on issues of the suppression of the resistance, comparing the situations in Western Ukraine and Lithuania at the time. He examines critically the material left by the Soviet security forces, and analyses the use of the agency and military actions against the partisans. The research is based mostly on Soviet security agency documents preserved in the Haluzevyĭ derz͡havnyĭ arkhiv Sluz͡hby bezpeky Ukraïny (Sectoral State Archives of the SBU, the Ukrainian Security Service) in Kyïv. This material has not yet been widely used by Lithuanian historians, although it is relevant for understanding the mechanisms of the activities of the Soviet security forces, not only in Western Ukraine, but also in Lithuania.

Historians have so far analysed the historical narrative used for modern Lithuanian nation-building in terms of its structure, the main storylines and images, and the most important historical figures rooted in it. Previous studies have revealed how the narrative was constructed. However, less research has been done on how it was received by individual social groups. The article analyses the Lithuanian historical narrative promoted by partisans who participated in the anti-Soviet armed resistance in 1944–1953. The author discusses how the narrative was used to strengthen and perpetuate the struggle, and looks for connections between the organisational unification of the guerrilla fighters and their relationship with historical images and figures. She provides an outline of interpretations of history presented in writings by partisans of various ranks, and reveals features of the historical awareness of the resistance fighters. The main sources used for the research were publications (proclamations, bulletins, periodicals, etc) issued by the partisans. In addition, the author examines the pseudonyms used by 935 fighters, and the names that were given to their organisational units. Data from all three anti-Soviet resistance areas, southern, eastern and western Lithuania, are analysed.

On 13 August 1949, in Užpelkiai Forest in northern Lithuania, on the border of the Grinkiškis and Baisogala rural districts in Radviliškis County, a battle by Lithuanian partisans that had a significant impact on the history of the Prisikėlimas (Resurrection) district took place. The leaders of the Lietuvos Laisvės Kovos Sąjūdis (Movement for the Struggle for Lithuania’s Freedom) operated in this district. Based on the approach of modern conflict archaeology, the authors of the article, helped by volunteers, determined the location of the Battle of Užpelkiai Forest (in the Grinkiškis rural district, Radviliškis County), and collected a lot of new archaeological and historical data, in order to reconstruct the progress of the attack by MGB (Ministry of State Security) troops and the partisan defence. By referring to complex research results, the article gives the surnames and duties in the organisation of all the partisans who participated, as well as the circumstances and progress of the battle. It shows the importance of the Battle of Užpelkiai Forest to the Lietuvos Laisvės Kovos Sąjūdis in 1949–1950. The case study of field research into the battle in the partisan war shows how complex historical and archaeological research complements the picture of the partisan war with facts and artefacts, clarifies or denies old interpretations, and leads us to new ones.