Category: News

The Book “Nylon Curtain”


Book presentation at the Library.
Photo: National Library of Lithuania

The two-volume monograph Nylon Curtain. Lithuanian Music in the Context of International History of Cold War, by the musicologists, Prof. Rūta Stanevičiūtė, Prof. Danutė Petrauskaitė, and Prof. Vita Gruodytė, was presented at the National Library of Lithuania. The book, published in 2018 by the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, consists of two volumes: a collective monograph, entitled Nylon Curtain. Cold War, International Exchanges and Lithuanian Music and a collection of correspondence, Foreign Correspondence of the Lithuanian Musicians, 1945-1990.

In the collective monograph, the authors using extensive archival documents gathered from the state and private archives, as well as published sources, analyze the channels of the exchange of musical information among the individuals and institutions in Lithuania and foreign countries that took place during the Soviet period. They also looked into the reasons that encouraged promoting personal and transnational relations between the two musical environments divided by the ideological confrontation of the Cold War, and posed questions, such as: which ideological, economic, and cultural constraints and differences limited such exchange and what impact international exchanges had on the national music scene.

Continue reading “The Book “Nylon Curtain””

Reinforcing the Field of Cultural Diplomacy

On January 22, 2019 Jurgis Giedrys, former cultural attaché of the Republic of Lithuania to Ukraine, visited the National Library of Lithuania. During the meeting with the representatives of Library, Mr. Giedrys donated numerous documents, booklets and books which he collected during his term in Ukraine, from 2015 to 2018.

More than 200 events were organized in Ukraine during Mr. Giedrys’ fouryear term of office. People of Ukraine met with more than 700 Lithuanian artists. Events were advertised and written about by over 400 traditional or e-media outlets, as well as social media. The events dedicated to Lithuania and Lithuanian themes attracted more than 100,000 people.

The National Library of Lithuania has been increasing its activities in cultural diplomacy. It promotes the dissemination of Lithuanian culture abroad, supports the efforts of foreign embassies, cultural centers and institutes in Lithuania to present projects reflecting the world’s cultural diversity. The Library carries out its exclusive mission by collecting the Lithuanian documentary heritage created abroad.

Mstislavas Dobužinskis and Latvia

Jurgita Kristina Pačkauskienė

What do we know about painter Mstislavas Dobužinskis’s links with Latvia? According to philosopher Antanas Andrijauskas, before leaving for Western Europe Dobužinskis visited Riga with exhibitions [1]. What he did not mention was that the artist not only visited Riga, he lived there!

On 6 March 1924, opera “Eugene Onegin” featuring Dobužinskis’s scenography and costumes was performed in Dresden Opera. After the performance, the artist instead of Kaunas travels to Riga. While in Riga, he visits K. Bauls Photo-Studio located on Alexander St. 17 and orders a stack of photo postcards featuring his sets from the Dresden performance.

Continue reading “Mstislavas Dobužinskis and Latvia”

Exhibition and Discussion about Russian Diaspora Publications and Publishers

At the start of 2018, a Swiss Arminio Sciolli decided to donate part of his Russian diaspora literature collection to the National Library of Lithuania. The collection consists of rare books, not yet seen in Lithuania. The geography of the collection covers a wide range of places – from South Africa to China – where Russian diaspora communities lived at the beginning of the twentieth century.

On September 21, 2018, the Library invited to the exhibition “Russian Diaspora Literature” opening and discussion about Russian diaspora publications and publishers. Dr. Pavel Lavrinec, Vilnius University professor, provided a broader context and a general overview of the exhibition. Prof. Tomas Venclova, Yale University emeritus and professor of Slavic literature, talked about the history of Russian diaspora in Harbin, China, its cultural life and his impressions from recent trip there.

Discussion on the Preservation of Lithuanian Identity Abroad

The debate about emigration, the Lithuanian identity crisis and global Lithuania is still ongoing in Lithuania. On August 14, 2018, the National Library of Lithuania hosted a discussion about how to preserve Lithuanian identity in the world organized by the Center of Lithuanian Language and Culture.

Every summer in August, the Center organizes a month-long Lithuanian language and culture course. Almost 100 students – from China to Argentina – participate in this summer’s course. Some students are of Lithuanian descent, while others, and there are many of them, want to study Lithuanian language because of their deep interest in Lithuanian culture. Vilma Leonavičienė, the director of the Center, noted that every participant has an exciting story about his relation to Lithuania to tell. For some students the summer language course is the first chance to get acquainted with Lithuania and its people, since they have only heard about this country from their grandparents or great-grandparents. However, there is a substantial group of students who have been returning to the summer language course in Vilnius.

Lemonade recipe dated from 1822*

*Encyclopèdie domestique, recuile del procèdès et del recettes, Paris, 1822

  • 4 lemons
  • a pint of water
  • half a pound of sugar

Cut off the lemon peel as much and as deeply as possible. Remove the albedo– the white flesh in between the peel and the fruit. Then, into a pint of water**, squeeze out the lemon juice, add the half pound of sugar and let rest for two to three hours.

**The water’s quantity can be increased according to taste. As well, you can alter the taste by replacing with carbonated water.

Bon Appetit!