Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

During the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, the regime established numerous institutions as tools to control the narrative about religion and its practice. Moreover, their impact extended beyond the immediate suppression of beliefs by positioning it as an irrational and regressive force. This research examines the former Museum of Atheism in Vilnius as part of the consolidation of the colonizing ideology over the natives. By analyzing archival materials such as the project of the display and statistics it explores the strategies employed not only to diminish the influence of faith in the region but also to demonstrate the occupants’ superiority and to impose their identity by shaping the cultural landscape. The collection of confiscated and relocated devoted artifacts as well as the way they were acquired and contextualized within the museum demonstrate the significance of the display as one of the elements creating the center-periphery construct. The aim of this work is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexities in the collective memory inherent in the colonizer-colonized interaction and the crucial relevance of the consequences of Soviet suppression against pious and cultural peculiarities, as well as to show the museological value of the heritage.