Research ethics in Soviet memory studies

Abstract

In this chapter we analyse how transition from Soviet past to Post-Socialist present create the preconditions for the context of ethical relationships to history and memory in Lithuania. All communication of context-related memories is restricted in terms of ethics by a phenomenon of the quotation of meanings (Derrida). Ethical problems are encountered when distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate sources of quotations, deciding on what is worthwhile mentioning/remembering and what should be silenced/forgotten. We reveal the process of normalization of Soviet experiences in personal narratives through a case study of Soviet holidays. We have identified some principles of research interview for more objective understanding of controversial historical experiences. For interviewees it was important to feel solidarity (in terms of shared Soviet past experience) with the interviewer, because these time periods have been very differently interpreted in the public sphere. Interviewers with Soviet-period experiences managed to bypass time-restricted language code (codes for topics ‘commonly known to them’). Attempts to involve younger interviewers unfamiliar with those codes made the content and course of the interviews more difficult. One more important ethical aspect for this kind of research, requiring additional measures to ensure a person’s anonymity, is the size and population of the country.