Wilno/Vilnius

[Elena Gapova]

Exactly. Peasant population called themselves "tuteishiya", not sure of a
name (in the absense of a political project of their own), and their
language "prosta mova", as this was also a "class issue": those achiving (or
aspiring to achieve) some upward social mobility had to drop, under any
regime in the region of the last 200 years, their "peasant speak" as a
belonging marker.

It is an interesting cultural evidence that all characters, but the Polish
nobility, in the books of Eliza Ozheszkova, speak that very "prosta mova".

Shlomo Avineri  argues correctly, in a way, that the borders of the former
republics of the USSR that became independent states after 1991 reflect "the
whims and fiats of old rulers and have little to do with either history or
linguistic delineations". The big problem, though, is how to draw such lines
"correctly," when nations, ethnic groups and states change over time their
shape, name and mythology of origin, intermingle and overlap. Even bigger
problem is the general basis for assigning territories to different
categories of people (or the very idea of the "categories of people")...

Elena Gapova,
a 100% Borderlands' Mix

----- Original Message -----
From: <jflevin at MAIL.UCR.EDU>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: 13 June 2002 8:36 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Wilno/Vilnius


> At 08:45 AM 6/13/2002 -0700, you wrote:
> > >                 Vilnia (Vilnius) was truly a Belarusian capital.
> >
> >............................................
> >
> > >       It is well-known that Vilnia historically has  been a Belarusian
> > >capital, but Joseph Stalin gave it  to Lithuanians.
> >
> >
> >This is news to me. When exactly was it a Belarusian capital? When did
> >Stalin give it to Lithuanians? I am well aware of the fact that it used
to
> >be a Polish city (with a vibrant Jewish cultural community indeed) which
> >later became ethnically Lithuanian.
>
> In 1919, at the Versailles negotiations, the status of Vilna/Wilno/Vilnius
> was under discussion.  The largest ethnic community in the city--the
> Jews--sent a delegation to express its support for LITHUANIAN sovereignty
> over the city.  The treaty of Versailles awarded Vilnius to Lithuania.
> (Partly as a reward for Jewish support, Lithuania in the 20's had the most
> self-governing Jewish community, with official parliamentary
> representation, in Europe.)  In the meantime, a Polish army conquered that
> little corner, including the city, and occupied it, in violation of the
> treaty of Versailles.  For this reason, Lithuania did not exchange
> diplomatic recognition with Poland until the big boys--Germany and the
> USSR--forced them to in 1937.  There was a deadly skirmish at the border
> initiating this now forgotten international incident.  In 1940 Stalin
> restored Vilnius to its legal (if the Treaty of Versailles can be said to
> have any legal status) owner--Lithuania.  It was a devil's deal--in return
> bourgeois Lithuania was forced to accept USSR military bases.  Funny
thing,
> in all this history the geographic entity "Belarus" never came up...
>
> I am very familiar with Vilnius, both Soviet and free.  I've met and
talked
> to many Lithuanians, Jews, Russians, Poles who reside in the city.  I
think
> in all that time ONE taxi driver (taxis were my daily means of
> transportation and I always struck up conversations with the drivers)
> identified himself as a Belarusian.  Of course, the peasants at the
> farmers' markets from the surrounding areas were obviously Slavic, and no
> doubt would be identified as Belarusian by professional Slavicists, but
> they considered themselves Polish if Catholic, and "Russian" if
> Orthodox.  They called their language "prosta mova".
> Jules Levin
>
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