Displacement of east and south-eastern Lithuanian population in 1951–1955

Abstract

The article deals with the displacement of East and South-Eastern Lithuanian population to other regions of the country. It tries to answer the following questions: why the process of displacement was carried out in East and South-Eastern Lithuania? What were the motivation arguments of the displaced people for / against the process? And finally, what were the results of the displacement?
Similar actions of displacement were organized also in other Soviet republics. In Lithuania, this process was started in the regions that in the opinion of local authorities were not suitable for agriculture, namely in Daugai, Druskininkai, Eišiškės, Pabradė, Švenčionėliai, Trakai, Varėna. In the beginning, approximately 4 600 families were planned to displace. However, notable results were reached only in 1951–1952 when more than 1 100 families were uprooted. From 1953 to 1955, the displacement of people slowed down and finally stopped.
The author formulates the following conclusions:
In 1951–1955, it was decided to implement the displacement of approximately 24 000 people from Eastern and South-Eastern Lithuania due to difficult economic conditions in this region (poor soil, slow process of collectivization, etc.). However, these plans were not realized in ful for objective and subjective reasons (delay in house building, poor living conditions in the new areas, the lack of manpower in displacement regions or just the reluctance of people to be displaced). Besides, this process was not very important to both the republic and local authorities.
The dynamics of the displacement had two phases. In 1951–1952, the process was executed intensively because of fear to be repressed by Soviets and because of expectations to start living in better conditions. During the second phase (1953– 1955) the displacement slowed down. The reasons were the process of citizens’ returning back home, decreased attention from the government, and the more liberal political atmosphere in the USSR.
In the light of the other processes of the period, the displacement was estimated as an alternative to Soviet repressions. People of East and South-Eastern Lithuania tried to avoid possible repressions and agreed to move to other living places. Ethnicity made an impact on the process, too. In 1950, Lithuanian authorities had to inform the central government in Moscow about the living conditions of local Poles, and after that they were forced to make decisions which improved the conditions of Poles in East and South-Eastern Lithuania. It was the main reason why the most “Polish” Lithuanian regions (Vilnius, Naujoji Vilnia, Nemenčinė) were not listed as displacement regions.