At the end of last week, it became known that Vilnius University had decided to terminate its contract with Professor Andrei Desnitsky, who had worked at the Faculty of Philology since autumn 2022. This was reported by LRT, which quoted excerpts from a 2012 article in which Desnitsky spoke of the forcible incorporation of the Baltic states into the Soviet Union using the term 'annexation' rather than 'occupation'. In an interview with Novaya Gazeta Baltia, he explained how and why his views had changed, how the move to Lithuania had influenced this, and also spoke about combating propaganda and why the word 'Pribaltika' should not be used.
Two episodes and the termination of the contract
According to Desnitsky, the story unfolded in two stages. In May, social media began to circulate posts with his old Facebook quotes, which, he claims, were selected out of context and without regard to irony. This led to an LRT publication which, he says, announced that he had been a supporter of the annexation of Crimea and had later received the Liberal Mission prize for it. Desnitsky issued a rebuttal on the university's website, stating that he had never supported the annexation of Crimea and had signed a corresponding statement on the eve of the so-called 'referendum' in Crimea, and had also condemned the war on the very first day it began in February 2022. The university leadership, as far as he understands, was satisfied with the explanation.
He had a one-year contract funded by an off-budget grant, which was ending, but an extension had already been signed for another year. Desnitsky learned from a journalist that he would no longer work at the university. The contract was cancelled after a second LRT publication that same day in August, when they found his 2012 article. 'I must say that the formal grounds for terminating the contract were different. They are not connected with this publication,' he said, declining to comment further and calling it a question for the university leadership. He expressed gratitude to colleagues for their cooperation and received warm responses from some of them.
'Today I would never have signed such a text'
Responding to a question about the difference in terms, Desnitsky said: 'First of all, I must say that today I would never have signed such a text. Not because I am in Lithuania, but because my attitude to many things has changed. Changed greatly.' He recalled that in that publication, one of the first paragraphs clearly stated that the incorporation was forcible, violated all conceivable norms of international law and was accompanied by terror; there was neither denial nor justification of these facts. According to him, this was not mentioned in the LRT publication. At the time he insisted on the term 'annexation', but now he does not consider it important: 'If the Baltic countries want this to be called occupation, they have the right to see their history as they see it.' He also pointed out that discussing problems of interethnic relations in Latvia and Estonia after the restoration of independence, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine, is not the time now. 'But in 2012, firstly, the context was completely different. Secondly, I was a different person. Generally speaking, people change.'
How to change views and talk about the past
Desnitsky believes that it is possible to convey the history of repression to the Russian population, but direct statements are often ineffective. In Lithuania, he was impressed by the film 'The Excursionist' about a girl escaping from a train carrying deportees to Siberia. In his opinion, such stories evoke sympathy for human tragedy. He also said that it had been explained to him why the word 'Pribaltika' is disliked in the Baltic states: by analogy with Priamurye and Prichernomorye, it means an outlying region. 'I try not to use this word since it offends people,' he said, adding that most native Russian speakers are unaware of this, and urged calm explanation of the reason rather than immediate accusation.
Asked about prejudice against people with Russian passports, he replied that he had encountered it a couple of times, but on the whole had met with enormous support and understanding. According to him, most of those he spoke to are able to distinguish between the Putin regime and people with Russian passports, and also not to transfer collective guilt for what happened in Bucha and Mariupol to all Russian speakers.
Speaking about the change in his views, Desnitsky named the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as key events. In 2014, he signed a statement of condemnation, after which, he says, he had to pay a price: he was no longer invited for certain positions, already signed contracts were terminated, accepted texts were removed from books. The 2022 invasion was an absolute shock. The experience of emigration, he says, also changes a person greatly: 'when you take, say, three suitcases from home, and you have over 50 years of life there, what do you put in those suitcases?'
The move to Lithuania influenced him through visits to the Ninth Fort in Kaunas and the Museum of Occupations. He noted that in Lithuanian society the memory of repression is fresh, whereas in Russian society they try to hide it. He declined to speak about the situation of Russian speakers, stating that this should only be discussed by people with permanent residence here. In his circle of acquaintances there are none who are even neutral about the war and the Putin regime. He does not consider himself entitled to assess democratic institutions in the Baltic states — that is a question for the citizens of these countries.
He is convinced that Kremlin propaganda is effective and operates not only in Russia, and that prohibitive measures alone are insufficient. Competition is needed — Russian-language anti-war journalism and art. As an example, he cited the designation of Linor Goralik as a foreign agent in Russia for publishing a bulletin of opposition culture. In his observation, pro-Kremlin Z-poetry has no talented poems, whereas anti-Kremlin poetry produces vivid examples.
1
