KGB Documents

Suppression of aspirations for Statehood and national self-awareness

The Soviet occupying power assisted by the KGB and other institutions sought to obliterate the values that were cherished in the Baltic States during the period of independence, the worldview that was formed, to suppress manifestation of nationality and social awareness. It also strove to undermine in every possible way dissident, human rights or local lore movements in the 1960s and 1970s because their activities were at variance with the concepts of communist internationalism, “friendship between nations”. During the perestroika (restructuring) period the KGB fought not only against separate organisations or people but also against the entire nation, which sought to restore the nation’s statehood.

Actions of the KGB directed against anti-Soviet, national, political resistance were determined by the communist ideology, goals of the policy of the Communist Party based on that ideology, as well as trends of the internal and international policies. Though the approach to the West became more moderate and flexible, the hostile class approach to it, as to a threat posed to the stability of the socialist camp, remained unchanged; however, it was more cleverly disguised. All the manifestations of the anti-Soviet activities were interpreted as a result of the “negative” impact of the West. Soviet Intelligence interpreted broadly the effect and forms of dissemination of ideological subversive activities of the West, which allowed punishment to be administered for very different activities. With Communist indoctrination and russification strengthening, manifestations of the national movements in the constituent republics of the USSR underwent more intense persecutions. At that time the most important features of Communist indoctrination were dissemination of the concepts of “internationalism” and “the soviet people”. These processes are related to the russification policy. Seeking to unify the soviet state, under the cover of such concepts as the “soviet citizen”, “the soviet people”, a fierce struggle against the manifestations of nationality was carried on. Applying its own methods, the KGB helped create a homogeneous soviet society. Therefore a struggle against the manifestations of nationality as an obstacle hindering the creation of the Soviet state was one of the main objectives of the KGB.

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