Peer-reviewed articles have all been through a peer-review process. We practice double-blind peer-review. All material is reviewed by two independent specialists at least at post-doc level. A prerequisite for publishing scientific articles in Baltic Worlds is that the article has not already been published in English elsewhere. If an article is simultaneously being considered by another publication, this should be indicated when submitting.
This article delves into the folk music community of Latvia and its reaction to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Rooted in the 20th-century folklore revival movement, during which Latvians revitalized their cultural heritage as a form of opposition to Soviet ideology, the community of Latvian folklore ensembles, musicians and enthusiasts has joined the broader civic initiative of giving aid to Ukraine and expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Since February 2022, at least 80 initiatives linked to folklore (concerts, dance events, protests etc.) have been carried out that are directly connected to gathering support for or expressing solidarity with Ukraine. The analysis of these events reveals how the folklore community engages with political issues, using folklore as a medium to express its views in the contemporary political context.
By
Ilga Vālodze Abelkina
April 23, 2026
Drawing on five narrative interviews with women from Ukraine’s Donbas, this article explores how belonging and national identification shift across three temporalities: everyday life before 2014, the outbreak of war in 2014, and the full-scale invasion in 2022. Using grounded theory coding, it traces how conflicting Ukrainian and Russian nation-making projects are experienced through domestic routines, media consumption, and encounters with state institutions. Before 2014, regional pride and Russophone familiarity distanced Ukrainian narratives, until war shattered this normality and forced difficult, morally charged choices. After 2022, respondents describe intensified fear, betrayal, and a reconfiguration of home and belonging, while distinguishing survival from political loyalty under occupation. The article argues that identity in Donbas is neither binary nor linear, but a gendered, emotional, and relational process shaped through everyday practices and retrospective moral evaluation. By centring women’s voices, the study complicates top-down accounts of nationhood and shows why reconciliation must address mistrust, recognition, and personal repair and dignity.
By
Eva Ievgeniia Babenko
April 23, 2026
This article examines how female politicians in Poland’s contemporary Left navigate the complex legacies of socialism and communism in shaping their political identities and practices. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted before the 2019 parliamentary elections and during the 2021 party unification convention, as well as 23 in-depth interviews with current and former female left-wing politicians, the article explores how the socialist past continues to structure the discursive field within which the Left defines itself and whether this process is gendered. The analysis reveals how associations with socialism and/or communism are simultaneously disavowed and re-appropriated, as female politicians negotiate their belonging to a “progressive Europe” while distancing themselves from the stigmatized post-socialist East. The article argues that this negotiation unfolds from a distinctly post-socialist “in-between position,” where temporal and spatial hierarchies intersect with gendered experiences of political engagement.
By
Aleksandra Reczuch
December 18, 2025
Dr. Karlis Leyasmeyer arrived to the United States in 1949 as a displaced person from Latvia. While unknown to most Americans, he quickly embarked on a coast-to-coast speaking tour, organized by newly formed evangelical groups like Youth for Christ and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. In these talks he glorified Christ and harshly criticized Soviet communism. We explore how Leyasmeyer went from relative unknown, to featured speaker in short order, but also how he situated himself in multiple spaces in his new country: as both a Latvian refugee among other Latvians, and as an evangelical Christian among American evangelicals. At times, Leyasmeyer thrived in these environments, but he would also find himself at the intersection of these groups. This research examines Leyasmeyer’s early career, his many achievements, but also how he developed an intellectual and theological outlook that was distinct from his Latvian contemporaries, as well as from the larger movements of American evangelicals.
By
Joseph M. Ellis et al
December 18, 2025
The article explores how the ongoing Russian–Ukrainian war is transforming the discussion around the oral history method under the conditions of an active war and analyzes the potential of the graphic novel as a new form of publishing oral history sources. The focus is on the theoretical, methodological, and practical dimensions of oral history, as well as on the question of which forms of public representation become relevant in the situation of an ongoing event. Drawing on the project “Graphic Narratives about the War” (archival interviews from the 1990s and new recordings from 2022–2024, created in cooperation with the NeuengammeConcentration Camp Memorial), the article demonstrates how the combination of interviews and original graphic art influences the construction, interpretation, and affective perception of narratives. The theoretical section of the article outlines key conceptualizations of oral history as theory, method, and practice, distinguishes between “documentation” and “oral history” within the context of the “unfinished past,” and argues for the ethical foundations for choosing the graphic format. The empirical section describes the working process — from selecting and transcribing interviews to script adaptation, collaboration with artists, and decisions regarding content, form, format, and dissemination of the publication. The study contributes to current discussions on oral history in times of crisis, and public humanities, proposing the graphic narrative as a safe and meaningful tool for representing oral testimonies in the context of an ongoing war.
By
Svitlana Telukha
December 18, 2025
This article examines how culture functions as a strategic instrument of recolonial power in the post-Soviet space, where imperial legacies, Soviet infrastructures, and contemporary authoritarian practices converge. Integrating postcolonial, decolonial, and recolonial frameworks, the study analyzes three emblematic cases – Gergiev’s 2008 Tskhinvali concert, the 2014 opera Crimea, and Sandro Sulaberidze’s 2023 protest in Tbilisi – to show how artistic production legitimizes territorial conquest, naturalizes hierarchical authority, and disciplines cultural autonomy.1 The article argues that recolonization today operates not only through military force but through performative, affective, and institutional mechanisms that render domination intelligible, emotionally resonant, and politically durable.
By
Nana Sharikadze
December 18, 2025
This article, based on longitudinal ethnography of Russophone groups in Estonia, examines conspiracy theories about the war in Ukraine as they emerged and evolved ever since the full-scale invasion. First, I explore the initial narratives and the underlying vulnerabilities driving conspiratorial thinking. I then discuss why these theories became taboo. Finally, I propose a novel approach to studying self-censored conspiracy theories – the metalevel analysis – and present preliminary findings from research on Russian-speaking adolescents in Estonia.
By
Anastasiya Astapova
December 18, 2025
This research note investigates the revival of Ukrainian folk music in the (re)invented military funeral rituals during the ongoing war on Ukraine. Since the 2022 full-scale invasion, elements of folk music – such as historical Cossack songs, the Carpathian trembita, and lullabies – have re-emerged in urban civic mourning, symbolizing national grief, resistance, and identity. Drawing on concepts of revival, postrevival, and (re)invention (Livingston, Bithell & Hill, Hobsbawm, Prickett), the article examines how these musical forms are recontextualized in response to trauma and loss. Through three specific case studies, the article explores how Ukrainian folk music has been adapted to contemporary urban ritual settings and examines its role in shaping symbolic expressions of memory, resilience, and cultural continuity in wartime Ukraine. The study contributes to the broader discourse on the role of music in ritual transformation in the context of war and conflict.
By
Inna Shvorak
October 23, 2025
This research examines the uncharted phenomenon of rave tolokas, where electronic dance music practice merges with cleaning war-torn villages in Ukraine, fostering community, resistance, and cultural identity amidst the full-scale war in Ukraine. It interprets rave tolokas as embodied, physicalaffective experiences that intertwine dance and labor to restore cultural spaces. Through music and sonic material, participants actively confront war, challenging narratives of rave culture as escapism. Contributing to (ethno)musicology and conflict studies, this work highlights music’s multifaceted roles in armed conflict. It draws on participatory digital ethnographic methods, including in-depth interviews, addressing the challenges of conducting wartime research.
By
Emma C. Schrott
October 23, 2025
This article is a linguistic exploration of the lyrics and selected social media posts of nine contemporary rappers from Ukraine, Russia, and Germany, all of whom are of Ukrainian descent. The selection of these artists is based not only on their ethnic background but also on their considerable popularity and cultural influence within their respective countries. The primary objective of this study is to examine the pragmatic aspects of their lyrics and linguistic behavior, with particular attention to potential instances of language shift or code-switching, which can be socio-politically motivated. Additionally, the article explores the role these artists play in the sociopolitical landscape shaped by Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. Given that rap has emerged as one of the most dynamic genres in global mainstream music, it is imperative to analyze the messages conveyed in its lyrics, as they now reach a significantly broader audience compared to the genre’s early decades (1970s–1990s). Many of these musicians have attained the status of opinion leaders, amplifying their sociopolitical influence. Within the broader context of East Slavic linguistic dynamics, the choice of language – regardless of its pragmatic function – can itself serve as a potent political statement.
By
Aleksej Tikhonov
October 23, 2025
Issue 2026, 1: 
Baltic Worlds covers; the Baltic Sea Region, Eastern Europe, Russia, CentralAsia, Caucasus and the Balkan area.