COURAGE

savienojot kolekcijas

The Sanda Stolojan Collection is an important source of documentation for understanding and writing the history of that particular segment of the Romanian exile community which was actively involved in the West in unmasking the communist regime in Romania. At the same time, this private archive contributes to an understanding of Romanian–French bilateral relations between 1968 and 1998. In particular, the collection illustrates the activity of the collector and other personalities of the exile aimed at promoting respect for human rights in Romania and stopping the demolitions imposed by the communist authorities as part of Bucharest's systematisation programme, and later at supporting the reconstruction of democracy in their country of origin.

The Saulė Kisarauskienė collection contains documents relating to the life and work of the Lithuanian painter Saulė Kisarauskienė, her family, and her husband, the famous artist and nonconformist painter Vincas Kisarauskas. She is a well-known representative of the Lithuanian school of exlibris, and the collection contains originals of her works. During Soviet times, Saulė Kisarauskienė adhered to the principles of her creative vision and free thinking, and was marginalised for this in the 1960s by the Soviet regime. 

The Second Directorate of the Soviet Lithuanian KGB (Fond No 41)

The documents in the collection represent KGB activity in the sphere of counter-intelligence, persecuting various forms of expression of the anti-Soviet movement, as well as KGB work against what was understood as cultural opposition. Until the autumn of 1967 (when the 5th Department of the KGB was established), the 2nd Directorate was responsible for counter-intelligence work in ideology. From 1967, its main direction was the security of state secrets. The KGB continued to use the 2nd Directorate to fight against dissidents and opposition, but it applied a new interpretation: the underground and expressions of nationalism were seen as a danger to state secrets.