Juozas Baltušis and Eduardas Mieželaitis during the National Revival and the first years of Lithuanian Independence

Straipsnyje išskirtinis dėmesys skiriamas Lietuvos SSR rašytojų ir politinio elito atstovų Juozo Baltušio ir Eduardo Mieželaičio, visuomenėje sulaukusių prieštaringo vertinimo, užimtai pozicijai tautinio atgimimo ir pirmaisiais Lietuvos nepriklausomybės metais. Nagrinėjama, kaip ir kodėl šios asmenybės istorinio lūžio laikotarpiu vertino prasidėjusias permainas šalyje, nepriklausomos Lietuvos pirmuosius metus. Mėginama J. Baltušį sąlyginai palyginti su norvegų rašytoju Knutu Hamsunu, taip pat paaiškinti, kodėl E. Mieželaitis atkurtoje nepriklausomoje Lietuvoje save laikė „nereikalingu žmogumi“.The names of Juozas Baltušis (1909–1991) and Eduardas Mieželaitis (1919–1997) are inseparable from the Soviet Lithuanian literature. The first writer is famous for his widely known writings “Gieda gaideliai”, “Parduotos vasaros”, “Su kuo valgyta druska“, “Sakmė apie Juzą”, etc. The second one published numerous poetry books and became famous in 1962 after he had received a notable Lenin’s award for the cycle of poems “Human”. Both writers were members of the Communist Party and held political office. They were the part of Soviet Lithuanian political elite. A complicated period of life to both writers came during the National Revival and the first years of Lithuanian Independence. At that time the Lithuanian society got free from the Communist regime and the political situation has changed in the country. In the context of National Revival Eduardas Mieželaitis characterized himself as “unwelcome, needless person”. Juozas Baltušis was severally criticized because he spoke out against the restoration of Lithuanian Independence. The article aims to analyze the attitudes of Juozas Baltušis and Eduardas Mieželaitis towards the Lithuanian National Revival and the Lithuanian Indepen- dence restoration idea. The main task of this article includes the estimation of Juozas Baltušis’ actions and society’s reaction concerning his speeches and position towards the Lithuanian Independence. Furthermore, Eduardas Mieželaitis’ attitude towards the events of the late 1980’s in Lithuania is revealed. The author of the article made the conclusion that Juozas Baltušis’ critical attitude towards the Lithuanian secession from USSR in 1990 made him unpopular in the society. Juozas Baltušis’ case reminds us that writer’s political and literary activities and achievements have to be separated. Otherwise one or several reckless political actions made by the writer can condemn him and his literary work for a long time. Eduardas Mieželaitis’ self-isolation from public activities during the National Revival and the first years of Independence and his pessimistic attitude towards new political conditions were determined by the change of his living conditions. Eduardas Mieželaitis was pessimistic about the economic downturn but not about the restoration of Lithuanian Independence. He was glorified as a writer during the Soviet era and lost his popularity after Lithuania became an independent state. He was disappointed by the reality and the idea that his “weight” in the society is weakened