The Hidden Violence of Totalitarianism: Policing Soviet Society in Lithuania

Abstract

This article deals with the historical development of the militia in the Soviet Union. The discussion concentrates on the post-Stalinist era, when terror as a method of rule was largely rejected and the regime shifted towards the use of propaganda and education as a mode of governance. On the basis of archival materials, the article describes how militia activities in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) were organized during the period 1969–1975. Particular attention is given to the attempts of the state authorities to make the militia more legitimate and acceptable to the general population, reduce the antagonism between the militia and society, decrease the amount of direct physical violence and find new, less violent and more consensual ways to police Soviet society.