Dzieje Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego w świetle historiografii ostatnich 25 lat. Rozwój badań - jakościowy czy ilościowy? Nowe czy tradycyjne interpretacje?

ENThe aim of this article is to present the state of historiography concerning the states that once formed the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwealth over the past 25 years, focusing solely on ‘pure history’ (excluding legal, literary, and artistic history, etc.). The research output of historians from Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia, Russia, Germany, and English-speaking countries is discussed in turn. The article highlights the predominant themes in these studies, methodological innovations, the adoption of trendy topics from the West, the state of publishers (historical journals), the role of historical research in the politics of these states (most of which are post-Soviet), and the place of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the presentation of each country’s history. Each country started with varying levels of historical awareness, referring to different beginnings, models, and perceiving different social and political needs within that history. Overall, the article demonstrates the differences in how historians from these countries view and assess the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This ranges from high engagement (Lithuania, Poland) to partial acceptance and identification with its history (Belarus, Ukraine), to generally minimal interest (Latvia), interest through the lens of their own history (Russia), and rather incidental or non-emotional presentation of Lithuanian history for readers unfamiliar with their own countries (Germany, the United Kingdom), or driven by scholarly curiosity.