Pavardžių lietuvinimas Lietuvos Respublikoje 1918-1940 m

LTStraipsnio tikslas yra išanalizuoti pavardžių lietuvinimo procesą Lietuvos Respublikoje 1918–1940 m. Siekiama apžvelgti, kaip plėtojosi pavardžių lietuvinimo idėja, kaip kurtas šio proceso teisinis mechanizmas ir kaip klostėsi „atlietuvinimo“ praktika. Tirdami šį procesą sieksime atsakyti į šiuos klausimus: koks buvo pavardžių lietuvinimo tikslas, kokie instrumentai jam naudoti, pavardžių lietuvinimo procesas buvo tik nuleistas „iš viršaus“ ar buvo ir iniciatyvų „iš apačios“, ką pavardžių lietuvinimo eiga diagnozuoja apie procesus šalies vidaus politikoje. [p. 92].

ENThe article analyses the process of the Lithuanisation of surnames in the Republic of Lithuania between 1918 and 1940. At the end of the nineteenth century, the figures of the Lithuanian national movement identified the fact that Lithuanian personal names are influenced by other languages as a problem: they lose their authentic form and usually acquire a form characteristic of Slavic surnames. Creation of the independent state of Lithuania in 1918 made it possible for Lithuanian personal names to return to their ‘authentic’ forms. Between 1918 and 1940, the laws that regulated the change of surnames passed in Lithuania were aimed primarily at the restoration of ‘authentic’ Lithuanian personal names. These laws reflected a change in the government’s position: if the law adopted in 1922 only made it possible to Lithuanise the surname, for those who wanted it, the law adopted in 1938 encouraged citizens to do so. The change of position was dictated by the changes in the country’s internal politics: the change of parliamentarism to authoritarianism, the ideology of which was Lithuanian nationalism. The increased attention of the authorities to the Lithuanisation of surnames demonstrated the orientation of the political regime towards the realisation of the ideals of Lithuanian nationalism. However, they abandoned the idea of introducing mandatory Lithuanisation of the citizens’ personal names and left the freedom of decision to the individual, which points to the moderate nature of the political regime. The idea of Lithuanising the surnames of citizens of other nationalities was also abandoned.