The Creation of National Spaces in a Pluricultural Region

“By bringing the neglected case of Prussian Lithuania into a dialogue with research on the Russian Empire, Safronovas’ book fills an important gap in scholarship, and enables us to build up a picture of the complex articulation of ideas about ‘Lithuania’ that occurred within different states and across borders. … The book is well written, extensively researched and draws attention to a region which has often been overlooked in the wider discussion on spatial concepts of Lithuania. One of the particular strengths of the book is Safronovas’ ability to bring German, Lithuanian, Russian and Polish sources into a dialogue with one another to historicise the spatial discourse on ‘Lithuania’ within the multilingual and pre-national context of the long 19th century. The book no doubt occupies a key place in the historiography of 19th-century Lithuanian and Prussian history, but also raises many questions and topics that will resonate with scholars who are interested more broadly in the invention and construction of national spaces spanning administrative or imperial border regions.” —Catherine Gibson, European University Institute, Lithuanian Historical Studies Vol. 22

-- Catherine Gibson * Lithuanian Historical Studi