ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on the ways in which national distinction was constructed in cultural discourses in relation to spatial categories that stretch beyond national territories. Transnational regionalism was used quite often to reinforce the territorial nation-state by strengthening national distinction: for instance, the ancient civilization of the Mediterranean region supports the sense of Greek or Italian distinction. The chapter then investigates two cases in which references to northern European space were used to rehabilitate the Russian cultural legacy in Latvia and Estonia. Bilateral relations between Russia and the three Baltic republics have been rather tense since the late 1980s and have typically been studied by scholars as a process of conflicts and contestations. The chapter also outlines a different treatment of bilateral relations with Russia. Through cultural means, the Russian legacy could transcend the conflict and be used as a proxy for the transnational European space.