ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates how a certain narrative and a set of political images formed over the course of history, and how it influenced the independence movement, liberating the country from the 50-year occupation. It introduces the reader to the history of Lithuania, emphasising the essential historical periods that formed the post-Soviet narrative and related political images, as well as demonstrating the political identity-related transitory dynamics over time. The chapter discusses how political identity was articulated and viewed by the modern Lithuanian society both in terms of intellectual reflection and image creation. It considers how these images as well as the historical narrative stood at the core of the independence movement, providing it with form and political vector, or telos. The chapter explores that identity becomes an authentic part of the self through participating in it or, figuratively speaking, wearing the mask.
