HINSEY: We have now come to your university years. What kinds of entrance examinations were there, and what role did political loyalty play?

VENCLOVA: There were entrance examinations, and rather difficult ones at that. These tested not just a prospective student's knowledge and abilities, but first and foremost his or her political reliability. Komjaunuoliai activists were clearly favored; an ill-prepared person from a provincial school could be given precedence over a brilliant applicant, since social origin, demonstrable pro- Soviet views, or a good recommendation from the local authorities were taken into account (as far as I recall, this was never an official policy, but everybody knew it to be the case). It was very helpful if one's family had been victimized by the partisans, and even more so if, as a high school student, one had already distinguished oneself as an informer. Still, anyone who had received his or her school-leaving certificate with distinction was exempt from taking a second set of examinations. There were seven such individuals in our class, including Romas Katilius and me (this high number corresponded to the solid educational level of our school). Thus, I had two free months before my studies began. My mother and grandfather decided to offer me a car trip to Leningrad (my cousin Andrius, who was still in high school, came along as well). The journey also became the occasion to acquaint ourselves with the other two Baltic countries, Latvia and Estonia. Andrius, who had inherited artistic talent from Aunt Maria, drew sketches of the places we saw, while I tried to observe and remember.

HINSEY: Both Latvia and Estonia shared Lithuania's fate in 1940. Though collectively called “the Baltics,” these countries have different histories—

VENCLOVA: Yes, and the differences were palpable. Latvia and Estonia did not experience independent statehood prior to 1918, and had virtually no history of uprisings against tsarist power. In the thirteenth century, both were conquered by the Teutonic (strictly speaking, Livonian) knights (Danes and Swedes were also colonizing the region). This might in certain respects be considered a misfortune, but it ultimately resulted in a relatively peaceful and civilized way of life. Latvians and Estonians were converted to Christianity much earlier than Lithuanians, and they became Lutherans in the sixteenth century, whereas Lithuanians remained Catholics.