Life in Inta (1960s)

In 1940s Stalin’s regime deported intellectuals from Soviet republics and countries occupied by the Soviet Union to the prisons and working camps in the far north of the Soviet Union. A Lithuanian teacher Juozas Mecinskas was deported to the North next to the polar circle in 1946. Together with other prisoners and deportees they were forced to build roads, railways and cities in the places which were previously uninhabited by people. When Juozas got back his freedom after Stalin’s death, he could not come back home because ex political prisoners were still stigmatised by the Soviet regime in Lithuania. However, he created his family and life in Inta - one of the towns built by the prisoners’ hands. Juozas documented his life in photos and silent videos which now have been digitized. The viewers are welcome to have a glimpse into life in the North in the 1960s. Video made by Juozas Mečinskas (1921-2000) Producer : Algirdas Mecinskas (1957) Music by group ., singer Tautvi