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From Early Sport to Olympic Victories

08 11 2019

The Publishing Department of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and the Lithuanian Olympic Academy published the monograph Olimpinės žaidynės: raida, dabartis, perspektyvos (Olympic Games: Development, Present, and Prospects) by Artūras Poviliūnas, a sports and public personality, a merited figure in physical culture and sports, a holder of doctorate in social sciences, and an associate professor.

In this book, Artūras Poviliūnas takes a comprehensive look at the sources of the Olympic movement, its evolution and current challenges. He offers a detailed overview of the path of the Olympic movement, analyses specific aspects of sport, its values and shifts in attitudes, its trials and achievements. The monograph contains abundant historical archival material and statistical data never published before. The author discusses three stages in the development of the Lithuanian Olympic movement in a chronological order. These stages basically coincide with three periods in the existence of Lithuania: the independent Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940), the Soviet period (1940–1988), and the most recent period that includes the birth of the Reform Movement (Sąjūdis), the re-establishment of independence, and the present (1988–2019). The author gives a large amount of new information and generalising material that allows approaching the development of sport from the contemporary point of view.

The monograph will attract everyone interested in and concerned with the history and values of sport; it will be of assistance to the young people seeking general knowledge about sport and Olympism. It is a study that engages the reader in independent thinking and desire to learn.

Zina Turčinskienė
Head of the Publishing Department, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences