2004 - 2010 in Lithuania

What Has Changed?

Text: KR Slade

Lithuania joined NATO in March of 2004, and the European Union in May of 2004. In May of 2006, Lithuania was not successful in joining the Euro Zone (i.e., the euro currency group); inflation was too high. The Lithuanian currency, the litas, remains pegged to the euro; the fixed-rated is unlikely to change because Lithuanian debts are tied to the euro (i.e., if the litas were devaluated, the debts would be greater).

In 2009, after much denial at all levels of government and politics for more than a year, a parliamentary investigatory committee confirmed that Lithuania had two secret prisons (during the period from September 2004 to November 2005) for the ‘extraordinary rendition’ of the USA ‘war on terror’. However, there was no proof that the prisons had actually ever been used. The president of Lithuania at the time of the existence of the prisons said that he had no knowledge of the prisons and that their existence had not been proven to him.

In the last six years, there have been 3 ½ Presidents of Lithuania. In the Spring of 2004, the President was impeached (on some vague grounds tantamount to ‘treason’); he insists that it was a coup organized by the USA from when he refused to allow any USA secret prison in Lithuania; he is now a member of the EU parliament; there was no sufficient evidence to convict him for his alleged crime of treason; in late 2010, the EU courts decreed that the Lithuanian parliament’s law banning him from elective office was illegal and void. There was a ‘temporary’ president, who was currently the speaker of the parliament (since Lithuania does not have a vice-president), for three months until there was a new election. The new president, a Lithuanian-born American (apparently not ethnic-Lithuanian) was re-elected (serving from February 1998 to February 2003 and July 2004 to July 2009). In the summer of 2009, there was a decisive mandate for Lithuania’s first women president, who has no party affiliation, and who remains the most popular politician in recent memory. The previous twenty years of relations with Russia are moving from being antagonistic, and beginning to become normalized.

As a condition of admission to the EU, December 2009 saw the closure of the last (of two) of Lithuania’s Soviet-era nuclear reactors for the production of electricity. The construction of a replacement reactor has still not yet been begun, albeit now 6 years of inaction. If ever commenced, the project will take at least a decade to complete.

Recent indications are that soon mandatory military service for males will be eliminated in favour of an all-volunteer military. There is not much discussion of the last decade regarding how easy and widespread was the avoidance of the military-service obligation.

The last population census in Lithuania took place in 2001: 3,484,000 persons were recorded. About a year ago, the population figure was suddenly acknowledged by ‘official’ estimates to be 3,200,000 persons. However, there remains a problem with ‘the math’. At the end of the Soviet era, the population was stated as 3.5 million. By 1994, when the last Russian troops left, there was an acknowledged population-drop of 10% (troops, their families, their support structure, and other ethnic/linguistic Russians). The birth rate has declined by 25% since Soviet times. Mortality rates continue to be high. There currently are 200,000+ known Lithuanians in London. There are large numbers of recently migrated Lithuanians in other parts of the UK, in Ireland, Spain, and other EU countries, as well as in South Africa, Israel, USA, Canada, South America, and Australia. Three years ago, the Supreme Court of Lithuania declared unconstitutional dual-citizenship; some people then left Lithuania and repatriations are fewer. About a year ago, immigration laws were changed to make more difficult the bringing of a spouse and children to Lithuania for individuals (usually men) who had work visa’s (usually for professional work); the number of temporary workers dropped (as did foreign investments). There is no fact that would indicate any contribution to any possible increase in the population since 2001. In summary: the total of the minuses are more than 300,000 acknowledged reduction; far more; probably at least twice more. In conclusion, the true population is likely to be less than 3 million, perhaps about 2.6 to 2.85 million. [Note: there is a new population census scheduled to be completed on 1 May 2011.]

During the last two years, the Lithuanian economy shrunk at the huge amount of 15 percent; the consolation is that this is not as bad as next-door-neighbour Latvia, which had the world’s greatest decrease at 18 percent. The analyses by government and the banking sector foresee ‘improvement’, because the rate of decrease is slowing. Of course the rate of decrease is slowing; if the rate were not slowing, then in a half-dozen years there would be Zero economy !! The ‘good news’ is that maybe there will be ‘some’ (true) growth, maybe a-fraction-of-one-percent, this year. QUESTION: how many years will it take, at the rate of a-fraction-of-one-percent per year, to return the lost original amount ? Statistically, that time period is beyond the life expectancy of most of the people now living.

From my observations

(some topics not so often discussed; this is how life really is) . . .

There is the anecdote of the politician visiting the countryside to promote acceptance of Lithuania becoming a member of the European Union. After his speech, he accepted questions. As is typical in Lithuania, there were no questions. Finally, from the back of the room, some farmer asked, “If everyone is going to make more money, then won’t prices for everything go up?” Everyone laughed; everyone knew that the old farmer had never gone to school, was poor, and was very-very stupid.

Bus/trolley intra-city transportation fares have increased by a factor of 4x; service has been reduced by about one-quarter. There has been an increase of 3x for the price of a cup of coffee or tea, as well as anything else available in a restaurant; and most offerings are new (not ‘traditional’) items, and cost 5x the amount of what was formerly a meal. In stores, prices have increased 3x for food, beer, and alcohol. Cigarettes are increased by 4x; in February 2011 there was a further increase of about 9 percent. Electricity and heating and gas costs have tripled. There is less restaurant and bar business because smoking is no longer allowed per EU requirements.

Many churches that were once open all day are now open only a couple of hours per day. Libraries are no longer open on Saturdays (or Sundays); weekday hours begin later and end earlier. Most of the national library is closed for more than two years, due to structural damage from nearby construction.

The costs have doubled for attendance at post-secondary schools (colleges, universities, and ‘higher schools’). In universities, there are now varying costs -- depending on the course selection.

Perhaps one-half of the above price increases occurred prior to the 2008 world economic crisis. In 2009, the VAT (‘value-added tax’; similar to a sales tax; on both goods and services) was increased from 18 percent to 21 percent.

Banks have initiated ‘service charges’ for their customers to get access to the customers own funds. People cannot pay their bills directly and/or in cash for their rent, insurance, electricity, heat, home gas, school fees, etc. All of these expenses may be paid via Internet, but with a service charge to the bank; otherwise, it is necessary to go to a bank or post office or some retail store to pay the bill, and to pay a ‘service charge’ to the point of payment.

Buildings are still being built with toilets that are ‘holes in the floor’; adding audacious to infamous, there may be a charge of one (1) litas to use it ! The term: ‘squat toilet’ may be unfamiliar to most Westerners, except for possible memories of ‘latrines’ (e.g., Boy Scouting days, or military service). Unfortunately, the squat-toilet is still very much in use in Lithuania. These devices are found in many public buildings (transportation terminals, shopping centres, schools, restaurants, bars, etc.), as well as in renovations and new construction. The proponents advance their arguments of ‘optimum human anatomical function’ and lowered disease contagion due to absence of bodily contact. This ignores the fact that the installation is impossible to maintain sanitation, handicapped persons use, and Western values/opinion. Moreover, there are related ‘toilet issues’ regarding the use of toilet-seats as an ‘optional luxury’, as well as the common fact of toilets that do not function to accept any paper -- leaving the spent paper to accumulate in open receptacles. Lastly, the general rule is “bring your own paper” (i.e., none supplied).

There is an anecdote at a local university: “I think that we are having very important guest today.” “Maybe a politician, or even a minister?” “No; more important; maybe a foreign prime minister, or head of state. The lavatory has soap to wash your hands, paper to wipe your hands, and even toilet paper.”

Abandoned construction projects are not uncommon. The landscape contains carcasses of abandoned projects -- typically hotels, large homes, or apartment buildings. Construction began on the ‘national soccer stadium’ in the Soviet era; in the last six years construction has re-commenced and stopped the same number of times. “It is not a big problem; the national sport of Lithuania is basketball, not soccer.” The monumental ‘Palace of the Rulers’ re-construction of the complex destroyed in Czarist times is now suspended for lack of 100 million litas needed for completion; after an original estimate a couple of years ago of a total cost of 100 million litas, later doubled, and still-later adding another 100 million litas for interior furnishings. “It is not a big problem; there was only one ruler who ever actually lived in the original palace anyway; Lithuania doesn’t need a Renaissance Disneyland.”

During the last few years, it has become very rare to hear about robberies of banks, jewellery stores, warehouses, etc.

Six years ago every newspaper carried stories of a half-dozen financial scandals on their front page. In the last year or so, a reader might see only one or two such stories a month.

In the last three years, there seem to be much less bribery of police. A new law provided that money would go to an arresting officer, from fines from convictions of attempted bribery; thus, the police officer gets more money by not taking the bribe and arresting the briber.

In the last six years almost every building has a publicly wall-posted diagram for exit / evacuations in the event of an emergency. However, most of those exits are locked. I have never seen a ‘crash-bar’ (‘panic-bar’) on any door anywhere in Lithuania.

Most, but not all, public buildings now have signs indicating exits. However, the signs are rarely illuminated. Most buildings do not have emergency lighting. On Wednesday, 7 February 2007, at about 6 p.m., I was in the ‘Europa’ shopping centre -- a high-end, multi-level, Vilnius mall that had been constructed three years previously; all of the lights (and escalators and elevators) went off; there were no emergency lights; there were no exit lights; there was no public-address announcement.

In the Old Town, there are many restaurants, bars, and clubs that serve clients in brick-vaulted windowless cellars. There is rarely a secondary exit; the only way out is the one way that everybody came in.

The fire-truck fleet seems to have been modernized and expanded. However, the fire trucks are designed to carry their own water supply; fire hydrants are rare. ‘Standpipes’ (high-capacity water sources inside of buildings, in the hallways) may exist, but there are never any fire hoses. Portable fire-extinguishers are usually not accessable, except by a key to their lock.

In the early post-Soviet times, there were no ‘supermarkets’ to buy food; although there were, and still are, large ‘markets’ (meaning ‘marketplaces’) of many individual vendors selling various kinds of food, etc. Six years ago, there were some individually-owned small food stores; these have all since disappeared, except in the villages. Interestingly, those little village stores, where the customer must ask the clerk for any product, because fear of theft did not permit ‘self-service’, do still exist; and, even in the cities, some pharmacies are still of that model. Today, there are three or four chains of food stores that operate various-size stores: from what might be considered a ‘corner store’, to medium, to large, and a few very-large stores -- usually located in shopping malls. However, even the largest store/mall in Lithuania would be only ‘large’ (not ‘very large’ or ‘huge’) by US/Canadian standards. Most food items found in an ‘average size’ food store in Canada/US can also be found in Lithuanian food stores. What is missing in the Lithuanian stores is the selection of sizes; it is not possible to buy a bar of body-soap larger than 100 grams.

I still get confused at the supermarket. Toilet paper must always be located immediately adjacent to paper towels; the wrapping always blocks the middle of the package, and the labelling is usually in Polish; this can be confusing when selecting, and disappointing after purchasing. (It took me six years to learn to squeeze the package in the centre vertically.) Facial tissue is at the other side of the store -- next to body soap, toothpaste, and feminine hygiene products. The price (in Lithuanian ‘litas’) of facial tissue is between .29 and .59 for a packet of ten, or 3.99 and 5.99 for a box of 100. Coffee might be 4.99 for 250 grams, and 11.99 for 500 grams. Laundry detergent must be for only white, or colour, or black; no laundry detergent will wash all colours. I cannot find toothpaste with fluoride. There is no salted butter, no dehydrated onion, no frozen TV dinners, no sauce Béarnaise, no brown gravy, and (most sadly to me) no Kraft macaroni-and-cheese. To find Coca-Cola in cans, rather than plastic bottles, is rare; I like two cans a month; I do not like the taste from bottles. There is no canned soup; “no one buys soup, everyone makes soup”. There is no sliced roast-beef; ‘shaved’ sliced-meat is unknown in markets and restaurants (although there may be some smoked game-meat, and imported prosciutto ham). Hellman’s” mayonnaise is always in the refrigerated section; the Hellman’s high price promotes the cheap local versions that must always be refrigerated. There is a wide selection of smoked (i.e., not stove/oven cooked) dried sausage; at great variety of prices and appearances; I buy whatever the person next to me buys. There is something not available in Canada/US: ‘surelis’, which is ‘curd’ (like cottage cheese, but solid) of some dozen flavourings, covered with chocolate; about the size of a small “Milky-Way” candy bar; it must be kept refrigerated, or it could melt to goo.

On restaurant tables, now there are usually salt and pepper shakers; good-luck getting the salt out of the shaker: the salt is not iodized, the grains are larger, and the wet Lithuanian climate makes nigh-impossible using the shaker. On a restaurant table, to find ketchup would be rare. Occasionally there are napkins, always of the texture of tissue paper, which are absolutely useless.

About two years ago, the law changed governing the sales of alcohol in stores. Now, there are no more late-night, or 24-hour (‘always open’), stores selling booze. There are no retail-store sales of any alcohol after 10pm. The same law also prohibits store sales of any alcohol on the first weekday of September, because that is the day that all children (from kindergarten through university) return to school. I do not really understand the reasoning, given the result that this day has now become ‘Go to Bar Day’. Alcoholics often drink ‘surrogate alcohol’: cheap cleaning-solvents and perfumes. The capitol city has a high number of alcoholics, drug addicts (usually heroin), homeless, and psychiatric cases populating the streets and parks; this situation did not exist in Soviet times, and appears to be worsening recently. Suicide rates remain amongst the highest in the world. Abusive family instances are beginning to get some attention by the society-at-large.

One of the most visible improvements in day-to-day life is the reduction of randomly discarded refuse. Six years ago, there was trash thrown everywhere; the improvement was rather strange. Most of the refuse was empty beer containers: 1/4 litre glass bottles, 2 litre plastic bottles, and beer cans. First, a 25-cent refundable deposit was placed on the small glass re-useable bottles; returnable to most places of sales. More recently, a premium of 2 or 3 cents was given for the recyclable 2-litre bottles and aluminium cans; however, the locations for such returns are few-and-far-between. Making the beverage containers returnable did not, of itself, solve the refuse problem, because most people would not be bothered to carry the bottles/cans back to a store or to a refuse collection centre; and, perhaps some attached a social stigma to seeking a refund. Therefore, everyone continued to throw-away the bottles/cans. However, in the last couple of years, the large (and apparently increasing) number of destitute people has taken up the ‘job’ of collecting discarded glass/plastic bottles and aluminium cans; such beverage containers now have been eliminated from all public places.

Water often flows directly off buildings’ roofs (and balconies); usually, there are gutters to channel the roof water to downspouts. However, in either case, the vast majority of buildings (including the renovated and the newest) deposit the roof water to alongside the exterior of the building ! The result is: water in the basement, destruction of foundation walls, and water onto sidewalks and streets; and, ice-accumulation is increased, causing further problems. Sidewalks are usually paved with square concrete tile-blocks (about 14 inches / 32 cm), which due to the significant amount of water results in disturbing their supporting soil, causing further uneven (or collapsed) sidewalk pavement providing for increased collection water on sidewalks. Moreover, the streets are not arced, to direct any water to roadway-gutters, nor are the streets sloped to channel water to storm drains; moreover, there are always an insufficient number of storm drains. The lack of good design and infrastructure to control run-off water turns land into veritable swamps. And: it rains alot in LT !! Perhaps, engineering schools in Lithuania might benefit from a study of how the Romans (i.e., 2,000 years ago) controlled water runoffs.

Snow removal is most-often left to the one responsible for creating the snow: God. Very recently, there are now some snowploughing trucks that are beyond the old Soviet army-trucks fitted with ploughs. Still, there is no equipment or ‘systems’ of the sort found in Canada, or even in the USA; there is no sidewalk ploughing, no snow blowers; the method is still to use shovels (often home-made from a broom handle attached to a squared piece of metal or plywood) and brooms (made from the gathering of tree branches).

Similarly, grass-cutting is not ‘developed’. It is rare to see any tractors, or even riding lawnmowers. There is some use of gasoline-powered lawnmowers, but without collecting the cuttings, so hand raking is required thereafter. It is not unusual to see ‘weed-wackers’ being used to cut hectares / acres of grass.

Tap water has very-high levels of minerals, which cause problems with pipes, washing machines, hot-water heaters, water boilers, showerheads, faucets, valves, etc. There are the common announcements: ‘no water today’, or ‘no water this week’; the pipes and machinery periodically have to be cleaned of clogs.

In all cities, heat to all buildings is provided ‘centrally’, meaning from one or more huge thermal plants (gas or oil fired), with the hot water piped (underground) to each building throughout the municipality. Apparently, a ‘monopoly’ is allowed for this industry; moreover, residents or buildings are ‘restricted’ (or not allowed) to have their own individual heating system installed.

Colleges / universities are governed by their own faculty, in ‘senates’ -- which appoint ‘rectors’ (i.e., chief-operating officers) from their own faculty membership. There is no concept of governance by ‘trustees’ for not-for-profit organizations (which are called NGO’s -- ‘non-governmental organizations’). In the non-educational sectors of public institutions, the entire leadership of the institution is vested exclusively in a managing ‘director’ (head administrator), responsible only to the government (as in Soviet times). Thus, there is no private fund-raising; the institution is entirely governmentally supported; the institution is responsible to its workers (as in Soviet times; the ‘workers, collectively, effectively own the institution’) and/or the government, and not to its clients or to the taxpayers.

The intra-city public transportation system consists of trolley and bus vehicles. [There is also some quasi-legal mini-vans ‘companies’ operating ‘route taxi services’; both intra-city and inter-cities.] Perhaps some four years ago, the public transport system had route maps, inside of each vehicle and at each ‘stop’; these route maps lasted for about six months. Then, the maps were removed. However, no one could read the microscopic printing of the name of the streets on the maps, especially the maps printed as handouts. In 2010, a new system was instigated regarding how passengers enter the vehicle. Previously, everyone entered and exited from any of the three doors. Now, passengers must enter through only the front door, where their tickets can be checked (as well as their behaviour). This change to public transportation took more than fifty years. Two years ago, each bus/trolley was equipped with an electronic device to accept passenger tickets; these devices have never worked.

The economic situation of the last couple of years has had some very visible effects. Some street lighting has been turned-off. Crime is increasing, especially in rural areas. Office buildings have very-high vacancies. Many storefronts are empty. Bankruptcies have dramatically increased. Many houses, which began construction in last couple of years, are not completed, or are often vacant, or never have been occupied; there are areas of newer neighbourhoods that are ‘ghost streets’.

The concept of a public ‘classical debate’ is making appearance in Lithuania. On 30 November 2010, the ‘Vilnius International Club’ and ‘Mykolas Romeris University’ of Vilnius presented a debate, with distinguished speakers on both sides of the ‘motion’:
American Style Capitalism is at its collapse
in tandem with the collapse of Soviet style communism;
therefore the European Union must find other ways
to protect and promote enlightenment values

* * * * *

Conclusion

Regardless of any true/actual cause-effect relationship, people in Lithuania will tend to associate their present and coming lifestyle status with ‘democracy’ and the ‘free-market’ (a/k/a ‘capitalist’) system . . .

Since former-president, now Prime Minister Putin rose to power ten years ago, Russian officials have insisted that their country will develop its own political system: sometimes called "sovereign democracy", as opposed to “parliamentary democracy” -- which many Russians associate with ‘poverty’. Russia may have abandoned communism, but Russia wants its own form of ‘free market’ system, and its own form of ‘democracy’; not such American-style, or Western-European style, systems.

Lithuania, and its neighbours, will be influenced by the developing systems in Russia.

Note: a version of this article appeared in the October-November 2010 and January-February 2011 issues of the Canadian subscribers’ journal, ‘Dialogue’ magazine
*********************
During the last two years,
the economy shrunk the huge amount of 15%;
the consolation is that this is not as bad
as next-door Latvia
that had the world’s greatest decrease at 18%.

*********************

The analyses of government and the banking sector
see ‘improvement’ because the rate of decrease is slowing.
Of course the rate of decrease is slowing;
if the rate were not slowing,
then in a half-dozen years there would be Zero economy !!

*********************

The ‘good news’ is that maybe there will be some growth,
maybe a-fraction-of-one-percent, this year.
Now, how many years will it take,
at the rate of a-fraction-of-one-percent per year,
to return the lost original amount ?
Statistically, that time period is well-beyond my life expectancy.

**************************

There is the anecdote of the politician visiting the countryside
to promote acceptance of Lithuania becoming
a member of the European Union.
After his speech, he accepted questions.
As is typical in Lithuania, there were no questions.
Finally, from the back of the room, some old farmer asked,
“If everyone is going to make more money,
then won’t prices for everything go up?”
Everyone laughed; everyone knew that the old farmer
had never gone to school, was poor, and very very stupid.

**************************

There is an anecdote at a local university:
“I think that we are having very important visitor today.”
“Maybe a politician, or even a minister?”
“No; more important; maybe a foreign prime minister, or head of state.
The lavatory has soap to wash your hands, paper to wipe your hands,
and even toilet paper.”

*********************

... it is not possible to buy a bar of body-soap larger than 100 grams ...

*********************

The price (in Lithuanian ‘litas’) of facial tissue is between .29 and .49 for a packet of ten, or 3.99 and 4.99 for a box of 100. Coffee might be 4.99 for 250 grams, and 11.99 for 500 grams.

*********************

There is no canned soup; “no one buys soup, everyone makes soup”.

*********************

Snow removal is most-often left to the one responsible for creating the snow: God.

*********************

Russian officials have insisted that their country will develop its own political system: sometimes called "sovereign democracy", as opposed to “parliamentary democracy” -- which many Russians associate with ‘poverty’.

*********************