What happened to Lithuania's identity? This country that for hundreds of years was characterized by tolerance, openness and multiculturalism? This country that 20 years ago arose from decades of Soviet occupation and oppression in a very dignified, admirable way that resonated throughout the world? What happened to the ideals of the Middle Ages, the years between the world wars and the popular movement that triggered the nation’s new declaration of independence in 1990?

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs may have found a way to restore the country’s identity by pioneering a new type of symbol to convey the character of this nation in a ‘fragrant way’ – with a bottle of perfume. The ministry has already sent bottles of the new fragrance to Lithuania’s embassies around the globe. The project with olfactory appeal is "a good example of how to communicate Lithuania to the public in an innovative way", according to a foreign ministry statement. "We wanted to create something special, representing Lithuania and the Lithuanian character," Mindaugas Stongvilas, an expert in emotional communication behind the project told the newspaper Vilniaus diena earlier this year.

In Scandinavia and the British Isles, it is probably the word crime, which will be first mentioned if one is asked to say something about Lithuania’s identity of today, though most people know very little about Lithuania whatsoever.

The few times Lithuania is 'honoured' with headlines in Western media, it involves, unfortunately, all too often stories about crime or about the nation's homophobia and the neo-Nazis’ parades and newfound popularity in a country that above all others should have learned from the sad and serious mistakes to its own Jewish population during the years of Holocaust.

Identity is much more than new slogans, logos, or perfume-stunts – although they also are of important elements in creating a new country profile.

My suggestion is that this nation looks back to the times when tolerance, dignity and widely recognized respect for other nations, religions and cultures was this country's hallmark and identity.

Because that’s what this fine country deserves...