THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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Archive for October, 2011
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Above: Signatures by VIC’s initial ‘working group’
in October 2001, 10 years ago.
Visit the VIC web page:
http://vilnius-international-club.com/
Vilnius International Club (VIC) has since October 2001* been a leading club and a dynamic meeting point for local people with international interests and for expatriates from many countries. The club’s mission is to support and encourage the cultural, historic, and economic vitality of Vilnius as a capital city and of Lithuania as an outstanding historic and contemporary scene for interaction and constructive activities between fine people from many countries. Men and women from the expatriate and Lithuanian communities, working in diplomatic, business, and cultural spheres, fulfil VIC’s mission through fellowship, monthly meetings, and occasional charitable programmes.
*VIC started its activities in October 2001, and was formally established in February 2002.
***************************************************************************************************
Opinions about VIC over the years
VIC has built a new bridge...
VIC is a refreshing initiative that has built a new bridge between local Lithuanians and foreigners in Vilnius. The success of the Club is a result of good balance between many different nationalities and great variety of cultural and social activities. It is important to maintain high share of Lithuanians in VIC as expatriates do not need a club to meet foreigners..
- Bjarne-Espen Christiansen, Manager of Scandinavian Airlines (Denmark)
The VIC format is very unique...
I think VIC format is very unique. It encompasses many features that many other clubs/organizations, between which we share our off-duty time, lack. It has planned events schedule, as well as beautiful ad-hoc social surprises; and, most importantly, diversity of people and themes.
- Vygandas Juras, Partner of Baltcap Management (Lithuania)
Potential to integrate Vilnius community into modern Europe...
It is a creative organisation with huge potential to integrate Vilnius community into modern Europe.
- Daiva Vitkute, Managing Director, Vilnius Consult (Lithuania)
I am extremely grateful for Vilnius International Club actions...
I am extremely grateful for Vilnius International Club actions enhancing cultural, historical and economic life in our city. I am also thankful for charity programs set for unprivileged inhabitants of the city. The variety of activities you accomplish in the city contributes to the philanthropic movement development as well as assists with the implementation of tangible social projects in Vilnius...
- The Mayor of Vilnius City Municipality, Arturas Zuokas
Always useful presentations and interesting people...
Always useful presentations, interesting people and comfortable surroundings...
- Dr. Kaare Hauge, Ambassador of Norway (Norway)
Well done with this great initiative...
I am very impressed with the diverse and extensive activities of VIC in Vilnius. I am sorry I can not participate in them while in Israel, but your detailed reports convey the sense as if I am there in the meetings. Well done with this great initiative.
- Amos Eiran, Lithuanian Consul, Tel Aviv (Israel).
I was thrilled to know that such an organization exists...
I was thrilled to know that such an organization exists and is dealing with such important past and present issues. It is organizations and events such as these that make me long for living in Lithuania...
- Jonas R. Bielkevicius, Electric Engineer, Boston (USA)
Something utmost wonderful I have experienced so far...
The VIC is something utmost wonderful I have experienced so far. It is very nice, democratic and intelligent. Unfortunately it is not possible to attend all events. Looking forward to meet at VIC soon!
- Andrius Koncius, General Director of COWI Baltic (Lithuania).
It has been a useful networking source...
I very much value the VIC. It has been a useful networking source as well as an excellent venue to discuss issues that I face as a professional in Vilnius with other thoughtful, insightful ex-pats.
- Michael Sessums, 2nd Secretary of US Embassy (USA)
Magnificent atmosphere and a very warm audience...
It really was a magnificent atmosphere and a very warm audience...
- Judita Leitaite, Lithuania's leading mezzo-soprano, after her VIC performance.
Atmosphere where I can combine my business interests with...
VIC meetings provide the atmosphere where I can combine my business interests with my common human need for communication, education and self-development. I hope I put my contribution to this atmosphere as well.
- Vaidotas Variavicius, General Director of Vilniaus Margarino Gamykla (Lithuania)
I am so impressed...
I am so impressed by VIC! Meeting theme suggestion: LITHUANIAN BUSINESS ATTITUDE AND HABITS. Several foreigners doing business in Lithuania have said the business in Lithuania is slow. Everything takes much longer time than estimated. Locals give impression they are ready to sign contracts any time, but still there are many arguments to postpone signing.
- Arne Brattetaule, Director of STATOIL Lubricants (Norway)
One of my most important opportunities...
VIC - one of my most important opportunities to join with international others in appreciating Vilnius as a place to live and as a total experience. Exiting men and women who are making a difference in Vilnius and Lithuania are members of VIC would like you to join them in celebrating and developing Vilnius. Don't miss the opportunity!
- Dr. Woodrow Sears, Management Consultant/University Instructor (USA)
I look forward to the next event with eager anticipation...
I have only been a friend of VIC for a short time and so only attended the Opening Concert of the Lithuanian Philharmonic with Muza Rubackyte and Stefan Lano so far. What an evening. An enthralling, moving concert followed by a superb reception with the performers and an opportunity to meet other, very friendly members of the VIC. I look forward to the next event with eager anticipation.
- Andy Williams, Consultant of Policijos Departementas prie VRM (Great Britain)
The Club provides interesting programs and events...
I am very happy to participate, whenever time permits, in the activities of VIC. The Club provides interesting programs and events and I wish you success and many more members.
- Vytas Gruodis, Director General of Baltic Management Institute (Canadian-Lithuanian)
A truly splendid idea/creation couched in very noble words...
A truly splendid idea/creation couched in very noble words. It seems to me that VIC has great potential for much real good.
- Dr. Arunas Gasparaitis, Radiologist, Chicago (USA).
I always wish I had been there...
I think VIC is a very good organisation doing useful work in modern society. The political and social coverage is very good... I think VIC could usefully develop an interactive platform connected directly to its published activities. When I read what speakers have said at VIC meetings I always wish I had been there to hear and react.
- Mervyn Benford, Lecturer, Oxford (UK)
VIC fills the gap...
VIC fills the gap between formal associations and social clubs - it provides a forum for discussion, yet in an informal enviroment. It allows networking without the constrained commitment that one feels in more organized meetings - sometimes this is the best type of networking because the start is on building friendships and not on business contact.
- Arunas Pemkus, General Director of Hill & Knowlton, Vilnius (USA)
Doing something to improve the situation...
What I find extremely important is that there is no obligation to attend the meetings, and when you attend it is great pleasure. And I value that we do not just gather and talk but also do something to improve the situation. Meeting theme suggestion:- Why foreigners choose Lithuania for business and living? Perhaps minutes of such meeting could be published in press so that young generation could see that it is worth staying in Lithuania.
- Agne Zinkevciute, Director of Vilnius Consulting Group (Lithuania)
Rich variety...
I think the themes have been interesting, and with a rich variety.
- Bertil Abrahamsson, Director, Lithuanian Telecom (Sweden)
Good program...
I think VIC's program is very good!
- Peter Modeen, Consultant, The World Bank (Finland)
A wonderful job...
You are doing a wonderful job managing VIC and there was no need to think myself about interesting programs.
- Carl Berneheim, Gen. Director of Cebeco Timber (Sweden)
I like the diversity...
I like the diversity of the programs and people. No specific suggestions, other than keep up the interesting programs!
- Chris Helmkamp, Reporting Manager, RIMI (USA)
A secret sect...?
It has a reputation of being a secret sect amongst some Lithuanians I know. This is supported by the fact that you get to hear about it only trough others and need to be invited in. I know it's not really like that but that is the impression. Should there be some low key publicity - a listing in Vilnius in Your Pocket? A website? Just something simple? May cause a membership explosion that would be difficult to manage.
- Andy Williams, Consultant, Lithuanian Police (UK)
Meetings are great...
Meetings are great, delightful people/guests and relevant topics...
- Rita Sakus, Consultant/Lecturer (Canada)
A vibrant and active club...
Allow me to congratulate you on having built a vibrant and active club that continues to address current and relevant issues.
- Sanjay Deva, General Manager of Gothenburg Radisson SAS Park Avenue Hotel (India)
This is not just a business club...
This is not just a business club. We meet a lot of different people and our communication is not limited by business topics. That goes perfectly well with the spirit of Vilnius, which through ages recommended itself as a cultural, multinational center. Especially appreciated are cultural and art-related programs. I would also like to suggest some activities which would bring concrete outcome: For example: Maybe our charity programs could be ongoing, so we could follow up on what we have done, and to continue the program for a certain period of time. I also think that we sometimes forget about the conception of our club and do not try to take what is best from our members in order to improve Vilnius, and make it a safe, nice and developed European city. We have very interesting and democratic people within the club, and I wish we could avoid that the club's activity becomes limited to observation of the situation.
- Ruta Bilkstyte, Senior Tax Expert, Deloitte&Touche (Lithuania)
*************************** VIC Mission Statement ***************************
The Vilnius International Club (VIC) supports and encourages the
cultural, historic, and economic vitality of Vilnius as a capital city.
Men and women from the expatriate and Lithuanian communities,
working in diplomatic, business, and cultural spheres, fulfill VIC's
mission through fellowship, monthly meetings, and occasional
charitable programmes.
******************************************************************************************
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Lithuania: World’s Goofiest Tourism Promoter?
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Lithuania’s National Tourism Board is not going to back down. After Stephen Colbert reviewed the board’s Lithuania perfume harshly earlier this year -- “smells like a goat slaughtered at a lesbian drum circle” -- and everyone had a laugh at the country’s expense, it seemed logical that the board would not be bringing up the eau de Eastern Bloc again, that the tonic would be put on a shelf somewhere next to Alan Cumming’s “Cumming” and “Bruce Willis,” the manliest of all scents. Not so much.
The board has announced that it will be handing out the perfume at the World Travel Market event beginning next month in London. European travel agents, who are certainly clamoring for the spritz, can get their sample at the nation’s booth, where they will also have a chance to rub shoulders with celebrity.
Travel Daily reports that the Mayor of Vilnius will also be appearing at WTM, where he will no doubt get the celebrity treatment. A Youtube video of Arturas Zuokas crushing an illegally-park luxury car with a tank went viral earlier this year, sending a strong message about civic-mindedness and reminding everyone that Lithuanian Mayors have tanks at their disposal.
Zuokas also floated a plan this week to buy a Greek island and turn it into a tourist resort. For those keeping track, Lithuania is over a thousand miles from Greece.
Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/lithuania-worlds-goofiest_n_1004759.html
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Lithuania and the memory of the Shoah (Holocaust)
By Yves Plasseraud, Paris
May Lithuania rot in hell for a thousand years! This is what one could recently read in a Letter to VilNews’ Editor. This vindictive sentence sums up, in a nutshell, the language of a number of the current Western (including Israeli) and Russian discourses on this Baltic country. The rationale behind this demonization is what the authors of these writings consider as the radical and supposedly built-in anti-Semitism of the Lithuanians.
To support their demonstration, they argue that the « Lithuanians » have recently been systematically trying to obliterate their massive participation in the Shoah (Holocaust) by putting forward the forged thesis of the so-called « double genocide ». Two of their main arguments in this respect are the Lithuanian support to the 2008 Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, and on the one hand, the name and the exhibits of the Vilnius Genocide Museum on the other hand (displaying much more about the Soviet oppression than about the Nazi one).
These two points are indeed objectively questionable and, more generally, despite many significant progresses, there are evidently a number of things to criticize in the Lithuanian handling of the Jewish question. Nothing however justifies the current intensity of their gesticulations and the « ontological » hate against this country they manifest ! In these matters, Lithuania is certainly not worse than most of the post-soviet countries of the East-Central European Area. Amongst the nations of the area, Lithuania is probably the one which has accomplished the biggest steps toward recognition and information of its dark pages in history, and these critics appear to systematically ignore this fact. The recent reaction of the informed public about the recent neo-Nazi parade in Vilnius offers a good illustration of this evolution.
If these current harsh and oversized critics really wanted to help the Lithuanian society progress forward on the way of recognition and democracy, it seems evident that they would adopt a more acceptable and convincing language. They would also address the Lithuanian public and not the Western media which are basically very uniformed of these matters and furthermore deprived of any contacts with the Lithuanian population.
If their aim is really an improvement of the situation on the Eastern-Central European ground at large, it also appears that they should concentrate on what takes place currently in the field of human rights. In this respect, a country like Russia where racism is unfortunately omnipresent and where historical revisionism is often a state Policy should be a central preoccupation! On the contrary, they regularly side-up with Moscow in criticizing the small neighbouring countries!
No, their attitude is not rational and obviously originates from somewhere else and has other objectives which – at this point – are unfortunately not very clear.
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Non-Jewish witnesses to
Holocaust in Lithuania?
Washington, D.C. – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is looking for people to share their experiences of life in Lithuania during World War II and the Holocaust. Ina Navazelskis of the Museum’s Oral History Branch is particularly interested in speaking with non-Jewish Lithuanian witnesses to the Holocaust who now live in the U.S. or Canada.
“If you have a story to tell, or know somebody who does,” Navazelskis told VilNews, “I hope you’ll contact me. I want to hear your story and how it intersects with the Holocaust.”
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Non-Jewish witnesses to
Holocaust in Lithuania?
Washington, D.C. – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is looking for people to share their experiences of life in Lithuania during World War II and the Holocaust. Ina Navazelskis of the Museum’s Oral History Branch is particularly interested in speaking with non-Jewish Lithuanian witnesses to the Holocaust who now live in the U.S. or Canada.
“If you have a story to tell, or know somebody who does,” Navazelskis told VilNews, “I hope you’ll contact me. I want to hear your story and how it intersects with the Holocaust.”
Navazelskis can be reached at inavazelskis@ushmm.org.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is seeking people to talk to about the Holocaust in Lithuania.
This advertisement was placed in the Lithuanian-language magazine Draugas, published in Chicago.
As a result of outreach efforts by the museum, people are coming forward to tell stories that have never before been told. “They say, ‘I don’t want to go to my grave without sharing what I saw,’” Navazelskis said.
Navazelskis wants to know not only what people saw, but also who they were and what their world was like. “This will help us recapture a lost part of history,” she said. Since many of the direct witnesses have died, “this is the eleventh hour.”
“Maybe you saw a hidden Jewish child,” she said, “or knew Jewish students at your school who disappeared. Maybe you know of someone who helped to rescue Jews, or can tell us what people in your town had to say about what was happening to those who were deemed to be enemies of the Third Reich.”
Navazelskis wants to hear about deportations, looting of Jewish property, public reaction to the events of the Nazi occupation. She wants to learn how events were portrayed in newspapers, newsreels, radio broadcasts, and posters.
Interviewees have been tape-recorded or filmed in Europe, Israel, and North America. They range from ordinary citizens to public figures.
Marcelijus Martinaitis recounted that he was five years old and riding in a wagon with his father when he saw Jews being driven into the forest to be shot. His father covered his eyes, but he heard the screams of the victims.
Algimantas Gureckas, a former leader of the Lithuanian World Community, an émigré organization, recalled working in a ration card office in Panevezys, where he met scores of local citizens every day. He testified about how local people reacted on the day when the Jews of the city were shot.
Ada Gens offered testimony about her Lithuanian mother and her father, Jacob Gens, who headed the Jewish community within the Vilna Ghetto. She spoke of her father’s negotiations with the Nazi command of the ghetto and of his death at the hands of the Gestapo.
The late Laimonas Noreika testified that he was working in an orchard near the Ninth Fort, the notorious killing site near Kaunas, when a soldier approached and offered him a sweater because he seemed cold. Horrified, he realized the sweater must belong to a Jew who had been murdered at the fort.
The museum’s oral history archive contains more than 12,000 audio and video interviews. The collection is open to the public and will preserve these stories for future generations
To reach Ina Navazelskis, write to her at inavazelskis@ushmm.org.
Ellen Cassedy traces her Jewish family roots to Rokiskis and Siauliai. Her book, We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust, will be published in March of 2012. She lives in Washington, D.C. Visit her website at www.ellencassedy.com.
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Bloomberg
IMF Says Lithuania Needs Measures to Meet 2012 Budget Target
By Milda Seputyte
Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Lithuania needs to implement spending and revenue measures equal to 1.25 percent of economic output to meet its 2012 budget-deficit target, the International Monetary Fund said.
Gross domestic product is slowing because of weaker export demand in the euro region, and “given the upside risks to the fiscal deficit, a contingency plan consisting of further measures should be prepared,” James Morsink, the IMF’s mission chief, told reporters in Vilnius today. The Washington-based lender expects Lithuania’s economy to expand 3.5 percent next year.
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Reflections from Dainų Šventė
“Funk and dance,
not folk song, is our life,
our lifestyle”
Breakdancer executing a one-handed spin to the song Jump
Around by House of Pain in Kalnu Parkas, Vilnius,
on the opening night of Dainų Šventė, 2009
Text: Emily Šaras
Associate Editor
It was a misty and moist afternoon in the summer of 2009, a year that celebrated Vilnius, Lithuania as a European Capital of Culture. Just as eager as I was sleep-deprived, I started my ethnomusicology research project that night by observing the opening Dainų Šventė event. My particular strain of jet lag – the seven-hour difference between Vilnius and Boston – was still a haunting presence, leading me to wander zombie-like throughout the streets of Senamiestis that evening. But even in my undead state, I was on a mission: like the hundreds of Lithuanians gathered in the city center, I had come to the opening night festivities of Dainų Šventė to hear my first taste of Lithuanian dainos (folk music) performed live. A hedgehog in the fog, I sought musical truth to clear out my haze.
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Reflections from Dainų Šventė
“Funk and dance, not folk song,
is our life, our lifestyle”
Breakdancer executing a one-handed spin to the song Jump
Around by House of Pain in Kalnu Parkas, Vilnius,
on the opening night of Dainų Šventė, 2009
Text: Emily Šaras
Associate Editor
It was a misty and moist afternoon in the summer of 2009, a year that celebrated Vilnius, Lithuania as a European Capital of Culture. Just as eager as I was sleep-deprived, I started my ethnomusicology research project that night by observing the opening Dainų Šventė event. My particular strain of jet lag – the seven-hour difference between Vilnius and Boston – was still a haunting presence, leading me to wander zombie-like throughout the streets of Senamiestis that evening. But even in my undead state, I was on a mission: like the hundreds of Lithuanians gathered in the city center, I had come to the opening night festivities of Dainų Šventė to hear my first taste of Lithuanian dainos (folk music) performed live. A hedgehog in the fog, I sought musical truth to clear out my haze.
By the early evening hours, dozens of benches were already full with an audience of all ages. The concept that these strangers would gather in Katedros Aikštė to unabashedly and publicly sing together astounded me. As a classical singer, I have become accustomed to performing solo on a stage, separated from my audience. Yet these patient Lithuanians sang along to a recording of “Ant Kalno Mūrai,” with lyrics projected on a large video screen like a large, nationalist karaoke party. Was this the authentic Lithuania my grandfather, a refugee during the Soviet Occupation in the late 1930s, had described in the stories he told me when I was a child? Perhaps, I thought, but with some newfangled technology involved. For a moment, I believed in the homogeneity of the spectacle.
Yet before the choirs began to sing for both the live audience and the thousands of Lithuanian viewers glued to their television sets at home, I broke away from the crowd in the event seating area to follow a curious sound that reminded me of home – a saxophone. Keeping an eye on the growing masses behind me, I walked about a hundred yards away from the crowd into Kalnų Parkas, the wooded, hilly area behind the city’s famous cathedral. There, I found the boom-box, the break dance mat, and eleven twenty-somethings jamming to what suddenly sounded so exotic against the folk backdrop: funk music.
The troupe members rotated on and off the mat, contorting their bodies into spinning shapes. They smiled, breathed excitedly and hummed along with the distorted saxophone melody line. Intrigued, I pulled the leader of the troupe aside for an interview. I was quite curious as to why they were dancing to funk under the trees instead of singing at the national festival in the square. Folk music, after all, is defined as the music of the people.
The young man took a pause, and a long drag of his joint before offering me a hit. Disappointed at my refusal (some American I am), he motioned back to growing the crowds and shook his head. Over there, he explained to me, was not the music he identified with. “Funk and dance, not folk song, is our life, our lifestyle…Funk is our music.” Such a simple but poignant statement shocked me. It was only away from all of the media publicity surrounding Capital of Culture 2009 events that I had come into contact with artists my age whose musical identities are on the blurred margins of Lithuanian musical culture. And just like that, he jumped back on the mat and threw his body into a spin.
Pluralism persisted right there in front of me, even on the night all Lithuanians were supposed to come together in unified song. All of a sudden, I understood the night’s haze in a different light: there was beauty in this newfound blur between musical genres. Towards the end of the concert, the orchestra began the finale with a pop song. “Kaip gyveni? Gerai!” (How are you? Great!) sang the audience members as two of them grabbed my hands and shook them in the air. We had never spoken to each other before, and yet all of us were dancing together, sharing in a friendly moment in which even I, the American outsider, felt included and welcomed.
That night in the fog, I threw away my search for the authentic and started to study music that crosses and blurs the borders of society. I could not clearly define the evening’s particular mix of music, but it was clear that the heterogeneity and the haziness were the definitive parts of us all coming together. People from all over the world are connected to the small city of Vilnius, and diversity and pluralism at the core of this country’s ancient history. My experiences that foggy night are reflections of that truth. Music has the power to connect our voices and bring us into musical and emotional harmony with one another. Perhaps this spirit of connection offers us a viewpoint that looks beyond our “norms” to see the value of the music, art, and culture within margins of our community.
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The mayor of Lithuania's capital city, Vilnius, has come up with the suggestion of buying a Greek island as a colony that would serve as a tourist resort.
There is no doubt that the Greek economy could do with the boost a cash injection would bring and the mayor of Vilnius in Lithuania has a suggestion that would add to the coffers. Arturas Zuokas, mayor of Lithuania’s capital city, posed the wonderful idea of purchasing a Greek island for the Baltic country to use as an extra tourist resort. Instead of Lithuanians spending their vacation on foreign shores and their Lithuanian litas elsewhere, they could holiday in a Lithuanian colony sitting on a Greek island.
Read more:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/312515#ixzz1aHcHlrxh
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An officer of the Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania explained to policemen that he had got extremely tired at work and fell asleep behind the wheel.
On October 6 at about 9.15 p.m. in Vilnius at the crossing of Naugarduko and Algirdo Streets a counsellor of the Belarus Embassy Yaraslau Diktiyeuski in a car VW Jetta with green diplomatic number plates crashed into a standing Renault minibus, which banged into a BMW car, DELFI reports.
The Belarusian diplomat driving VW Jetta has not been injured, and there were no people in the other cars. As said by the policemen, the diplomat was dead drunk, but he resfued to be tested by an alcohol-screening device. He explained to the policemen that he had become extremely tired at work and fell asleep behind the wheel.
Read more:
http://www.charter97.org/en/news/2011/10/7/43375/
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Loved the paper
Hello,
I have just returned from a trip to Vilnius. Being of Lithuanian ancestry it is a trip I have wanted to take for over 50 years, but one I never thought I would make. I went with my husband, my brother and his wife. It was a wonderful trip, and I was greatly surprised by the beauty of Vilnius. I am only sad we did not allow enough time to see other parts of the country.
In looking for information on Lithuania I came across VilNews. I was wondering if it is possible to have it sent directly to my e-mail - or if I have to tune in to read it.
Thank You,
Mary Ann Albee
+++++
Dear Mary Ann,
We are no longer sending VilNews as a newsletter to email receivers. Please visit our website as often as you can, at www.VilNews.com
It’s all for free!
The Editor
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Lithuania’s friends
and brothers
Soviet propaganda poster during the winter
war with Finland, 1939-1940.
From Wikipedia.org.
“Do you know how we Fins look upon the Russians as brothers or friends?” A Finnish friend of mine asked, and soon he revealed the answer: “We consider them our brothers, of course, because friends you can choose yourself.”
Lithuania of today is facing the problem Finland has had to deal with for many decades, and is now learning the art of keeping close ties to the West without irritating Russia too much. But Lithuania has got many more “friendship dimensions” to tackle; to keep up the mood towards the EU and to balance its relations between America and Western Europe.
Many would even say that it is questionable who are the real friends of Lithuania within Lithuania itself, or as a columnist recently wrote on this issue: “All these scandals and infights among politicians are no more than battles of personal interests which have very little if anything to do with interests of the nation.”
But first back to Russia, where a recent poll gives quite interesting information on how ordinary Russians view the relations with other countries. According to the poll, Russia's best friends are Belarus (47 percent), Kazakhstan (33 percent), China (24 percent), Germany (22 percent) and India (15 percent).
Russia's main foes are Latvia (46 percent), Georgia (44 percent), Lithuania (42 percent), the United States (37 percent), Estonia (28 per cent) and Ukraine (27 percent).
Lithuania is, in other words, considered one of Russia‘s top foes.
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Lithuania’s friends and brothers
Soviet propaganda poster during the winter
war with Finland, 1939-1940.
From Wikipedia.org.
“Do you know how we Fins look upon the Russians as brothers or friends?” A Finnish friend of mine asked, and soon he revealed the answer: “We consider them our brothers, of course, because friends you can choose yourself.”
Lithuania of today is facing the problem Finland has had to deal with for many decades, and is now learning the art of keeping close ties to the West without irritating Russia too much. But Lithuania has got many more “friendship dimensions” to tackle; to keep up the mood towards the EU and to balance its relations between America and Western Europe.
Many would even say that it is questionable who are the real friends of Lithuania within Lithuania itself, or as a columnist recently wrote on this issue: “All these scandals and infights among politicians are no more than battles of personal interests which have very little if anything to do with interests of the nation.”
But first back to Russia, where a recent poll gives quite interesting information on how ordinary Russians view the relations with other countries. According to the poll, Russia's best friends are Belarus (47 percent), Kazakhstan (33 percent), China (24 percent), Germany (22 percent) and India (15 percent).
Russia's main foes are Latvia (46 percent), Georgia (44 percent), Lithuania (42 percent), the United States (37 percent), Estonia (28 per cent) and Ukraine (27 percent).
Lithuania is, in other words, considered one of Russia‘s top foes.
As for Russo-US relations, Russia has the last 20 years been happy to have had relatively good ties with Uncle Sam. However, Putin's and Medvedev’s version of democracy is regarded by the United States as a slide towards totalitarianism.
Simultaneously, Russia is trying to improve its ‘security situations’. Around its eastern regions this is being done by establishing and strengthening a number of bilateral and multilateral partnerships, including strengthening Russo-Chinese strategic cooperative partnership, developing Russo-Indian ties and improving Russo-Japanese relations.
What Russia is doing to improve its ‘security situation’ with the Baltic States remains not always too clear, but a top Lithuanian politician told me recently that Russia now has more than 300 agents here, all trying to infiltrate and influence political changes as well as economy and other spheres, ready to ‘invest’ into areas where they see weaknesses in the Lithuanian economy, society and political life that could give Moscow some advantages by seeding discord.
We described recently how the big powers France, Germany, Poland, and Russia now seem to be moving into a better climate of cooperation among themselves. We suggested in this context that Lithuania and the other Baltic States once again could become victims of the great powers' actions, and we recommended a much closer cooperation with the Nordic countries (Scandinavia) as the best and safest solution for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the future.
The Baltic countries should, in my opinion, cooperate closely on a common approach to Scandinavia, and they should do their utmost to become independent of gas, oil and electricity from Russia – as soon as possible.
Lithuania already pays 50% more for gas bought from Gazprom than what Germany pays for the same gas, and there is little doubt that Russia is doing everything possible to prevent the Baltic States from developing their own energy sources. Russia has already taken a number of worrisome, significant steps to maintain and enhance its energy monopoly here.
The Baltic States may soon be even more squeezed and caught in a trap if the Nordic countries and the EU do not do more to help in achieving a much higher degree of independence from Russian energy.
It’s good to have brothers. Friends are sometimes even better.
Aage Myhre, Editor-in-Chief
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France's energy giant EDF has refused a Russian offer to build a nuclear power plant, Lithuania's Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said after meeting his French counterpart Francois Fillon.
Kubilius said Fillon confirmed during a visit to Vilnius Friday that state-owned EDF had rejected Moscow's invitation to construct a plant in its Baltic territory of Kaliningrad, which borders Lithuania.
Kubilius told reporters that Fillon told him "very clearly" that "Russia had intensively called on EDF to take part in building the Kaliningrad nuclear power plant and EDF refused".
Vilnius has criticised the planned plant, claiming security requirements have not been met in the project.
Russia rejects the charge and says the plant, meant to be online by 2016, would be the safest in the world, reports LETA/ELTA.
Lithuania shut down its only nuclear plant – a Soviet-era facility – in 2009 under the terms of its 2004 European Union entry.
It aims to build a new one by 2020 with fellow ex-communist EU members Poland, Latvia and Estonia, and is currently in talks with Japanese-US conglomerate Hitachi GE.
Read more at:
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/energy/?doc=46617
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Lithuania restores Austrian ambassador
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Lithuanian officials claimed that 14 unarmed Lithuanians were murdered by Golovatov and his more than 1.000 KGB and army soldiers in Vilnius on the 13th of January 1991.
VILNIUS -- Lithuania's has returned its ambassador to Austria after the two countries came to an agreement on justice and international arrest warrants.
Lithuania pulled its ambassador to the country earlier this year when Austria detained but then set free Mikhail Golovatov, who is accused by Lithuania of taking part in a 1991 massacre. Lithuania has put out an international arrest warrant for Golovatov.
"I believe, that this case, so sensitive to Lithuania, has become a good lesson for Europe and boosted its solidarity. However, we should not stop fighting for a joint European attitude towards history, no matter how difficult the path may be,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis.
Read more at: http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/29691/
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First and second round of Lithuanian Litas
Front and back of 1922, 50 Centai banknote.
Front and back of 1929, 5 Litai banknote.
Front and back of 1922, 100 Litai banknote.
Photos courtesy of Colnect.
Auksinas
to Russian Ruble
to Ostmark and Ostruble
to Litas
to Soviet Ruble
to Litas
– the first and second introduction of the Lithuanian Litas
The official currency of the Republic of Lithuania is the Litas. Twice it has been the official currency. The first period was during the inter-war years when Lithuania regained its independence from Imperial Russia and the second period began in 1993, after Lithuania regained its independence from Soviet Russia, and is still the official currency. We would like to share with you some interesting information about what was involved in the creation of the Litas and its reintroduction.
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OPINIONS
Have your say. Send to:
editor@VilNews.com
Ph. D., Chicago
A wave of unity sweeps the international Lithuanian community on March 11th every year as Lithuanians celebrated the anniversary of the Lithuanian Parliament's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. However, the sense of national unity engendered by the celebration could be short-lived.
Human beings have a strong tendency to overgeneralize and succumb to stereotypical us-them distinctions that can shatter even the strongest bonds. We need only search the internet to find examples of divisive thinking at work:
- "Those who fled Lithuania during World II were cowards -- and now they come back, flaunt their wealth, and tell us 'true Lithuanians' how to live."
- "Lithuanians who work abroad have abandoned their homeland and should be deprived of their Lithuanian citizenship."
In Lithuania Christmas Eve is a family event and the New Year's Eve a great party with friends!
Lithuanian say "Kaip sutiksi naujus metus, taip juos ir praleisi" (the way you'll meet the new year is the way you will spend it). So everyone is trying to spend New Year's Eve with friend and have as much fun as possible.
Lithuanian New Year's traditions are very similar to those in other countries, and actually were similar since many years ago. Also, the traditional Lithuanian New Years Eve party was very similar to other big celebrations throughout the year.
The New Year's Eve table is quite similar to the Christmas Eve table, but without straws under the tablecloth, and now including meat dishes. A tradition that definitely hasn't changes is that everybody is trying not to fell asleep before midnight. It was said that if you oversleep the midnight point you will be lazy all the upcoming year. People were also trying to get up early on the first day of the new year, because waking up late also meant a very lazy and unfortunate year.
During the New Year celebration people were dancing, singing, playing games and doing magic to guess the future. People didn't drink much of alcohol, especially was that the case for women.
Here are some advices from elders:
- During the New Year, be very nice and listen to relatives - what you are during New Year Eve, you will be throughout the year.
- During to the New Year Eve, try not to fall, because if this happens, next year you will be unhappy.
- If in the start of the New Year, the first news are good - then the year will be successful. If not - the year will be problematic.
* If New Year's night is cold and starry - look forward to a good summer!
* If the during New Year Eve trees are covered with frost - then it will be a good year. If it is wet weather on New Year's Eve, one can expect a year where many will die and dangerous epidemics occur.
* If the first day of the new year is snowy - the upcoming year will see many young people die. If the night is snowy - mostly old people will die.
* If the New Year time is cold - then Easter will be warm.
* If during New Year there are a lot of birds in your homestead - then all year around there will be many guests and the year will be fun.
Christmas greetings
from Vilnius
and epic battle for the
future
Philosopher, political theorist, historian of
ideas, social analyst, and political
commentator
Ukraine was and continues to be perceived by the EU political class as a sort of grey zone with its immense potential and possibilities for the future, yet deeply embedded and trapped in No Man's Land with all of its troubled past, post-Soviet traumas, ambiguities, insecurities, corruption, social divisions, and despair. Why worry for what has yet to emerge as a new actor of world history in terms of nation-building, European identity, and deeper commitments to transparency and free market economy?
Right? Wrong. No matter how troubled Ukraine's economic and political reality could be, the country has already passed the point of no return. Even if Vladimir Putin retains his leverage of power to blackmail Ukraine and the West in terms of Ukraine's zero chances to accede to NATO due to the problems of territorial integrity, occupation and annexation of Crimea, and mayhem or a frozen conflict in the Donbas region, Ukraine will never return to Russia's zone of influence. It could be deprived of the chances to join NATO or the EU in the coming years or decades, yet there are no forces on earth to make present Ukraine part of the Eurasia project fostered by Putin.
want to learn about the
new, scary propaganda
war between Russia,
The West and the
Baltic States!
believe their government
is corrupt
students say no to
bribes for doctors
During Soviet times, government was administered for the people in control, not for the local population, court decisions were decreed, they were not the administration of justice, and academia was the domain of ideologues. 25 years of freedom and openness should have put those bad experiences behind Lithuania, but that is not so.
Today, it is a matter of expectation that court pronouncements will be governed by ideological dictates. Few, if any Lithuanians expect real justice to be effected. For foreign companies, doing business in Lithuania is almost impossible in a situation where business people do not expect rule of law, so, surely Government would be a refuge of competence?
Lithuanian Government has not emerged from Soviet styles. In an attempt to devolve power, Lithuania has created a myriad of fiefdoms of power, each speaking in the name of the Government, each its own centralized power base of ideology.
Chepstow, Wales
Doesn't that sound suspiciously like Lithuania? Ah, but I didn't mention the mountains of Snowdonia, which would give the game away.
I'm talking about Wales, that part of the UK which Lithuanians used to call "Valija", but later named "Velsas" (why?). Wales, the nation which has welcomed two Lithuanian heads of state to its shores - firstly Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, who has paid several visits and, more recently, President Dalia Grybauskaitė who attended the 2014 NATO summit which was held in Newport, South Wales.
ENGLISH VERSION OF THE
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF VYTAUTAS LANDSBERGIS.
Although Lithuanian activities have thinned over the decades as that postwar generation died out, the Lithuanian Martyrs' parish hall is crowded with many, many hundreds of visitors who come to the Lithuanian cemetery for All Souls' Day. Similarly, the Franciscan parish has standing room only for Christmas Eve mass.
Although I am firmly embedded in the literary culture of Canada, my themes are usually Lithuanian, and I'll be in Kaunas and Vilnius in mid-November 2015 to give talks about the Lithuanian translations of my novels and short stories, which I write in English.
If you have the Lithuanian language, come by to one of the talks listed in the links below. And if you don't, you can read more about my work at
www.anatanassileika.com
http://www.vdu.lt/lt/rasytojas-antanas-sileika-pristatys-savo-kuryba/ https://leu.lt/lt/lf/lf_naujienos/kvieciame-i-rasytojo-59hc.html
"My love and best wishes to all. As long as VilNews exists, there is hope for the future,"" she writes.
Irena Veisaite means very much for our publication, and we do hereby thank her for the support and wise commitment she always shows.
You can read our interview with her
Facing a new reality
Dear readers of VilNews,
For a number of years, the EU and Russia had assumed the existence of a strategic partnership, based on the convergence of values, economic integration and increasingly open markets and a modernisation agenda for society.
Our agenda was positive and ambitious. We looked at Russia as a country ready to converge with "European values", a country likely to embrace both the basic principles of democratic government and a liberal concept of the world order. It was believed this would bring our relations to a new level, covering the whole spectrum of the EU's strategic relationship with Russia.
The likelihood of Putin
invading Lithuania
.jpg "lithuania today")
Founding Director at Summer Literary Seminars
Are all Lithuanian energy
problems now resolved?
Lithuania as a country does not have significant energy resources. Energy consuming infrastructure after WWII was small and totally supported by energy imports from Russia.
First nuclear reactor begins power generation at Ignalina in 1983, the second reactor in 1987. Iganlina generates enough electricity to cover Lithuania's needs and about 50%.for export. As, prerequisite for membership in EU, Ignalina ceases all nuclear power generation in 2009
The Klaipėda Sea terminal begins Russia's oil export operations in 1959 and imports in 1994.
Mazeikiu Nafta (current ORLEAN Lietuva) begins operation of oil refinery in 1980.
Have Lithuanian ties across
the Baltic Sea become
stronger in recent years?
The two decades that have passed since regaining Lithuania's independence can be described as a "building boom". From the wreckage of a captive Soviet republic, a generation of Lithuanians have built a modern European state, and are now helping construct a Nordic-Baltic community replete with institutions intended to promote political coordination and foster a trans-Baltic regional identity. Indeed, a "Nordic-Baltic community" - I will explain later in my text the meaning of this catch-phrase.
Since the restoration of Lithuania's independence 25 years ago, we have continuously felt a strong support from Nordic countries. Nordics in particular were among the countries supporting Lithuania's and Baltic States' striving towards independence. Take example of Iceland, country which recognized Lithuania in February of 1991, well in advance of other countries. Yet another example - Swedish Ambassador was the first ambassador accredited to Lithuania in 1991. The other countries followed suit. When we restored our statehood, Nordic Countries became champions in promoting Baltic integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. To large degree thanks Nordic Countries, massive transformations occurred in Lithuania since then, Lithuania became fully-fledged member of the EU and NATO, and we joined the Eurozone on 1 January 2015.
Have you heard about the
South African "Pencil Test"?
But that is exactly what happened to me when I came back from South Africa. I will tell you how.
VilNews e-magazine is published in Vilnius, Lithuania. Editor-in-Chief: Mr. Aage Myhre. Inquires to the editors: editor@VilNews.com.
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