Author Archive

The world is about to
discover Lithuania!
Until recently, Vilnius was often called Europe's best kept secret. Very few knew that here lies one of the world's best-preserved cultural treasures, namely Eastern Europe’s largest and most attractive old town. Few knew that Vilnius is considered the world's most Italian city outside Italy and the world’ most Baroque city north of the Alps. This is now changing rapidly. The world population has become aware of both the city and the country and the number of travelers here is the sharp increase.

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Now, five years later, they still talk about the wonderful experience they had in Lithuania
My wife and I usually travel with friends from Germany. We decided to go to Lithuania and asked our German friends if they would like to go with us. They were hesitant, but did agree to go. We took a private tour of the country, starting and ending in Vilnius. After 8 days we returned to Germany and talked about our experience. They told me their reluctance came from their experience in other ex-soviet countries, which was not good.

They were very surprised at the beauty of Vilnius, and the other places we visited. Everything they saw and experienced there was positive, and, now, five years later, they still talk about the wonderful experience they had there. Our tour was inexpensive, the hotels first class, the food wonderful, the beer out of this world, and the variety of other drinks was simply world class. I will never forget this trip, as my friends also will not. I would highly recommend Lithuania as a must see for any traveler.

Bernard Terway

Lithuania’s best future lies in a Nordic union
“Russia can turn the lights out on Lithuania and the other two Baltic states any time it pleases. And they can't turn them back on without Russia’s permission. Not only does this small, central European nation, as well as its neighbors Latvia and Estonia, not have access to the Russian owned-switch, but, to a large extent, it also depends on energy supplies from Russia to power its electricity generating plants; power that is needed for energy and economic independence.  Lithuania as well as the other Baltic countries, being poor in energy resources, are facing a tough future and are seeking solutions.”

This was what Dr. Stan Backaitis wrote here in VilNews in 2011. We have also published articles stating that Lithuania’s dependence on Russia, to a certain degree also EU, should be reduced. We have stated that the neighbours to the north in many cases would be much more attractive partners.
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Bravo!
I heartily agree
Aage 
Bravo! I heartily agree. In pondering the often sad history of Lithuania I seem to always come to the conclusion that a small country like Lithuania needs to come to some close relationship with some combination of neighbors in order to gain long term stability and security. The Grand Duchy was probably the best example.

Today, association with NATO and the EU has gone far to secure a degree of that security and prosperity but with the various issues in Europe and even questionable engagement of the US, something deeper must be developed.

Scandinavia seems to be, and in fact has evolved as a strengthening partner and role model which I think many Lithuanians probably accept.

Not to take away from other efforts and positive, even close, relations with other neighbors (Poland, even Russia), closeness with Scandinavia and emulation of its institutions would serve Lithuania well.

Rimantas Aukstuolis

Soviet remnants
in Lithuania

The green Soviet
bridge in Vilnius

The Green Bridge sculpture "Industry and Construction (Pramonė ir statyba)" by Bronius Vyšniauskas and Napoleonas Petrulis. Photos: Aage Myhre.

The Green Bridge (Lithuanian: Žaliasis tiltas) is a bridge over the Neris River in Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the oldest bridge in the city and connects city centre with the so-called right river bank and the Kalvariju g that leads to several of the city’s Soviet suburbs north of the city centre.

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As long as they are not glorifying one of the tyrants
Jurate Kutkus Burns As long as they are not glorifying one of the tyrants, these statues should stay.
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The sculptures serve a concrete purpose -- to remind us that that this past was far from rosy
Justinas V. Daugmaudis I would not call these sculptures as "soviet remnants". Doing so simply shows that the person fails to understand the context. The sculptures are the authentic artifacts of the time not so long past, and they serve a concrete purpose -- to remind us that that this past was far from rosy (and that we do not want a repeat of it). One must never forget, lest one lives in a dream that is disconnected from (sometimes stark) reality.

Europe, in general, is different from the US. We like our reminders, and we like things old. We like those reminders even if they are not too pleasant.
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I would like to see these 2 balvonai drown in Neris
Julius van Cerniauskas "Europe, in general, is different from the US. We like our reminders, and we like things old. We like those reminders even if they are not too pleasant."

no we dont. I would like to see these 2 balvonai drown in Neris.

experts say that the statue badly needs repairs. i think it doesnt. it needs to start dropping in pieces just like USSR did. WHAT A SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCE WOULD THAT BE!!!
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You dislike the USSR, but so do I; as much forcefully, in fact. Still, it is OUR history
Justinas V. Daugmaudis You don't understand that Vilnius is replete with the artifacts of the past generations. You dislike the USSR, but so do I; as much forcefully, in fact. Still, it is OUR history. We have persevered, whilst the USSR -- despite all of its might -- did not. Consider the sculptures as a token of sadistic glee, if you want.
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If Nazis erected a statue for Adolf during their short occupation of LT, should we have kept it too?
Julius van Cerniauskas 
if Nazis erected a statue for Adolf during their short occupation of LT, should we have kept it too? lets return Lenin's statue to Lukiskiu aikste as well? why not? fact is.. this statue annoys many people. thats all. it should be moved to Grutas park where all history masochists can enjoy themselves to their hearts content. I believe Germans had a fair amount of "artifacts" from their Nazi era too. I guess that not many(if any) of them were left in public places.
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There is a quiet but defineable determination within the German psyche to visit the places where the madness was spawned and to understand it
Justinas V. Daugmaudis Nothing could be more further from truth, my dear Julius. The German acceptance, and sometime embrace, of its monstrous past is seen as a sign of maturity by historians and academics. (Not so long ago record numbers of German television viewers tuned in to a domestically made documentary on the Holocaust, a programme unthinkable just a few years ago.)

Buildings used by the officers at the notorious female concentration camp of Ravensbruck -- where Anne Frank died along with as many as 92000 other female and child inmates including the British SOE agent Violette Szabo -- are being CONVERTED into a youth hostel and an educational institute. NOT DEMOLISHED! Eight of the 23 former SS guardhouses have been converted to cater for an estimated 13,000 visitors each year. This conversion project is one of the latest in which many of the Third Reich's most infamous sites have been transformed into tourism or leisure venues as Germany seeks to draw a line under its past. Germans themselves are queuing up for a glimpse of a time that has been buried beneath layers of guilt, uncertainty and shame.

I would agree that Hitler and his legacies will never beat Euro Disney as the holiday destination of choice. Still, there is a quiet but defineable determination within the German psyche to visit the places where the madness was spawned and to understand it.

Ravensbruck is but one Nazi site among many that has been or is about to be transformed for "educational tourism". After the war many buildings which represented the monstrosity of National Socialism were destroyed. The Allies had a dual motive for this: to erase the memory of Nazism and to prevent "shrines" developing in the future -- an idea that persisted for decades. Nowadays, this rampant post-war destruction is considered to be a "barbarian" -- albeit "understandable" -- act, as it was not known better at the time.

The Berghof, Hitler's mountain home in Bavaria, was destroyed in 1945 as was Spandau prison in the late 1980s after the last inmate, Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess, died. In the past year, however, many other sites of importance in the Third Reich have become the magnets of educational tourism. 

What you have to understand, my dear Julius, is that Nazi artifacts themselves are becoming public places. Not because there is any love left for Nazis, but simply because to remember means not to repeat. 

Now, as for Hitler's statues -- they were removed. The same was done with Lenin's (and other so-called leaders') statues in Lithuania. The statues on the Green bridge are not even in the same category, for they do not enshrine any concrete person that would symbolize the oppressive regime.

Your suggestion to remove the statues on the Green bridge (along with other artifacts, no?) simply means that you want to cut out 50 years of occupation from the memory of people. An exceedingly shallow idea, because it's also the memory of our own people, of our own country. Besides, why do you feel so fixated on these statues? Why don't you 

suggest to burn the books written during the reign of the regime? Why don't you suggest to bring down buildings? National Opera and Ballet Theater is a perfect example of -- then award winning -- soviet architecture, and it is much more visible than those aforementioned statues, too. Yet you keep silent about those other cultural artifacts. It is likely that the reason is simple -- you don't even think about them. (It is hard to think when you are simply parroting the same shallow categorical ideas that were spread by some not-too-clever journalists that don't even have any proper education. Big mouth leaves little place for brain.) 

Summa summarum, when you are blind to many other (too subtle?) cultural artifacts of the regime, then if those statues on the Green bridge make you think and feel strongly about the USSR, this means that the statues serve their purpose.
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Removing the statue will not erase the history, and there is no need to do that
Viktorija Ruškulienė Art often represents not only the regime (in this particular case - Soviet occupation), but also culture, fashion, historical moment, influences of social/environmental/political ideas, mentality of that time. Removing the statue will not erase the history, and there is no need to do that. I prefer this peace with two workers much better to the peace of early independence "Vamzdis…


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  KNOCK IT DOWN!!
Timotiejus Sevelis KNOCK IT DOWN!!
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I always thought it was the old soviet heating & water supply system...
Siga Eidukonis It's ART!!! and I always thought it was the old soviet heating & water supply system... Aciu, Viktorija Ruškulienė...good info!
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Create the bright future that was intended!!
Timotiejus Sevelis forget the shitty past, move on, and create the bright future that was intended!!