“YOU FOREIGNERS ARE EXTREMELY NAÏVE”

"You think that a word is a word, that a deal is a deal. You think that things here are going straight as in the West. You believe that what you hear is what is said, and you trust that people you meet really want and mean to do what is good, honest and correct. Therefore, it doesn’t take much before you open up your cards and often reveal business secrets and other things that you should never have disclosed without first having secured your situation with contracts and local supporters, i.e. lawyers. We Lithuanians are experts in taking advantage of such situations, and we never cease to wonder how gullible people from the West often are. Even within international companies and organisations I am sometimes surprised to see how unaware western professionals are about what goes on behind their backs," said my friend.

I asked him if this mentality also means that people here do not care much about their own country, doing good for the society in addition to earning a living for themselves. "Only to a small degree," replied my friend. "It is such a difficult situation for most here that there is no additional capacity or desire to also care about the nation. Even our leading politicians do not. Most of them are much more concerned with their own interests than of the nation, and they are normally bad role models for the rest of us. So why should we do more than them?" 

"I was born in this country. I fought for this country. I gave everything I

could, both while I lived here and after I was forced to flee to the United

States. I moved back here when Lithuania was again free, and have since

continued to do my best for this country, including through my years as

President. Yet I must admit that I feel like an outsider in my own country."

The sadness in the voice of former President Valdas Adamkus was

unmistakable as he stood and looked towards the Vilnius city through

the windows of his Presidential Palace.

"You know, Aage, I was born in this country. I fought for this country. I gave everything I could, both while I lived here and after I was forced to flee to the United States at the end of World War II. I moved back here when Lithuania again was free, and I have since continued to do my best for this nation, including through my years as President. Yet I must admit that I feel like an outsider in my own country."

The sadness in the voice of former President Valdas Adamkus was unmistakable as he stood and looked towards the Vilnius city centre through the windows of his Presidential Palace.

Aage Myhre

Editor

Connecting Lithuania- related people around the globe, giving them a say

More and more Lithuanians turn their backs to their home country. The wave of residents who have left or want to leave from here is growing day by day. The bright spots in economics and business are very few.

Parents with children in primary school are looking desperately for opportunities of further education abroad as the Lithuanian school system does not provide a satisfactory basis for future jobs. Health Service is also struggling with serious problems. Pessimism is spreading rapidly, and there are not many signs that the country's politicians are able to tidy up and clean the 'Lithuanian House' where dirt and dust from the Soviet times still lie in every corner. 

Fewer and fewer see a future for themselves and their children in this once proud country, and there is no indication that those who have already moved to the West will come back. Many descendants of those who emigrated in connection with World War II have not even been visiting their ancestral country. The national feeling among young Lithuanians around the world fades each day that passes. 

- Is there then nothing that can be done to reverse this negative trend? I think there is. 

But first we need to get back optimism and faith in the nation called Lithuania. The Lithuanian people must once again begin to believe that joint efforts with common goals are not useless, and that the future will be far brighter if we all are working together to reach concrete goals. 

One important step would be if Lithuania's political leaders began to consider absolutely all of Lithuanian background, wherever in the world they live, as full and equal citizens. The country's diasporas represent invaluable brain-power and should be invited 'back to the family'. An extensive bridge-building should be undertaken without any further hesitation.

'Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,' said President Kennedy in his inaugural address in 1961. Such a speech should also President Grybauskaitė make, but first she should proclaim that Lithuania’s leaders will be the ones taking the first step; showing the good example, cleaning the ‘Lithuanian House’ and start demonstrating that they are ready to do their very best for Lithuanians around the globe.

Still, the politicians can not really do much more than to facilitate.  The real action must come from the Lithuanians themselves. 

My little contribution to renewed optimism, bridge building and constructive criticism of the negligent sins that still characterize this nation, is the publication you are now reading. In VilNews of 16 March I invited you, our readers, to participate as shareholders in a further development of this venture. My wish would be that VilNews should be developed as a permanent web page with the aim of better linking Lithuanian groups in every corner of the globe to each other and their home country Lithuania. 

Algis Ratnikas describes this well in his above letter.

For VilNews to get the necessary position and recognition as an international, interactive meeting place and an honest, professional media for Lithuania-related issues, there must in my opinion be a broad and solid group of shareholders from around the world standing behind it. Then we can, together and with weight, be pointing out issues we believe should be addressed in this country and for Lithuanian nationals around the globe. I believe we this way, in joint spirit, slowly could begin to rebuild the optimism that the country now so desperately needs.

If you, your company, or your circle of friends and acquaintances wish to consider becoming co-owners of VilNews, I ask you to contact me so that I can explain more in detail how I think we best can develop it as a publication and a mouthpiece for Lithuanians and Lithuanian related issues worldwide.

I appreciate very much the letters of interest I already have received from some of you, and I hope we together, already over the next few weeks can reach the initial goal of having around 50 Lithuania-related shareholders from around the world investing $2000 each.

None of us are going to get rich on this commitment and investment, but we can together make VilNews a significant tool for optimism, integrity, transparency, professionalism and increased contact to and between Lithuanians and Lithuanian issues around the world. The internet gives us just that opportunity.

Your early feedback would be appreciated…

Aage Myhre

Editor

11 MARCH 1990

THE DAY LITHUANIA WOKE UP

FROM ITS 50 YEAR NIGHTMARE

Here from Pilies Street in Vilnius Old Town .

Dear Professor Landsbergis and all you others who signed

Lithuania's independence declaration act on the 11^th of March 1990,

I can very well imagine that many of you signed the declaration act with trembling pens. You knew what power you challenged, and you were fully aware of what reprisals you and the people you represented could expect from the big bear in the east. The Soviet Union was not a superpower to joke with or irritate, and you knew that you would not be treated with kid gloves if the bear decided to strike back, reacting to the severance requirement you signed that day.

But you signed. You were brave. Without your signatures on the document shown below, it is quite possible that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still today would be unfree republics under the 'protective' bear paws.

The Declaration of Independence on 11 March 1990 was Lithuania’s second in the 20^th century. The first one was signed on 16 February 1918. Both statements were signed by wise and courageous political leaders who did not want to accept that their beloved homeland would remain occupied.

When Lithuania in 1938 celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the century's first freedom declaration, a united country could proudly say that both politicians and society as a whole had succeeded in recreating a strong and progressive nation in the years that had passed since 1918. I have been told that Lithuania in the middle-war period had the world's fastest growing economy, and I know with certainty that this nation was fully on par with, perhaps even ahead of, its neighbours in Scandinavia and the rest of Europe when World War II so brutally overthrew and destroyed the fine Lithuanian nation which had been redeveloped during the pre-war years.

So now I ask you, ye who on the 11^th of March 1990 signed the document below: Can you honestly say that you are satisfied with the Lithuania that has evolved over the past 20 years? Can you with the same force as the country's pre-war leaders say that you have done a good job of recreating a Lithuania you and the entire nation can be proud of? Are you satisfied with how 'The Lithuanian House' has been cleared and cleaned after the 50-year nightmare under Soviet supremacy came to an end? Is it not true that there still remains the same old kind of Soviet dust in nearly all corners of the House?

Please allow me to doubt if you can claim with conviction that you are satisfied with today’s state of affairs in Lithuania. I admit that I sometimes have been disappointed seeing that you, who so bravely defended a free Lithuania in 1990, have not been more critical to the country’s leading authorities over the latest 20 years, even as Lithuania continues to suffer under 'stupidity curses' such as corruption, greed, selfishness, cheating, distrust and lack of teamwork, mutual respect and honest care. I believe you have seen that far too many of Lithuania’s leaders have been caring more about their personal benefits and positions than about the nation, and I wish you had reacted firmly against such behaviours.

I wish all the best for you and for Lithuania. But I would like to see a thorough clean-up action before I can fully express my joy and pride for this country. You were brave and wise in 1990. Please be that again. I urge you to think about Lithuania's future generations. I ask you to make a new commitment, as important as the one you signed on 11 March 1990. I urge you to stand up as guarantors for a Lithuania without deceit and cheating.

I kindly ask you to once again climb up to the very same barricade top you so proudly stood on in 1990. This time not to be set free, but to be bound – bound to pressure our present day politicians and leaders to accept a commitment to a cleaner and brighter development process in and for Lithuania.

The independence declarations of 1918 and 1990 were signed by wise and courageous political leaders who did not want to accept that their beloved homeland should remain occupied. Today there is a need of a document that declares another but not less important deed – making it perfectly clear that you, the proud signatories of the 11 March act, DO NOT ACCEPT that this country remains corrupted and mismanaged in so many areas.

Please do not let the date 11 March 1990 go down in history with less importance than it deserves…

Aage Myhre

Editor

11 March 1990

11 March 1990 is deemed to be remembered as one of the most important days in Lithuanian history. It was on this day 20 years ago that the Lithuanian parliament declared renewed freedom and independence for Lithuania, after the country had been occupied by the Soviet Union since World War II. 124 Parliament delegates voted for the declaration (copy below), while six were absent. 

The Parliament elected at the same time Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, the leader of the liberation movement Sajūdis, as Parliament President. He won over the Communist Party leader Algirdas Brazauskas with a 91 to 38 vote. 

11 March 1990 became a milestone in Lithuania's history because the Lithuanian politicians that day clearly demonstrated the country’s willingness to again become free and independent. Although it took another 18 months before the international community approved the nation’s independence from the Soviet occupying power, it was the 11 March actions that made it clear to the world that Lithuania no longer accepted to be incorporated into a system and a Commonwealth it had been involuntarily incorporated into when the World War II drew to an end. 

11 March 1990 was in many ways the day when Lithuania’s new freedom began, and we must believe that this country now will remain free and sovereign for all time based on democratic principles and values corresponding to those having been developing in Western Europe after World War II ended in 1945. 

While this March day 20 years ago was the beginning of the new time in and for Lithuania, the day was also symbolising that nearly 200 years of tragedies of and for this country had come to a final end. 

Through more than 500 years, from the 1200s when King Mindaugas declared Lithuania one nation, until it was occupied by the Russian Empire in 1795, Lithuania had been a proud and free nation, through some 300 years also one of the world’s greatest powers, stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea (known as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania). 

The 123 years of occupation from 1795 to 1918, however, became a long and sad chapter for Lithuania, since much of the good qualities this nation once represented in the world community were attempted to be systematically broken down by the Russian Empire occupants. 

When Lithuania at the end of World War I (1914-1918) on 16 February 1918 again could declare itself a free nation, most Lithuanians probably believed that the newly won freedom would remain, but sadly, the new freedom lasted only for 22 years. Vilnius and the surrounding area was occupied by Poland already in 1920 and remained under Polish rule until the Second World War started in 1940, and  Kaunas was therefore the capital of Lithuania for the years 1920 – 1940.

Nevertheless, Lithuania grew to become a strong nation during the interwar years, guided by, among others, the most famous Lithuanian leader of those days, President Antanas Smetona. 

World War II and the years just after became extremely tragic for Lithuania, when the nation was torn apart under alternate German and Russian occupation, and virtually all the large Jewish population was wiped out, and Lithuania thereby lost a population group that had meant so much for this nation since the 1300s. 

Also, during the war, tens of thousands of Lithuanians fled to the west, many who today live in the United States, Australia and other countries. Lithuanians were also exposed to extremely tragic abuse from Stalin's Soviet troops and his secret police (known as the KGB), when more than a hundred thousand Lithuanians were deported to Siberia and other areas in the Soviet Union where many of this country’s great citizens were killed or died during very shameful and cruel conditions. 

Already during the WWII years a strong resistance movement occurred, known as the Forest Brothers, who until the middle of the 1950s fought a heroic struggle against the Soviet power from their hiding places in the Lithuanian forests. It is suggested that around 20,000 Lithuanians and 70,000 soldiers from Stalin's Red Army and the KGB were killed during those post-war years. 

Lithuania became in 1990-1991 the first country that managed to detach itself from the Soviet Union . Latvia and Estonia followed soon after. We should all today be proud that this little country so bravely dared to stand up against the powerful Soviet powers. We should all be extremely happy that this little nation again enjoys freedom and democracy under the principle of equality for all its citizens, and we should be happy about the fact that 11 March 1990 was the day when Lithuania could finally put behind itself nearly 200 years of atrocities and suffering for its people – a people that had deserved so much better due to its proud history. 

The Lithuanian Independence Act from 11 March 1990.

THE WORLD’S BEST OUTDOOR MARKET?

Kaziukas Fair 2010, Friday 5^th – Sunday 7^th of March

Where else in the world can you find an outdoor market and festival that has been going on continuously through 300 years? What other nowadays’ market is a declared plastic-free zone? Where else can you find a single market in which an entire nation's population still participates with enormous enthusiasm? In what other country can one experience what thousands of individuals from the countryside and the cities spend so much of their time through a whole year to produce of genuine artefacts - knitted, crocheted, sewed, carpentry - forged by a people who truly treasure their traditions in handicrafts and folk art?

Every single year in every town throughout Lithuania, March starts off with the Kaziukas Fair, a ritual that marks the coming of spring, dedicated to St. Casimir, the patron saint of Lithuania. The festival originated in the 17^th century, and by the 19^th century it had developed into the fair and festival that is now known internationally. This year’s fair takes place 5^th – 7^th of March and will be celebrated throughout the country for the complete weekend. Check with your travel agent, maybe there still are available tickets!

part of the charm of the annual Kaziukas Fair.

And what would a Kaziukas Fair be if there was no traditional food to try? Here you can sample a cup of beer or a good old Gira, a plate of porridge, a few pretzels, and if you’re lucky you might even get a hold of the traditional potato dumplings, the cepelinai. 

plastic free zone.

In this festival, tradition overpowers the cold and all events will take place outdoors. Before you baulk at the idea of spending time outside in this wintry weather though, consider this: Getting out into the streets in this chilly season, even for a couple of hours, can be a rewarding experience, and with so many nasty cold and flu viruses circulating through the indoor air, it may even be a salvation. And think of all those poor craftsmen, who spend three days from morning till night in the freezing weather, just so you can drop by and be entertained… 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPaapxpKbKE

Palm Sunday and later used to decorate the home.

1458 – 1484

died at the age of 25 on the 4^th of March 1484.

The first church named after St. Casimir was built in Lithuania in the middle or the end of the 16^th century near the town Ukmerge. It was built by the Jesuits. At approximately the same time, a church in the saint's honour was built in Vilnius. In Lithuania there are some twelve churches named for St. Casimir.

Baroque church in Vilnius.

Aage Myhre

Editor

A ‘LOVE LETTER’

FROM CALIFORNIA

Amber is Lithuania’s gold.

The Amber Museum is located in Palanga,

the town where Vytautas Sliupas was born in 1931.

* * *

I have received a ‘love letter’ from California. Here it is…

I have done more thorough investigations.

Aage Myhre

Editor

I’ve just discovered a web page that promotes love to Lithuania!

Have a look, and why not register as a member? Here it is:

http://www.ilovelithuania.com/

ANCIENT LITHUANIAN LOVE

From their forefathers who had to wage a hard struggle with the forces of Nature the Lithuanians inherited their industriousness. Hospitality and friendliness are regarded as natural to them since time immemorial. At the same time Lithuanians, like other northern peoples, have always been and still are reserved in manner and speech. Their mentality and world perception are tinged with gentle lyricism which finds reflection particularly in folk art. There are also regional differences in the mode of life, manner and customs. West Lithuanians. e. Zemaiciai (Samogitians), are particularly sedate, reserved and persistent. Rational thinking, thrift and orderliness are characteristic of the majority of Aukstaiciai, particularly their south-western group called Suvalkieciai. Dzukai, living in South-east Lithuania, are cheerful, open-hearted, friendly and hospitable people who have always lived in poverty on their unproductive sandy land.

  LITHUANIA'S

GOOD/EVIL

Lithuanians must be the world's most contrast-embossed peoples. 

On the one hand, this nation brought forth very prominent humanists, thinkers and skilled professionals in many fields; scientists, politicians, businessmen, church leaders and leaders within culture, science and many other areas.

On the other hand, Lithuania is overrepresented among Europe's criminal gangs, and also internally in this country there are many individuals and groups that have given Lithuania an international disgrace spot that will be difficult to wash away, at least in the short term.

I spoke a few days ago with a friend from my home county far up in northern Norway. He told me that five years ago he had become aware of a Lithuanian who had moved to the town where my friend lives. This Lithuanian, my friend told, got a job in a carpentry workshop which had never distinguished themselves with particularly high quality of the products they delivered. But in less than a year all became very different, when the Lithuanian proved to be a very capable carpenter. Not only were the products now supplied of much higher quality and all delivered according to agreed time and price, but also the company itself seemed to undergo a change for the better, all because of a skilled Lithuania that so clearly showed what real quality and work ethics mean for a company.

In the same area in Northern Norway a leading police chief in an interview with a local newspaper asked people to report to the police if they saw cars with Eastern European number plates, and in another Norwegian district, people have already through several years made it a rule that they alert the police as soon as they see a car with Lithuanian registration plates. 

Norwegian and other European prisons are packed full of Lithuanian criminals, and many have asked themselves whether the price of the Schengen Agreement for open borders in Europe is already becoming too high. It is also constantly asked why Lithuania itself does not do much more to crack down on criminal bands in the towns and districts where they originate.

Increased punishment and restriction of freedom does of course not solve a serious problem like this, and I am of the opinion that the authorities, communities and neighbourhoods must be far more actively working in teaching and integrating children and youth from families with potential problems. The many fine people who value honesty and justice high should no longer sit still, but take immediate action to help Lithuania's future generations follow in the footsteps of the good.

One of the first things I experienced when I came to Lithuania 20 years ago, was a private tour of the cellars under the Vilnius Cathedral. My guide was Monsignor Kazimieras Vasiliauskas, who in a truly remarkable manner managed to make come alive Lithuania's proud history while we walked among the graves of the country's former dukes and others who so greatly helped to make Lithuania a world leading country for hundreds of years. The Monsignor told me about his years in, respectively, German and Russian captivity, and I left the Cathedral with a deep sense of respect and admiration for this great country and a cleric who had been forced to so much suffering because he always kept his faith and humanity high. I felt I had been very close to this nation's historical and contemporary pride and goodness for a few minutes, represented by the graves of the country's prominent leaders through the centuries and a man who so clearly had preserved his faith in good, even throughout many years of imposed suffering.

I have never personally met Henrikas Daktaras, the man often referred to as Lithuania's leading criminal authority, but I have through many years seen the results of his and his like-minders' destructive activities both here in Lithuania and also far beyond Lithuania's borders. The admiration and respect I got for Lithuania after the tour with Monsignor Vasiliauskas felt almost like a distant dream as I in the early 1990s started discovering what was going on in this country; with regards to corruption in the corridors of power, of public 'theft' from its own people, as well as acts committed by criminals and half criminals with greed and lack of respect for their fellow man as their leading motives.

Wikipedia states that evil are the acts that are regarded as morally bad, intrinsically corrupt, wantonly destructive, inhumane, selfish, or wicked.

As per another definition, evil is that which is the reverse of good, whatever is censurable, mischievous, or undesirable, morally depraved, bad, wicked, vicious; doing or tending to do harm, hurtful, mischievous, prejudicial, depraved intention or purpose, desire for another's harm, causing discomfort, pain, or trouble, unpleasant, offensive, disagreeable, troublesome, painful.

Lithuania's good people should not let the destructive and selfish powers rule or continue to influence fine people's lives here and abroad. Those who want the best for this nation should as soon as possible start discussing what could be done to take control over and neutralise the nation's destructive forces, no matter where and at what level these now reside.

Lithuania deserves to again be counted among the world's great nations, but it is up to the Lithuanians themselves to fight the evil and the negative forces that still have far too free scope to continue their misdeeds. As long as these forces find fertile ground in the Lithuanian society, this country will remain on a stage of development that should have been left behind long ago.

Aage Myhre

Editor 

 A POLITICAL ERA DRAWS TO AN END  

PHOTO: LARS BRYNE

VILNIUS 7 FEBRUARY: Algirdas Brazauskas, the former president and prime minister of Lithuania is in very serious condition, and is in reanimation of one of Vilnius’ hospitals. Brazauskas has advanced prostate cancer and complications, as well as blood infection. As Gitana Lyatukene, the press secretary of the hospital told

“the patient is in the reanimation as he needs an intensive care.”

* * *

Hopefully, Lithuania's political giant still has many years left to live and prosper. It is however, very probable that his strong influence on Lithuanian politics, politicians and society is now beginning to fade. I've had the pleasure of meeting Brazauskas a few times over the last 20 years, and the meeting I remember most was when I interviewed him for the magazine 'Vilnius Monthly' five years ago in his then prime minister’s office at Gedimino Avenue 11 in Vilnius. I have much positive to say about Brazauskas, not least for his strong and clear leadership style, but there have unfortunately also been factors that have sometimes made me wonder if he has always been keeping his way pure.
 

The 20^th congress of Lithuania’s communist party, Dec 1989 

The most amazing story he told me from those days, was about the 20^th congress of his Lithuanian communist party in December 1989. Here is how he describes  what happened at the congress:

“That late December day, we voted that our Lithuanian communist party should break away from Moscow, and that Lithuania should seek independence. We took big risks, because we knew what force they had at their disposal in Moscow, but because we were responsible for the welfare of so many people we could not confront the Soviet Union, we had to outsmart them.”

Then about the atmosphere among the delegates:

“The mood at the congress was exceptionally fantastic... Naturally, such a positive attitude was not because we were communists, but because we were members of the organisation, which had challenged the Soviet Union and its Communist Party. The community well understood the essence of our decision. This was not the only time, when people understood us and backed us. We, then the leaders, felt their support during the entire autumn of 1989. I had to go to Moscow many times to meetings of the Politburo and Supreme Council, the Congress itself, and so forth. Upon our return home, which was usually at night, people almost always met us with flowers and smiling faces, and sometimes even with tears in their eyes. At no other time in my life I did feel such human warmth and support from my own nationals, which my colleagues and I felt during those days that carried such responsibility for all of Lithuania.” 

All fine, until the telephone rang:

“On the first day of the Congress, I was sitting at the table of the presidium, when I was suddenly called to the telephone about noon. It was a call from Mikhail Gorbachev, which came directly to the Opera and Ballet Theatre in the centre of Vilnius. Our meeting had just started. I picked up the receiver, and heard Gorbachev’s voice, sounding especially stern. Our conversations had been strained earlier, starting from the summer of 1989, when the CPSU Central Committee had issued their warning statement after the Baltic Way. Now Gorbachev was unmistakably threatening. He said, “Have you already passed the resolution on the separation from the Party?” “No, we haven’t passed such a resolution, but we shall pass it,” I replied to the Soviet Union leader. He paused for a while, and then said, “Do you know, how all this might end?” “How?” I asked him, sensing that there were various ways in which it might all end…”

He could have tanks surrounding us:

“And then, right in the Opera and Ballet Theatre, I understood that this was one more warning upon which Gorbachev is determined to act. Maybe he’ll bring in the army; maybe, he will scare us some other way, or he might run everybody out of our Congress? The last version seemed the most realistic. He could have tanks surround the Opera and Ballet Theatre, and chase us away or arrest us. I could sense such a threat from the tone of Gorbachev’s voice…”

Undertake forceful means:

“Our conversation was rather long. Then, Gorbachev told me clearly, “We will immediately summon a Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee to deliberate all the conclusions, relevant to the documents of your 20^th Congress, if you happen to pass them.” I knew that, according to the order of matters during that time, such a Plenum could fully crush us, annul our documents, and undertake forceful means. I could sense the promise in his each word to dispose of us directly.” 

In an atmosphere of dangerous threats:

“I hung up and went back to the auditorium. The Congress was going on; people were speaking. After consulting with my closest colleagues, I told them, “We must speed up our decision-making. We have to pass the resolution under deliberation. We cannot drag things out.” I forwarded this idea to all the participants. They all felt a great responsibility, and we worked late into the night, passing documents on self-reliance at a rapid pace. This was our victory, the result of our determination. It was a great event in an atmosphere of dangerous threats…” 

The text of the Lithuanian Communist Party’s resolution that December in 1989 was as follows:

“The most important basic goal of the party is an independent, democratic Lithuanian State, implementation of humanistic, socialism ideals – human freedom and social justice – and formation of conditions for the historical continuation of the Lithuanian nation and all residents of Lithuania.”

I left my meeting with Brazauskas with the clear feeling that in his opinion he and his party had contributed at least as much to the saving and liberation of Lithuania as Landsbergis, the freedom movement Sajudis and the masses of Lithuanian people who surrounded the parliament in January 1991. But I also felt that he had been sincere in his explanations and descriptions on how he had lived through and experienced the events of those days.

In January 1990, just a few days after the dramatic events

at the 20^th Communist Congress, Mikhail Gorbachev came to

Vilnius for a final attempt to convince Brazauskas

to change his mind, but in vain.  

Brazauskas and Landsbergis 

One of my questions in my interview with Brazauskas in 2005, was how he experienced the difference between him and Landsbergis during the liberation years. This he replied:

“I became answerable to both Moscow and Vilnius and had to keep both sides happy. There was a real danger of bloody intervention from Moscow, while at home the calls for independence were getting ever louder. Vytautas Landsbergis could say whatever he wanted, and he was a better speaker than me, but I had to be more careful. That was the big difference between us.”

I have also had the opportunity to meet Landsbergis a number of times, interviewed him as well, and I have asked him about his main concerns when it comes to Brazauskas. This is how he summarises their relationship:

“My rivalry, as you say, with Brazauskas was evident even before 1990, and though we have cooperated on some issues, we clearly disagree on our major choices. I still think he is too appeasing towards Russia.”

Music professor Vytautas Landsbergis and Brazauskas have been the post-Soviet

era's most prominent opponents and personalities in Lithuanian politics. 

Nomenclature tendencies and corruption

In the winter of 1993, privatisation was officially resumed but never came any closer to regaining its pre-election character and momentum due to a shortage of political will from the highest echelons of power. According to some assessments, privatisation stopped altogether, especially land restitution in agriculture which used to be of the farmer-type in the interwar period of independence.  

However, this also meant that the country's political élite remained almost intact, with the consequence that independent Lithuania inherited the soviet political culture to a greater extent than other republics. The nomenclature was again in power.

I can obviously never get confirmed the veracity of the following story, but this is what a local businessman told me in 1993 as an example on how the late-communism corruption had been re-adopted by the then newly elected parliament, government and president. This is what the man told me:

"When we walk into the office of Brazauskas to discuss a privatisation project or similar, we usually bring with us a briefcase filled with about 100,000 U.S. dollars. We put the briefcase on his desk, he opens it and calls for his closest co-workers to come to the room, each getting a stack of notes. Afterwards he closes the briefcase and puts it on the floor under the table. The conversation can begin."

one of Brazauskas’ sharpest critics.

Retired General Jonas Kronkaitis, who was Lithuania’s vice minister of national defence and Commander of the country’s armed forces for the period 1999-2004, has been one of Brazauskas’ harshest critics. Here is what he told me in an interview some years ago, when Brazauskas still was Lithuania’s Prime Minister and Adamkus the President:

“Many of our Lithuanian politicians, civil servants, judges, the court system and the prosecutor’s office are still the children of the old Soviet nomenclature, and there is a great need for fresh blood and new thinking in order for Lithuania to catch up with Western Europe”. 

I then asked Gen. Kronkaitis what in his view is wrong in and within today’s Lithuania, and he answered: 

“Very much the leadership. One of the main principles of leadership is that “you lead by example”, and when the very top leaders set a bad example, then they infect the whole country. When the very top is corrupt, such behavior is pyramided throughout the bureaucracy, tends to be tolerated and becomes normal. That was the soviet system; no one questioned it. It was expected that nomenclature has privileges, which others do not.  Many people in this country are angry and unhappy about such a system, few because they don’t get their share, but luckily most because they believe it is wrong and are working to bring about necessary changes.”

In the interview Kronkaitis also went back to the early years of regained freedom for Lithuania, saying:

“When Lithuania regained its independence a law was passed to return property to their rightful owners.  The process was complicated for a variety of reasons; in some cases it was not possible to return the same land to its owner because something was built on it, so the people could chose either financial compensation, or land somewhere else.  In some cases land was simply taken away from the rightful owner to give it to someone else who wanted it as compensation. This process created hundreds, if not thousands, of morally unjustified acts of land takeovers by public officials, or administrators. In one of those cases, two blind people, a father and son, lost land in a very desirable location that belonged to them to Prime Minister Brazauskas. The blind man wanted only to provide for his son’s future from the sale of the valuable land. His pleas were disregarded.  These most vulnerable people, who should expect protection from their government, were left to fend for themselves.”

Failed Euro zone adoption, little interest in foreign investments

Today many say that if Lithuania would have had the euro instead of the litas, the painful measures currently being taken by the Kubilius government would not have been necessary. Three years ago Lithuania was very close to the adoption of the euro, but the effort became a victim of the strict adherence of the so-called euro convergence criteria by the European Central Bank and the lack of performance by the Brazauskas and Kirkilas governments and their ‘Commission for the Coordination of the Adoption of the Euro’.

The same banker also told me that they in each meeting with Brazauskas tried to convince him to do more to attract foreign investments to Lithuania, but always got the same answer: “We have money enough in Lithuania, we don’t need foreign investors here.”

The conclusion the bankers had drawn from this statement and the general attitude of Brazauskas, was that he, together with a certain group of people in this country, had stronger interest in protecting their own interest than to help the Lithuanian economy grow quicker.

Brazauskas, Kirkilas and new social-democratic leaders

The appointment of Gediminas Kirkilas as Prime Minister in 2006 ended a lengthy political crisis in Lithuania after first the Social Liberals and then the Labour Party left the Brazauskas-led coalition government, making the PM's position almost impossible. The Labour Party was also under police investigation on suspicion of having received economic backing from Russian interests and for embezzlement of EU-funds. The Labour Party chairman, Viktor Uspaskich, who had gone into exile in Russia, then resigned the leadership of his party. One of the key scandal factors was the fight for control over the Mazeikiu Nafta oil refinery, which strong Russian interests were keen on buying.

potential crown princes, was probably suffering under the lack of authority.

The fact that Brazauskas over the last 20 years has been the undisputed and dominant leader of his own party, has made it difficult for the younger forces to find room for their own development. Kirkilas was to a certain degree a victim of just that, and I will assume that the party is now eagerly under way to coach leaders who can fill the void Brazauskas inevitably will leave behind.

Brazauskas and Adamkus

I have heard people speculate that Brazauskas decided to support Adamkus in 2004 in return of an agreement allowing him to participate in decision-making processes with regard to the selection of advisors and also other decisions the President wanted to make. It is probably too far stretched to suggest that Adamkus was a kind of puppet-President for the last five years of his rule, but it is certainly remarkable that Brazauskas' criticism against Adamkus died down so suddenly in 2004, and one can rightly ask if this was due to that Brazauskas had got what he wanted, and actually sat with even greater force than what is portrayed officially. But maybe this is too much speculation and fantasy ride?

private covenant, which is not known to the public?  

And now?

In the interview with him five years ago, I asked him why he had remained popular among so much of the Lithuanian population for so many years. His answer was:

“If you are good to people then people pay you back with goodness. I have always had a connection with ordinary people and I listen to what they have to say and, and wherever I can, I help them. My generation of politicians were valued by what they achieved, and it just happened that my twenty odd year career coincided with the most important events for the country. In the old government and in the new I was concerned mainly with economic and social problems, people’s living problems. I am not telling you any secrets – people have confidence in those that work for them.”

Editor

 Algirdas Brazauskas biography

 BŪKIME KARTU

(LET’S BE TOGETHER) 

PHOTO: AAGE MYHRE 

every single year from the participating orphans, since it all began in 2001.

It’s good for them, but maybe also for you? The day to keep in mind is Saturday the 15^th of May… 

BELOW: This is the event where the international community in Lithuania, together with the national police, army and fire brigade,  shows its very best and warmest efforts and attitudes to those who need it most.  

ALL PHOTOS: AAGE MYHRE

Did you know that the two Big Bens both are Litvaks?

Monika Bončkutė

What do Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve leading the United States to economic recovery; one of the most-famous American singers of all time, Bob Dylan; the rocker Pink; British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas all have in common?

All these people have roots in Lithuania. As do hundreds of thousands, or perhaps even millions, of Jews around the world, whose parents were driven from our country by the Tsar’s restrictions, fellow Lithuanians withdrawn into a closed farming culture and the mass murder organized by the Nazis in World War II.

What would Lithuania look like now as we enter the second decade of the 21st century, if almost all Lithuanian Jews had not been exterminated during the last century, and instead of 50 years of the artificial “friendship of nations” promulgated by the Soviets, our parents and grandparents had lived as true citizens of the free world?

What would the map of Lithuanian politics, economics, art and pop culture look like if Jews today comprised seven percent of the Lithuanian population as they did before World War II? Maybe we would have had, finally, a Nobel Prize winner, world-renowned actors and actresses and highly capable businesspeople and politicians.

Who knows, Sacha Baron Cohen might have made “Borat” in Lithuania, and Binyamin Netanyahu would now be prime minister of Lithuania, and would now be preparing a plan for the improvement of our country’s economic situation and solving complicated relations with Russia instead of tackling the problem of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Last year we marked Lithuania’s millennium, this year we will celebrate twenty years since the re-establishment of Lithuanian Independence. So far we have spent in total around 60 million litas for the government to create Lithuania’s image [improve and propagate country’s image abroad], but the only thing we are really known for is probably that two Lithuanians have made it on the United Kingdom’s most wanted list.

Perhaps now that the first decade of the 21st century has passed, a decade of terrorism, war and economic crisis Time magazine recently said was “sent from hell,” it would be a good time to learn from the mistakes of history and to start to build Lithuania’s image and civil society upon foundations of tolerance and inclusiveness?

I bet money that a video clip presenting Lithuania as the land of the parents and grandparents of world famous artists, scientists and politicians would be much more successful than some guy named Jonas making clown faces and pushing boring facts about Lithuania in the form of a deck of cards on the screen, telling the world how well Mazeikiu Oil is doing.

Of course, it needs to be told to a society dripping with anti-Semitism and intolerance in general that the most famous people from Lithuania and those who have achieved the most in the world are Jews. Jews who call themselves Litvaks coming from the territories of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania who immigrated to Western Europe and the US did not spend their time idly.

Jascha Heifetz, the wunderkind born in Vilnius, used to play for the picky audience in Kaunas when he was seven, until he entered the US and became one of the most famous violinists in the world, ever.

The Howard brothers, fathers of Vaudeville and comedy in America, known as “The Three Stooges” also have Lithuanian roots. As does American composer Philip Glass. This grandchild of Lithuanian Jews is one of the most famous composers of the end of the 20th century and works with some of the most famous artists in the world, including Canadian singer and descendant of Lithuanian Jews Leonard Cohen.

You could continue this list indefinitely, because in every country in the West, wherever there is a moderate-sized Jewish community, you will find those who say they come from Lithuania.

Ben Bernanke, whose grandfather registered as Jonas Bernanke at the Immigration Registration Center at Ellis Island in New York, was Time magazine’s man of the year last year. A Time editorial claimed that if not for the chairman of the Federal Reserve, there would be a much worse economic situation in America and the world right now.

Incidentally, this was probably the first time the Lithuanian origin of the US “finance czar” was mentioned in the press. Only in the issue of Time dedicated to Bernanke was it noted that the grandparents of the head of the Federal Reserve Bank survived pogroms in Lithuania.

Before the anti-Semites open their filthy mouths, I would like to remind them that practically every head of a Hollywood studio, many actors and actresses and Nobel Prize winners of all fields are of Jewish origin. But they speak English, and are understood first as Americans. Does America benefit from this? Undoubtedly.

Try to picture the film industry without Harrison Ford, Gwyneth Partlow, Sarah Jessica Parker or Zack Efron.

What if Americans had slaughtered Jews as the Nazis did in our country with the help of Lithuanians? It’s possible that the US would even now not have one of its most influential cultural icons, Hollywood.

As if it weren’t enough that the contribution of Lithuanian Jews and their descendants was not appropriately recognized when Independence was restored [1990-1991], recently anti-Semitism has only been gaining ground in Lithuania.

In 1991, 10% of respondents said they didn’t view Jews favourably, i.e., four times less than now. According to results of a survey conducted by the Pew Research centre, in 2009 some 37 percent of Lithuanian residents said they viewed Jews negatively.

Viewed from outside, this appears totally incomprehensible and unjustified. Currently just under 3,500 Jews live in Lithuania, so the possibility that the 3.5 million people living in the country, mainly “pure” Lithuanians, are personally acquainted with even one Jewish family is quite small.

Our forefathers looked askew at Jews because they were farmers shut in to their own world, while many Jews were merchants. For them, Jews were probably the most foreign group of people. But at least they met Jews at the store or when Jews came calling with their goods at their farms.

But now, self-respecting citizens of the independent Lithuanian state that belongs to international organizations, many of whom have never during their life even had a beer with a Jew, never mind any deeper acquaintance, feel themselves entitled to judge negatively the entire Jewish people.

And now for a bit of statistics: 92% of Americans believe that diversity is good for society. Only 51% of Lithuanians share this view. This is also one of the lowest indicators for the value of diversity in Europe.

Will we be able, in 2010, to draw the interest of the world as a country of pure-blooded, blue-blooded Lithuanians, not just for surrendering our most creative and intelligent members during occupations, wars or through stupidity, but also for the stubborn persistence of our fear of diversity?

The translated version of this article was found at the web site www.HolocaustInTheBaltics.com,

and extracted from the page "BOLD CITIZENS SPEAK" www.holocaustinthebaltics.com/132423.html

This page features several Lithuanian citizens who have spoken up for the country's Jewish minority.

Let’s build a new town!

A large and truly unique shopping mall should be a prominent element and symbol of the new town. 

Five years ago I started playing with the idea of developing a brand new town outside Vilnius. I worked with the idea over a period of two years, and I also invited others to provide input on how the new town could best be developed. We came as far as to issue a sketch project and a draft description (our 2007 concept description follows attached; please note that dates and more remain unchanged), and we entered into a principle agreement with the owners of a large land area at the highway between Minsk and Vilnius, 10 km from Vilnius city centre and 5 km from Lithuania's international airport. The land covers an area of 260 hectares, which is about the same size as the centre of Vilnius between the parliament and the railway station. 

I gave the project the temporary name 'Aqua City', as I wanted to introduce water as a key element. 

My vision was to create this as a “city of its own”; green, safe, energy efficient, environment friendly, and well prepared for pedestrians, bicyclists, playing children, with very limited car traffic within the area.

The concept would be that people’s living places, jobs, schools, shopping, sports, entertainment etc. all would be located within the very same area, all activities within walking distance from each other. This would mean less polluting car traffic both on internal and external road systems.

The main focus would be neighbourhood and community building – with the final goal to create a warmer society where young and old, rich and poor, disabled people, and people with different skin colours and backgrounds could live and work together in true harmony.

The new town should function as a leading “flag-project” for Lithuania - contributing to increased investments and activity within many sectors, return of emigrants, increased travel and tourism, and exceptionally strong branding and marketing of Lithuania vs. world markets.

The plan was that Aqua City should be developed with the application of technology and methods that are highly relevant to our time, be it with regard to environmental friendliness, efficient energy sources, waste treatment, limited use of cars, low pollution levels, etc. 

This should be the town where many of Lithuania's and the world’s best brains could unfold; within research, development, business, advanced technological production, top education of future generations, etc. Aqua City should be a leading contributor to the making and development of Lithuania as a knowledge society - with strong focus on education, science and different other intellectual activities.

More particularly, the idea for the project was to create a diverse and forward-looking city with:

• Housing for up to 20 000 inhabitants (village, villas, town houses, low risers, high risers)
• A separate business quarter with office buildings, specialised shops, and some manufacturing
• Shopping mall, design outlet, various other shops
• Hotels, restaurants, street cafés, etc.
• Large international conference centre, a meeting point for experts from many fields and nations
• Culture and sport facilities, indoor and outdoor
• Schools, kindergartens and other facilities for children activities
• Universities and colleges, within economy, management, technology
• Scientific institutions, within technology, energy, etc.
• A modern clinic, including  laboratories and research departments
• A tolerance garden, multi-religious and multi-cultural, a forest room for contemplation and more
• Special roads, lanes and squares for pedestrians, bicyclists and small electric vehicles
• A park and large green areas for horse riding, leisure activities and more 

The idea was that Aqua City should be a joint project between:

• The authorities of Lithuania (infrastructure, schools, environmental friendly transport, etc)
• Institutions and companies within research, teaching, health care, culture, sport etc.
• Firms and individuals from various business areas participating as investors and developers 

Aqua City would also be the city Lithuanians living abroad could return to and work in teams with people and entities from here to create a truly unique and forward-looking project that Lithuania could be proud of for many generations to come, and an excellent basis for teamwork between many trades and professions.

Aqua City should be developed as a strong, common, international project, and later become the place to live and work, for Lithuanians and many others from all corners of the world.  

When the economic crisis in the world started in 2007 we found it best to put the project aside for a while. But now, when it seems that the world economy again is improving, it might be time to start looking into it again. One has to expect that the planning and preparation process will take three to five years, and that the construction time will be going on over several years. 

So, dear readers, I would be very interested in your response, especially from those of you who would like to participate in the planning of a project I believe can give Lithuania a significant push forward, create new dynamics, new optimism, new jobs, and become a tremendously strong  symbol for a country that again should demonstrate its very best of abilities to its own people and the rest of the world.

This is a project that would make me and many others continue staying in Lithuania, and it is a project that would bring thousands of smart Lithuanians back from the foreign countries they today live in!

Aage Myhre

The residential village should incorporate all the best qualities of former times villages, with focus

on human dimensions and outdoor areas created for a good social life.

Is the idea of a Lithuanian New Town realistic? 

Many nations around the world are in full swing developing similar cities, so it’s not a question of inventing the wheel if we now get started also here in Lithuania. Still, as far as I know, Aqua City would be the first New Town development in Eastern Europe!

Most of the world’s new towns of today are extraordinarily dynamic, often with very much focus on research, experiments and developments within technology and sciences of different kinds. I have myself been visiting and observing some of them, from the time of my studies in France in the 1980s to Cape Town’s Canal Walk and India’s Navi Mumbai. The latter is the world’s largest new city, where as much as 20 million people are supposed to be living when it is completed!

All our Scandinavian neighbouring countries are at this very moment building several amazing new towns.  

Still I believe Lithuania can find its own variant, quite different from what other countries are doing. I fully believe it is very realistic that Lithuania can build its own new city that will represent:

• New optimism, new work places, new initiatives, new energy, more creativity
• A visionary model for new urban developments in Lithuania and internationally
• An outstanding engine for Lithuania’s economy and Lithuania as a knowledge society

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_town

TIME TO LEAVE?

“You are crazy still staying in Lithuania. Look what

you have done for this country, not even getting  a

thank you in return; pack your things and leave.”

A long time friend told me this not many days ago.

Ever heard the expression "If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it is a duck."?  The same is true for a country like Lithuania.  When you find yourself constantly making excuses for your relationship it might be time to throw in the towel.

When you're in a serious relationship it's supposed to bring happiness to your life.  Of course no relationship is perfect, but when the bad starts to seriously outweigh the good, it might be time to bail.

Deep down we all have a mental list about what we want in a relationship.  It's a "wish list" of common interests, backgrounds, personality traits and more.  When you find someone that possesses a large amount of the items on the list; that's when it usually turns into a relationship.

However, it was the "good list" that I paid attention to when I first came to Lithuania.  It has taken a longer amount of time to come to terms with the fact that Lithuania has more of the things that I don't want than those that I do.  Lithuania, after all, is good looking, intelligent, fun and charming.   

Why do I stay?  I stay because the relationship is so "good."  At least that's what I keep telling myself and others.  We're the best of friends and have tremendous chemistry together. We have all the same interests and understand each other without words.  Sounds simple enough right?  

The unfortunate reality is that Lithuania is still "damaged goods."  It's probably incapable about being serious about anyone for a long time. 

It has only been 20 years so far, and that leads me to still rationalize out why I stay.  Past experience has shown me how quickly years can turn into decades.  I also don't want to admit that the longer I stay the more painful it will be to leave.  I estimate I have only about 10% odds of this relationship working out.  So why do I stay?

Neil Sedaka said it best.  "Breaking up is hard to do."  If I possessed the incredible ability to "turn things off" I would walk away today.  Instead I run the scenarios in my head of what it will feel like after I’ve left.  The pain, the anger, the loneliness; who wants that?  The worst is when you second-guess yourself: 

Aage Myhre

Editor

PS 1:

In the next issue of VilNews I will tell you why I may stay in this relationship, after all…

I may also say something about why I think there are reasons for many of you

who emigrated to move back to your beloved home country…

PS 2:

I have received some appreciation from Lithuanian officials,

so my friend was not absolutely correct : ))

In 2007 I received a wrist watch and a diploma from PM Kirkilas. The diploma text goes as follows:

“Acknowledgment to Mr. Aage Myhre, for solidarity with Lithuania in 1990-91; for solid

contribution to the development of Lithuanian-Norwegian bilateral relations.”  

PS 3:

The above love story is based on a ‘true’ story from the site www.datesurvival.com  

A reader who responded to our latest VilNews issue argues that we have begun to go in the footsteps of other Lithuanian media in describing Lithuania in a rather negative way. I can well understand such a reaction, but it must also be said that unfortunately there has been a relatively large number of cases and circumstances in this country that deserve to be described in quite critical terms, such as:
• Lithuania's economy and population, especially the weakest groups, are very hard hit by the economic crisis that has affected the world over the last couple of years, and one must be allowed to make critical remarks on how this country's authorities have acted in the handling of the crisis. It seems to me that Lithuania's government has been more concerned with finding their own solutions, trying to ‘reinvent the wheel' rather than to learn from what other nations have made with regard to stimulus packages, lowered interest rates, etc. in these times of crisis, which in my view unnecessarily sets Lithuania several years back in time compared to many other countries.
• There has been little done for increased foreign investments in Lithuania, and also the country's own industry has largely had to fend for themselves without the kind of facilitation and support one sees taking place in countries frequently compared with Lithuania.
• The country has been constantly ill-placed on Transparency International's statistics on corruption and transparency, compared with other European countries, a situation which clearly has hindered economic growth and a better society for its own citizens. That corruption and bribery is still a part of the country's 'culture' in business and public institutions is nothing less than a big shame!
• The country's press must, unfortunately, largely be described as underdeveloped, with too much emphasis on celebrity and scandal reviews, and too little emphasis on constructive and investigative journalism that focuses on corruption and other undesirable conditions that continue to hold this country down. But many would also say that the media focus too much on the negative, too little on all the positive things going on here.
• A huge proportion of Lithuania's population has emigrated in recent years, including many of those with higher education, and one can rightly ask what is done to create new jobs and make necessary provisions to keep these groups remain in their own country.

• One of Lithuania's most prominent human resources is undoubtedly the country's large diasporas around the globe, groups of people and their descendants who left their mother country because of war, difficult economic conditions, political persecution, etc. These diaspora groups are in my view too little listened to or consulted from the Lithuanian authorities, which is very sad for a nation that so desperately needs all possible support and assistance from the hundreds of thousands who still have Lithuania in their hearts.

• When Lithuania's Constitutional Court in November 2006 ruled that the country's Law on Citizenship should be interpreted in disfavour of dual citizenship for large groups of Lithuanians and their descendants having citizenships in other countries, this became the start of a still heated debate around the world, as many within the country's numerous diaspora groups felt that their country of origin did not want them back or did not want to appreciate them as full Lithuanians. Many felt that the Court's decision in its interpretation of the law was more influenced by hidden motives and intentions rather than common sense. As previously stated, Lithuania desperately needs goodwill from all of its huge diasporas, and should be more eager than most other countries to allow dual citizenship. Lithuania’s welcome-back-door must be kept constantly open, never closed. We need everyone who is ready to contribute and make an effort for the mother country.

• The Lithuanian school system, especially at higher levels, is still dominated by Soviet-era thinking and there is good reason to ask what has been done the last 20 years to make it more conducive to more advanced and modern education, research and collaboration between education, businesses and government.
• Health Service has major and serious deficiencies, and also suffers under the fact that many of the nation's doctors and nurses have emigrated to Western countries.
• The focus on travel and tourism has largely been unsuccessful, partly because of the disproportionately high airport taxes (the good news is that this was finally understood and these taxes were drastically lowered a few weeks ago), under-developed ports for ferries and other ships in the Baltic Sea city of Klaipeda, poorly developed infrastructure, as well as little support to hotels and other tourist industries.

• Vilnius as European Capital of Culture in 2009, must also be described as a flop due to the fact that the number of visitors to the city was sharply down instead of up as expected, not least because of the unstructured and poor planning, and as several flights were cancelled due to FlyLAL's bankruptcy, too high airport charges and poor decisions by authorities. The planned main symbol of the year of culture, the re-created royal palace at the cathedral in Vilnius that should have been completed in all its glory during the culture year, still stands there as a ghostlike skeleton surrounded by construction cranes.
• The country's pensioners and other disadvantaged groups continue to live under very miserable conditions, and have additionally and unnecessary been hard-hit by the financial crisis.
• The statistics for suicide and violent crime in Lithuania is sad reading, and the country is among those on the very bottom of all these statistics compared to the rest of Europe.
• Lithuanians make up for a disproportionate share of criminal gangs in Western Europe and the United States, something which increasingly creates major problems for the police and the judiciary in many countries and also leads to frequent negative headlines about Lithuania in the Western media.
• Lithuania is still suffering under a lot of pending historic "dirt", for example with regard to its dealings with the Holocaust and the fact that relatively many Lithuanians collaborated with the Nazis in the extermination of the Jews here. There was also an extensive collaboration between the KGB and senior Lithuanian politicians through the Soviet time, and it is still missing a wide clarification of what actually took place in the post-war partisan war. Reconciliation must be the obvious target, but based on all the facts laid on the table in a most scientific, objective way so that whatever might have been of injustice or illegal actions come to light and can be reacted to. A firm and fair treatment of these historical conditions will provide Lithuania great honour both domestically and from the international community.

• Participation in voluntary organizations is record low in Lithuania compared to other EU countries, and it seems that people in this country has relatively little liking for and willingness to teamwork and to work jointly with others within their neighbourhoods, local communities or on a national level. Is it perhaps selfishness, greed and mistrust of other people behind this?

But, then, there is so very much positive that can be said about this country that many of us have become so fond of during the years after the liberation from the Soviet Union in 1990/91. 

I have attached my 'Chronicle of Lithuania', with some of the historical and contemporary circumstances I think this country deserves to be praised for, and I hope the articles can contribute to a more positive and nuanced picture of Lithuania as the great nation it is today and was for hundreds of years.

Lithuania has in many areas undergone an admirable growth for several years until the economical crisis started, which I recently saw very nicely symbolized by the many great new buildings that have shot up in the outskirts of Vilnius since I first came the same road into town in November 1990 on tour from my native Norway. Vilnius was by then a city that I experienced as sad, dark and worn, but is now a modern metropolis on a European level. An important part of this picture is the incredibly beautiful Old Town in Vilnius, which has now been renovated and re-emerged as one of Europe's finest and most attractive tourist magnets.

Also, coastal areas have undergone phenomenal change for the better. A summer stroll through the newly renovated Palanga city or at Europe's largest sand dunes in Nida are good experiences fully on par with what one finds in other countries' tourism destinations. The spa-town Druskininkai in South Lithuania has similarly undergone great improvements, and stands today as one of Europe's most attractive for anyone who wants to 'recharge the batteries' and at the same time enjoy the truly wonderful sceneries of Lithuania’s forest and lake landscapes.

It pleases me very much every time I visit my in-laws lush garden outside Vilnius. The practice of garden-towns is still alive and well here, and represents, in my opinion some of the closest you can get to this country's soul. Worth a visit!

Let me also mention the fantastic cultural life that so much characterizes this country. Music festivals that mark the cities and towns every summer. Most professional theatre, ballet and singing performances that fill the country's many stages throughout the winter months. Art exhibitions of all kinds, and spontaneous performances of various theatre and music groups in courtyards, squares, settlements and villages across the country. One needs never get bored in Lithuania!

And, let me share with you what two late statistics say about Lithuania:

1.     According to the “2010 Quality of Life Index” published by the “International Living” magazine http://www1.internationalliving.com/qofl2010/, Lithuania is among the 25 best countries in the world to live in, with better quality of life than most other countries of Central and Eastern Europe (even ahead of some West-European countries).

2.     Vilnius can boast of the cleanest air in Europe according to the „Economist Intelligence Unit“ and „Siemens“ in a research study called “An Index of Green European Cities” in which 30 cities-capitals of Europe were participating. http://www.vilnius-tourism.lt/topic.php?tid=84&aid=2304

So it is my hope that Lithuania's authorities, businesses and people in general seriously start to cope with the still remaining problems and negative conditions, so that we can put behind us the negative features and once again see and experience a Lithuania with similar positive guts, profile and multi-cultural constellations that this country was once so famous for.

The initial question was what we can do to improve Lithuania's reputation to the rest of our world. 

Many would probably say that what we need is more positive attention in international media. And, in fact, over the years there have been spent large sums on advertising Lithuania and Vilnius on CNN and in other media. It has been printed countless brochures, and it has repeatedly been created commissions that should propose new logos, new slogans, new profiles and new ideas for international promotion of Lithuania. But I hardly exaggerate when I say that the usefulness of all this has been extremely limited.

My answer to the question would therefore rather be to open up for a broad process with the aim to overcome, and actively improve the problem areas I have outlined in my bullet points above. I believe this would be a far better starting point and professional platform for improving Lithuania's reputation. Such a process would in itself attract attention and recognition in international media, as well as among leaders and ordinary people around the world. 

Nothing gives better reputation for a nation than when the country’s authorities and citizens join forces into a positive and determined development process based on openness, fairness, honesty, genuine concern for fellow human beings, true respect for law and order, hard work, and attempted professionalism on all levels.

Lithuania has the historical and contemporary power to again become a leading, prominent example nation for other developing countries and many others around the world. Let’s take the opportunity.

Welcome to 'my' Lithuania!

Aage Myhre

PS: I am fully aware that I have embarked into a minefield by writing the above comments, but after living in Lithuania more or less continuously for 20 years now, I feel that I have some background to indicate an ever-so-small number of perceptions. Giving advice to others, however, is always a risk sport. To be a bit critical is even more risky. I have no roots in or from Lithuania, but I have my 'branches' here, and I would so dearly like my descendants and all other Lithuanians again to feel pride when they tell of their Lithuanian background. Therefore, I have written this, and I hope it will be well received as a constructive contribution with the best intentions and wishes for a brightest possible future in and for Lithuania.

A LITHUANIAN PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

How could it be that a former head of state of a free and independent country could be kidnapped in his own home and taken around half the globe to imprisonment in a labour camp where cruelty and inhumanity were the principal characteristics?

How could it be that the rest of the world chose to ignore such an assault against a splendid leader who proudly had been fighting for democracy and independence in a nation that before the Second World War was fully on par with its neighbours in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, both economically and as an independent state?

Just think of what would have been the reactions from the international community if one of the other state leaders from the 1920s had become victims of such a cruel abuse?

I have below listed some of the state leaders who ruled at the time of President Stulginskis, many of them surely also knew him personally. Why didn’t his many 'friends' among leaders of all those nations around the world react and protest?

In my opinion, President Stulginskis’ sad fate as a prisoner in Siberia through 15 long years, until 1956, is still too little known, and I think it’s high time we start spreading the story of Stulginskis throughout the world. Then his sufferings would not have been in vain, after all!

The same applies for the 13 years he lived after he had come back to Lithuania, a period when the once proud president was subjected to increasingly humiliating abuse from the Lithuanian SSR. 

 Stulginskis passed away in Kaunas in 1969, after having experienced nearly 30 years of humiliating and unjust assaults in Siberia and in his once proud homeland Lithuania.

It is today 92 years since Stulginskis, together with the other brave leaders of those days, became one of the signatories of Lithuania's declaration of independence. And in only 10 days it is exactly 125 years since this political lion was born (26 February 1885).

President Aleksandras Stulginskis should not be forgotten. 

Aage Myhre,

Editor

president

ALEKSANDRAS STULGINSKIS

(1885-1969) 

holding post of the President uninterruptedly until 7 June 1926.

Aleksandras Stulginskis was born in the village of Kutaliai of the Kaltinenai Rural District of the then Taurage District on 26 February 1885 into the family of a land tenant. He studied at the elementary school in Kaltinenai, the Liepaja gymnasium, and the Samogitian Theological Seminary in Kaunas. After graduating from the latter, he continued his studies in philosophy and theology at the University of Innsbruck (Austria). But upon making a decision not to be ordained as a priest, he entered the agronomy institute in Halle (Germany), and after graduating from it in 1913 started to work in Lithuania as an agronomist. He wrote many articles for the then Lithuanian press, mostly on the problems of the development of agriculture; from 1914 he edited the Viensedis (The Isolated Farm) periodical publication. When the Germans occupied Lithuania, he left for Vilnius and here joined the activity of Lithuanian organizations, and was elected to the Lithuanian Relief Committee, where he organized education courses for elementary school teachers. For quite a lengthy period headed the Rytas (Morning) Education Society, managed gardens in a Vilnius suburb that supplied orphanages with vegetables and potatoes. In 1918 he started publishing the newspaper Ukininkas (The Farmer), Ukininko kalendorius (The Farmer's Calendar).

In memory of the 40 years since Stulginskis’ passing away, 2009.

In May of 1920 he was elected Chairman of the Constituent Seimas and President of the State, reelected President at the First (21 December 1922) and the Second (19 June 1923) Seimas, holding post of the President uninterruptedly until 7 June 1926, when Dr. Kazys Grinius was elected President. In 1925-1930 Stulginskis was in charge of the Lithuanian Scout Brotherhood. 

When the Bolsheviks occupied Vilnius in January 1919, the Government and ministries were moved to Kaunas. It was in the provisional capital that the State Council established the President's institution on 4 April 1919, and elected Antanas Smetona the first President of Lithuania. On 1 September 1919, President Smetona and his office moved to a building specially designated as the Presidential Palace, currently the Historical Presidential Palace in Kaunas.

It was here President Stulginskis held office from 1922 till 1926.

Lithuania’s highly respected pre-war president and democracy builder, Aleksandras Stulginskis passed away on 22 September 1969. He was buried in the Aukstoji Panemune cemetery In Kaunas.

Grave of President Aleksandras Stulginskis and his wife Ona (Kaunas).

16 February – Lithuania’s Independence Day

16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania declared its independence from

Imperial Russia and established its statehood

kun. A. Petrulis, S. Banaitis, P. Klimas, A. Stulginskis, J. Šernas, Pr. Dovydaitis.

The Act of Independence of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or Act of February 16 was signed by theCouncil of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democraticprinciples, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty representatives, chaired by Jonas Basanavičius. The Act of February 16 was the end result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the Vilnius Conference and the Act of January 8. The path to the Act was long and complex because the German Empire exerted pressure on the Council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully maneuver between the Germans, whose troops were present in Lithuania, and the demands of the Lithuanian people.

The immediate effects of the announcement of Lithuania's re-establishment of independence were limited. Publication of the Act was prohibited by the German authorities, and the text was distributed and printed illegally. The work of the Council was hindered, and Germans remained in control over Lithuania. The situation changed only when Germany lost World War I in the fall of 1918. In November 1918 the first Cabinet of Lithuania was formed, and the Council of Lithuania gained control over the territory of Lithuania. Independent Lithuania, although it would soon be battling the Wars of Independence, became a reality.

While the Act's original document has been lost, its legacy continues. The laconic Act is the legal basis for the existence of modern Lithuania, both during the interwar period and since 1990. The Act formulated the basic constitutional principles that were and still are followed by all Constitutions of Lithuania. The Act itself was a key element in the foundation of Lithuania's re-establishment of independence in 1990. Lithuania, breaking away from the Soviet Union, stressed that it was simply re-establishing the independent state that existed between the world wars and that the Act never lost its legal power.

(Wikipedia)