THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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Opinions
The image of Lithuania in the 1960s
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This photo, taken by photographer Antanas Sutkus in the 1960s, represents for me the despair and decay that characterized Lithuania at the time, some 20 years after the world war, guerrilla warfare, and the communist takeover and tragic desecration of their homeland. Many of their childhood friends are killed by the ruthless invaders here or in Siberia, others have fled to a better life in the West. They are not allowed not leave. That prevents the Iron Curtain between East and West Europe. They do not have ownership rights over their own homes and own country. Plaster falls from the buildings here in Old Town. No owner, and nobody cares about what the State owns. They no longer see results of their own work. Indifference and despair prevails. The future is dark.
Aage Myhre
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Many Lithuanians, like my parents, did not leave/fled/ run from Lithuania for “a better life”, but to stay alive
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Many Lithuanians, like my parents, did not leave/fled/run from Lithuania for "a better life", but to stay alive. My mother’s family was on the list to be deported to Siberia. They knocked on her door in Kaunas & said you have 30 minutes to pack. When the truck came, the driver told them to wait because the truck needed gas. It never returned thanx to the German front approaching. My mother’s grand-mother was General Plechavicius' godmother (she was deported to Siberia) & my mother’s father was a high ranking LT army officer. The had no choice but to flee.
My father was a partisan (need I say more?)
Linas Johansonas
Michigan, USA
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The restitution initiative is welcome. Symbolically, it serves to underscore Lithuania’s moral burden. Practically, it will support Jewish life.
The Lithuanian government has announced that it will begin compensating the country's small Jewish community for property seized during the Nazi and Soviet eras. Over the next decade, 36.5 million euros will be allocated to fund Jewish educational, religious, scientific, cultural and social welfare projects in this small Baltic land.
Needless to say, there can be no full compensation for the suffering endured by Lithuanian Jewry. The Holocaust in Lithuania was among the swiftest and most thorough in all of Europe. During the Soviet era, Jewish culture was further crushed.
Read more…
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Contact us at:
editor@VilNews.com
____________________________
Many of us here in America are looking for relatives in Lithuania
I am the granddaughter of two Lithuanians that immigrated to the United States in 1911. They were Simas Dikmonas b.Mar 19, 1890 Girininkai d. 1924 Sheboygan Wisconsin and Marija Šimkute b. May 3, 1892 Girininkai died Nov 5, 1968 Sheboygan Wisconsin.
Diane LeRoy
San Antonio Texas, USA
____________________________
Please, Please, Please!
Help us who seek our Lithuanian ancestors
Dear Editor,
Yes, absolutely it would be a fantastic idea. I've been trying to understand how and where to locate information on my Lithuanian ancestors for years. I thought I was Russian until some facts from my great grandfather's Naturalization Papers had me focusing on Vilnius, but without understanding the language or how records were kept, I was lost. Please, Please, Please! Help us who seek our Lithuanian ancestors learn how and where to get the information. Teach us the history of Lithuania from when it was Russia to what it is now. Help us find how village names have changed and where those villages are or were. Where are the records kept from those villages? How do I get access to them? What were the customs and traditions of our ancestors? And who might we be related to from those places today?
I can find records for most Western European countries quite easily and most of them for free. But anything East of Berlin seems unobtainable. If you can help unravel the difficulties of Lithuania genealogy research I would be overwhelmingly happy.
Christopher
____________________________
It is very hard to find information in Lithuania
--
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____________________________
Maybe there still is hope
I just heard about you site today. But after 3 years of trying to find a way to trace my family roots in Lithuania I have pretty much given up. Maybe there is still hope.... I really would love to see any Lithuanian genealogy information online.
Ellie Dowling
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Please do add a Genealogy Section!
I just learned of your publication and the article about finding relatives and ancestors. What a great bunch of resources! Please do add a Genealogy Section!
Ileen Peterson
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Comments to our article:
The Knights of Lithuania
keep on fighting
Click HERE to read the article
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I wrote many letters to our govt in protest about our govt turning Simas Kudirka back to the Russians when he jumped ship
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There is a Lithuanian consulate in Wash DC. The US had no right to turn him over. IT was good to see him at last in the USA. My family belonged to the Knights of Lithuania in Scranton Pa. Thank you for all you do.
Charlotte Surenko
Note: You can read about the defection of Simas Kudirka HERE
SIMAS KUDIRKA
This photograph was taken
from his Soviet Identification card.
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I participated in the late 1940s
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Neat article. I remember the Lithuanian summer festival that I attended w/my mother's mom/stepfather in Luzerne Co in the late 1940's
Albert P Mikutis Jr·
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Bernard Terway
Very nice article about a group I was proud to be a member of. There are many such groups throughout the US and many of them were founded where Lithuanians traditionally settled. There are other groups in places that one would not expect them to be. For example the Lithuanian American communities in Houston and San Antonio Texas.
Bernard Terway
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It gave me so many experiences singing, dancing, making friends and making eggs and straw ornaments
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Karen Domalakes
The group also had a Jr. K of L when I was a child in the 1980s. We danced in the area as well as at the Sukiu Svente in Cleveland years ago. It gave me so many experiences singing, dancing, making friends and making eggs and straw ornaments. It led me to experience four Lithuanian summer camps and find my favorite vacation spot, Lithuania. Most of all it keeps me close to my family and faith as we share these traditions and memories. Thanks for the article!
Karen Domalakes
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Very Nice Article. Thank You for All you do!
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This was a great article.
I, too am proud to be a member of the Knights of Lithuania (56 years). It would be great to have a council in Texas.
Phyllis Gendreau
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From Facebook,VilNews Forum
Viktorija Ruškulienė I was a participant in the similar Wash. DC protest in 1989. I have tons of pictures, if you are interested.
Aage Myhre With your story... OK?
Viktorija Ruškulienė Well, I do not have much to say. But I will think about it...
Aage Myhre Of course you have a lot to say... All you guys have,,, And it's now time to tell... :)
Tony Mazeika I was part of a Baltic delegation of 14 including the Baltic American Freedom League that had a White House conference with Pres. H. Bush & his top advisers April 1990 that argued for the immediate recognition of the newly established free government headed by V. Landsbergis. We have a complete record of that 2 hour conference. The President hesitated and we had to wait for one more bloody year before the US gave its full diplomatic recognition to the restored sovereign democratic nation of Lithuania. Major public affairs, media, and Congressional efforts were undertaken in the US between 1990-1991 to supports restoration of Baltic independence. There is comprehensive story about those efforts that need to be told.
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____________________________
Only a few kill themselves for rational reasons
Dr. Boris Vytautas Bakunas
By: Dr. Boris Vytautas Bakunas, M. A., M. Ed., Ph. D.
"The vast majority of people who commit suicide are severely depressed. Only a few kill themselves for rational reasons such as avoiding the final stages of an extremely painful and fatal illness. Depression may be triggered by adverse events, but they are not the direct cause of most depressions. Many people face extreme adversity without succumbing to depression.
As a vast amount of empirical research has shown, the belief systems that people hold have a profound effect on their moods. People who suffer from depression generally believe several of the following things : (a) their lives are terrible, (b) they are guilty for having brought on the bad conditions they face, (c) they are powerless to change their lives, and (d) their lives will never improve. When you're depressed you tell yourself that a horrible tragedy has struck your life, you are worthless and overwhelmed by the difficulties you face, and since there is nothing you can do to solve your problems, your life is not worth living.
Read more…
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Bipolar Manic Depressive Disorder can be beaten
Ray Tyler
Suicidal thoughts occur when pain coping resources are exceeded by pain. This comment (or variations on it) occurs regularly if a search on suicide is made on the internet. The comment is so common that it could almost be accepted as a definition of suicidal thoughts.
If it is accepted as a definition of suicidal thoughts it immediately high-lights two immediate ways of reducing the chances of suicide.
Reduce the person's pain or increase that person's coping ability. In many cases even knowing that they are being listened to can achieve this result.
Read more…
Ray Tyler
____________________________
It's time to seriously consider Lithuania’s high suicide rate
Marina Farrell
It's time to seriously consider the high suicide rate of Lithuania. Recent news of another in Vilnius as well as being described as an epidemic has brought world-wide concern, especially to those who have close ties to Lithuanians.
Here's a video from an ad campaign by popular singer Andrius Mamontovas from a couple years ago, who has put forth great efforts to prevent suicide in Lithuania.
Marina Farrell,
Denver, Colorado, USA
To learn more, go to Marina’s website “I love Lithuania” ...for fans, friends & all who love Lithuania”. She runs this fantastic site from her hometown Denver!
http://www.ilovelithuania.com/
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Greeks won, Lithuanians lost!
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By Val Samonis
Before they realized what is going on and who was robbing them, the Lithuanian people got clubbered by PM Kubilius’ ambitious austerity policy and the younger ones started emigrating in catastrophic numbers, seeing no future in the country whose GDP was reduced (from a low post-Soviet level) by some 20% by the combination of the old nomenklatura rent-seeking policies and the global Great Recession. Lithuania is hollowing out, unfortunately.
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A far too bright picture of the present reality
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By Aage Myhre, Editor-in-Chief
The above post from Val Samonis, where he compares “crisis-hit” Greece and a Lithuania supposed to be quickly recovering from the 2008 crisis, internationally praised for its austerity measures, calls for reflection.
The difference is that while the people of Greece protest and angrily demonstrate in the streets of Athens, people here only become more and more bitter, emigrate, begets crime in other countries, etc.
Lithuania's elderly and disadvantaged people who have seen their minimum pensions drastically cut, and mothers seeing that the child benefits are completely removed as concept, they bow their necks and become even more active in growing potatoes on their garden spots outside the city instead of standing up against the government’s unfair measures against them...
This country's politicians claim they have been the smartest in Europe by cutting in time, and not needing much of foreign loans or support from IMF or others. But who are the ones suffering from this?
The answer is relatively clear. Baltic Times recently wrote that the parliamentarians in Lithuania enjoy EU’s second highest salaries/benefits, with only French politicians ahead. See http://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/30094/
It is unquestionably true that things now are improving. But this happens very slowly, and one must remember that the Baltic countries were far behind the free countries of Europe in 1990 and that to bring them up the same level and standard required a much steeper growth curve here, which has not been the case despite colossal EU funding. To reach the average GDP and standards for the EU27 countries is very far away, probably 20-40 years from now.
Unemployment has begun to decline somewhat, but we are talking only about a reduction from around 18% three years ago, against 14% today. When one also knows that about 20% of the country's able-bodied labour force has emigrated during this period, there is in other words no significant improvement to be proud of. Also, many of those having a job, work in state enterprises or administration where effectiveness perhaps is about 50% of what one finds in Western countries, hence the statistics are not showing much of the real situation.
My conclusion are therefore the following:
• There are in fact no more real jobs now than it was four years ago.
• The number of productive jobs has probably gone more down than up.
• The most skilled workers have left the country and the quality of work is therefore on a downturn, hence the statistics presents a far too bright picture of today’s reality in Lithuania.
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Anyone ready to support us in saving the wooden houses in Vilnius and around in Lithuania?
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Please write to editor@VilNews.com
Wooden house in the
Vilnius district of Uzupis.
See also the slide show
“Uzupis spring 2012”.
CLICK HERE to see the show.
Tatjana Grigorjeva It's a good idea!
Tatjana Grigorjeva Wooden houses like this one, is a heritage of Lithuania!
Carol Luschas Taip!
Jenn Virskus Taip!
Milda Arquer Yes ! Those houses are really among the lithuanian symbols and heritages of the past !
Jurate Kutkus Burns Absolutely! Once they are gone, they cannot be replaced.
Irene Simanavicius What do you need? how can we help? Let's get going!!! :)
Ramute Julia Zukas Yes Aage, what help can we give?
Wyman Brent I guess it is considered progress to destroy the past. What a shame.
Boris Bakunas Yes, yes, and yes again!
Warren Thompson Yes
Danguole Juska heritage...
Rasa Mekuskaite Oho, it's maybe the first time when i can see the same coluor on a house and on a fence. And this light green hue. Where is it?
Aage Myhre It's in your beloved Uzupis, Rasa :)
Rasa Mekuskaite OK:)
Jan H. Hovde Do you have a plan?
Aage Myhre Vilnius Municipality has a plan, but has not been able to implement it due to financial reasons. Also, I have to say that the public understanding of the importance of keeping and maintaining this cultural treasure is not very high. I will now try to apply for EEA/Norwegian Grants and see what can be done, and it's seriously urgent as the majority of these buildings are in very bad conditions.
Linas Johansonas Who owns these houses?
Aage Myhre Private people, families, who simply were 'installed' there during the Soviet years, then given ownership rights to their apartments after 1991. Most of the families are poor people with no means to renovate or take care of their homes, hence public support is necessary.
Tomas Chepaitis Of course, sure, we should save them - some in Zhverynas are already destroyed
Tomas Chepaitis ...but destruction comes mostly from the architectural mafia:) or municipality, isn't it so, Your Excellency Architect of the Universe?
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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.
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