20 Years Later: Lithuania
By Rokas M. Tracevskis Posted Apr 13 2010
On Jan. 11, 1991, Soviet troops stormed the Vilnius' Press Palace, where the majority of Lithuanian newspapers had their headquarters and printing facilities. Photo: Lithuanian Defense Ministry
Lithuania is one of the champions of press freedom in the post-Soviet era, though Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia never were a legitimate part of the USSR, according to the official position of Western democracies before the crumbling of the Soviet empire. This means that the Baltic countries don’t like to be associated with the Soviets.
According to the Press Freedom Index of 2009, compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders, Lithuania ranks No. 10. The top 10 is dominated by Lithuania’s fellow European Union member states, mostly situated in the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. Out of the former Soviet nations, only Estonia, which is No. 6, is ahead of Lithuania in terms of press freedom. For comparison, the US, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom hold places 20 to 23, respectively, while Russia is No. 153 and the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan is No. 173 of 175.
Soviet censorship fell apart in Lithuania in 1988 even as state censorship still existed in neighboring Poland, which used to be called the freest barracks of the Soviet camp. In that year, the Lithuanian democratic movement Sajudis (“Common Movement” in Lithuanian) emerged. It started to print its weekly Atgimimas (“re-birth” in Lithuanian), which distributed 100,000 copies. This was a large number for a country with a population of 3.4 million. Atgimimas’ Russian-language version, titled Soglasiye (“accord” in Russian), was also printed by Sajudis, which was seeking to export democratic ideas eastward.
On March 11, 1990, the Lithuanian parliament, dominated by the anti-communist Sajudis, proclaimed the re-establishment of Lithuania’s independence. On Jan. 10, 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev issued an ultimatum to Lithuania, urging it to recognize the USSR’s rule. The Lithuanian parliament refused to obey. On Jan. 11, the Soviet troops stormed the Press Palace, where the majority of Lithuanian newspapers had their headquarters and printing facilities. Thousands of unarmed people began to hold vigils near the parliament, TV tower and the radio and television headquarters. On the night of Jan. 12, after beating civilians standing nearby, Soviet tanks and soldiers occupied the radio and television headquarters in Vilnius, the nation’s capital. TV journalists were turned out to the street without being allowed to collect their personal belongings. The Soviet army also seized the TV tower. During those attacks, 14 civilians were killed and some 1,000 were injured. Still, the Soviets failed to occupy the parliament, and the Lithuanian media remained free. In August 1991, communism collapsed in Moscow.
Lithuanian media continue to be free, although some problems exist, according to Leonidas Donskis, who is a well-known public figure in the country. He was the host of a popular show on politics and culture on Lithuanian public TV and is now a columnist at The Baltic Times, the English-language weekly for Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Donskis says: “We have good reason to rejoice in the rather strong footing that press freedom enjoys in present day Lithuania…Yet we would deceive ourselves by praising our media up to the skies and failing to admit its highly debatable aspects. First and foremost, we lack at least one daily of European quality. No possibility exists to remotely compare our dailies with Die Zeit, Le Monde, Le Soir, International Herald Tribune, The Times, to say nothing about The New York Times, in terms of their credibility, analysis, dialogue with their readership and culture of journalism. At this point, we merely have a bunch of tabloids. Our online dailies and magazines are of a considerably higher level than our classic papers. The most regrettable trait of Lithuanian media is its well-disguised corruption and the blackmailing of politicians, who are simply forced to pay for what is supposed to be positive information.
“All in all,” he continues, “the aforementioned things are a public secret, so they can hardly come as a shock.”