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January Events: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Background And Context —
January Events.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The Baltic states, including Lithuania, were forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. The illegal occupation was never recognized by Western powers, leading to the Baltic states' continuity. The Republic of Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union on the 11th of March 1990 and thereafter underwent a difficult period of emergence. During March, April 1990, the Soviet Airborne Troops occupied buildings of the Political Education and the Higher Party School where the alternative Communist Party of Lithuania encamped. The Soviet Union imposed an economic blockade between April and late June. Economic and energy shortages undermined public faith in the newly restored state. The inflation rate reached 100% and continued to increase rapidly. In January 1991, the Lithuanian government was forced to raise prices several times. This was used for organization of mass protests of the so-called Russophone population of the country. During the five days preceding the killings, Soviet, Polish, and other workers at Vilnius factories protested the government's consumer goods price hikes. According to Human Rights Watch, the Soviet government had mounted a propaganda campaign designed to further ethnic strife. On the 8th of January, the conflict between Chairman of the Parliament Vytautas Landsbergis and the more pragmatic Prime Minister Kazimira Prunskienė culminated in her resignation. Prunskienė met with Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev on that day. He refused her request for assurances that military action would not be taken.
Timeline Of Violence
In the morning of Friday the 11th of January 1991, Soviet military units seized the National Defence Department building in Vilnius. At 12:00, soldiers surrounded and seized the Press House building in Vilnius. Soldiers used live ammunition against civilians. Several people were hospitalized, some with bullet wounds. At 12:15, Soviet paratroopers seized the regional building of the National Defence Department in Alytus. At 12:30, Soviet military units seized the regional building of the National Defence Department in Šiauliai. At 15:00, Juozas Jermalavičius announced the creation of the National Salvation Committee of Lithuanian SSR. At 21:00, Soviet military units seized a TV re-transmission center in Nemenčinė. At 23:00, Soviet military units seized the dispatcher's office of the Vilnius railway station. During an overnight session of the Supreme Council, Speaker Landsbergis announced he had tried to call Gorbachev three times but was unsuccessful. Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, General Vladislav Achalov, arrived in Lithuania and took control of all military operations. People from all over Lithuania started to encircle the main strategic buildings. On Saturday the 12th of January 1991, at 04:30, Soviet military units unsuccessfully tried to seize the Police Academy building in Vilnius. At 11:20, armed Soviet soldiers attacked a border-line post near Varėna. At 14:00, a Soviet military truck collided with a civilian vehicle in Kaunas. One person died and three were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Victims And Casualties
In all, thirteen Lithuanians were killed by the Soviet army. An additional civilian died at the scene due to a heart attack, and one Soviet soldier was killed by friendly fire. Loreta Asanavičiūtė, born in 1967, was the only female victim. She worked as a seamstress in a factory. She died in hospital after she fell under a tank. Virginijus Druskis, born in 1969, was a student at Kaunas University of Technology. He was shot in the chest. Darius Gerbutavičius, born in 1973, was a student at a vocational school. He was shot five times. Rolandas Jankauskas, born in 1969, was a student who was hit in the face by an explosive device. Algimantas Petras Kavoliukas, born in 1939, was a butcher at a grocery store. He was wounded by a rubber bullet on the 11th of January 1991. On the 13th of January, he was hit by a tank. Vytautas Koncevičius, born in 1941, was a shopman. He was shot and died in the hospital about a month after the attacks. Vidas Maciulevičius, born in 1966, was a locksmith. He died from bullet wounds to the face, neck, and spine. Apolinaras Juozas Povilaitis, born in 1937, was a metalworker at a Lithuanian Academy of Sciences' institute. He died from bullet wounds to the heart, right lung, upper arm, and thigh. Ignas Šimulionis, born in 1973, was a high school student. He was shot in the head.
International Reactions
Immediately after the attacks, the Supreme Council issued a letter to the people of the Soviet Union and to the rest of the world denouncing the attacks. The government of Norway appealed to the United Nations. The government of Poland expressed their solidarity with the people of Lithuania and denounced the actions of the Soviet army. The reaction from the United States government was somewhat muted as they were heavily preoccupied with the imminent onset of Operation Desert Storm against Iraq. President George H. W. Bush denounced the incident, calling it deeply disturbing. He stated that it threatened to set back or perhaps even reverse the process of reform in the Soviet Union. Bush was notably careful not to criticize Gorbachev directly. Then, he said that Lithuanian workers and intellectuals complaining of anti-Soviet broadcasts had tried to talk to the Lithuanian parliament. They were refused and beaten. Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, Interior Minister Boris Pugo, and Gorbachev all asserted that no one in Moscow gave orders to use force in Vilnius. During a visit by the official delegation of Iceland to Lithuania on the 20th of January, Foreign Minister Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson said his government is seriously considering the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with the Republic of Lithuania. Iceland kept its promise, and on the 4th of February 1991, just three weeks after the attacks, it recognized the Republic of Lithuania as a sovereign independent state.
Criminal Prosecutions
In 1996, two members of the Central Committee of Communist Party of the Lithuanian SSR, Mykolas Burokevičius and Juozas Jermalavičius, were given prison sentences for their involvement in the January Events. In 1999, the Vilnius District Court sentenced six former Soviet military men who participated in the events. On the 11th of May 2011, a soldier of the Soviet OMON Konstantin Mikhailov was sentenced to life in prison for killing customs workers and policemen in 1991 at the Medininkai border checkpoint. Since 1992, representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office of Lithuania requested Belarus to extradite Vladimir Uskhopchik, a former general who was in command of the Vilnius garrison in January 1991. Lithuania's request has been repeatedly denied. In July 2011, diplomatic tensions rose between Austria and Lithuania when Mikhail Golovatov, an ex-KGB general who took part in the 13th of January 1991 massacre, was released after being detained at the Vienna Airport. He then proceeded to fly to Russia. Hearings in Vilnius District Court started on the 27th of January 2016, with 67 individuals facing charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, battery, murder, endangering other's well-being, as well as unlawful military actions against civilians. The case consists of 801 volumes of documents.
National Legacy And Memory
the 13th of January is the Day of the Defenders of Freedom in Lithuania. It is not a public holiday, but it is officially observed as a commemorative day. It is a vividly remembered day in the Lithuanian national memory. The day has been associated with mourning and the national flags are usually raised with a black ribbon attached. In recent years, forget-me-not flower pins have become a symbol of commemoration of the events. Streets in the neighborhood of the TV tower were later renamed after nine victims of the attack. A street in Titas Masiulis' native Kaunas was named after him. Likewise, a street in Marijampolė was named after its native, Rimantas Juknevičius. A street in Kėdainiai was named after Alvydas Kanapinskas. A street in Pelėdnagiai near Kėdainiai was named after Vytautas Koncevičius. Former Lithuanian leaders Landsbergis and Dalia Grybauskaitė expressed the view that the 13th of January is not only the day of mourning and commemorating those who sacrificed their lives, but also the day of national victory. Other prominent public figures described the 13th of January as a Victory Day, including Arvydas Pocius and Valdemaras Rupšys.
What happened during the January Events in Lithuania?
Soviet military units seized strategic buildings including the National Defence Department and Press House on the 13th of January 1991. Thirteen Lithuanians were killed by the Soviet army while one civilian died from a heart attack and one Soviet soldier was killed by friendly fire.
Who were the victims of the January Events in Lithuania?
Loreta Asanavičiūtė, born in 1967, was the only female victim who worked as a seamstress and died after falling under a tank. Virginijus Druskis, born in 1969, was a student at Kaunas University of Technology who was shot in the chest. Darius Gerbutavičius, born in 1973, was a vocational school student who was shot five times.
When did the Soviet Union impose an economic blockade on Lithuania?
The Soviet Union imposed an economic blockade between April and late June 1990 following the declaration of independence on the 11th of March 1990. The inflation rate reached 100% and continued to increase rapidly during this period.
How many people died during the January Events in Lithuania?
Thirteen Lithuanians were killed by the Soviet army during the attacks on the 13th of January 1991. An additional civilian died at the scene due to a heart attack and one Soviet soldier was killed by friendly fire.
What international reactions occurred after the January Events in Lithuania?
The government of Norway appealed to the United Nations while Poland expressed solidarity with the people of Lithuania. President George H. W. Bush denounced the incident as deeply disturbing but avoided criticizing Mikhail Gorbachev directly. Iceland recognized the Republic of Lithuania as a sovereign independent state on the 4th of February 1991.