View Q&A: Lithuania led the struggle for freedom from Moscow's yoke, expert recalls

Euronews ^ | Updated: 14/04/2023 | Aleksandar Brezar

[MeganC]

Saul Anuzis: One of the big lessons is the fact that states like the Baltics, Ukraine, and Poland threaten the Russian system.

Because people realise that there's an alternative to having a strong dictator leader and a system that basically “takes care of you” because you can't somehow take care of yourself. There's an alternative that’s the danger for the Russians.

Just walk through the Soviet republics and take a look at these people experiencing free markets, free minds, education, western values coming in, westerners coming in, finding out they're not all enemies.

They're not all enemies of the state. They're not trying to take you over from a different way, but they're actually trying to institute a degree of democracy and freedom and freedom of choice.

That then translates and kind of spreads into Russia, which is a big danger to their ruling system. The oligarchs and their clique of intelligence services and former party members still run much of the infrastructure throughout Russia.

It's a cleptocracy that operates knowingly, acceptingly, even amongst the people. There's almost an acceptance of the way Russia works, and what's going to change that is the experiences of Ukraine, Poland, and other former Soviet bloc states that have moved forward and created systems of education and universities and freedom of the press.

[MeganC]

The above excerpt is from the end of the article but for me it is the part that most resonates. The whole thing is informative and it mentions a Russian invasion of Lithuania in 1991 that I did not know about prior to this.

[dfwgator]

I remember the cool uniforms, the members of the Grateful Dead for their basketball team.

Statue of Frank Zappa in Vilnius.

[nickfrost1]

Because people realise that there’s an alternative to having a strong dictator leader and a system that basically “takes care of you” because you can’t somehow take care of yourself. There’s an alternative that’s the danger for the Russians.==

The article is full of propaganda cliches and misrepresentations.

Who is a strong dictator in Russia? And again if there is a such dictator then how oligarchs survive it? One contradicts another.

a Russian invasion of Lithuania in 1991 ==

Again it is a propaganda substitution of subject. There were NOT such Russian invasion but soviet. Russian invasion may be yet to come in future so if Lithvinia will continue her hostile policy then Russia may consider take away Klajpeda the Stalin gift from her.

[Clemenza]

Lithuania’s freedom is not for the thug state of Russia to take away.

Russia fanboys are lucky that I don’t run this country as I would be deporting them en masse to their homeland.

[17th Miss Regt]

Vilnius? Still? I thought they had moved it to somewhere in Montana to pursue some investment in dental hygiene products.

[nickfrost1]

Russia fanboys are lucky that I don’t run this country==

Good but how about a freedom of speech? Or it is just a propaganda trick too?

Lithuania’s freedom is not for the thug state of Russia to take away.==

If they pick up on Russia then must expect blowback.

[delta7]

Having travelled to Lithuania with my mother in the 90’s and finally when the Russians pulled out forever granting Lithuania it’s freedom I can add a few facts.

Kaunas and Vilnius were two totally different societies, Kaunas embraced capitalism, Vilnius stayed mostly Russian, both areas speaking the different languages. All knew Russian, after the breakup Lithuanian was adopted by most, with Polish, Russian and English spoken as minority languages. Note: Lithuanian was NOT mandated, the government allowed each ethnic territories to decide ( unlike Ukraine).

That said, Lithuania has turned towards the Western EU sponsored authoritarian ways. During the Covid hoax, they mandated everyone to get the harmful vaxs, or they were fired, period. Many lost jobs.

Since then they have been polluted by the EU/ US/ Western immorality….they recognized gay marriage, LGBXYZ recognized, essentially being forced by the EU or funding, loans, etc will be yanked.

[MeganC]

The Russians invaded Lithuania under the Soviet flag. That’s the fact here because the two military groups that conducted the invasion were the 76th Guards Air Assault Division and the KGB Alpha Group, both of which were staffed exclusively by ethnic Russians.

And who are you trying to fool here? Russia is just a rebranded Soviet Union that uses the Red Star on their aircraft, the hammer and sickle even on their new government buildings, they fly the Soviet Red Banner as their battle flag, and Putin restored the State Anthem of the Soviet Union as the national anthem of Russia.

The USSR and Russia are the exact same thing.

[nickfrost1]

both of which were staffed exclusively by ethnic Russians.==

Where you get this? In soviet army were not any ethnic regiments at all. It was actually a policy of have-not of any ethnic regiments. And the number of ethnic Russians in USSR was less than half of population. SO they can be about half in ranks of any regiment but not more.

Last ethnic regiments were in Russian Empire army before 1917. For example Latvian Rifles division. They all came on side of Commie Revolution.

Red Star on their aircraft,==

True but no difference of white star of USAF.

the hammer and sickle even on their new government buildings,==

False. No such emblems on NEW official buildings.

fly the Soviet Red Banner as their battle flag==

Just false.

Putin restored the State Anthem of the Soviet Union as the national anthem of Russia.==

False. Putin restored only a melody of anthem because it is old melody of 19 century and it sounds great.

SO you making your conclusion on a false facts.

[MeganC]

“Red Star on their aircraft,==

True but no difference of white star of USAF.”

The white star on USAF aircraft is because the US never changed. We’re still the same country we were eighty years ago.

And I agree with you that the Red Star of the Russian air force and the Red Star of the USSR is no different and for the same reason: it’s still the same country it was eighty years ago.

Thank you for making my point for me. Spatsiba.

[nickfrost1]

And I agree with you that the Red Star of the Russian air force and the Red Star of the USSR is no different and for the same reason: it’s still the same country it was eighty years ago.==

Red Star is not of USSR. But it is just a traditional emblem like a talisman. And also it is very visible from a distance so prevents a friendly fire. NOTHING else in it actually.

I guess American military took a star for their emblem for same reasons.

REd BANNER is a different story. It is an traditional emblem of international COMMIES around the globe. SO China still have it today but NOT Russia!

[MeganC]

“Red Star is not of USSR. But it is just a traditional emblem like a talisman. And also it is very visible from a distance so prevents a friendly fire. NOTHING else in it actually.”

You don’t know your own history very well, do you tovarisch?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_star

The star’s origins as a symbol of communist mass movements dates from the time of the Bolshevik Revolution and the Russian Civil War, but the precise first use remains unknown. The red star as a symbol of the Red Army was proposed by the Military Collegium for the organization of the Red Army and the creator of the Red Star emblem was the Bolshevik commander of the Petrograd Military District, Konstantin Eremeev.[2] On the other hand, one account of the symbol’s origin traces its roots to the Moscow troop garrison toward the end of World War I. At this time, many troops were fleeing from the Austrian and German fronts, joining the local Moscow garrison upon their arrival in the city. To distinguish the Moscow troops from the influx of retreating front-liners, officers gave out tin stars to the Moscow garrison soldiers to wear on their hats. When those troops joined the Red Army and the Bolsheviks they painted their tin stars red, the color of socialism, thus creating the original red star.[3]

The red star was used in communist media as early as in 1908 with the publication of the novel Red Star by Bolshevik revolutionary Alexander Bogdanov, which describes a technologically advanced communist civilization on Mars.[4]

Another claimed origin for the red star relates to an alleged encounter between Leon Trotsky and Nikolai Krylenko. Krylenko, an Esperantist, wore a green-star lapel badge; Trotsky inquired as to its meaning and received an explanation that each arm of the star represented one of the five traditional continents. On hearing that, Trotsky specified that soldiers of the Red Army should wear a similar red star.[5]