The Path towards Independence

The Path towards Independence

23 August 1939: Signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The pact and its secret protocols divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence and led to the occupation of the Baltic States in 1940.

15 June 1940: Occupation and annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union. During the first occupation by the Soviet Union (15 June 1940 – 22 June 1941), 23,000 Lithuanian citizens were imprisoned, killed and deported to Siberia.

22 June 1941: The invasion of the Nazi Germany. During the occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany, 240,000 (including 200,000 Jews) Lithuanian citizens were killed, 60,000 transported to labor camps and 29,500 to concentration camps in Germany.

1944 – 1953: ‘‘War after War”. After pushing out the Nazis in the summer of 1944, Soviet troops occupied Lithuania for a second time and immediately reinstated a brutal regime, which conducted Soviet repressions, a reign of terror and mobilization to the Soviet army. All this fuelled resistance among the Lithuanian population, including guerrilla warfare. The leadership of the partisans was destroyed in 1953, thus effectively ending the underground partisan war, though individual fighters held out until the 1960s. During the “War after War” about 20,000 of Lithuanian freedom fighters and their supporters were killed.

19 March 1972: Romas Kalanta‘s self-immolation. Romas Kalanta, a Lithuanian high school student, set himself on fire in Kaunas in protest of the Soviet occupation of Lithuania. Kalanta's death provoked the largest post-war anti-Soviet protests in Lithuania.

23 August 1987: Anti-Soviet rally to condemn the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Despite the Soviet ban on public demonstrations in Lithuania, a rally to mark the anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and the Nazi Germany was organized at the Mickevičius (Mickiewicz) monument in Vilnius on 23 August 1987. Participants condemned the pact and its consequences for Lithuania's statehood and demanded freedom for Lithuania.

3 June 1988: The Establishment of the Lithuanian Reform Movement (Sąjūdis). During a meeting at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences on June 3, 1988,  intellectuals formed  an initiative group of the Lithuanian Reform Movement  to mobilize support for democratic change and ultimately - Lithuanian independence. The group of 35, mostly artists, gained nationwide support. On June 24, 1988, the first massive pro-independence gathering organized by Lithuanian Reform Movement took place. About 100,000 people gathered in Vilnius’ Vingis Park to support the goals of the Lithuanian Reform Movement. Another massive event took place on August 23, 1988, when 250,000 people gathered to protest against the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and its secret protocols.

23 August 1989: The Baltic Way. The Baltic Way was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on August 23, 1989. Approximately two million people joined  hands to form a human chain spanning 675.5 kilometers across the three Baltic states of  Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It marked the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The pact and its secret protocols divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence and led to the occupation of the Baltic States in 1940.

24 February 1990: First Democratic Elections to the Lithuanian SSR Supreme Council. Lithuanian Reform Movement candidates won an overwhelming majority (107 out of 133 seats) in the elections to the Lithuanian Supreme Council.

11 March 1990: The Restoration of the Independent State of Lithuania. On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania adopted an Act on the Restoration of the Independent State of Lithuania.

13 January 1991: January Events. On January 13, 1991, Soviet forces stormed the Parliament building in Vilnius and the Vilnius TV Tower. Unarmed civilian Lithuanians confronted Soviet soldiers. Fourteen people were killed and seven hundred injured.

17 September 1991: Admission into the United Nations. United Nations Security Council Resolution 711 welcomed Lithuania as a member of the United Nations.