Lithuanian court reviews appeal in Ramanauskas-Vanagas monument vandalism case, ruling expected in September

Lithuania’s Court of Appeals examined an appeal on Thursday in the case of the vandalism of a monument to partisan leader Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, with a ruling set to be announced on September 15, LRT reports.

“The case has been reviewed, no additional evidence was requested, and the court did not conduct further investigation. The ruling is scheduled for September 15,” Aurelija Narsutienė, a consultant at the Court of Appeals’ Judicial Practice Division, told BNS.

The defendant was present at the hearing but chose not to attend the ruling announcement. The appeal was filed by Russian citizen Anton Patrakov, who was sentenced to four years in prison and is seeking acquittal. This is the harshest penalty among three foreigners convicted in December 2025 by the Kaunas Regional Court.

According to the first-instance court, Patrakov acted alongside the main organisers of the crimes. Nikolai Silin, holding dual Estonian and Russian citizenship, received a three-year sentence, while Konstantin Venkov was sentenced to one and a half years. Their convictions are now final.

The three were found guilty of aiding a foreign state in actions against Lithuania, destruction or damage of property, and desecration of a grave or other place of public respect. The court established that Silin and Patrakov committed vandalism against the monument, while Venkov gathered information about this and other memorial sites to assist individuals acting in the interests of Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU.

The monument to Ramanauskas-Vanagas in Merkinė, Varėna district, was defaced with red paint in January 2024. The court ordered the defendants to jointly pay 1,500 euros in non-pecuniary damages to the Merkinė Town Museum.