A plaque installed next to controversial monument to Dauguviečius with Stalin image

A plaque providing historical context has been installed next to a recently unveiled monument to Lithuanian director and actor Borisas Dauguviečius in Biržai, which sparked controversy due to a Stalin medal depicted on the figure’s lapel, LRT.lt reports.

The monument, originally created during the Soviet era and relocated from Vilnius to Biržai, was unveiled on June 21. Local residents soon noticed the Soviet-era medal featuring Stalin’s image on the statue’s lapel and raised concerns with LRT.

Biržai District Municipality confirmed that the issue has been resolved with the installation of an informational plaque. The municipality stated that a more detailed informational stand will also be prepared after receiving necessary responses from the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Centre and Vilnius City Municipality.

The current plaque includes minor typographical errors and explains that the monument, created in 1955, holds historical and artistic value. It notes that the medal depicted on Dauguviečius’ statue is the Stalin Prize laureate medal, awarded to the artist in 1947, and is associated with the Stalinist dictatorship period (1924–1953) and its repressive policies.

Irena Varzienė, chair of the Historical Memory Immortalization Commission and a member of the Biržai District Municipal Council, stated that such a Soviet-era monument should not have been erected in Biržai. She argued that Soviet-era works do not honor but rather insult talented artists.

Varzienė admitted that the municipality was unaware of the Stalin image on the medal when accepting the monument from Vilnius, which proposed transferring it due to Dauguviečius’ regional ties and the local professional theater festival “Žaldokynė.”