Lithuania marks 33 years since Russian troops withdrew

Lithuania is marking Freedom Day on Monday, 33 years after the occupation army was withdrawn from the country, LRT reported.

To mark the occasion, the Lithuanian Armed Forces Orchestra, the Honour Guard Company and soldiers will march in Vilnius from Cathedral Square along Gediminas Avenue to Lukiškės Square. The square will host a flag-raising ceremony and an orchestra concert.

An installation titled “Towards unconditional freedom” will open at Vilnius Railway Station. It consists of four screens: three will continuously show archival photographs and texts about Freedom Day, while the fourth will display posters created by the public.

A discussion will follow the opening. The “Freedom Talks” will feature Defence Minister Robert Kaunas, Linas Kojala, director of the Geopolitics and Security Studies Centre, historians Alfredas Bumblauskas and Antanas Terleckas, Vladimir Jarmolenko, a member of Lithuania’s state delegation for negotiations with Russia, and Kristina Petrauske, deputy director of the Vytautas the Great War Museum.

Visitors are also invited to create their own posters throughout the day and write what freedom means to them. The posters will be displayed on one of the installation’s screens. The initiative continues the social media campaign “We fought with posters, we celebrate with posters” for a third consecutive year.

After Lithuania restored its independence on March 11, 1990, around five occupation army divisions and approximately 34,600 troops were stationed in the country, along with 1,000 tanks, about 180 aircraft and 1,901 armoured vehicles.

Negotiations began soon after the declaration of independence and continued for several years, eventually bringing Lithuania complete freedom from the occupiers. The last Russian army military train passed through Kena railway station without stopping at 11:46 p.m. on August 31, 1993.