Back to the USSR

Travel posters from Soviet, government-run travel agency.

Restoration Day

Today is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the day Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, about 2005. Toronto Al crafted this stained-glass Vytis.

(Here in Madison, the University Club is commemorating the anniversary with a special menu.)

ADDED: Here is a collection of clips Jonas Mekas filmed as he watched his television set that day.

Independence Restoration Day

Today is the twenty-fourth anniversary of the day Lithuania's Parliament voted to assert its independence from the Soviet Union.

 

Video of the vote appears here.*

*In Lithuanian. The Lithuanian flag rises at 0:37 and the singing of the national anthem begins at 0:54. Displaying a flag and singing the anthem had been, since 1944, criminal acts.

My Mom (who believes dreams deliver messages) recounts how, during the Soviet Union's 1940-1941 occupation, she dreamed about a day when her mother, Jadzė, climbed to the attic, retrieved a hidden flag, and flew it in defiance. In the woken world, Jadzė died before World War II ended.

What should a former republic do with those "Soviet Worker" statues?

Vilnius, Lithuania considers the fate of the relics.

I also thought of Grutas Park as I started reading the article.

Independence Restoration Day

On March 11, 1990, Lithuania's "parliament declared renewed freedom and independence for Lithuania, after the country had been occupied by the Soviet Union since World War II."

The Chicago office of the Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania posted some photos from yesterday's celebration at Navy Pier.