January Events
Encyclopedia
The January Events took place in Lithuania
between January 11 and 13, 1991 in the aftermath of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
. As a result of Soviet military actions, 14 civilians were killed and more than 1000 injured. The events were centred in its capital, Vilnius
, along with related actions in its suburbs and in the cities of Alytus
, Šiauliai
, Varėna
, and Kaunas
.
The Lithuanian Republic
declared independence from the Soviet Union
on March 11, 1990, and thereafter underwent a difficult period of emergence. Economic and energy shortages undermined public faith in the newly restored state. The Soviet Union imposed an economic blockade between April and late June.
The inflation rate
reached 100% and continued to increase rapidly. The fact that Lithuania had proclaimed independence unilaterally also caused discontent among the minorities of Russian and Polish descent, many of whom were supporters of the Moscow
-backed branch of the Lithuanian Communist Party and the largely communist
-dominated Yedinstvo
movement.
Tension rose sharply in the early days of 1991. During the five days preceding the events, Russian, Polish, and other workers at Vilnius factories protested the government's consumer goods price hikes and what they saw as ethnic discrimination. (According to Human Rights Watch
, the Soviet government had mounted a propaganda campaign designed to further ethnic strife).
On January 8, the conflict between Chairman of the Parliament Vytautas Landsbergis
and the more pragmatic Prime Minister Kazimira Prunskienė
culminated in her resignation. Prunskienė met with Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev
on that day. He refused her request for assurances that military action would not be taken.
On January 8, the Yedinstvo
movement organized a rally in front of the Supreme Council of Lithuania. Protesters tried to storm the parliament building, but were driven away by unarmed security forces using water cannons. Despite a Supreme Council vote the same day to halt price increases, the scale of protests and provocations backed by Jedinstvo (Unity, in Russian) and the Communist Party increased. During a radio and television address, Landsbergis called upon independence supporters to gather around and protect the main governmental and infrastructural buildings.
From January 8–9, several special Soviet military units were flown to Lithuania (including the famous counter terrorist Alpha Group
and paratroopers of the 76th Airborne Division
of the VDV
based at Pskov
). The official explanation was that this was needed to ensure constitutional order and the effectiveness of laws of the Lithuanian SSR
and the Soviet Union
.
On January 10, Gorbachev addressed the Supreme Council
, demanding restoration of the constitution of the USSR
in Lithuania and the revocation of all anti-constitutional laws. He mentioned that military intervention could be possible within days. When Lithuanian officials asked for Moscow's guarantee not to send armed troops, Gorbachev did not reply.
and Prime Minister Albertas Šimėnas
were presented with another ultimatum from the "Democratic Congress of Lithuania" demanding that they comply with Gorbachev's request by 15:00 on January 11.
During an overnight session of the Supreme Council, Speaker Vytautas Landsbergis
announced that he had tried to call Mikhail Gorbachev
three times, but was unsuccessful. Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, General Vladislav Achalov
, arrived in Lithuania and took control of all military operations. People from all over Lithuania started to encircle the main strategic buildings: the Supreme Council, the Radio and Television Committee, the Vilnius TV Tower
and the main telephone exchange.
Following these two attacks, large crowds (20,000 during the night, more than 50,000 in the morning) of independence supporters gathered around the Supreme Council building. People started building anti-tank barricades and setting up defenses inside surrounding buildings. Provisional chapels were set up inside and outside the Supreme Council building. Members of the crowd prayed, sang and shouted pro-independence slogans. Despite columns of military trucks, BMPs and tanks moving into the vicinity of the Supreme Council, Soviet military forces retreated instead of attacking.
The events of January 13 are sometimes referred to as Bloody Sunday.
In all, thirteen Lithuanians were killed by the Soviet army. An additional civilian died at the scene due to a heart attack, and one Soviet soldier was killed by friendly fire
. All victims, except the soldier, were awarded the Order of the Cross of Vytis
(the Knight) on January 15, 1991.
appealed to the United Nations
. The government of Poland
expressed their solidarity with the people of Lithuania and denounced the actions of the Soviet army.
After the events, President Gorbachev said Lithuanian "workers and intellectuals" complaining of anti-Soviet broadcasts had tried to talk to the republic's parliament, but were refused and beaten. Then, he said, they asked the military commander in Vilnius to provide protection. Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov
, Interior Minister Boris Pugo and Gorbachev all asserted that no one in Moscow gave orders to use force in Vilnius. Yazov said that nationalists were trying to form what he called a bourgeois dictatorship. Pugo said on national television that the demonstrators had opened fire first.
During the following day, meetings of support took place in many cities (Kiev
, Riga
, Tallinn
).
Although occupation and military raids continued for several months following the attacks, there were no large open military encounters after January 13. Strong Western reaction and the actions of Russia
n democratic forces put the President and the government of the Soviet Union in an awkward position. This influenced future Lithuanian-Russian negotiations and resulted in the signing of a treaty on January 31.
During a visit by the official delegation of Iceland
to Lithuania on January 20, Foreign Minister Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson
said: "My government is seriously considering the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with the Republic of Lithuania." Iceland kept its promise, and on February 4, 1991, just three weeks after the attacks, it recognized
the Republic of Lithuania as a sovereign independent state, and diplomatic relations were established between the two nations.
These events are considered some of the main factors that led to the overwhelming victory of independence supporters in a referendum
on February 9, 1991. (Turnout was 84.73% of registered voters; 90.47% of them voted in favor of the full and total independence of Lithuania.)
Streets in the neighborhood of the TV tower were later renamed after victims of the attack.
Russia still claims that the Soviet troops did not use their weapons at all.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
between January 11 and 13, 1991 in the aftermath of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of March 11 was an independence declaration by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted on March 11, 1990...
. As a result of Soviet military actions, 14 civilians were killed and more than 1000 injured. The events were centred in its capital, Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, along with related actions in its suburbs and in the cities of Alytus
Alytus
Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2007 was 68,835. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The major highways linking Vilnius, Kaunas, Lazdijai, and...
, Šiauliai
Šiauliai
Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
, Varėna
Varena
Varėna is a city in Dzūkija, Lithuania.-History:The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway, south of Sena Varėna . At that time it was a small settlement, but following steady development it eventually became the center of the district in 1950. In the interbellum...
, and Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
.
Background
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
declared independence from the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
on March 11, 1990, and thereafter underwent a difficult period of emergence. Economic and energy shortages undermined public faith in the newly restored state. The Soviet Union imposed an economic blockade between April and late June.
The inflation rate
Inflation rate
In economics, the inflation rate is a measure of inflation, the rate of increase of a price index . It is the percentage rate of change in price level over time. The rate of decrease in the purchasing power of money is approximately equal.The inflation rate is used to calculate the real interest...
reached 100% and continued to increase rapidly. The fact that Lithuania had proclaimed independence unilaterally also caused discontent among the minorities of Russian and Polish descent, many of whom were supporters of the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
-backed branch of the Lithuanian Communist Party and the largely communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
-dominated Yedinstvo
Yedinstvo (Lithuania)
Yedinstvo was a pro-Moscow and anti-Sąjūdis movement in the Lithuanian SSR during the Perestroika era. The goals of the movement were similar to those of the Latvian and Estonian Internationalist Movements, e.g. opposition to disintegration of the Soviet Union...
movement.
Tension rose sharply in the early days of 1991. During the five days preceding the events, Russian, Polish, and other workers at Vilnius factories protested the government's consumer goods price hikes and what they saw as ethnic discrimination. (According to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, the Soviet government had mounted a propaganda campaign designed to further ethnic strife).
On January 8, the conflict between Chairman of the Parliament Vytautas Landsbergis
Vytautas Landsbergis
Professor Vytautas Landsbergis is a Lithuanian conservative politician and Member of the European Parliament. He was the first head of state of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union, and served as the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas...
and the more pragmatic Prime Minister Kazimira Prunskienė
Kazimira Prunskiene
Kazimira Danutė Prunskienė was the first Prime Minister of Lithuania after the declaration of independence of March 11, 1990 and Minister of Agriculture in the government of Gediminas Kirkilas....
culminated in her resignation. Prunskienė met with Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
on that day. He refused her request for assurances that military action would not be taken.
On January 8, the Yedinstvo
Yedinstvo (Lithuania)
Yedinstvo was a pro-Moscow and anti-Sąjūdis movement in the Lithuanian SSR during the Perestroika era. The goals of the movement were similar to those of the Latvian and Estonian Internationalist Movements, e.g. opposition to disintegration of the Soviet Union...
movement organized a rally in front of the Supreme Council of Lithuania. Protesters tried to storm the parliament building, but were driven away by unarmed security forces using water cannons. Despite a Supreme Council vote the same day to halt price increases, the scale of protests and provocations backed by Jedinstvo (Unity, in Russian) and the Communist Party increased. During a radio and television address, Landsbergis called upon independence supporters to gather around and protect the main governmental and infrastructural buildings.
From January 8–9, several special Soviet military units were flown to Lithuania (including the famous counter terrorist Alpha Group
Alpha Group
The Alpha Group , is an elite component of Russia's Spetsnaz as well as the dedicated counter-terrorism unit of the Federal Security Service...
and paratroopers of the 76th Airborne Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of the VDV
VDV
The Russian Airborne Troops or VDV is a military branch of service of the Russian Military, on par with the Strategic Rocket Forces and the Russian Space Forces...
based at Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
). The official explanation was that this was needed to ensure constitutional order and the effectiveness of laws of the Lithuanian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
On January 10, Gorbachev addressed the Supreme Council
Supreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas
The Supreme Council Supreme Council – Restoration Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania , was the supreme governing body, elected in 1990...
, demanding restoration of the constitution of the USSR
1977 Soviet Constitution
At the Seventh Session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Ninth Convocation on October 7, 1977, the third and last Soviet Constitution, also known as the "Brezhnev Constitution", was unanimously adopted...
in Lithuania and the revocation of all anti-constitutional laws. He mentioned that military intervention could be possible within days. When Lithuanian officials asked for Moscow's guarantee not to send armed troops, Gorbachev did not reply.
January 11
In the morning, Speaker of the Supreme Council Vytautas LandsbergisVytautas Landsbergis
Professor Vytautas Landsbergis is a Lithuanian conservative politician and Member of the European Parliament. He was the first head of state of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union, and served as the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas...
and Prime Minister Albertas Šimėnas
Albertas Šimenas
Albertas Šimėnas was Prime Minister of Lithuania for 3 days, from January 10 to January 13, 1991. He disappeared during the January Events and was replaced by Gediminas Vagnorius....
were presented with another ultimatum from the "Democratic Congress of Lithuania" demanding that they comply with Gorbachev's request by 15:00 on January 11.
- 11:50 – Soviet military units seize the National Defense Department building in VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. - 12:00 – Soviet military units surround and seize the Press House building in VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. Soldiers use live ammunition against civilians. Several people are hospitalized, some with bullet wounds. - 12:15 – Soviet paratroopers seize the regional building of the National Defense Department in AlytusAlytusAlytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2007 was 68,835. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The major highways linking Vilnius, Kaunas, Lazdijai, and...
. - 12:30 – Soviet military units seize the regional building of the National Defense Department in ŠiauliaiŠiauliaiŠiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...
. - 15:00 – In a press conference held in the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania, the head of the Ideological Division Juozas Jermalavičius announces the creation of the "National Salvation Committee of Lithuanian SSR" and that from now on it will be the only legitimate government in Lithuania.
- 16:40 – Minister of Foreign Affairs Algirdas SaudargasAlgirdas SaudargasAlgirdas Saudargas is a Lithuanian politician and the signatory of the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. He was the first foreign minister of post-Soviet Lithuania. He was foreign minister from March 24, 1990 to December 12, 1992 and again from December 4, 1996 to October 30,...
sends a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union in which he expresses his concerns about Soviet army violence in Lithuania. - 21:00 – Soviet military units seize a TV re-translation center in NemenčinėNemencineNemenčinė is a city in Vilnius district municipality, Lithuania, it is located about north-east of Vilnius.-Names:Nemenčinė is the original name of the city reflected in historical documents and still in use today. It derives from a Lithuanian word referring to the river Nemenčia...
. - 23:00 – Soviet military units seize the dispatcher's office of the Vilnius railway station. Railway traffic is disrupted, but restored several hours later.
January 12
Vytautas Landsbergis
Professor Vytautas Landsbergis is a Lithuanian conservative politician and Member of the European Parliament. He was the first head of state of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union, and served as the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas...
announced that he had tried to call Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
three times, but was unsuccessful. Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, General Vladislav Achalov
Vladislav Achalov
Vladislav Achalov was a former Soviet general who at one time commanded the Soviet Airborne Forces.Achalov graduated from the Kazan Tank School of Red Army in 1966. He started his career in the army as a commander of a platoon of tanks, and later he became the commander of a company of tanks...
, arrived in Lithuania and took control of all military operations. People from all over Lithuania started to encircle the main strategic buildings: the Supreme Council, the Radio and Television Committee, the Vilnius TV Tower
Vilnius TV Tower
The Vilnius TV Tower is a tower in the Karoliniškės microdistrict of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the tallest structure in Lithuania, and is occupied by the SC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre ....
and the main telephone exchange.
- 00:30 – Soviet military units seize the base of the Lithuanian SSR Special Purpose Detachment of Police (OMONOMONOMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
) in a suburb of Vilnius. - 04:30 – Soviet military units unsuccessfully try to seize the Police AcademyMykolas Romeris UniversityMykolas Romeris University is a university in the capital city of Vilnius, Lithuania, bearing the name of the Lithuanian legal scholar, judge and father of Lithuania's Constitutional Law Mykolas Römeris. Established in 2004, it is a state-funded institution....
building in Vilnius. - 11:20 – Armed Soviet soldiers attack a border-line post near VarėnaVarenaVarėna is a city in Dzūkija, Lithuania.-History:The town was founded in 1862 near the Warsaw – Saint Petersburg Railway, south of Sena Varėna . At that time it was a small settlement, but following steady development it eventually became the center of the district in 1950. In the interbellum...
. - 14:00 – A Soviet military truck collides with a civilian vehicle in KaunasKaunasKaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
. One person dies and three are hospitalized with serious injuries. - 22:00 – A column of Soviet military vehicles is spotted leaving a military base in Vilnius and moving towards the city center. Employees of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Lithuania instruct special worker groups (druzhinaVoluntary People's DruzhinaVoluntary People's Druzhina variously translated as Voluntary People’s Guard, People’s Volunteer Squads, People's Volunteer Militia, etc. were voluntary detachments for maintaining public order in the Soviet Union similar to the Neighborhood Watch...
s) to be ready “for special events.” - 24:00 – Another column of military vehicles (including tankTankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s and BMPBMP-3The BMP-3 is a Russian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty .- Production history :...
s) is spotted leaving the military base and heading toward the TV tower.
January 13
- 01:25 – Upon arrival in the vicinity of the TV tower, tanks start to fire blank rounds. This causes many nearby windows to shatter and causes hearing loss and deafness in some of the protesters, many of whom still have hearing loss today.
- 01:50 – Tanks and soldiers encircle the TV towerVilnius TV TowerThe Vilnius TV Tower is a tower in the Karoliniškės microdistrict of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the tallest structure in Lithuania, and is occupied by the SC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre ....
. Soldiers fire live ammunition overhead and into civilian crowds gathered around the building. Tanks drive straight through lines of people. Fourteen people are killed in the attack, most of them shot and two crushed by tanks. One Soviet paratrooper (Viktor Shatskikh) is killed by friendly fire. Loudspeakers on several BMPs transmit the voice of Juozas Jermalavičius: "Broliai lietuviai, nacionalistų ir separatistų vyriausybė, kuri priešpastatė save liaudžiai, nuversta. Eikite pas savo tėvus, vaikus!" ("Brother Lithuanians! The nationalist and separatist government which confronted the people has been overthrown! Go [home] to your parents and children!") - 02:00 – BMPBMP-3The BMP-3 is a Russian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty .- Production history :...
s and tankTankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s surround the Radio and Television Committee building. Soldiers fire live ammunition into the building, over the heads of the civilian crowds. The live television broadcast is terminated. The last pictures transmitted are of a Soviet soldier running toward the camera and switching it off.
- 2:30 - A small TV studio from Kaunas came on air unexpectedly. A technician of the family program that usually broadcast from Kaunas once a week was on the air, calling for anyone who could help to broadcast to the world in as many different languages as possible about the Soviet army and tanks killing unarmed people in Lithuania. Within an hour, the studio was filled with several university professors broadcasting in several languages. The small studio in Kaunas received a threatening phone call from the Soviet army division of Kaunas (possibly the 7th Guards Airborne Division of the Soviet Airborne Forces). By 4 in the morning this studio received the news that a Swedish news station finally saw the broadcast and would be broadcasting the news to the world. The second phone call from the Soviet army division followed shortly, with a commander stating that "they would not try to take over the studio so long as no misinformation is given". This was all broadcast live. The Kaunas TV station was using Juragiai and SitkūnaiSitkunai Radio StationSitkūnai Radio Station is a large facility for medium wave and shortwave broadcastingat Sitkūnai, Lithuania. The decision to build a new transmitting centre near the village of Sitkunai, about north of Kaunas was made by the Government of Lithuania in 1937...
transmitters as retranslators.
Following these two attacks, large crowds (20,000 during the night, more than 50,000 in the morning) of independence supporters gathered around the Supreme Council building. People started building anti-tank barricades and setting up defenses inside surrounding buildings. Provisional chapels were set up inside and outside the Supreme Council building. Members of the crowd prayed, sang and shouted pro-independence slogans. Despite columns of military trucks, BMPs and tanks moving into the vicinity of the Supreme Council, Soviet military forces retreated instead of attacking.
The events of January 13 are sometimes referred to as Bloody Sunday.
List of victims
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
. All victims, except the soldier, were awarded the Order of the Cross of Vytis
Order of the Cross of Vytis
The Order of the Cross of Vytis is a Lithuanian Presidential Award conferred on people who heroically defended Lithuania’s freedom and independence.-History:...
(the Knight) on January 15, 1991.
- Loreta Asanavičiūtė (b. 1967) - the only female victim. Worked as a seamstress in a factory. Died in hospital after she fell under a tank. Noted for her shy character, she became the most famous victim.
- Virginijus Druskis (b. 1969) - student at Kaunas University of TechnologyKaunas University of Technology- KTU :Kaunas University of Technology is one of the largest technical universities in the Baltic States.In Webometrics Ranking of World Universities 2010 KTU took the highest ratings among Lithuanian higher education institutions as having the web of best presence, visibility and accessibility...
. Was shot in the chest. - Darius Gerbutavičius (b. 1973) - student at a vocational school. Was shot five times (legs, arms and back).
- Rolandas Jankauskas (b. 1969) - student. He was hit in the face by an explosive device. His mother was a native Russian from Altai KraiAltai KraiAltai Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It borders with, clockwise from the south, Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk and Kemerovo Oblasts, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative center is the city of Barnaul...
. - Rimantas Juknevičius (b. 1966) - senior at Kaunas University of Technology. He was shot.
- Alvydas Kanapinskas (b. 1952) - worker at a KėdainiaiKedainiaiKėdainiai is one of the oldest cities in Lithuania. It is located on the Nevėžis River. First mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle of Hermann de Wartberge, its population as of 2008 was 30,214. Its old town dates to the 17th century....
biochemical factory. He was shot. - Algimantas Petras Kavoliukas (b. 1939) - butcher at a grocery store. He was wounded by a rubber bullet on January 11, 1991, when he protested against the Soviet troops near the Press House. On January 13, he was hit by a tank. According to some witnesses, he was the first victim killed that night.
- Vytautas Koncevičius (b. 1941) - shopman. Died in hospital about a month after the attacks. He was born in Siberia, to an exiled Lithuanian family. He was shot.
- Vidas Maciulevičius (b. 1966) - locksmith. Died from bullet wounds to the face, neck and spine.
- Titas Masiulis (b. 1962) - KaunasKaunasKaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
resident who was shot in the chest. - Alvydas Matulka (b. 1955) - RokiškisRokiškisRokiškis is a city in northeastern Lithuania with population of about 16,000.-History:The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares . However, cities ending in "-kiškis" are quite popular in the region. The city was first mentioned in 1499...
resident who died from a heart attackMyocardial infarctionMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. - Apolinaras Juozas Povilaitis (b. 1937) - metalworker at an institute. He died from bullet wounds to the heart, right lung, upper arm and thigh.
- Ignas Šimulionis (b. 1973) - high school student, friend of Gerbutavičius. Was shot in the head.
- Vytautas Vaitkus (b. 1943) - plumber at a meat plant. Died from bullet wounds to the chest
- Viktor Viktorovich Shatskikh (b. 1961) - Soviet soldier. He died from a ricochetRicochetA ricochet is a rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. The possibility of ricochet is one of the reasons for the common firearms safety rule "Never shoot at a flat, hard surface."-Variables:...
bullet shot by a fellow soldier inside the TV tower.
Aftermath
Immediately after the attacks, the Supreme Council issued a letter to the people of the Soviet Union and to the rest of the world denouncing the attacks and calling for foreign governments to recognise that the Soviet Union had committed an act of aggression against a sovereign nation. Following the first news reports from Lithuania, the government of NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
appealed to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. The government of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
expressed their solidarity with the people of Lithuania and denounced the actions of the Soviet army.
After the events, President Gorbachev said Lithuanian "workers and intellectuals" complaining of anti-Soviet broadcasts had tried to talk to the republic's parliament, but were refused and beaten. Then, he said, they asked the military commander in Vilnius to provide protection. Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov
Dmitry Yazov
Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov was the last Marshal of the Soviet Union to be appointed before the collapse of the Soviet Union . He was the only Marshal of the Soviet Union to be born in Siberia....
, Interior Minister Boris Pugo and Gorbachev all asserted that no one in Moscow gave orders to use force in Vilnius. Yazov said that nationalists were trying to form what he called a bourgeois dictatorship. Pugo said on national television that the demonstrators had opened fire first.
During the following day, meetings of support took place in many cities (Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
).
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n democratic forces put the President and the government of the Soviet Union in an awkward position. This influenced future Lithuanian-Russian negotiations and resulted in the signing of a treaty on January 31.
During a visit by the official delegation of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
to Lithuania on January 20, Foreign Minister Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson
Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson
Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson is an Icelandic politician.-Education:The son of Hannibal Valdimarsson, Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson earned an MA in Economics from University of Edinburgh in 1963. He studied at Stockholm University from 1963–1964, and studied teacher education at the University of Iceland in...
said: "My government is seriously considering the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with the Republic of Lithuania." Iceland kept its promise, and on February 4, 1991, just three weeks after the attacks, it recognized
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
the Republic of Lithuania as a sovereign independent state, and diplomatic relations were established between the two nations.
These events are considered some of the main factors that led to the overwhelming victory of independence supporters in a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
on February 9, 1991. (Turnout was 84.73% of registered voters; 90.47% of them voted in favor of the full and total independence of Lithuania.)
Streets in the neighborhood of the TV tower were later renamed after victims of the attack.
Russia still claims that the Soviet troops did not use their weapons at all.
See also
- Antakalnis CemeteryAntakalnis CemeteryAntakalnis Cemetery , sometimes referred as Antakalnis Military Cemetery, is the cemetery in the Antakalnis district of Vilnius in Lithuania. It was established in 1809....
- Baltic WayBaltic WayThe Baltic Way or Baltic Chain was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on August 23, 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning over across the three Baltic states – Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, and Lithuanian SSR, republics of the Soviet...
- Black JanuaryBlack JanuaryBlack January , also known as Black Saturday or the January Massacre, was a violent crackdown of the Azerbaijani independence movement in Baku on January 19–20, 1990, pursuant to a state of emergency during the dissolution of the Soviet Union....
- January 1991 events in LatviaJanuary 1991 events in LatviaThe Barricades were events that took place between 13 and 27 January 1991 in Latvia. Latvia, which had declared independence from the Soviet Union a year earlier, anticipated that Soviet Union might attempt to violently regain control over the country....
- Autumn of NationsRevolutions of 1989The Revolutions of 1989 were the revolutions which overthrew the communist regimes in various Central and Eastern European countries.The events began in Poland in 1989, and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and...
- SąjūdisSajudisSąjūdis initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania, is the political organization which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on June 3, 1988 and was led by Vytautas Landsbergis...
- Singing RevolutionSinging RevolutionThe Singing Revolution is a commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania...
- Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border postsSoviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border postsSeveral Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts occurred in 1991, after Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990. As a Soviet republic, the Lithuanian SSR did not have a state border with customs or checkpoints...
- Vilnius TV TowerVilnius TV TowerThe Vilnius TV Tower is a tower in the Karoliniškės microdistrict of Vilnius, Lithuania. It is the tallest structure in Lithuania, and is occupied by the SC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre ....