Timeline Lithuania 1930-2009
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1930 Feb 23,
Jonas Jablonskis (b.1860), linguist and author of a prescriptive
grammar of the Lithuanian language, died.
(LC, 1998, p.4,30)
1930 Mar 10, Justinas
Marcinkevicius, Lithuanian poet, was born.
(LHC,3/10/03)
1930 Jun 9, Adomas Varnas designed
a set of Lithuanian stamps to mark the 500th anniversary of the death
of Vytautas in 1430. Also featured were prime minister Juozas Tubelis
and president Antanas Smetona.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.6)
1930 Jun 7, The Univ. of Lithuania
in Kaunas was renamed Vytautas Magnus Univ.
(DrEE, 11/23/96, p.4)(LC, 1998, p.18)
1930 Jul 24, Marija Peckauskas
(b.1877), aka Satrijos Ragana, died.
(LC, 1998, p.20)
1931 May 6, A 1926 treaty with the
Soviet Union was extended for 5 years.
(LC, 1998, p.16)
1932 May 4, A parliament for
Klaipeda was elected.
(LC, 1998, p.16)
1932 Jun 21, Heavyweight Max
Schmeling lost a title fight by decision to Jack Sharkey (American
Lithuanian Sarkis Zukauskas); Schmeling’s manager, Joe Jacobs,
exclaimed: "We was robbed!"
(AP, 6/21/97)(LC, 1998, p.18)
1932 Jun 28, Maironis (b.1862),
priest and poet, died in Kaunas.
(LC, 1998, p.18)
1932 Aug 11, Hearings at the Hague
over control of Klaipeda ended with Lithuania given sovereignty.
(LC, 1998, p.22)
1932 Oct 29, The railroad line
between Telsiai and Kretinga opened.
(LC, 1998, p.26)
1932 Dec 1-7, Adomas Varnas
designed 2 sets of stamps sold for one week as the "Second Lithuanian
Child Issue." Between 1932-1933 there 8 child issues.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.6)
1932 Svetlana Beriosova (d.1998)
was born in Kaunas. Her father, Nicholas Beriozoff, worked at the
Lithuanian State Opera. He later danced for the Ballet Russe de Monte
Carlo. Svetlana went on to become a leading ballerina with the Royal
Ballet of England.
(SFC, 11/14/98, p.A23)
1933 Apr 29, Juozas Tumas
(Vaizgantas), writer, died in Kaunas.
(LC, 1998, p.14)
1933 Jul 6-7, Steponas Darius and
Stasy Girenas, Lithuanian pilots, flew across the Atlantic and died
when their plane crashed near Soldin, Germany (later Poland). Their
portrait is on the 10-litas note.
(LC, 1998, p.4,20)(LHC, 1/8/03)
1934 Sep 12, Estonia, Latvia &
Lithuania signed the Baltic Entente in Geneva against the USSR.
(LC, 1998, p.24)(MC, 9/12/01)
1934-1940 Povilas Zadeikis (d.1957) replaced Mr.
Balutis as Lith. representative in Washington. He continued even with
no official government to consult with and no official funding until
1957.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1935 Jun 15-20, Lithuanian folk
dancers traveled to London to perform at an Int’l. dance festival.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1935 Aug 11-17, In Kaunas the 1st
Lithuanian World Congress was held.
(LC, 1998, p.22)
1936 Feb 6, All political parties
in Lithuania were forbidden except for the Union of Tautininkai
(Homelander’s Union).
(LHC, 2/6/03)
1936 Feb 16, The new War Museum in
Kaunas opened.
(Dr, 7/7/96, p.4)
1936 Jun 25, The Board of
Ministries approved the concept of establishing a Veterinary Academy.
(DrEE, 12/14/96, p.5)
1936 Jun 30, The Seimas was again
convened. Voters rights were restricted. Political parties were
disbanded and candidates loyal to the regime were nominated by
municipal councils.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.5)
1936 Sep 1, The Veterinary Academy
was established under the order of the Ministry of Agriculture.
(DrEE, 12/14/96, p.5)
1936 Sep 19, The Veterinary
Academy was ceremoniously opened at the State Veterinary
Bacteriological Institute in Kaunas.
(DrEE, 12/14/96, p.5)
1936 Lithuanian folk dancing was
introduced as part of the national high school program.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1936 The original Kaunas Museum
closed.
(Dr, 7/7/96, p.4)
1936 The Central Library became a
legal depository.
(WWW)
1937 Jun 27-29 The first mass
Lith. Folk Dance Festival in Lithuania was held in Kaunas.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1938 Feb 11, The 4th Lithuanian
parliament accepted Lithuania’s 3rd Constitution, which was proclaimed
May 12, 1938. The Constitution reduced the powers of the Seimas. It
could only consider the draft laws and give recommendations to the
president.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.5)(LHC, 2/11/03)
1938 Mar 17, The Polish
government presented an ultimatum to Lithuania to establish diplomatic
ties. (LHC, 3/17/03)
1938 Mar 19, Lithuania
accepted a Polish peace ultimatum and established diplomatic ties.
(HN, 3/19/98)(LHC, 3/19/03)
1938 Jun 20-25 Lithuanian fold
dancers and choir from the Kaunas Vytauto Didziuojo Univ. were invited
to Czechoslovakia and performed concerts at Prague and Pilzen.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1938-1940 Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat, and
Jan Zvartendijk, a Dutch diplomat, worked together to save 6-8 thousand
Polish Jews, who had fled to Lithuania by issuing them visas for Japan,
China and the Dutch colonies in South America. In 1997 Ken Mochizuki
published "Passage To Freedom: The Sugihara Story."
(SFC, 9/7/96, p.A13)(SFEC, 4/27/97, BR p.10)
1939 Mar 22, Germany marched into
Klaipeda (Memel), Lithuania. The Lithuanian warship Prezidentas Smetona
was left without a harbor. The ship soon settled at Latvia’s port of
Liepaja. In December Ltn. P. Labanauskas was named captain. In 1940
Soviet occupiers called for the ship to raise the Soviet flag, but
Captain Labanauskas sailed the ship out of Soviet territory. The ship
was later handed over to the Soviet Baltic fleet. On Jan 11, 1945, it
hit a mine and sank off the coast of
Finland.
(Voruta #27-28, Jul 1996,
p.2)(http://tinyurl.com/cs545k)
1939 Mar 23, Germany marched into
and occupied Klaipeda.
(LC, 1998, p.12)
1939 Aug 19, Vyacheslav Molotov
outlined the Soviet requirements to the German Ambassador, Friedrich
von Schulenburg. He insisted that trade agreements be signed and that a
special protocol be made defining the German and Soviet spheres of
interest.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1939 Aug 20, Soviet and German
trade agreements were signed.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1939 Aug 23, German Foreign
Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet Commissar for Foreign
Affairs Vyacheslav M. Molotov signed a Treaty of Non-Aggression, the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact freeing Hitler to invade Poland and Stalin to
invade Finland. Secret protocols, made public years later, were added
that assigned Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Bessarabia to be within the
Soviet sphere of influence. Poland was partitioned along the rivers
Narev, Vistula and San. Germany retained Lithuania enlarged by the
inclusion of Vilnius. Just days after the signing, Germany invaded
Poland, and by the end of September, both powers had claimed sections
of Poland.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A16)(AP, 8/23/97) (HNPD,
8/22/98)(HN, 8/23/98)
1939 Sep 17, The Soviet Union
attacked Poland.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1939 Sep 28, The Boundary and
Friendship Treaty between the USSR and Germany was supplemented by
secret protocols to amend the secret protocols of Aug 23. Among other
things Lithuania was reassigned to the Soviet sphere of influence.
Poland’s partition line was moved eastwards from the Vistula line to
the line of the Bug. Germany kept a small part of south-west Lithuania,
the Uznemune region. A separate Soviet mutual defense pact was signed
with Estonia
(DrEE, 9/28/96, p.3)(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)(DrEE,
10/26/96, p.4)
1939 Oct 10, Lithuania signed a
treaty that allowed a soviet garrison of 20,000 troops to be stationed
in the country in return for Vilnius and other regions with a
population of 600,000.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.3)(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1939 Oct 28, The Lithuanian army
marched into Vilnius.
(LC, 1998, p.26)
1939 Dec 6, Prime Minister Antanas
Merkys made a speech that mentioned the "Oct 10 treaty with friendly
Soviet Union."
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.3)
1939 At the European Basketball
championships in Kaunas, Pranas Lubinas as player coach led the
Lithuanian team to victory over Latvia in the final seconds 36-35.
(DrEE, 9/28/96, p.2)
1940 Jun 14, The Soviets presented
an ultimatum that demanded the free entry of an unlimited number of
troops. The government surrendered and Pres. Smetona left the country.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1940 Jun 15, The Soviet Red Army
invaded Lithuania. Pres. Antanas Smetona protested the occupation and
left Lithuania.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)(LC, 1998, p.18)
1940 Jun 16, Soviet Foreign
Minister Molotov presented August Rei, Estonia’s envoy in Moscow, an
ultimatum to allow an unlimited number of Soviet troops, which was
accepted. Latvia received a similar ultimatum.
(DrEE, 10/26/96,
p.4)(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940 Jun 17, The Soviet Union
occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
(HN, 6/17/98)
1940 Summer, The Lithuanian weekly
Nepriklausoma Lietuva (Independent Lithuania) was launched in Toronto,
Canada.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.3)
1940 Jul 14-15, Soviet occupiers
organized elections for a People's Parliament.
(LC, 1998, p.20)
1940 Jul 21, The new
USSR-organized parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania held
simultaneous sessions. They declared their countries to be soviet
socialist republics and applied for admission to the USSR.
(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940 Jul,
Jan Zwartendijk, a Dutch diplomat, and Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese
diplomat, worked together to save some 2,000 thousand Polish Jews, who
had fled to Lithuania by issuing them visas for Japan, China and the
Dutch colonies in South America. Zwartendijk wrote out the so called
Curacao visas, while Sugihara issued the transit visas. The Sugihara
family was later captured by the Russians and placed in a concentration
camp for 1 1/2 years.
(SFC, 9/7/96, p.A13)(SFC, 9/9/96,
p.A16)(www.remember.org/witness/righteous.html)
1940 Jul, Rigged elections of the
People’s Seimas were held. Documents drafted by this Seimas formally
legalized the annexation of Lithuania to the Soviet Union.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.5)
1940 Aug 3, The Supreme Soviet
officially registered the acceptance of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
into the USSR.
(SC,
8/3/02)(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940 Aug 25, The ‘parliaments’ of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared themselves ‘provisional Supreme
Soviets’ and adopted new constitutions that were composed according to
the example of the constitutions of already existing union republics of
the USSR.
(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940 Aug 30, Senpo Chinne
Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat in Lithuania, received orders from
Japan to stop issuing visas immediately. He disobeyed the order and
continued issuing visas until the end of the month when the consulate
closed. In all Sugihara issued visas to some 3,500 Jewish refugees.
(SFC, 9/7/96, p.A13)(SFC, 9/9/96, p.A16)
1940 Aug, The Armies of Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania were reorganized as territorial rifle corps of the
Red Army and placed under the control of the political leaders of the
Red Army.
(www.historycommission.ee/temp/conclusions_frame.htm)
1940-1944 Members of the Lithuanian Security Police
(Saugumas) persecuted Jews and other civilians in collaboration with
the Nazi government. In 1998 in New York Aloyzas Balsys, suspected of
collaboration, refused to answer questions on his wartime activities
based on the US 5th amendment and fear of foreign prosecution. He
claimed to have lived in hiding in Plateliaia at the time and filed to
enter the US in 1961. The case was to be heard by the US Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled that Balsys was required to testify, but he
refused and left for Lithuania on May 29, 1999.
(SFC, 1/17/98, p.A3)
1940-1947 The Lithuanian embassy in Washington
published a bulletin titled The Lithuanian Situation.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1941 Mar 25, Russian occupiers
ended the litas as Lithuanian currency.
(LHC, 3/25/03)
1941 Apr, The NKVD of the USSR
arranged a list of Russian, Uzbek and Kazakh regions and autonomous
republics where Lithuanian residents would be deported for a period of
20 years.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.3)
1941 Jun 14, The Russian secret
police gathered up some 40,000 men, women and children and exiled them
to Siberia in cattle cars. This was the first of many shipments. Some
10,000 Estonians, more than 15,000 Latvians and between 16,000 and
18,000 Lithuanians were herded onto cattle trains and transported to
the far eastern reaches of the Soviet Union, where many of them died.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A16)(http://tinyurl.com/5jxmas)
1941 Jun 21, War began between
Russia and Germany.
(LC, 1998, p.18)
1941 Jun 22, The second world war
began in Lithuania. Lithuania rebelled against Russian occupation.
(LC, 1998, p.18)
1941 Jun 23, The German army
entered Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941 Jun 24, The entire Jewish
male population of Gorzhdy, Lithuania, was exterminated.
(MC, 6/24/02)
1941 Jun 24, Germans advanced into
Russia and took Vilnius, Brest-Litovsk and Kaunas.
(MC, 6/24/02)
1941 Jun 26, Lithuanian fascists
massacred 2,300 Jews in Kovno.
(MC, 6/26/02)
1941 Jul 7, Nazis executed 5,000
Jews in Kovno, Lithuania.
(MC, 7/7/02)
1941 Jul 8, All Jews living in
Baltic States were obligated to wear Star of David.
(MC, 7/8/02)
1941 Jul 14, 6,000 Lithuanian Jews
were exterminated at Viszalsyan Camp.
(MC, 7/14/02)
1941 Jul 24, Nazis massacred the
entire Jewish population of Grodz, Lithuania.
(MC, 7/24/02)
1941 Jul 29, All the Jews at
Linkuva were killed.
http://www.btinternet.com/~ablumsohn/lurie.htm
1941 Jul, In northwestern
Lithuania some 9,000 Jews were killed by Lithuanian police.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941 Aug 15, Lithuanian Jews in
Kaunas were herded into the Slobodka ghetto.
(MC, 8/15/02)
1941 Sep 6, Jews of Vilna, Poland
(Lithuania), were confined to their ghetto.
(MC, 9/6/01)
1941 Sep 8, The entire Jewish
community of Meretsch, Lithuania was exterminated.
(MC, 9/8/01)
1941 Sep 15, Nazis killed 800
Jewish women at Shkudvil, Lithuania.
(http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/shkudvil/shkudvil.html)
1941 Oct 7-1941 Oct 8, There was a
massacre of over 3,700 Jews over a 2-day period near Svencionys,
Lithuania. Vincas Valkavickas, a prison guard during the massacre,
emigrated to the US in 1950 and was forced to leave in 1999 for
concealing his wartime service.
(SFC, 6/15/99,
p.A3)(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pjus/is_199904/ai_1291869401)
1941 Oct 14, The 1st mass
deportations took place at Kovno, Lodz, Minsk & Riga.
(MC, 10/14/01)
1941 Oct 16, Antanas Gustaitis
(b.1898), Lithuanian aviation engineer, was shot to death in Moscow. He
had designed 9 ANBO airplanes.
(LHC, 3/26/03)
1941 Oct 28, In Kaunas (Kovno),
about 70 miles from Vilna, on a hill, just outside the city is the
infamous Ninth Fort, an ancient fortress, later used by the Nazis and
their local collaborators as a prison with cells and torture chambers.
9,000 Jews were murdered on 28 October 1941. 900 French Jews died there
on 18 May 1944. The place is grim, cold, and forbidding. There were a
handful of miraculous escapes, and there are names and photographs of
some of these.
http://www.btinternet.com/~ablumsohn/story.htm#story
1941 Nov 24, "Life Certificates"
were issued to some Jews of Vilna. The rest were exterminated.
(MC, 11/24/01)
1941 Dec 25, In northwestern
Lithuania some 400 young Jewish women were killed by Lithuanian police.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941 In Lithuania arrests and
deportations totaled some 34,260 people.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.3)
1941 In Lithuania Alexandras
Lileikis (d.2000 at 93) was chief of the Saugumas secret police force
of Vilnius. He ordered the arrests of Jewish men, women, and children,
who were turned over to the occupying Germans and subsequently
executed. Lileikis was indicted in 1998, but maintained his innocence
until he died.
(SFC, 5/25/96, p.A2)(SFC, 9/29/00, p.D6)
1941 The German minority in
Lithuania was repatriated in accord with German and Russian
negotiations.
(DrEE, 9/28/96, p.3)
1941 At the Rainis Forest in the
Telsiai region 74 Lithuanians were killed by Soviet NKVD and KGB troops.
(Voruta #27-28, 7/1996, p.2)
1941 In Lithuania German forces
slaughtered some 12,000 Jews in Stoklishki (Alytus).
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941-1942 At the beginning of the war there were
about 60,000 Jews in Vilnius. A year later, only 18,000 remained. In
1998 Schoschana Rabinovici published her non-fiction account: "Thanks
To My Mother" a description of the murder of Polish Jews in Vilnius
through the eyes of a child.
(SFEC, 4/26/98, BR p.8)
1941-1944 Some 40,000 Jews are believed to have been
slaughtered in Vilnius, Lithuania. An estimated 60,000 Jews lived there
when the Nazis moved in and fewer than 5,000 remained when the Soviets
recaptured the country. The Nazis killed some 240,000 Jews in
Lithuania. Almost 55,000 Jews were executed at Paneriai, outside of
Vilnius.
(SFC, 5/25/96, p.A2)(SFEC, 11/24/96, p.A15)(SFC,
5/31/99, p.A4)
1941-1944 Anton Gecas (d.2001 at 85) allegedly served
as a lieutenant in the 12th police battalion and took part in the
execution of Jews in Lithuania and Belarus. Extradition attempts in
2001 failed to get him out of Edinburgh, Scotland.
(SFC, 9/5/01, p.A9)(SFC, 9/13/01, p.C7)
1941-1944 Jonas Stelmokas served as a unit commander
in 2 voluntary Nazi-sponsored detachments that helped the Nazis kill
thousands of Jews and partisans. In 1997 he was to be deported from
Lansdowne, Pa., in the US after he was accused of being a former member
of the Lithuanian police force that helped Nazis kill Jews. In 1998
Stelmokas (82) was ordered to be deported but appealed.
(SFEC,11/10/97, p.A4)(SFC, 4/24/98, p.A3)
1941-1944 Avraham Tory (d.2002, a Jewish lawyer in
Kovno (Kaunas), kept a diary on the horrors of Nazi rule during this
period. They were published in Hebrew in 1988 and in English in 1990
as: "Surviving the Holocaust: The Kovno Ghetto Diary."
(SFC, 3/19/02, p.A20)
1942 Feb, The Soviet government
established the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (JAC) to drum up int’l.
support as the Red Army struggled against the German onslaught. As the
war progressed the group collected evidence of atrocities and genocide
and planned to publish its “Black Book.” Incomplete versions appeared
in the 1980s and the first complete version was published in Lithuania
in 1993. In Russia it was published as “The Unknown Black Book.” In
2008 an English translation was edited by Joshua Rubenstein and Ilya
Altman.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1942 May 7, A Nazi decree ordered
all Jewish pregnant women of Kovno Ghetto executed.
(MC, 5/7/02)
1943 Mar 17, The German
occupation authority closed Lithuanian schools of higher education and
the Academy of Education.
(LHC, 3/17/03)
1943 May 15, The German Gestapo
liquidated the local electorates.
(LC, 1998, p.16)
1943-1945 Balys Sruoga (b.1896), writer, was
imprisoned in the Stutthof concentration camp in Germany. He described
his time there in his novel "Dievu Miskas" (The Forest of Gods). It was
translated by his granddaughter and made ready for publication in
English in 1996.
(DrEE, 9/14/96, p.4)
1944 Jan 3, Jurgis Baltrusaitis
(b.1873), poet and ambassador, died.
(LC, 1998, p.14)
1944 Jan 9, Antanas Smetona,
former Lithuanian president, died in Cleveland, Ohio.
(LC, 1998, p.8)
1944 Feb 13, A Lithuanian Home
Army was formed under P. Plechavicius. It was disbanded May 15-21.
(LHC, 2/13/03)
1944 Mar 27, Some 2,000 Jews were
murdered in Kaunas, Lithuania.
(HN, 3/27/98)(MC, 3/27/02)
1944 Jul 16, Soviet troops occupy
Vilna, Lithuania, in their drive towards Germany.
(HN, 7/16/98)
1944 Jul 31, The Soviet army took
Kovno [Kaunas], the capital of Lithuania.
(HN, 7/31/98)
1944 Aug 2, Jewish survivors of
Kovno Ghetto, Lithuania, emerged from their bunker.
(MC, 8/2/02)
1944 Oct 5, The Russian army
entered southern Lithuania (Zemaitija).
(LC, 1998, p.26)
1945 Jan 28, The Red Army captured
Klaipeda, the last German-held Lithuanian city.
(LHC, 1/28/03)
1945 Jan 30, Nazi SS guards shot
down an estimated 4,000 Jewish prisoners on the Baltic coast at
Palmnicken, Kaliningrad. The town was later renamed by the Russians to
Yantarny. Some 7,000 prisoners had been marched 25 miles from
Koenigsberg to a vacant lock factory at Palmnicken where they were
mowed down with machine guns. The prisoners had been vacated from a
network of 30 camps that made up Poland's Stutthoff concentration camp.
90% of the Jews were women from Lithuania and Hungary.
(SFC, 1/31/00, p.C1)
1945 Mar 14, A supreme
Lithuanian independence committee was re-formed in Germany. The
committee was 1st formed Nov 25, 1943, in Lithuania.
(LHC, 3/14/03)
1945 Mar-Nov, Julius Slavinas, aka
"Kharis," was an investigator in the Kaunas dept. of the Soviet NKVD.
(DrEE, 11/23/96, p.6)
1945 May 17, Soviet activists
participated in the Leopoldas Gaidzys and 3 family members in the
village of Saliniai.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.1)
1945 Dec 5, Petras Kalpokas
(b.1880), Lithuanian painter, died in Kaunas.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petras_Kalpokas)
1945 The 2nd Communist invasion
occurred.
(DrEE, 11/23/96, p.3)
1945-1952 Lithuanian Freedom Fighters (partizanai)
continued resistance against Soviet occupation.
(DrEE, 11/23/96, p.6)
1946 Jan 8-9, The Baltic Camp
University was founded in Germany by 40 Estonian, Latvian and
Lithuanian scientists in Hamburg and Pinneberg.
(DrEE, 9/21/96, p.1)
1946 Jun 25, Fr. Pranciskus
Sulskis, a young Marion priest in Marijampole, was transporting
religion textbooks from Kaunas when Soviet soldiers tried to seize his
truck for transportation. The driver of the truck tried to evade
seizure and the soldiers opened fire. Fr. Sulskis was wounded in the
upper back and paralyzed from his mid-point down.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1946 A second faculty,
Zootechnology (currently animal husbandry technology), was added to the
Veterinary Academy.
(DrEE, 12/14/96, p.5)
1946 The Lithuanian Philatelic
Society was founded in the US.
(DrEE, 11/23/96, p.6)
1946-1956 Lithuania lost more than 1,600,600 of its
people (primarily to emigration and secondarily to deportations).
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.3)
1948 Feb 14, Winthrop Rockefeller
(1912-1973), later governor of Arkansas (1967-1971), married Barbara
Sears (1916-2008), the Pennsylvania-born daughter of Lithuanian
immigrants. They had one child, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, but the
marriage dissolved in a high-profile divorce in 1954. Barbara Bobo
Rockefeller, born as Jievute Paulekiute in Noblestown, Pa., was
featured as Miss Lithuania at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. She later
was known as Eva Paul.
(www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Insight/Article.aspx?id=772208)
1948 Mar 20, The Communist
administration of Lithuania decided on a plan for the organization of
collective farms.
(LHC, 3/20/03)
1948 Dec, The founding meeting of
the Lithuanian-Canadian Writers’ Union was held at the home of Marija
Aukstaite.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.3)
1948 Constantine Jurgela (b.1904),
Lithuania-born historian, authored “History of the Lithuanian Nation.”
(http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1635910)
1949 Feb 2-22, Lithuanian partisan
leaders gathered and established Lithuanian Freedom Fighters' Union
instead of General Democratic Resistance Movement.
(LHC, 2/2/03)
1949 Mar 25, Soviet occupiers of
Lithuania began Operation "Priboj," a 2nd major deportation program
(Mar 25-28).
(LHC, 3/25/03)
1949 Jun 14, Lithuanians in exile
proclaimed the Lithuanian Charter, principles for the exiles to uphold
pending Lithuania’s freedom.
(XXIA, 7/21/99)
1951 The idea for a Lithuanian
Foundation was first proposed by Petras Lickus and Pranas
Puronas.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1952 Jan 31, The town of Naujoji
(New) Akmene was founded in the place of Karpenai village.
(LHC, 1/31/03)
1954 Nov 26, Jonas Zemaitis
(b.1909), a founder of the Lithuanian independence movement and
presidium head, was shot to death in Moscow.
(LHC, 3/15/03)
1955 Dr. Adolfas Damusis
(1908-2003), head of the American Lithuanian Roman Catholic Federation,
founded Dainava, a Lithuanian youth camp in Manchester, Mich.
(www.bernardinai.lt/index.php?url=articles/80541)
1957 Jun 30, The first Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held in Chicago.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1957 Nov 29, Adolfas
Ramanauskas-Vanagas, born in the US in 1918, was shot to death in
Vilnius for partisan activities in southern Lithuania.
(LHC, 3/6/03)
1957-1976 Juozas Kajeckas replaced Povilas Zadeikis
as Lithuanian Legate in Washington.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1960 The Lithuanian embassy in
Washington published "Lithuania’s Occupation by the Soviet Union."
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1960 Dr. Antanas Razma published
an article in Draugas titled: "A Million Dollar Fund for Lithuanian
Needs."
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1961 Sep 2-3, The Lith.-Amer.
Community Board of Directors met in New York and accepted By-laws for
the Lithuanian Foundation as proposed by Dr. A. Razma.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1962 The executive committee of
the Lith. Folk Dance Institute in Chicago published "Musu Sokiai" (Our
Dances).
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)
1963 May 15, The first general
meeting of the Lithuanian Foundation took place. There were 230 members
and a capital base of $71,670.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1963 Jul 7, The 2nd Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held in Chicago.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1963 Jul 17, The first fund
raising committee of the Lithuanian Foundation was organized.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1964 Sep 23, The fund raising
committee of the Lithuanian Foundation was dissolved by the Board of
Directors. It was recommended that every Foundation member become
active in raising funds.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1964 Joseph B. Koncius published
"Vytautas The Grand Duke of Lithuania" at Franklin Press, Miami, Fl.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.6)
1964 The Lithuanian embassy in
Washington published "The Story of Captive Lithuania." It was published
again in 1969.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1965 The Vilnius String Quartet
made its debut.
(PG, 11/7/04)
1966 The M.K. Ciurlionis Museum
opened in Kaunas and featured a folk devil collection put together by
Antanas Zmuidzinavicius (1876-1966).
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.5)
1966 The Lith. Folk Dance Inst.
issued a long-playing record for Lithuanian ethnic dances.
Descriptions of the dances followed in 1967 booklets.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)
1966 The Balzekas Museum of
Lithuanian Culture was founded on the south-west side of Chicago. The
museum publishes 2 periodicals: The Lithuanian Museum Review
(bimonthly) and Geneologija (semi-annual). 6500 S. Pulaski, Chicago,
IL. 60629.
(DrEE, 9/21/96, p.6)
1967 The first US Lithuanian
dancing camp workshop was held at the Jonynas summer place near
Chicago. Since then summer camps have been held every 2 years at Camp
Dainava, near Manchester, Mich.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)
1968 Jul 7, The 3rd Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held in Chicago.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1968 Stasy Saparnis won a bronze
medal in the pentathlon at the Olympic Games in Mexico City.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.2)
1969 The book Devils was published
in Vilnius. It featured most of the folk devil collection of
Zmuidzinavicius.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.5)
1972 Mar 19, The illegal
Soviet-era journal "Chronicle of the Lithuanian Catholic Church" was
1st published. 5 issues were published up to 1987.
(LHC, 3/19/03)
1972 Jul 2, The 4th Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held in Chicago.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1973 May 26, Jacques Lipchitz
(b.1891), Lithuanian-born, French-US cubist sculptor, died on Capri and
was buried in Jerusalem.
(www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1B1-370321.html)
1973 Jun 13, Jonas Aistis
(b.1904), Lithuanian born poet, died in Washington, DC.
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/11135/Jonas-Aistis)
1976 Aug 5, The 5th Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held in Chicago.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1976-1987 Stasy Backis replaced Juozas Kajeckas as
Lithuanian Legate in Washington.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1980 Jul 6, The 6th Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held in Chicago.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1980 The Book of Lithuanian
Folklore Songs began to be published. By 1996 the 12th and 13 volumes
were under development.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1981 Hannibal Lecter first
appeared in the book "Red Dragon" by Thomas Harris, and then in 1988 in
"Silence of the Lambs," made into a 1991 Oscar-winning movie with
Anthony Hopkins as Lecter. In 2007 a Lithuanian travel agency offered a
tour of Vilnius as part of a theme package for the fictional
character’s native country.
(Reuters, 2/15/07)
1983 Stasys Lozoraitis Sr., chief
of Lithuanian Diplomatic services in Washington, died. Stasys Backis
took over his duties.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1983 The first nuclear reactor at
Ignalina was commissioned.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.4)
1983 The Lithuanian Foundation
published its first book on its organization, members and works.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.5)
1984 Jul 1, The 7th Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held at Richfield College near Cleveland,
Ohio.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1985 Mar 11, Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev visited Lithuania.
(LHC, 3/11/03)
1985 Jun 15, In St. Petersburg,
Russia, a middle-aged Lithuanian man pulled out a knife and slashed the
stomach and thigh of the nude woman, Danaë, depicted in the
Rembrandt masterpiece. He then hurled a jar of acid at the picture and
splashed a militiaman in the face. He was overpowered by guards who
found explosives strapped to his legs and trousers. The painting was
restored and put back on exhibit in 1997.
(SFC, 10/14/97, p.B5)
1986 Algirdas Kauspedas and his
Lithuanian band Antis, meaning duck or false political sensation, burst
onto the scene. He later created a respected architecture company and
had a brief stint in politics after the band broke up for the first
time in 1990. In 2008 they got back together and had another tour.
(www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/20605/)
1986 The film “Partisans of Vilna”
was produced and co-written by Washington, DC, filmmaker Aviva Kempner.
It featured a grammy-nominated soundtrack and rare archival film
footage. Partisans tells the story of the men and women who formed the
resistance movement in the Vilna, Lithuania, ghetto during World War
II.
(www.nga.gov/programs/filmart.shtm#film_list)
1986 Six hundred years of
Christianity in Lithuania was celebrated.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)
1986 The 2nd nuclear reactor at
Ignalina was commissioned. It was an RBMK reactor, graphite moderated,
and used a direct cycle boiling water process for generating
electricity. Its planned life span was 25 years with a reactor channel
replacement after 15 to 20 years. A 1996 estimate for replacement was
US$100 million.
(DrEE, 10/12/96, p.4)
1987 Antanas Maceina (b.1908),
philosopher and representative of modern Lithuanian Catholicism, died.
(LHC, 1/27/03)
1987 Apr 26, Marija Aukstaite,
writer, died in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada.
(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.3)
1987 Jun 25-Jul 2, Lith. ethnic
dancers performed in Rome, Italy.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)
1987 Nov 15, Stasys Lozoraitis Jr.
replaced Stasys Backis as chief of Lithuanian Diplomatic Services in
Washington.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1987 In Vilnius the 1st private
restaurant since Soviet occupation opened.
(USAT, 6/11/04, p.4D)
1988 Jul 3, The 8th Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held at Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Canada.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1988 Sarunas Marciulionis led the
Soviet basketball team to a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.B2)
1989 Aug 23, Approximately two
million people joined their hands to form an over 600 km (373 mi) long
human chain across the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania. This original demonstration was organized to draw the
world's attention to the common historical fate which these three
countries suffered. It marked the 50th anniversary of August 23, 1939,
when the Soviet Union and Germany in the secret protocol of the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact divided spheres of interest in Eastern Europe,
which led to the occupation of these three states.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Way)
1989 Sarunas Marciulionis signed
an NBA contract to play basketball with the SF Warriors.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.B2)
1989 Dr. Saulius Caplinskas
started an AIDS Center in Vilnius. In 1997 there were 60 reported cases
of HIV, but the actual number was estimated to be between 200-300.
(SFC, 4/16/97, p.A10)
1989 The National Geographical
Institute of France calculated that Europe’s geographical center was in
Lithuania, close to Vilnius.
(WSJ, 7/14/04, p.A7)
1990 Jan 11, Soviet President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev visited Lithuania, where he sought to assure
supporters of independence that they would have a say in their
republic's future. Some 300,000 people gathered in Vilnius for a
meeting on a "Free and Independent Lithuania."
(AP, 1/11/00)(LHC, 1/11/03)
1990 Feb 7, The Supreme Soviet of
the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic annulled the acts of
annexation.
(LHC, 2/7/03)
1990 Feb 24, Free elections to the
Supreme Council were held. Winners in the elections were backed by the
Reform Movement Sajudis.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.5)
1990 Mar 11, The Lithuanian
parliament voted to break away from the Soviet Union and restore its
independence. The Supreme Council promulgated the historic document:
"On the Re-establishment of the Independent State of Lithuania."
Validity of the 1938 Constitution was briefly reinstated and the
provisional Fundamental Law was adopted. Vytautas Landsbergis was
elected president of Lithuania under the party Sajudis. Landsbergis was
elected Chairman of the Council with Bronislovas Juozas Kuzmickas,
Kazimieras Motieka and Ceslovas Stankevicius as Vice Chairmen, with
Liuvikas Sabutis as Secretary. Four governments were formed under
tenure of the Council. They were led by Kazimiera Danute Prunskiene,
Albertas Simenas, Gediminas Vagnorius and Aleksandras Algirdas Abisala.
Moscow responded with an economic blockade that brought industry and
transportation to a standstill. In June the Lithuanians agreed to
suspend independence.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.5)(CSOE)(HN, 3/11/98)(AP, 3/11/00)
1990 Mar 17, The president of
Lithuania, Vytautas Landsbergis, rejected a deadline set by Moscow for
renouncing the republic's independence.
(AP, 3/17/00)
1990 Mar 19, Kremlin warned
Lithuania against taking over factories, putting up border posts.
(AP, 3/19/03)
1990 Mar 21, Soviet leader Mikhail
S. Gorbachev increased pressure on the breakaway republic of Lithuania,
ordering its citizens to turn in their guns.
(AP, 3/21/00)
1990 Mar 24, Soviet military
vehicles rumbled through the heart of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius
as lawmakers in the breakaway Baltic republic voted to transfer their
power to foreign soil if they were attacked or arrested.
(AP, 3/24/00)
1990 Mar 27, Soviet soldiers began
rounding up Lithuanians who had fled the Red Army after the republic's
declaration of independence.
(AP, 3/27/00)
1990 Mar 31, Soviet President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev warned the defiant Baltic republic of Lithuania to
annul its declaration of independence or face "grave consequences."
(AP, 3/31/00)
1990 Apr 1, More Soviet military
vehicles rolled through the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, a day after
Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev warned the Baltic republic to
annul its declaration of independence.
(AP, 4/1/00)
1990 Apr 2, In a conciliatory
gesture, the president of Lithuania invited Kremlin officials to
discuss the republic's secession drive.
(AP, 4/2/00)
1990 Apr 3, A delegation from the
rebellious republic of Lithuania met with an adviser to Soviet
President Mikhail Gorbachev.
(AP, 4/3/00)
1990 Apr 4, Secretary of State
James Baker met in Washington with his Soviet counterpart, Eduard
Shevardnadze, for three days of talks on the Lithuanian crisis and arms
control.
(AP, 4/4/00)
1990 Apr 14, Lithuanian officials,
facing a Kremlin deadline to back away from their declaration of
independence, acknowledged that an economic blockade threatened by
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev could result in huge layoffs.
(AP, 4/14/00)
1990 Apr 17, President Bush warned
the Soviet Union against carrying out an economic blockade of
Lithuania, hinting at "appropriate responses."
(AP, 4/17/00)
1990 Apr 18, The Soviet Union shut
off a pipeline that supplied the rebellious republic of Lithuania with
crude oil; a day later, the Soviets severely reduced the flow of
natural gas.
(AP, 4/18/00)
1990 May 12, The presidents of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania forged a united front by reviving a 1934
political alliance in hopes of enhancing their drive for independence
from the Soviet Union.
(AP, 5/12/00)
1990 May 17, Soviet President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev met in Moscow with Lithuanian Prime Minister
Kazimiera Prunskiene, Gorbachev's first face-to-face meeting with a
senior official of the defiant Baltic republics.
(AP, 5/17/00)
1990 Oct, The Open Society
Fund-Lithuania (OSFL) was established in Vilnius as an independent,
non-governmental, non-profit organization. It was one of 22 foundations
financed by George Soros to help create open societies.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.2)
1990 Oct 31, The Presidium of the
Supreme Council of Lithuania adopted a decree that made June 14, 1941 a
Day of Mourning and Hope.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1990 R. L. Tarnstrom authored
"Poland and the Baltic Republics."
(XXIA, 7/21/99)
1990 The Iceland parliament sent
its congratulations to the Lithuanian people.
(DrEE, 1/4/97, p.4)
1990-1991 Kazimiera Prunskiene served as Lithuanian
Prime Minister.
(Econ, 6/26/04, p.55)
1991 Jan 8, Pro Soviet
demonstrators protested price rises and surrounded the parliament in
Vilnius. Fresh Soviet troops began rolling across Baltic borders from
Pskov, Russia, allegedly to deal with Baltic youth who have been
evading the Soviet draft.
(www.balticsww.com/news/features/crackdown.htm)
1991 Jan 11-13, Soviet troops
tried to occupy public buildings and 14 people were killed. In 1999 6
former Communist leaders were sentenced to prison for siding with the
Soviets.
(SFC, 8/27/99, p.D3)
1991 Jan 13, Soviet troops
besieged the Vilnius TV tower and crushed a woman under a tank, but
failed to quash the drive for independence. The assault claimed 14
lives. The Soviets occupied strong points in Vilnius, Lithuania, in an
attempt to stop the independence movement.
(Wired, Dec., '95, p.94)(DrEE, 9/28/96, p.1)(AP,
1/13/01)(LHC, 1/12/03)
1991 Jan 17, Lithuania established
a volunteer national guard.
(LHC, 1/17/03)
1991 Jan 18-20, Iceland’s foreign
minister, Jon Baldvin Hannibaldsson, visited the 3 Baltic states and
affirmed that the journey constituted a de facto recognition of their
independence.
(DrEE, 1/4/97, p.4)
1991 Feb 9, In a national poll 3
quarters of Lithuanian citizens called for independence from the Soviet
Union in a non-binding plebiscite.
(AP, 2/9/01)(LHC, 2/9/03)
1991 Feb 11, The parliament of
Iceland confirmed that the recognition of Lithuania from 1922 was fully
valid and that diplomatic relations would be established as soon as
possible. Lithuania received de jure recognition from Iceland.
(DrEE, 1/4/97, p.4)(LHC, 2/11/03)
1991 Feb 15, The Law on Science
and Studies came into force. There were 17 universities and academies
in Lithuania.
(WWW)
1991 Jun, The first US-Baltic
Foundation municipal management seminar was held in Vilnius.
(USBF, V.7, #2, p.1)
1991 Sep 6, In the Soviet Union,
the State Council, a new executive body composed of President Mikhail
S. Gorbachev and republic leaders, recognized the independence of the
Baltic states of Estonia Latvia, and Lithuania. All three were admitted
into the UN later this month.
(AP,
9/6/01)(http://countrystudies.us/lithuania/25.htm)
1991 Sep 14, US Secretary of State
James A. Baker III met with leaders of the Baltic nations, which had
declared independence from the Soviet Union.
(AP, 9/14/01)
1991 Sep 17, The U.N. General
Assembly opened its 46th session, welcoming new members Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, North and South Korea, the Marshall Islands and
Micronesia.
(AP, 9/17/01)
1991 The Soviets occupied strong
points in Vilnius, Lithuania in an attempt to stop the independence
movement. A number of civilians are killed in confrontations with the
military. In Sept. Yeltsin’s reformers gained power in Moscow and the
USSR recognized the Independence of Lithuania.
(Compuserve, Online Encyclopedia)
1991 Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. was
accredited as the Lithuanian ambassador in Washington.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1991 Lithuanian Children’s Hope
was founded by the Lith. Human Services Council of the Lith.-American
Community, Inc. Its mission was to provide medical assistance to
children in Lithuania crippled by orthopedic diseases or suffering from
burns.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.6)
1991 Madison, Wi., and Vilnius
signed a charter to become Sister Cities.
(DrEE, 9/21/96, p.6)
1991 A Citizenship Law was passed.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.4)
1992 Mar 5, In Copenhagen the
Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany,
Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden, in the presence
of the representative from the European Commission, opened a 2-day
meeting and decided to establish a Council of the Baltic Sea States to
serve as a forum for guidance and overall coordination among the
participating states. Iceland joined the CBSS in 1995
(Econ, 6/7/08,
p.63)(www.bmwi.de/English/Navigation/European-policy/baltic-market.html)
1992 Jul 5, The 9th Lith. Folk
Dance Festival in the US was held in Chicago, Ill.
(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1992 Jul 25, Greg Spiers created
the Lithuanian Basketball Team’s tie-died shirt featuring the Grateful
Dead’s skeleton slam-dunking. He later sued for a share of the profits
on the shirts.
(SFEC, 8/18/96, DB p.44)
1992 The American Professional
Partnership for Lithuanian Education (APPLE) was organized.
(BN, 10/97, p.6)
1992 The Lith. basketball team won
a bronze medal at the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Sarunas
Marciulionis led an effort to raise team funds with help from the
Grateful Dead in the form of tie-dyed T-shirts.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.2)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.B2)
1992 A Constitution was adopted by
referendum. It established a 141-member unicameral legislature for a
4-year term, the Seimas; a directly elected President; and a government
formed by a prime Minister and other ministers, appointed by the
President and approved by the Seimas. 71 of the parliamentary seats
were to be elected directly and 70 through proportional representation.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.4)
1992 The Democratic Labor Party
(LDDP) led by Chairman Algirdas Brazauskas won a majority of
parliamentary seats in Lithuania. Unemployment, high-prices, and fuel
shortage caused the electorate to return to power many former
communists.
(Compuserve, Online Encyclopedia)(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.4)
1992 A land reform program was
begun.
(WSJ, 12/1/97, p.A18)
1993 Feb 25, Algirdas Mykolas
Brazauskas took the oath as President.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.4)(LC, 1998, p.3)
1993 May 1, Vytautas
Landsbergis-Zemkalnis (b.1893), Lithuanian architect, died in Vilnius.
(LHC,3/10/03)
1993 Jun 25, The litas became the
only legal currency.
(LC, 1998, p.4)
1993 Jul, The US Lithuanian Orphan
Care Committee was organized under the umbrella of the Lith. Human
Services Council of the USA Inc., Lithuanian-American Community.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.6)
1993 Aug 31, Russia withdrew its
last soldier from Lithuania, the first Baltic nation to eject all
former Soviet troops.
(AP, 8/31/98)
1993 Sep, The OSFL project
Transformation of Education for Lithuania’s Future was consolidated
with the resources of the Ministry of Education and Science.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.2)
1993 Oct, Stasys Lozoraitis Jr.
was appointed as Lithuanian ambassador to Italy.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1993 Dec 9, Dr. Alfonsas Eidantas,
historian and author of 7 books on 20th cent. Lith. history, presented
his credentials as Lith. ambassador to Pres. Clinton.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1993 Parliament passed the
Preventive Detention Law. It was a temporary measure to detain
suspected criminals up to 2 months to give prosecutors time to
investigate and file charges.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.4)
1993 A Labor Safety Law went into
effect. The law established a State labor Inspection Service.
(DrEE, 10/5/96, p.4)
1993 The Sunlight Committee to aid
orphans In Lithuania was established under the auspices of the
Lithuanian world Community. There were some 20,000 orphans in Lithuania
housed in over 100 orphanages.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.6)
1993 Vytautas Kavolis (d.1996),
prof. and scholar of comparative civilizations, received the
Lithuania’s National prize for Culture and Art. He published 16 books
and more than 130 articles and book reviews and was one of the founders
of Metmenys cultural and society magazine.
(DrEE, 9/14/96, p.6)
1993 The non-profit Draugas
Foundation was established in Chicago to raise revenue for the daily
Draugas newspaper.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.6)
1994 Feb 2, Marija
Alseika-Gimbutas (b.1921), Lithuanian-born archeologist and
pre-historian, died in LA, Ca.
(LHC, 1/23/03)
1994 Mar 18, Lithuania and
Poland signed an agreement in Warsaw on friendship and neighborly
cooperation.
(LHC, 3/18/03)
1994 Jun 13, the Lithuanian
Ambassador to Italy, Stasys Lozoraitis Jr., died.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1994 Jul 5-10, A world Lithuanian
Song and Dance Festival was held in Vilnius.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)(TLFDF, 7/6/96)
1994 Aug 31, Russia officially
ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltics
after a half-century.
(AP, 8/31/99)
1994 The Lithuanian Free Speech
Center (LFSC e-mail to: lzc@lzc.vno.osf.lt) was established with
support from the National Endowment for Democracy and the Int’l. Media
Fund.
(USBF, V.7, #2, p.7)
1994 Estonia became the 1st
European country to introduce a flat tax (26%) on personal and
corporate income. Latvia and Lithuania soon followed suit.
(Econ, 3/5/05, p.54)
1994 The infant death rate was
16.4 per 1000 births.
(DrEE, 9/21/96, p.5)
1995 Jun 6, The law on libraries
went into effect and the LNB (Central Library of Lithuania) became a
legitimate coordination center for library activities.
(WWW)
1995 Dec 20, A moratorium was
announced to the activities of the oldest private bank, the Joint-Stock
Innovation Bank (LAIB). Its assets comprised 13% of Lithuania’s total
bank assets. Two days before it shutdown, Prime Minister Adolfas
Slezevicius withdrew his personal assets.
(DrEE, 9/28/96, p.5)
1995 Vilnius erected a statue of
Frank Zappa on an empty plinth that had been used for Soviet era
statues.
(WSJ, 6/3/02, p.B1)
1995 A new important sculpture
park, Europos Parkas, was visited by San Francisco artist Benbow
Bullock.
(SFC, 4/14/96, T-11)
1995 The Thomas Mann house at the
Baltic beach village of Nida, Lithuania was declared a museum.
(CNT, 3/04, p.152)
1995 The infant death rate dropped
to 12.4 per 1000 births.
(DrEE, 9/21/96, p.5)
1995 The Mercedes of the top
police official in Vilnius was found to have been stolen from Germany
and smuggled in through Poland.
(SFC, 8/12/97, p.A9)
1996 Jan-Dec, Under Pres.
Clinton’s Warsaw Initiative, each Baltic state received $1.75 million.
An increase to 2.25 million was requested for FY97. The International
Military Education and Training (IMET program) was about $410,000 per
Baltic country.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.1)
1996 Jan 23, Prime Minister
Slezevicius was dismissed as was Ratkevicius, chairman of the LAIB
Bank. Mindaugas Stankevicius was appointed Prime Minister and
Reinoldijus Sarkinas was made chairman of the bank.
(DrEE, 9/28/96, p.5)
1996 Feb. Police seized 220 pounds
of a radioactive material that may be uranium and arrested 7 people.
(WSJ, 2/13/96, p.A-1)
1996 Apr 17, Normundas Valteris, a
member of the Lith. peacekeeping detachment in Bosnia, was killed when
his patrol car drove over an antitank mine.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)
1996 May, The population numbered
3,708,000.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.4)
1996 Jun 25, Sweden donated the
vessel "Lilian", the 5th coast guard cutter, to Lithuania.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.3)
1996 Jun, A free trade agreement
was signed with Poland. A agreement was already completed with Slovenia
and talks were to begin soon with Hungary.
(DrEE, 9/21/96, p.1)
1996 Jun, Unemployment for the 2nd
quarter was 14.2%.
(DrEE, 9/14/96, p.2)
1996 Jul 6, The 10th Lithuanian
Song and Dance Festival in the US was held in Rosemont, Ill., at the
Rosemount Horizon and featured 2,000 dancers before an audience of
7,000.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.5)(DrEE, 11/9/96, p.4)
1996 Jul 1, Draugas, the
Lithuanian daily newspaper published in Chicago, issued its first
English version edition and planned a weekly English edition. The first
subscribed edition was planned for Aug 31.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.3)
1996 Jul, Some 65 athletes
representing Lith. will participate in the Olympics at Atlanta.
(Dr, 7/96, V1#1, p.2)
1996 Sep 11, It was expected that
Latvia would recognize the Curonian Spit (Kursiu Nerija) to be a part
of the Lithuanian Baltic coast.
(DrEE, 9/21/96, p.1)
1996 Sep 27, US Defense Sec.
William Perry said the 3 Baltic nations would not be among the first
new NATO members drawn from Eastern Europe.
(SFC, 9/28/96, p.A8)
1996 Oct 1, McChicken was
introduced at the Vilnius McDonald’s restaurant, one of three in
Lithuania.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1996 Oct 5, Ingrid G. Bublys was
named honorary consul general of Lithuania for Greater Cleveland and
Ohio.
(DrEE, 11/23/96, p.5)
1996 Oct 13, Charges were filed
against former Prime Minister Adolfas Slezevicius in a banking scandal.
he withdrew funds from Innovation Bank 2 days before it shut down last
Dec. If convicted he could be imprisoned for 4 years or fined.
(WSJ, 10/14/96, p.A13)
1996 Oct 16, The IMF approved an
$80 million loan contingent on continuing reforms.
(WSJ, 10/18/96, p.A11)
1996 Oct 20, In the first round of
parliamentary elections the Conservative Party led by Vytautas
Landsbergis and Gediminas Vagnorius won.
(SFC, 10/22/96, p.B1)(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.1)
1996 Oct 26, The "Lithuanian
Literature History" in English was compiled by the Lithuanian Language
Institute and due to be published by the Vaga publishing house within
several months. The volume on 20th Century Literature was published in
1995 and two more volumes on ancient and 19th century literature were
still being prepared.
(DrEE, 10/26/96, p.4)
1996 Nov 10, In the final round of
Parliamentary elections the ex-Communists were swept from power. The
Conservative Party led by Vytautas Landsbergis will govern in an
alliance with the Christian Democrats.
(WSJ, 11/12/96, p.A1)
1996 Dec 12, Jonas Mekas,
president of the Anthology Film Archives, received a special citation
from the New York Film Critics’ Circle for his longtime contributions
of independent film.
(SFC, 12/13/96, p.C8)
1997 Jan-Dec, The Parliament
declared this year to be the year of the First Lithuanian Book in
commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of the Mosvidius catechism.
(DrEE, 9/14/96, p.4)
1997 Jan 1, A free trade agreement
with Poland and another with Estonia and Latvia went into effect.
(DrEE, 1/4/97, p.1)
1997 Jan, A Lithuanian brewery
will sign a contract with Pepsi Cola General Bottlers to produce 5
sorts of drinks.
(DrEE, 1/4/97, p.1)
1997 Jun, Terms of the Baltnet
Group, an Air Surveillance System for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia,
were established in Oslo, Norway.
(http://tinyurl.com/a6o2n)
1997 Aug 12, It was reported that
the country has become a favorite transit point for smugglers.
Cigarettes, alcohol, home appliances, oil, amber, gas, cars and illegal
narcotics were crossing the borders.
(SFC, 8/12/97, p.A10)
1997 Oct, A border treaty was
signed with Russia.
(WSJ, 12/1/97, p.A18)
1997 Oct, William Yusavage
(Jusevicius), a veteran cost estimator for the California Dept. of
Transportation, died at age 79. He was born in Forest City, Pa., the
son of Lithuanian immigrants. His projects included the Antioch and
Dunbarton bridges and the resurfacing of the Golden Gate Bridge.
(SFC,10/24/97, p.A22)
1997 Dec 22, In Lithuanian a vote
count showed Arturas Paulauskas leading the country’s 2nd presidential
vote since breaking with the Soviet Union. A runoff with Vladas Adamkus
was set for Jan 4. Vytautas Landsbergis, who ran third, threw his
support behind Adamkus.
(SFC,12/22/97, p.A11)(WSJ, 12/23/97, p.A1)
1998 Jan 5, Vladas Adamkus (71),
former administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, won the
presidency in a runoff election with 49.9% vs. 49.3% for Arturas
Paulauskas.
(SFC, 1/6/98, p.A8)
1998 Jan 16, Baltic leaders signed
an agreement, the US-Baltics Charter of Partnership, at the White House
strengthening US and NATO ties with Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The
leaders also established a $15 million fund with equal contributions
from the Agency for Int’l. Development and George Soros to promote
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
(WSJ, 1/16/98, p.A1)(SFC, 1/17/98, p.A8)
1998 Feb 1, Lithuania became an
official associate in the European Union.
(LHC, 2/1/03)
1998 Sep 14, In Chicago Vincas
Valkavickas (78), a retired factory worker, was put under deportation
proceedings. A complaint alleged that he assisted Nazi forces as a
Lithuanian police officer and guarded Jewish men, women and children
between 1941-1944 at Sviencionys, Lithuania.
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.A3)
1998 Oct 10, Violeta Urmana,
mexxo-soprano, made her US opera debut in SF as Brangane, Isolde’s
nurse in "Tristan und Isolde."
(SFC, 10/12/98, p.)
1998 Oct 25, Algis Zhuraitis,
music conductor of the Bolshoi Theater, died at age 70.
(SFC, 10/27/98, p.B6)
1998 Nov 19, It was reported that
Skandinavska Enskilda, controlled by the Wallenberg family, was
negotiating a deal to acquire interest in Vilniaus Bank.
(WSJ, 11/19/98, p.A16)
1998 A documentary video on the
Baltic States: "Seven years of Success and Still Growing" was produced.
(BN, 10/98, p.6)
1998 Mushroom magnate Viliumas
Malinauskas (57) won the right to display 50 Soviet-era statues at his
estate near Grutas. He planned to feature a theme park for the old
Soviet sculptures.
(WSJ, 7/24/00, p.A1)
1998 Sue's Indian Raja restaurant
started in Vilnius, Lithuania. Despite many challenges by 2008 it was a
roaring success.
(www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=78691)
1999 May 28, Aloyzas Balsys (86),
left the US for Lithuania after refusing to testify on wartime
activities. Balsys had claimed the 5th amendment to avoid prosecution
outside the US, but the Supreme Court refused his argument.
(SFC, 5/31/99, p.A4)
1999 May, Rolandas Paksas, former
mayor of Vilnius, replaced Gediminas Vagnorius as premier. Vagnorius
stepped down following a clash with Pres. Adamkus.
(SFC, 10/28/99, p.D14)
1999 May, In Sunny Hills, Fla.,
Vytautas Gecas (77) was ordered to jail for refusing to testify about
his wartime activities in Lithuania.
(SFC, 5/31/99, p.A4)
1999 Oct 27, In Lithuania Prime
Minister Rolandas Paksas resigned in protest over the Cabinet’s 11-3
vote in favor of the sale of Mazeikiai Oil to US based Williams Int'l.
Williams spent $75 million for a 33% stake and operating control of the
gas refinery at Mazeikiai. Williams transferred its interest to a
Russian firm.
(SFC, 10/28/99, p.D14)(WSJ, 8/2/01, p.A10)(Econ,
1/17/04, p.57)
1999 Dec 10, The EU granted
preliminary consideration for membership to Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Malta.
(SFC, 12/11/99, p.A16)
2000 Oct 8, The Social Democrat
coalition led by former CP boss, Algirdas Brazauskas, surpassed the
ruling Conservatives.
(SFC, 10/9/00, p.A11)
2000 Sep 22, "Parallel lines" was
recorded live at the "Vilnius Jazz 2000" festival with Dainius
Pulauskas on keyboards, synthesizers and Valerijus Ramoska on
trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion.
(LG, 2/5/03)
2000 Lithuania enacted legislation
that required ex-KGB agents and informers to file their past activities
with a special commission in a confidential database.
(SFC, 3/8/00, p.A26)
2000 Vygaudas and Loreta Usackas
inherited that Bajoriskiai farm in Utena. They decided to create a
program of educational opportunities for rural children and in 2002
created Lithuanian Kaimas Fund for computer training and athletics for
youth in rural villages.
(www.ltembassyus.org/personell/BiographyAmbassador.html)
2001 Mar 13, Vygaudas Usackas was
named Ambassador of Lithuania to the US and Mexico.
(www.ltembassyus.org/personell/BiographyAmbassador.html)
2001 Apr, Viliumas Malinauskas, a
Lithuania millionaire, founded Grutas Park (aka Stalin’s World), a
theme park near Vilnius dotted with relics of Lithuania's communist
past.
(www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=13008)(SSFC, 5/7/06, p.G6)
2002 Mar 18, The 2000-2001 UNESCO
Cities for Peace Prize were presented to five cities: Africa,
Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of the Congo), for the Arab States,
Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), for Asia and Pacific, Bukhara (Uzbekistan),
for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cotacachi (Ecuador) and for Europe
Vilnius, Lithuania, during an official ceremony to be held in
Marrakech, Morocco, on the occasion of the 107th Inter-Parliamentary
Conference.
(vilnius.lt, Labas NL)
2002 Mar 28, The International
Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), stated in its annual report that
Lithuania remains one of the largest transportation hubs for pirated
goods and is the main re-exporter of pirated goods in the region. The
report said: "Failures by the police, prosecutors, and especially by
customs officials, to engage in effective domestic criminal enforcement
are destroying the possibility of establishing legitimate markets for
copyrighted materials in Lithuania." IIPA reported that 90 percent of
video cassettes, 85 percent of sound recordings, and 75 percent of
business software sold last year in Lithuania were pirated versions.
(Labas NL)
2002 May 14, The Health Ministry
scrapped a Soviet-era rule that required women to undergo gynecological
examinations to qualify for a driver’s license.
(SFC, 5/15/02, p.A2)
2002 Jul 11, Bernardas Brazdzionis
(95), Lithuanian émigré poet, died in Los Angeles.
(SFC, 7/19/02, p.A27)
2002 Oct 9, The European Union's
executive Commission declared Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia,
and Slovakia nearly ready for EU membership and recommended they be
invited to join in 2004. Romania and Bulgaria likely will be delayed
until 2007 because of weak economies, the Commission said, adding
Turkey was the weakest link among candidates.
(AP, 10/9/02)
2002 Nov 14, In Panevezys,
Lithuania, LNK TV sponsored a Miss Captivity Pageant with 8 finalists
from the local women’s prison. Kristina (21) won $1,150 in the contest
that was broadcast nationally the next day.
(SFC, 11/29/02, p.K10)
2002 Nov 21, The Baltic nations of
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania joined former communist states Bulgaria,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia as the next wave of NATO states.
(AP, 11/21/02)
2002 Nov 22-23, President Bush
stopped in Vilnius after a NATO summit at which Lithuania and six other
former communist countries received invitations to join the alliance:
"The long night of fear, uncertainty and loneliness is over."
(AP, 11/23/02)
2002 Dec 13, The EU reached
agreement to accept 10 new countries in 2004. These included Czech
Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland,
Slovakia, and Slovenia.
(SFC, 12/14/02, p.A3)
2002 Dec 22, In Lithuania Valdas
Adamkus failed to get an absolute majority (35.2%) in national
elections, forcing him into a Jan. 5 runoff with former Prime Minister
Rolandas Paksas (19.8%).
(AP, 12/23/02)
2002 Lithuania had Europe's top
performing economy with 6.7% real growth.
(Econ, 7/19/03, p.41)
2003 Jan 5, In Lithuania rightist
Rolandas Paksas (46), a former stunt pilot and PM in 1999 and 2000, was
elected president in a surprise victory over Pres. Adamkus, 54.9% vs.
45%. Paksas promised to keep Lithuania closely aligned with the West.
The election of Paksas was bankrolled by Yuri Borisov, a Russian-born
dealer in helicopter parts.
(AP, 1/6/03)(Econ, 1/10/04, p.46)
2003 Jan 12, The Vilnius String
Quartet performed a concert at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, Ca. The
program included the music of MK Ciurlionis (1875-1911), D.
Shostokovich (1906-1975), and R. Schumann (1810-1856).
(KMB, 2003)
2003 Feb 27, In Lithuania
Rolandas Paksas became the country’s 3rd president since it gained
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
(AP, 2/27/03)
2003 May 10, Lithuanians began
casting ballots in a two-day referendum that could allow this nation of
3.5 million people to become the first ex-Soviet republic to vote
itself into the EU.
(AP, 5/10/03)
2003 May 11, In Lithuania's 2-day
referendum to join the European Union 91 percent voted in favor of
joining, while 9 percent voted "no." Election officials said more 64
percent of the nation's 2.7 million registered voters cast ballots over
two days of voting this weekend. The country will become the first
former Soviet republic to vote itself into the EU bloc.
(AP, 5/11/03)(AP, 5/12/03)
2003 Aug 1, Marie Trintignant (41)
died after several days on a respirator in France. She was initially
hospitalized in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on July 27 after
French rock star Bertrand Cantat (39) allegedly beat her at the hotel
where they were staying with her mother and one of her sons.
Trintignant, had been in Lithuania since June filming a joint
French-Lithuanian television movie, "Colette," about the French female
writer. Bertrand Cantat was later sentenced to 8 years in prison for
manslaughter. He was released for good behavior in October 2007 after
serving four years.
(AP,
8/5/03)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Trintignant)
2003 Nov 22, In Lithuania
thousands of protesters rallied near President Rolandas Paksas' office
in Vilnius, demanding his resignation amid allegations that he has ties
with a businessman involved with organized crime.
(AP, 11/22/03)
2003 Dec 1, A Lithuanian
Parliament investigation concluded that the office of Pres. Rolandas
Paksas has links to organized crime. This prompted calls for his
resignation.
(SFC, 12/2/03, p.A12)
2003 Dec 18, The Lithuanian
Parliament launched impeachment proceedings against Pres. Rolandas
Paksas over charges that his office had connections with organized
crime.
(SFC, 12/19/03, p.A3)
2004 Feb 20, Lithuania expelled
three Russian diplomats for trying to gather information related to the
impeachment of Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas "in an improper and
illegal way."
(AP, 2/27/04)
2004 Mar 29, Pres. Bush hosted a
White House ceremony to welcome Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia,
Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the NATO alliance.
(WSJ, 3/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 29, A Lithuanian court
found French rock star Bertrand Cantat (40) guilty of man-slaughter for
the 2003 beating death of his movie-star girlfriend, Marie Trintignant
(41), and sentenced him to 8 years in prison.
(AP, 3/29/04)
2004 Mar 31, Lithuania's highest
court ruled that President Rolandas Paksas violated the constitution by
arranging citizenship for a businessman with alleged mob ties, a
verdict that will likely set the stage for an impeachment vote.
(AP, 3/31/04)
2004 Apr 2, In Brussel an official
ceremony welcomed Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania,
Slovakia and Slovenia into the NATO alliance.
(SFC, 4/3/04, p.A11)
2004 Apr 6, In Lithuania lawmakers
narrowly ousted Rolandas Paksas, the scandal-ridden president, for
abuse of office, passing all three accusations against Paksas: that he
illegally arranged citizenship for one of his chief financial backers,
businessman Yuri Borisov; that he divulged state secrets; and that he
used his office for financial gain.
(AP, 4/6/04)
2004 Apr 27, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU officials signed an accord extending the
EU-Russia partnership accord to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta,
which join May 1.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 May 1, Revelers across
ex-communist eastern Europe celebrated their historic entry to the
European Union. 10 new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia)
joined. Malta joined with 70 exemptions to EU rules. Poland had 43
exemptions. Latvia had 32. The Turkish occupied area of Cyprus was
suspended from entry.
(AP, 5/1/04)(Econ, 2/28/04, p.50)(Econ, 4/16/05,
p.16)
2004 Jun 13, Valdas Adamkus won
the 1st round to succeed Pres. Paksas as voters participated in EU
balloting. On Jun 27 he faced center-left candidate Kazimira Prunskiene.
(Econ, 6/19/04, p.51)
2004 Jun 27, In Lithuania Valdas
Adamkus won the 2nd round of elections against center-left candidate
Kazimira Prunskiene.
(WSJ, 6/28/04, p.A1)
2004 Oct 10, Lithuanian voters
chose the Labor Party under Viktor Uspaskich in the 1st round of
parliamentary elections with 28.5% of the votes.
(Econ, 10/16/04, p.46)
2004 Oct 24, Lithuania's
traditional parties teamed up in a bid to prevent a Russian-born tycoon
from winning more support in a second round of parliamentary elections.
The pro-Moscow Labor Party, led by Russian-born businessman Viktor
Uspaskich, won 23 seats, more than any other party, in the first round
of voting on Oct. 10 after pledging lower taxes and higher pay.
(AP, 10/24/04)
2004 Nov 7, The Vilnius String
Quartet performed its 2nd concert at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame,
Ca. The program included the music of Beethoven, S. Prokofiev and Franz
Schubert.
(KMB, 2004)
2004 Nov 11, Lithuanian lawmakers
ratified the newly signed EU constitution, making one of the bloc's
newest members the first country to approve the historic document.
(AP, 11/11/04)
2005 Jan 1, Lithuania was forecast
for 6.5% annual GDP growth with a population at 3.4 million and GDP per
head at $7,110.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.88)
2005 Mar 31, Two Lithuanian
illusionists have begun an attempt to break the record for staying
inside a giant ice cube, set by US magician David Blaine in 2000 when
he spent nearly 62 hours inside a block of ice.
(AFP, 4/1/05)
2005 Sep 15, A Russian Su-27
fighter bomber crashed in Lithuania during a flight across the former
Soviet republic to the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
(AP, 9/15/05)
2005 Sep 16, The Lithuanian
government denied Moscow's requests to hand over a Russian pilot whose
fighter jet crashed in the NATO member's territory after violating its
airspace, saying it must first complete an investigation.
(AP, 9/16/05)
2005 Sep 23, Lithuania’s defense
minister said the crash of a Russian military jet in Lithuania was
almost certainly accidental and the pilot will be sent home when the
investigation ends, but he criticized Moscow for sending a plane armed
with missiles into the country's airspace.
(AP, 9/23/05)
2005 Oct 6, In Lithuania
authorities released the pilot of a Russian military plane that crashed
in Lithuania, saying he was no longer suspected of violating the Baltic
country's airspace.
(AP, 10/6/05)
2005 Nov 14, EU Council decision
Nr. 2005/815/EB officially gave Vilnius, Lithuania, and Linz, Austria,
status as a European Capital of Culture for the year 2009.
(www.culturelive.lt/en/european_capitals_of_culture)
2005 Nov 25, In Lithuania the
prosecutor general's office said a Lithuanian man suspected of helping
Nazis round up Jews during World War II will stand trial in a Vilnius
court. Algimantas Dailide (84), who moved to the US in 1955 and lived
there until he was deported in 2003 for lying about his wartime past,
is accused of being a member of the Nazi-sponsored Lithuanian Security
Police, known as the Saugumas, which took part in the arrests of Jews
during the war.
(AP, 11/25/05)
2005 Dec, Respublika, a leading
Lithuanian tabloid, published attacks on George Soros and painted him
as a malevolent outside meddler in Lithuania’s affairs. The local Soros
foundation, run by locals, had already spent some $65 million on new
school textbooks, translations and other projects that included work on
drug addiction and AIDS.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.58)
2006 Jan 13, In Lithuania Mykolas
Burokevicius (78), former Communist Party leader, was freed from
Lukiskes Prison after serving 12 years for murder and other crimes.
(AP, 1/13/06)
2006 Mar 21, Algimantas Dailide,
an 85-year-old man deported from Florida, went on trial in his native
Lithuania on charges of helping Nazis round up Jews during World War
II. Dailide was convicted on March 27 of helping Nazis murder Jews
during World War II, but the judge said the man was too frail to serve
prison time.
(AP, 3/21/06)(AP, 3/27/06)
2006 Apr 13, Chinese
Vice-President Zeng Qinghong met with Lithuanian Foreign Minister
Antanas Valionis in Beijing. Zeng said the relations between China and
Lithuania are developing smoothly with frequent high-level contacts and
fruitful cooperation in economic and cultural sectors.
(http://news.xinhuanet.com)
(AP, 5/3/06)
2006 May 4, Lithuania hosted
leaders from the European Union, United States and the burgeoning
democracies in the Black Sea region at a summit on the future of the EU
and the NATO military alliance. Vice President Dick Cheney, in remarks
that caused a stir in neighboring Russia, accused President Vladimir
Putin of restricting the rights of citizens and said that "no
legitimate interest is served" by turning energy resources into
implements of blackmail.
(www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1746272&C=europe)(AP, 5/4/06)
2006 May 20, Lithuanian
police arrested Vidmantas Sungaila (41) for driving his truck down the
center of a two-lane highway 60 miles from Vilnius. Sungaila (41)
registered 7.27 grams per liter of alcohol in his blood repeatedly on
different devices. Medical experts say anything above 3.5 grams per
liter of alcohol in the blood is lethal for most people. Lithuania has
one of the worst road safety records in the EU. Last year 760 people
died in traffic accidents in this country of 3.5 million residents.
Most were alcohol-related.
(AP, 5/23/06)
2006 May 26, Yukos sold its 53.7%
stake in Mazeikiai to the Polish PKN Orlen oil refining company for
US$1.49 billion. Orlen signed the agreement in Amsterdam with the Yukos
company’s Netherlands-registered subsidiary, Yukos International, which
had all along held the legal title to that stake. The Lithuanian
government had exercised its right to authorize this sale-and-purchase
three days earlier.
(http://cms2000.isn.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=16079)
2006 May 31, Lithuania's
three-party government collapsed with the withdrawal of the Labor
Party, a key coalition partner being investigated on corruption
allegations. PM Algirdas Brazauskas announced the Baltic country's
government was resigning after an emergency meeting with his ministers.
(AP, 5/31/06)(Econ, 6/10/06, p.50)
2006 Jun 6, EU finance ministers
slammed the door on Lithuania's plea to adopt the euro next year,
saying the Baltic country has failed to put a lasting lid on inflation.
Lithuania planned to appeal to EU government heads at a summit next
week in Brussels, before a final decision is made in July.
(http://tinyurl.com/h9r36)
2006 Jun 8, In Azerbaijan the
Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania
met in the presence of the two countries’ delegations following a
one-on-one meeting.
(http://tinyurl.com/ffjol)
2006 Jun 16, EU leaders gave
Slovenia a green light to join the eurozone next year, launching a new
wave of expansion for the currently 12-nation single currency club. EU
leaders also gave their backing to the assessment of the EU's executive
arm that Lithuania would not be ready to join the eurozone next year
because inflation had overshot the limit required to join.
(AFP, 6/16/06)
2006 Jun 20, Lithuania plunged
deeper into political crisis after lawmakers rejected their president's
choice for prime minister, edging the Baltic country toward early
elections and its 14th government in 15 years. 52 lawmakers voted in
favor of and 48 against Social Democrat Zigmantas Balcytis, who was
nominated last week to the premiership by President Valdas Adamkus.
There were 32 abstentions.
(AFP, 6/20/06)
2006 Jul 12, UNESCO, meeting in
Vilnius, Lithuania, added 8 sites added to its World Heritage list
including a panda refuge in China and an agave producing region in
Mexico.
(AP, 7/12/06)
2006 Aug 23, Vytautas Pociunas, a
top Lithuanian spy posted to Belarus, was found dead in Brest. Some
linked his death to feuds within the Lithuanian security service (VSD)
over freight contracts. A parliamentary committee called for Arvydas
Pocius, the VSD chief, to go.
(Econ, 12/23/06,
p.74)(www.data.minsk.by/belarusnews/092006/25.html)
2006 Oct 13, Fire broke out at
Lithuania's only oil refinery, causing millions of dollars in damage
and forcing the evacuation of all its workers. No injuries were
reported.
(AP, 10/13/06)
2006 Oct 16, Queen Elizabeth II
kicked off her first-ever visit to the Baltic states as Lithuania’s PM
Gediminas Kirkilas welcomed the British monarch to the northern
European region.
(AP, 10/16/06)
2006 Dec 4, The Estlink cable
connected power grids of the Baltic States with Finland. The cost of
Estlink, which measures 100 kilometers (60 miles), was around 110
million euros (132 million dollars). It was built by Swiss-Swedish
group ABB.
(AP, 12/4/06)
2007 Feb 7, In SF Mayor Gavin
Newsom met with Lithuania’s Pres. Valdas Adamkus at the Fairmont Hotel
following an address at the World Affairs Council. Pres. Adamkus,
accompanied by a Lithuanian business delegation, was here for a one
week visit seeking US trade opportunities and potential investors.
(www.president.lt/en/news.full/7476)
2007 Feb 12, In Washington DC
Lithuania’s Pres. Valdas Adamkus met with Pres. Bush ahead of an
address at the National Press Club. He was accompanied by a Lithuanian
business delegation seeking US trade opportunities and potential
investors.
(http://eupolitics.einnews.com/news/valdas-adamkus)
2007 Apr, Stanislovas Jucys, a
Lithuanian businessman, disappeared. He was the CEO of a
Kaliningrad-based construction company with a majority stake in
Lithuanian hands. Jucys' replacement was killed a few months later, and
the company was taken over by a Russian firm.
(Reuters, 3/20/08)
2007 Jun 6, Housing prices in the
major cities of Estonia, Latia and Lithuania were reported to average
around $202,375.
(WSJ, 6/6/07, p.B9)
2007 Aug 9, Lithuanian military
leaders welcomed home its small contingent of combat troops from Iraq.
The 50 troops were withdrawn last week from the southern Iraqi city of
Basra, where they had been serving under Danish command. Lithuania also
has 137 soldiers and officers deployed in Afghanistan. In June
lawmakers approved plans to send 420 troops to the Middle East, the
Balkans, the trans-Caucasus republics and other locations.
(AP, 8/9/07)
2007 Aug 29, Lithuania's top
politicians attended an official ceremony in Vilnius to unveil probably
the first monument in the world honoring basketball, which is said to
be the second religion of this Baltic country.
(http://tinyurl.com/2omkbv)
2007 Sep 3, A Lithuanian research
center launched a Web site that allows the public to access original
KGB documents online. The site kgbdocuments.eu contains working
documents from various KGB departments, as well as descriptive articles
on the activities of Soviet state security agencies in Lithuania from
1940 to 1991.
(www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/18701/)
2007 Oct 10, Ministers from
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine signed a deal to
build an oil pipeline linking the Black and Baltic seas.
(WSJ, 10/11/07, p.A18)
2007 Nov 27, In Brussels Valdas
Adamkus, President of Lithuania, was declared ”European of the Year‘ at
the annual EV50 gala awards ceremony hosted by European Voice.
President Adamkus was nominated as one of 50 ”Europeans of the Year‘.
The 2007 winners of the EV50 awards were chosen by European Voice
readers from among 50 nominees, selected by a distinguished panel of
leading opinion-formers.
(http://tinyurl.com/2phf99)
2007 Nov 30, Poland's new PM
Donald Tusk paid a low-key visit to Lithuania on his first foreign
trip. Lithuania and Poland were locked in a dispute about their
relative share of the future output of a nuclear power plant that the
two countries, plus Latvia and Estonia, planned to build in Lithuania
by 2015.
(www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1196435824.82)
2007 Dec 17, In Lithuania
following a 4,000-strong demonstration by the three largest trade
unions in Vilnius several weeks earlier, the government approved an
increase in minimum wages starting in 2008, raising minimum salary
levels from 700 to 800 litas (231.70 euros).
(www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/19547/)
2007 Dec 20, Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania along with 6 other EU members halted land and sea border
controls at midnight, becoming the first in a wave of new members of
Europe's passport-free Schengen zone.
(AFP, 12/20/07)(WSJ, 12/21/07, p.A1)
2008 Jan 1, Smokers took to
lighting up on the sidewalks as a ban took effect across France ,
Germany and Lithuania, the latest European countries to say "no
smoking." Across France smokers took advantage of a one-day grace
period and savored their last cigarettes over morning coffee in cafes
as a ban against lighting up in bars and restaurants took effect.
(AP, 1/1/08)(AFP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 25, In Lithuania a
specially established commission on image creation, chaired by PM
Gediminas Kirkilas, approved a strategic marketing concept for the
presentation of Lithuania around the world.
(www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/19740/)
2008 Jan, In Lithuania Michael
Campbell (35), a prominent IRA dissident, was arrested along with a
female companion in a sting operation while allegedly trying to
purchase weapons and explosives.
(AP, 8/21/09)
2008 Feb 7, NATO defense ministers
held talks on Afghanistan in Lithuania. France agreed to help Canada in
fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
(AP, 2/8/08)
2008 Feb 14, The European
Commission gave the green light for a 170 million euro ($248 million)
grant to build a gas-fired power plant in Lithuania by an agency run by
the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
(Reuters, 2/14/08)
2008 Mar 15, Vytautas Kernagis
(57), popular Lithuanian singer, died of cancer.
(www.lzinios.lt/lt/2008-03-17.html)
2008 Mar 17, The US administration
signed deals with Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia paving the way for
visa-free travel for their citizens despite concerns in Brussels over
the bilateral agreements.
(AFP, 3/17/08)
2008 Apr 1, A woman's severed head
was found on a Scottish beach. She was later identified as Jolanta
Bledaite (35) from Alytus, Lithuania. On April 4 police arrested two
Lithuanian men in connection with the murder.
(AP, 4/4/08)
2008 Apr 29, European nations
failed to convince Lithuania to allow the EU to launch talks on a new
partnership pact with Russia.
(AFP, 4/29/08)
2008 May 22, In western
Afghanistan gunfire broke out in Ghor province at a protest against a
US sniper in Iraq who used a Quran for target practice. Two civilians
were slain and seven others were wounded. A NATO soldier from Lithuania
was killed, the first of the Baltic country's troops to die while
serving there.
(AP, 5/22/08)(AFP, 5/22/08)
2008 Jun 9, Bronislovas Lubys
(b.1938), former prime minister of Lithuania (1992-1993) and president
of Achemos Grupe, was named the richest man in Lithuania with a
personal worth of three billion litas (870 million euros). He moved up
to the top spot from last year according to the newest rankings by
Veidas magazine. Last year’s number one, Nerijus Numavicius fell to
second with a value of 2.8 billion litas (810 million euros). In third
place was MG Baltic’s owner Darius Mockus with 2.3 billion litas (666
million euros).
(http://www.alfa.lt/straipsnis/c75542)
2008 Jun 11, The government of
Lithuania approved construction of a new museum in Vilnius. The joint
project between Lithuania, the Guggenheim and the State Hermitage
Museum in Russia, will be designed by Iraq-born Zaha Hadid (b.1950) and
is to open in 2013.
(www.ejpress.org/article/news/27790)
2008 Jun 17, Lawmakers in
Lithuania, where many still feel bitter about nearly 50 years of Soviet
occupation, approved legislation to ban the display of Nazi and Soviet
symbols, such as the swastika and the hammer and sickle. President
Valdas Adamus was expected to sign the bill into law later in the month.
(AP, 6/18/08)
2008 Jun 18, The Lithuanian
parliament approved a law prohibiting the public display of Nazi and
Soviet symbols, including portraits of Nazi and Soviet leaders, flags,
hammer and sickle, swastikas, military symbols, uniforms, and playing
the Nazi or Soviet anthems.
(www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/updates.htm#280)
2008 Jun 18, Witold Waszczykowski,
the chief Polish negotiator on missile defense with the United States,
said Washington has been talking with Lithuania about basing part of a
missile defense system in that country in case negotiations with Poland
break down.
(AP, 6/18/08)
2008 Jun 30, Lithuania’s national
communication regulator's office said that some 300 websites, including
those of public institutions such as the national ethics body and the
securities and exchange commission, as well as a string of companies,
had found themselves under cyber attack.
(AFP, 6/30/08)
2008 Jul 19, While visiting Buenos
Aires Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said his country is ready to
conduct talks with the US about hosting elements of a missile defense
system.
(UPI, 7/19/08)
2008 Jul 25, Energy companies in
the three Baltic states and Poland agreed to set up a joint venture to
develop a nuclear power plant in Lithuania.
(Reuters 7/25/08)
2008 Sep 23, The international
organization Transparency International reported that, among 30 member
states of the European Union (EU) and other countries of Western
Europe, only Romania and Bulgaria encounter worse situation than
Lithuania according to the corruption perceptions index.
(www.baltic-course.com/eng/analytics/?doc=5411)
2008 Oct 12, Lithuanians voted in
a general election likely to mark comebacks for ex-president Rolandas
Paksas or former political star Viktor Uspaskich. A non-binding
referendum was also on the ballot as part of a battle to delay the
closure of Ignalina, a Soviet-era nuclear power station which provides
70 percent of Lithuania's electricity. Voters dealt a major blow to
Lithuania's leftist government by boosting the conservative opposition
as well as some populist leaders, including an impeached ex-president,
in weekend elections. Homeland Union leader Andrius Kubilius said he
was ready to form a new Cabinet after his party won the most votes in
the first round, receiving 19.2 percent. The governing Social
Democratic Party, which has controlled the prime minister's office
since 2001, finished fourth with 11.7 percent.
(AFP, 10/12/08)(AP, 10/13/08)
2008 Oct 26, Lithuania's
conservatives Homeland Union, led by former PM Andrius Kubilius, won
the parliamentary ballot for the first time since 2000, in a run-off
vote that cemented their first-round defeat of the ruling Social
Democrats two weeks ago. Homeland Union won 44 seats in the 141-member
Parliament.
(AP, 10/26/08)(WSJ, 10/27/08, p.A14)
2009 Jan 1, Vilnius, Lithuania, a
city of about 550,000 people, opened the year sharing the EU Capital of
Culture title with Austria’s Linz.
(SSFC, 7/22/07,
p.G6)(www.culturelive.lt/en/european_capitals_of_culture)
2009 Jan 9, Lithuania’s FlyLAL
airline, privatized in 2005, announced that SCH Swiss Capital Holdings,
a Switzerland-based firm, has purchased it for $1 million and debt of
about 1 million euros. On Jan 17 FlyLAL airline said it has suspended
its operations after a buyout deal by Swiss investment firm SCH Swiss
Capital Holdings failed.
(AP, 1/9/09)(AP, 1/17/09)
2009 Jan 16, In Lithuania police
used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse some 7,000anti-government
protesters throwing rocks and eggs at the Parliament building. They had
gathered to demonstrate against unpopular reforms aimed at combating
the Baltic state's deepening economic crisis. The Finance Ministry
announced it intended to borrow 1 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) from
the European Investment Bank to help plug a yawning budget gap.
(AP, 1/16/09)
2009 Jan 22, Lithuania's Minister
of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Usackas presented discus thrower Virgilijus
Alekna with the Star of Lithuania's Millennium for promoting
Lithuania's name at the international arena. The Lithuanian Ministry of
Foreign Ministry's award the Star of Lithuania's Millennium was
established in 2007 and is awarded for merits to the Lithuanian state
and its foreign policy.
(www.baltic-course.com/eng/baltic_news/?doc=2441)
2009 Apr 28, Lithuania reported a
12.6% drop in GDP in the first quarter as compared to a year earlier.
(WSJ, 4/28/09, p.A8)
2009 May 17, Lithuanians voted in
a presidential election. Dalia Grybauskaite (53), EU budget chief and
karate black belt, poised to return to politics in her recession-hit
homeland as its first female head of state. Grybauskaite stood as an
independent, but was nonetheless backed by the ruling Conservatives,
although she warned their government is also under watch. Under
Lithuanian law, the new president takes the reins in July. The
government then has to step down, and the head of state names a
premier. Grybauskaite won nearly 70 percent of the vote in a
presidential election.
(AFP, 5/17/09)(AP, 5/18/09)(SFC, 5/18/09, p.A2)
2009 May 18, In Lithuania
Pres.-elect Dalia Grybauskaite said she would consider replacing up to
five ministers in PM Andrius Kubilius' center-right Cabinet after she
takes office on July 12. "They have underestimated the real scale of
recession," she said. "The budget was way too optimistic and needs to
be revised in nearest time. We must save money." To lead by example
said she would only take half of her presidential salary of 312,000
litas ($120,000) a year.
(AP, 5/18/09)
2009 Jun 13, An Italian court
ordered the recall of 10,000 tons of wood fuel pellets imported from
Lithuania over fears that they could have dangerous levels of
radioactivity. Test results showed that they contained cesium 137, a
highly toxic radioactive substance normally produced by a nuclear
explosion or from the combustion of a nuclear reactor. The contaminated
pellets themselves were not dangerous to humans, but danger comes from
the ashes and the smoke produced when they are burned.
(AFP, 6/14/09)
2009 Jul 14, Lithuania's
Parliament approved a censorship bill that sharply curbs the spreading
of public information that lawmakers say could harm the mental,
physical, intellectual and moral development of youngsters. The bill
comes into law on March 2010 at the latest.
(www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4487209,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf)
2009 Aug 4, The Lithuanian
ministry said that the Lithuanian-flagged refrigerator vessel Saturnas,
with a crew of 14, was attacked by unidentified perpetrators off the
coast of Nigeria. Five crew members were said to have been taken
hostage. The attackers did not seize the vessel itself but left in a
high-speed boat with the hostages. The 5 Lithuanian sailors were
reported freed on Aug 14, ending their 11-day ordeal.
(AFP, 8/4/09)(AFP, 8/14/09)
2009 Laimonas Briedis authored
“Vilnius: City of Strangers.”
(Econ, 5/2/09, p.83)
Go to http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = Lithuania
End of file.