Seimas to commemorate victims of Soviet occupation, genocide, and repression

Press release, 13 June 2025 (News ● Photos ● Broadcasts and videos)

On Saturday, 14 June 2025, at 10 a.m., the Hall of the Act of 11 March at the Seimas will host a commemoration of the Days of Mourning and Hope, Occupation and Genocide.

Speeches will be delivered by Saulius Skvernelis, Speaker of the Seimas; Rasutė Peslekienė, former deportee; Julius Sabatauskas, Member of the Seimas born in deportation; Greta Plaskovičiūtė, student at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science and Member of St Thomas More Club; and Birutė Mar, actress, director, and poet.

On 15 June 1940, the Soviet Union launched the occupation of the Republic of Lithuania. A year later, on 14 June 1941, it carried out the first mass deportation of Lithuanians to Siberia. Between 15 June 1940 and 22 June 1941, approximately 23 000 people in Lithuania were imprisoned, killed, or deported.

The commemoration will be broadcast live on the Seimas YouTube channel Atviras Seimas (Open Seimas).

At 11:59 a.m., a minute of silence will be observed as a civic tribute to the victims of the occupation, entitled Let the everyday hustle and bustle calm down. Make a pause. Listen to your heart beating. At 12:00 noon, the State Flag Hoisting Ceremony will take place in Independence Square. 

Programme of events:

12:15–12:30 p.m. – March of Honour from Independence Square to Aukų Street, Vilnius, followed by a ceremony in tribute to the victims of the Soviet occupation, genocide, and repression at the monuments to political prisoners and deportees 

12:30–12:55 p.m. – Flower-laying ceremony at the monuments to political prisoners and deportees on Aukų Street, Vilnius 

1:00 p.m. – Civic historical memory campaign: No Memory Can Be Deported, near the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, Vilnius 

2:00 p.m. – Commemorative ceremony at the Railway Station Memorial, Naujoji Vilnia

5.30 p.m. – Holy Mass in Vilnius Cathedral Basilica

For the full 2025 programme of events commemorating the Days of Mourning and Hope, Occupation and Genocide, follow this link.

Saulė Eglė Trembo, Chief Specialist, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, Office of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 209 6203, e-mail [email protected]