Echoes of the events of January 1991 in the world

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In January1991, Soviet soldiers attacked the unarmed Lithuanian citizens. At the time, the Lithuanian government was going through a serious political crisis, pro-Moscow forces were trying to take power over the restored state, and hundreds of thousands of people from all over Lithuania were heading to Vilnius to show their support for the country’s independence. After January 1991, the events in Lithuania attracted global attention as several hundred foreign journalists stationed in Vilnius provided fresh news. Several of the journalists suffered harm from Soviet paratroopers and lost video cameras. Nevertheless, the news from Lithuania reached the world.

 

 

What did the world learn about the events of January 1991 and why was it important?

 

After the restoration of the independence of Lithuanian in 1990, the USSR and the United States ostensibly had an unwritten agreement for Moscow to refrain from bloodshed in Lithuania in exchange for Washington refraining from recognizing the Lithuanian Government. However, in January 1991, the Soviets violated that agreement. By then, the developments in Moscow had been unfavourable for Lithuania for some time. The commanders of the Soviet army and the KGB were unsatisfied with Gorbachev’s policy. Their political influence, which had diminished at the beginning of the Perestroika, began to grow again well before January 1991.

 

The consistently moderate stance of the US political leadership changed after 13 January 1991. George Bush announced that ‘there can be no justification for such use of force.’ Ten days later, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on Mikhail Gorbachev to end the use of military force in the Baltic States. The global reaction to the events in Vilnius may have contributed to the fact that, on 28 January 1991, the US-USSR summit in Moscow was postponed. It was previously scheduled for February. This happened only for the second time in the history of these states. By the way, the next day, on 29 January 1991, in his address to the citizens of the US, George Bush also mentioned Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. He said that the United States would try to help the Baltic nations achieve their goals. The White House soon announced that it would provide emergency medical care worth USD 5 million to the Baltic States and Ukraine.

 

Truth be told, the Lithuanians living on the other side of the Atlantic expected a tougher reaction from US leaders. On the other hand, the events in January helped to bring Lithuanian organizations abroad closer to Lithuanian society. On 14 January 1991, the leadership of the World Lithuanian Community issued an appeal to the entire diaspora with a call for organizing public protests in search of international support and solidarity with the independent Lithuania. On 21 January 1991, the Canadian Parliament discussed the situation in Lithuania and Latvia at a special sitting. Although no tangible resolutions were passed, the fact that the affairs of the recently restored state of Lithuania were included on the agenda of the Canadian Parliament was a certain achievement. Condolences were expressed by the US Bishops’ Conference.

 

Russia’s democratic society also expressed solidarity with Lithuania. The democratic press criticized the measures used by the Soviet government in the Baltic States. The Soviet media underwent a crisis of sorts. Some journalists refused to publish misinformation on the situation in Vilnius. On 20 January 1991, about 100,000 Russians gathered in the centre of Moscow to protest against the brutal behaviour of and killings by the Soviet army in Vilnius and showed solidarity with the Lithuanian people.

 

Three deputies of the USSR Supreme Council came to Vilnius to look into the situation, expressing their shame over the events and calling on the Lithuanian people to believe that the tanks and soldiers in Vilnius had belonged to the USSR Communist Party, rather than Russia. It is significant that the freedom aspirations of the Baltic States were supported by Boris Yeltsin, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Russia of the time and future President of the country. The international community continued to put pressure on the Soviet political leaders. Therefore, on 30 January 1991, withdrawal of the paratroopers and part of the Special Task Police Squad (OMON) from the Baltic States was officially announced.

 

Statements condemning the aggression in Vilnius were made by NATO, the Council of Ministers of the European Community, and the European Parliament, whose decision suspended an emergency food aid worth USD 1 billion to the Soviet Union.

 

In terms of approach to the Baltic liberation movement, the Scandinavian people and authorities, especially those in Iceland and Denmark, stood out from the general context in the West. In January 1991, Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, visited Vilnius. Having met with Vytautas Landsbergis, President of the Supreme Council of Lithuania, on 20 January 1991, he confirmed that ‘the Government of Iceland is seriously considering the establishment of diplomatic relations with Lithuania.’ Iceland soon became the first country in the world to recognize Lithuania’s independence.

 

Representatives of the countries of the former socialist camp also actively supported Lithuania. Even before 13 January, Vaclav Havel addressed the Supreme Council in writing, supporting the aspirations of Lithuanians. A Polish delegation arrived in Vilnius, with one of its members, Adam Michnik, who, speaking at the sitting of the Supreme Council, had confidently stated ‘We say NO to all Lithuanian occupiers. Long live free Lithuania!’ Visits of official and informal foreign delegations were soon to follow. A little more than two months after 13 January 1991, Richard Nixon, former President of the United States, who had led the US in the 1970s, visited Lithuania for the first time in history. The first thing he did when he came to Vilnius was to pay tribute to the victims of 13 January 1991. Lithuania became visible and heard in the world.

 

Within a few days after 13 January, the Supreme Council received about 10,000 telegrams and letters from Lithuania and beyond in support of the Lithuanian Parliament and the Government.

 

The building of the Supreme Council became a symbol of the collapse of the Soviet military intervention in January 1991. There is reason to believe that the plan had been to seize the Parliament. However, the building was not attacked. Why? One of the reasons was the presence of several hundred foreign journalists in Vilnius. Their reports on the deaths of unarmed people at the Television Tower were disseminated widely in global media. More deaths would have further compromised the Soviet image in the global press, while Gorbachev was the winner of the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

The Lithuanian people and government felt morally stronger knowing that the world had heard, seen and read what had happened. Previously, fears abounded that Lithuanians might be isolated, but after 13 January it became clear that this would not be the case.

 

After January 1991, the world community began to realize that the affairs of Lithuania and the other Baltic States were no longer an internal issue of the Soviet Union.

 

Artūras Svarauskas, Adviser at the Office of the Visitor Centre, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6941, e-mail: [email protected]