13 January 1991: posters recalling the fight for freedom

In the face of the imminent threat at the beginning of January 1991, unarmed people began gathering at the building of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. In the early morning of 13 January, the defenders of the Parliament started constructing the barricades. This protective wall rising as high as a few metres, was made up of reinforcing bars, wire, and reinforced concrete blocks. Armed with flags and banners, slogans and songs, people were on watch at the Parliament buildings round the clock.

The barricades constructed after 13 January became a place for hanging and attaching posters, cartoons, and proclamations. In the long run, they grew in number and diversity, interestingly, several dozen meter long banners of religious content would hang side by side with home-made patriotic placards. People would use plywood, cardboard sheets, drawing paper or simply concrete block to express the emotions that overwhelmed them. It was here that one could read lines of sincere poetry of the self-taught, see the sarcastic collage of cartoons depicting political and military leaders of the USSR, or be reminded of the dates when Lithuania was occupied and regained its independence. The majority of the drawings expressed people’s support for the Supreme Council and the independence of the state of Lithuania. 

Such posters were a way for the people to express the accumulated emotions. They inspired the defenders of the Seimas and the people who had gathered in support of them. Quite often they were in the focus of camera operators and photographers of Lithuanian and foreign media. The television coverage and photos accurately conveyed the emotions in Lithuania to the global community without the need for translation into foreign languages.

It was a form of protest of the people of Lithuania against the actions of Soviet politicians and military organisations. The free word, press, and posters became a peaceful response to aggression. For some time, the barricades outside and around the building of the Supreme Council were a testimony to the events of the recent past and the aspirations, hopes and emotions of the people.

The National Museum of Lithuania has kindly agreed to share sixteen of the many digital images of posters drawn, glued, and cut by Lithuanian people in 1991 with the Seimas. It is an authentic and emotional visual source, reminding us of the events that took place thirty years ago.