Exhibition ‘Basketball in the Soviet Gulags and in Exile’

Visitor Centre of the Seimas features an exhibition ‘Basketball in the Soviet Gulags and in Exile’

The exhibition ‘Basketball in the Soviet Gulags and in Exile’ to mark the Days of Mourning and Hope, Occupation and Genocide is open at the Seimas Visitor Centre (Gedimino Ave. 60) on 7–30 June 2022.

According to the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights as an organiser of the exhibition, the exhibition offers an opportunity to learn about Lithuanian basketball teams in the Soviet Gulags and places of deportation in the Russian Republics of Komi, Mordovia, Kazakhstan, Omsk and Irkutsk in the 1950s. Following the plot between the Soviet Union and Germany, a large number of sports-loving young basketball players found themselves in the Soviet Gulags. About 150 thousand people were deported to the forced labour camps between 1940 and 1941 and between 1945 and 1953. Another 132 thousand were exiled. Each day in exile was a desperate struggle for survival, where everyone was forced to fight for themselves; therefore, it was necessary to find something that would unite people and serve as a source of pride. Basketball served as a unifying factor. Exhausted by hard work, poor food rations and other types of deprivation, Lithuanian political prisoners and deportees persevered and managed to rise above their gloomy daily experiences. They gathered teams and crowds of fans. They were able to enjoy basketball themselves and share this joy with others.

The exhibition is open at the Visitor Centre of the Seimas on Mondays to Thursdays from 8:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m. and on Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 3.45 p.m. Entrance is free of charge.

Photos by the Office of the Seimas (Ž. Mačiukas)