Lithuania: 25 years of restored independence

Today Lithuania is celebrating the 25-year anniversary of restoration of independence, with concerts, solemn ceremonies and exhibitions planned across the country for the occasion

The historic separation from the Soviet Union will be marked at a solemn meeting at the parliament, followed by a ceremony of hoisting flags of the three Baltic states outside the parliament building and a parade to the Cathedral Square.

The Vilnius Town Hall will host a round-table discussion about lessons of history and today’s challenges. It will be attended by politicians from the Baltic and Nordic states, Poland, Ukraine and the United States.

In the afternoon, another rally will take place in the Lithuanian capital, which has drawn controversial reactions due to its nationalist slogans in earlier years.

Lithuania’s second-largest city Kaunas will hold its traditional solemn meeting in the garden of the Vytautas the Great War Museum at noon. Residents of the port city of Klaipeda are invited to decorate the Columns of Gediminas with friendship bracelets made by school students.

Headed by Vytautas Landsbergis, Lithuania’s Supreme Council adopted the Act of Restoration of Independence on the evening of March 11, 1990, thus making Lithuania the first Soviet country to separate from Moscow.

The country drew international recognition a year later. Iceland was the first country to recognize Lithuania’s independence, and its president is currently on a visit in Vilnius.