Reflections, 10 Years of Lithuania's Changes

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Permalink Reply by Julia Feofanova on January 13, 2010 at 3:41pm

Оh! I remember these events very well. My parents and I watched TVreports about the assault of Vilnius TV-tower with sinking heart, shame and burning indignation! We all were terror-stricken! And believe me, many Russians were against this crying act of force. Everybody realized that this was a death agony of the old addle soviet regime and its last attempts to keep the unity of "soviet republics". Not long ago I heard Gorbachev's interview where he considered bloodshed in Vilnius to be his most serious error and regretted for it. I think the drastic changes took place everywhere on ex-soviet space. This is regular process as states become independent, bound gets open for foreign influence, people start travelling.....I am happy while visiting Lithuania I did not notice any shadow of ill-will from the side of Lithuanians towards me, Russian-speaking person, despite everything.....and a long cruel occupation as well.

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Permalink Reply by Marina on January 15, 2010 at 5:59am

Thank you for sharing your heart-felt memories Julia!

Julia Feofanova said:

Оh! I remember these events very well. My parents and I watched TVreports about the assault of Vilnius TV-tower with sinking heart, shame and burning indignation! We all were terror-stricken! And believe me, many Russians were against this crying act of force. Everybody realized that this was a death agony of the old addle soviet regime and its last attempts to keep the unity of "soviet republics". Not long ago I heard Gorbachev's interview where he considered bloodshed in Vilnius to be his most serious error and regretted for it. I think the drastic changes took place everywhere on ex-soviet space. This is regular process as states become independent, bound gets open for foreign influence, people start travelling.....I am happy while visiting Lithuania I did not notice any shadow of ill-will from the side of Lithuanians towards me, Russian-speaking person, despite everything.....and a long cruel occupation as well.

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Permalink Reply by Marina on January 15, 2010 at 6:14am

A friend of mine from Vilnius told me a little bit about that day... she was 10 years old and saw the tanks rolling into town, rattling windows as they rumbled past. Fear was tangibly thick that day but the courage of what was happening was even stronger! The events of those days brought on an upstoppable force: Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians holding hands in the largest human chain; Lithuanian songs and symbols of its past independence; and in East Germany the unforgettable scenes of Berlin Wall being torn down brick by brick...

Then of course the years that followed brought amazing changes and prosperity. I hope Lithuanians will not stay discouraged by the recent economic problems and loss of electric power... I was there in 1999 when the hotels and roads were still the old style, then when I returned several times in the 2000s each year I would see huge changes bringing renewal in every cobblestone-- transformation of Vilnius into a hot European travel destination.

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Permalink Reply by Maryte Gureckas on March 4, 2010 at 1:10pm

My second cousin, once removed, was one of the students killed - Vidas Maciulevičius. I remember watching it on the news and being upset, but it was harder when I actually visited the place and the reality of it hit harder.

Lietuva did see much change in terms of the re-building of infrastructure, economic growth (maybe too fast, too soon). Like you, each time I visited there seemed to be more malls, better hotels, great roads and many Western-type conveniences. Lots of American pop music playing in restaurants, elevators and radio stations. What I did not see was a re-building of the social services to everyday people: improved medical services, women's shelters, educational services. This growth has not been as rapid as, well, the shopping malls. Villages are still poor, but they manage to put in modern day Iki and Maxima stores in these villages.

I do not want to sound negative because I love Lietuva very much. But after living there for a while, it would be very hard for a Westerner to adjust in the long-term. One must still bribe hospitial staff for services, one must still bribe public service personnel (depending on who they are and how does one know?) to get things done. The old Soviet ways are bred in the bone and it will take a long time for that to diminish. Maybe when all the young people who left for greener pastures and work in other parts of Europe return to Lietuva, they will set the new acceptable standards of living.

Now with this devastating economic downturn, the nouveau riche of Lietuva are scrambling and the over-inflated house boom is leaving a lot of unfinished housing projects around.

Things have changed. Many good, many that will be permanent and positive, but there is much to do for the poor, for the villages, for those without jobs or on meager retirement income.

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Permalink Reply by Marina on March 5, 2010 at 10:00pm

Thanks Maryte, for sharing memories and discussion on the situation.

Maryte Gureckas said:

My second cousin, once removed, was one of the students killed - Vidas Maciulevičius. I remember watching it on the news and being upset, but it was harder when I actually visited the place and the reality of it hit harder.

Lietuva did see much change in terms of the re-building of infrastructure, economic growth (maybe too fast, too soon). Like you, each time I visited there seemed to be more malls, better hotels, great roads and many Western-type conveniences. Lots of American pop music playing in restaurants, elevators and radio stations. What I did not see was a re-building of the social services to everyday people: improved medical services, women's shelters, educational services. This growth has not been as rapid as, well, the shopping malls. Villages are still poor, but they manage to put in modern day Iki and Maxima stores in these villages.

I do not want to sound negative because I love Lietuva very much. But after living there for a while, it would be very hard for a Westerner to adjust in the long-term. One must still bribe hospitial staff for services, one must still bribe public service personnel (depending on who they are and how does one know?) to get things done. The old Soviet ways are bred in the bone and it will take a long time for that to diminish. Maybe when all the young people who left for greener pastures and work in other parts of Europe return to Lietuva, they will set the new acceptable standards of living.

Now with this devastating economic downturn, the nouveau riche of Lietuva are scrambling and the over-inflated house boom is leaving a lot of unfinished housing projects around.

Things have changed. Many good, many that will be permanent and positive, but there is much to do for the poor, for the villages, for those without jobs or on meager retirement income.

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