A single word that sums up the drama of the Lithuanians deported during the Soviet Regime. The Holy Mass to remember people who did not survive. Kaunas, St. Michael the Archangel.
Recent Posts
- Lithuania, rally for Ukraine-Anniversary full scale Russian warBy Marina MacrìTwo years after the full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, Lithuania rallied to shout loud that support for the attacked country must not wane. But it must continue stronger than ever. WATCH THE VIDEO https://youtu.be/I_YwMpvHB4g?feature=shared Many events took place in all Lithuanian cities, not only on February 24, the day the attack was launched two years ago, but also throughout the entire week. HUGE RALLY IN VILNIUS The largest rally took place in the […]
- Lithuania, 20 years in NATO remembering the Summit in VilniusBy Marina MacrìIn 2024 Lithuania celebrates its 20th anniversary as a member of NATO. It was an important step for the country that regained its independence in 1990. It was not a given that Lithuania could be part of the Alliance but the strong determination of Lithuanians made it possible. WATCH THE VIDEO https://youtu.be/BtAD58-9ulQ?feature=shared Vilnius NATO Summit, July 2023 In July 2023 the last NATO summit took place in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. It was […]
- Žemaitis and Resistance, Vaitkevičius: everyone can defend their countryBy Marina MacrìJonas Žemaitis was a wise and authoritative commander who succeeded in uniting all those who were fighting against the Soviet occupation. Vykintas Vaitkevičius, archaeologist, historian and expert on Baltic culture, is convinced of this. He is a professor and researcher at the University of Klaipėda, the third largest city in Lithuania. We interviewed him as part of the Žemaitis Project, dedicated to the Lithuanian partisan resistance. WATCH THE VIDEO […]
- Kuzmickienė: Žemaitis and resistance in our heartsBy Marina Macrì“One of the most important things is that freedom is not a gift. For freedom you have to fight, defend yourself, sometimes even sacrifice the most important thing: life”. With these words Paulė Kuzmickienė, member of the Lithuanian Parliament, begins the interview we did with her for our project dedicated to the resistance of the Baltic country against the Soviet occupation, and to its commander Jonas Žemaitis, nom de guerre, Vytautas. WATCH THE VIDEO […]
- Žemaitis and the resistance, Vaišvilaitė: it was also a moral struggleBy Marina MacrìLithuania’s armed partisan resistance against the Soviet regime was not only a struggle against occupation and for independence. It was also a moral battle for a completely different worldview, based on national and religious values. A fight against injustice and for human rights. WATCH THE VIDEO https://youtu.be/20nWSnA0VDQ?feature=shared Interview with Irena Vaišvilaitė, Professor at the Faculty of History, Vilnius University This is a summary of […]
- Progetto Žemaitis. Journalist Leščiauskaitė: born in free LithuaniaBy Marina MacrìOur meeting with Fausta Marija Leščiauskaitė takes place in a hotel located in old town of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania: Stikliai hotel in the heart of the old city, where there was the Jewish quarter in the past. Fausta Marija is a young Lithuanian journalist born in 1993, three years later her country regained independence, reoccupied by the Soviets at the end of the Second World War. WATCH THE VIDEO https://youtu.be/xlLq1Wha_l8?feature=shared […]
The Lapteviečiai project – Voices from the Silence
You don’t get to choose the stories you tell. They choose you. They are there, in plain sight. Like Poe’s Purloined Letter, you don’t see them. Then, little by little, as an imperceptible destiny, your eyes meet them more and
Lithuania Today
We visited Lithuania for the first time in June 2005. The country had become a member of the EU just over a year before, together with the other two Baltic States: Latvia and Estonia. It is difficult to know exactly
About Lithuania
Lithuania is a small country and covers an area of 65.300 square kilometres. If we compare it to Italy, the whole Lithuanian territory is similar to Veneto, Lombardy and Piedmont, all together.
It has less than 3 million people. There are over 600.000 Lithuanians who live abroad. A fifth reside in the United Kingdom, 5.8% in the USA. The Lithuanian American Community is the biggest in the world: about 700.000 people reside there.
Most of Lithuania is flat, with many forests and lakes. The Curonian Spit (Neringa in Lithuanian) is the Western border of the country. It is an amazing peninsula that divides the Curonian Lagoon form the Baltic Sea. Neringa is a long and narrow strip of land, 98 kilometres, 52 of them in Lithuanian territory. The rest belongs to Russia. It is Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave that borders with Lithuania.
At three o’clock in the morning of June 14th 1941, on Moscow’s orders, deportation began simultaneously in the three Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The Chekists were mobilized in Belarus, Smolensk, Pskov… An unbroken chain of overcrowded trains, one after another, was heading East, carrying people, who for most part, would never return home.
Special thanks to Agnė Buckutė, responsible for the website ITLIETUVIAI.it, for helping us with this project.
Special thanks to Elena Refraschini, teacher and journalist, for helping us in English.