35 years ago in Vilnius, Soviet troops killed and crushed protesters with tanks. We remember how the Kremlin tried to forcefully return Lithuania to the USSR — in 15 archival photos (archive material)
- Authors:
- Serhii Pyvovarov, Yevhen Spirin
- Date:
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In March 1990, Lithuania was the first of the Soviet republics to declare independence and secede from the USSR. The Kremlin, of course, was against it. So at first they tried to crush Lithuania with economic sanctions. And when that didnʼt work, in January 1991 they sent troops to "restore constitutional order". They seized administrative buildings, communication hubs, and blocked transport links. The culmination was the storming of the television center in Vilnius on the night of January 13. It was defended by thousands of unarmed supporters of independence. The military pushed people back with armored vehicles. 14 civilians died in the clashes, hundreds were injured. Such actions were condemned not only abroad, but also in other Soviet republics, which one after another began to withdraw from the Soviet Union. Babel recalls the January 1991 events in Vilnius in 15 archival photos from that period.
On January 10, 1991, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev demanded that the Lithuanian leadership renounce independence and restore the Soviet Constitution. In the pic: A rally in support of Lithuanian independence outside the parliament in Vilnius, January 10, 1991.
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A few days before Gorbachevʼs ultimatum, paratroopers from the Pskov Division and fighters from the KGB special unit "Alpha" began to be transferred to Lithuania. In the pic: A Soviet soldier during the intervention in Lithuania in front of the police school building in Vilnius, January 1991.
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During January 11-12, the deployed troops, supported by armored vehicles and the Soviet garrison in Lithuania, began to seize strategic facilities in Vilnius and other cities. In the pic: The capture of the Printing House in Vilnius by Soviet troops, January 11, 1991.
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In response, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania Vytautas Landsbergis called on people to take to the streets to protect the parliament buildings, the television and radio center, the television tower and other facilities. Thousands of people from all over the country gathered to heed the call. In the pic: Lithuanians erect barricades …
The culmination was the events of the night of January 12-13, 1991, when Soviet soldiers stormed the television center and television tower in Vilnius, surrounded by several thousand people. In the pic: Demonstrators near the television center in Vilnius, the night of January 12-13, 1991.
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During the assault, Soviet soldiers pushed back the protesters with tanks and armored personnel carriers, and also used explosive packages and live ammunition. In the pic: An armored personnel carrier tries to break through the encirclement around the television center in Vilnius, the night of January 12-13, 1991.
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In the pic: A Soviet tank during the storming of the television center in Vilnius, the night of January 12-13, 1991.
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Fourteen civilians and one “Alpha” fighter were killed near the TV center, and several hundred were injured. In total, about a thousand people were injured in the January clashes in Vilnius, according to various sources. In the pic: Funeral of those killed during the storming of the TV center in Vilnius, January 16, 1991.
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In the pic: An offhanded memorial to the dead near the television center in Vilnius, January 18, 1991.
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Vytautas Landsbergis actually lived in the parliament building; during the storming of the television center on the night of January 13, he tried to call Gorbachev, but the Kremlin replied that he was asleep. In the pic: Vytautas Landsbergis in the Lithuanian parliament building, January 1991.
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After seizing the television center, protesters prepared for Soviet troops to storm the parliament. In the pic: Parliament defenders, armed with hunting rifles, play chess in the buildingʼs lobby, January 19, 1991.
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In the pic: Barricade in front of the Lithuanian Parliament building in Vilnius, January 20, 1991.
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After the seizure of the television center, one of the Swedish TV channels began to rebroadcast Lithuanian television programs, thanks to which the situation in Lithuania became known all over the world. Other correspondents also joined in covering the events in Vilnius. The Kremlinʼs actions were condemned not only in the West, but also in the Sov…
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In the end, the Kremlin did not dare to escalate further. The leaders of the USSR, led by Mikhail Gorbachev, did not take responsibility for the events of the night of January 12-13 and stated that they had not given any orders. In August, the USSR had to withdraw troops from Lithuania, and in early September, it had to recognize its independence. …
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In the pic: A Lithuanian girl sits on a statue of Lenin, which was recently dismantled in the center of Vilnius, September 1, 1991.
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