Today is a day of remembrance for all Lithuanians. Lithuania had already declared independence, but the horror of encroaching Soviet troops did not end on March 11, 1990. On the night of January 13, 1991, tens of thousands of Lithuanians flooded the streets of Vilnius to peacefully defend the TV tower and Parliament (Seimas) buildings through the entire freezing night. Soviet troops mercilessly surged forward with tanks, crushing fourteen innocent Lithuanians. This is a memory never to be erased from the nation’s memory.
This year, the 32nd commemoration of this event will take place in Vilnius and elsewhere, as well as in the diaspora. They began earlier in the week, with January 13th Freedom Fighters being honoured at the parliament buildings on January 12. Visitors were invited to a reception that same evening, and commemorative bonfires were set ablaze in Independence Square, by the TV tower and at the National Radio and Television building. On Friday, the 13th, Lithuanians throughout the country light candles in their windows to remember the fallen. Flowers were placed at the monument to March 11 in Independence Square. The commemoration and Freedom awards ceremony was held at 10 a.m., with a virtual address from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, winner of the 2022 Freedom Award. Open-door sessions, concerts and activities for visitors took place throughout the day.
A special exhibtion of books and witness statements, as well as children’s drawings and personal artifacts of the deceased January 13th freedom fighters is being displayed at the Seimas library from January 10 to 23.
On January 15, the premiere of the oratorio “13” will be staged at the old Vilnius Theatre, performed by the choirs “Lietuva”and “Vilnius, with the Vilnius University Chamber Orchestra and various well-known peformers. On January 12th, the premiere of the choral composition “The Baltic Mass” was held at Vilnius University, created by three Baltic composers and sung by professional choirs from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
These were the unarmed civilians who gave their lives for Lithuania’s independence:
