Soviet aggression: the events of January 1991 and their witnesses

On March 11, 1990, when Lithuania declared the restoration of its independent state, the Soviets did not hesitate - they resorted to demands and aggression. The army was also used for this. The will of the Lithuanian people was tried to be broken in various ways. On April 13, the leadership of the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum to Lithuania, demanding that it revoke the March 11 act within two days. When it did not comply, on April 18, the USSR began an economic blockade of Lithuania. The blockade lasted 75 days, until July 1, 1990.

Another wave of aggression began in early 1991. The pretext for it was the increase in food prices announced by the Lithuanian government.

On January 8, the pro-Soviet organization Jedinstvo gathered about 20,000 people near the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania. The crowd and disguised Soviet soldiers began to rush into the Supreme Council, but were stopped by the palace guards and the hastily assembled residents of Vilnius.

On January 10, the Soviet leadership demanded that the constitutions of the USSR and the LSSR be immediately restored in Lithuania, thus annulling the March 11 act.

On January 11, Soviet paratroopers, accompanied by tanks and armored vehicles, occupied the Lithuanian National Defense Department and the Press House. It was then that weapons were used against unarmed guards of the facilities for the first time.

The Lithuanian Reorganization Movement began organizing nonviolent resistance to the occupiers and called on people to gather and stand guard at the most important state facilities. Tens of thousands of people from all over Lithuania gathered in Vilnius, surrounding the buildings of the Supreme Council, the Radio and Television Center, and the television tower with a human ring.

On the night of January 13, Soviet military units used tanks to forcefully seize the Lithuanian Radio and Television and the television tower, which were guarded by unarmed people. That night, 14 defenders of the tower were killed or later died in hospital from their injuries, and more than 600 people were wounded or injured. The dead were shot, crushed by tanks, or injured by explosive charges.

On the same day, even more people from all over Lithuania arrived in Vilnius, determined to preserve the Independence of Lithuania. With thousands of people standing guard at the Supreme Council building, and volunteers prepared for defense inside, the USSR leadership did not dare to storm it. The unarmed resistance of the Lithuanian people, the indignation in the USSR itself and in the world forced the Soviet leadership to abandon the plan to destroy the Independence of Lithuania.

January 13 is celebrated in Lithuania as Defenders of Freedom Day. Monuments have been erected in memory of those who died, and streets have been named after them. The January 13 Memorial was unveiled near the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.

Documentary films telling the story of the events of January 13, 1990, presenting testimonies and memories of their participants:

• Let's Die, That We May Live (1991, directed by Vytenis Imbrasas) / https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000248406/zusim-kad-gyventume;
• Sunday Morning. January 13th in Kaunas (1991, screenplay by Vidas Mačiulis, dir. Bronius Talačka) / https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/58847/dokumentinis-filmas-sekmadienio-ryta-sausio-13-oji-kaune ;
• January 13th (1995, dir. Bronius Talačka) / https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/6020/dokumentinis-filmas-sausio-13-oji ;
• January 13th (2000, screenplay by Vytautas V. Landsbergis, directed by Ramunė Rakauskaitė, Donatas Ulvydas) / https://www.lrt.lt/mediateka/irasas/2000135094/dokumentinis-filmas-sausio-13-oji .