Sovietinės Lietuvos paveikslas

In the central part of Klaipėda city.

Klaipėda is a region with a unique destiny. When the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1940, the city and region of Klaipėda already belonged to the German Reich. In January 1945, the Red Army occupied Klaipėda. According to the registration data of the military commandant's office, at that time there were 28 civilians left in the city. Thus began a new Soviet phase in Klaipėda. One repressive regime was replaced by another.

The goal of the creators of the exhibition "In the Footsteps of the Soviet Era" is to encourage reflection on the Soviet era and the changes that began in the late 1980s, to discuss the complex space of the Soviet era. The story is about the new residents, the construction of "socialist" Klaipėda, the aspirations of Soviet ideology and propaganda, and resistance to the suppression of national, civic, and religious consciousness. Separate stories and themes are developed: an exhibition of the interior of a Soviet-era intelligentsia's living room illustrates the everyday life of people of that time; an improvised "red corner" and Soviet-era slogans tell about the methods and banality of Soviet propaganda; a computer terminal presents the construction of the Klaipėda Mary Queen of Peace Church and its fate in 1957–1963, etc.

In the old town of Klaipėda.

After World War I, the Klaipėda Region (Memel Gebiet or Territoire de Memel) was separated from Germany according to the Versailles Peace Treaty, and in January 1920, the power in the region was taken over from the German representative by the French-appointed administrator, Brigadier General Dominique Odry, who settled in building No. 3 on Perkasų g. (present-day Sukilėlių g.). Thus, in 1920–1923, the prefecture became the headquarters of the French High Commissariat and the most important government institution in the Klaipėda Region. The XXI Infantry Rifle Battalion of the French Army was stationed in the city.

On January 10–15, 1923, a well-organized and successfully implemented military operation organized by the Lithuanian government, the army and the Riflemen's Union took place, for a long time called the "Klaipėda Region Uprising", after which the Klaipėda Region was annexed to Lithuania. During the military operation, the 2nd (Pagėgiai) combat group of the Special Purpose Unit, led by Mykolas Kalmantas-Bajoras, broke through to the prefecture building and occupied it. The prefect or chief commissioner Gabriel Petisne was forced to raise the white flag and surrender.

In cultural memory, the prefecture is associated with the victory of the "rebels", the final highlight of the annexation of Klaipėda, therefore, to commemorate the annexation of Klaipėda to Lithuania, theatrical reenactments of the storming of the prefecture are prepared, performed by war reenactors.

Klaipėda city's Royal Dane embankment, next to the Castle Bridge.

The ship belonging to the "Lindau" mine trawler class was built in 1956-1958. in West Germany. The purpose of these ships is to detect and destroy sea mines. Accordingly, the ship's hull was made of Brazilian oak, the decks were made of teak, and the devices were made of non-magnetic metal.

1958-1999 the ship belonged to the German Navy and was christened M1071 Koblenz. 1978-1979 from a minesweeper it was converted into a minesweeper (minehunter).

in 1999 the ship was handed over to the Naval Forces of the Lithuanian Army. The ships of these forces are traditionally named after the historical regions of Lithuania, so the new ship was christened with that name - M52 "Sūduvis". The ship served Lithuania for 22 years, participated in international and national exercises and operations.

in 2021 the ship completed its service in the Lithuanian Naval Forces and was handed over to the Lithuanian Maritime Museum. M52 "Sūduvis" was then adapted for museum and educational activities when it was opened to the public. A ship on display with authentic working equipment.

M52 "Sūduvio" displacement 463 t, engine power 4000 HP, speed 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h), crew of 42 people. Armament and equipment of the ship: 40 mm caliber cannon, acoustic system, minesweeper robot.

In Klaipėda city between K. Donelaičio, Liepų, Trilapio and S. Daukantas streets.

The Sculpture Park in Klaipėda is a multi-layered witness to the city's and the world's history. A cemetery, a park, a memorial, an art space - all this and more fits into this one space.

In 1944–1945, the Soviet occupiers reestablished themselves in Lithuania, and the city of Klaipėda was left without its old inhabitants. The once new, but now old city cemetery was abandoned, devastated and destroyed. Finally, it was abolished, and in 1977. the Sculpture Park was established in its place. Works of art began to be built. It is said that even during the years of Soviet censorship, “art strategies far removed from the canons of socialist realism were formed and implemented here: abstraction, surrealism, minimalism, localized art”.

Today, this park is called the Open-Air Gallery of Lithuanian Mature Modernist Sculpture. It exhibits 116 works created during the Soviet era (1977–1989). However, along with works of art and relics of old cemeteries, other layers and monuments also coexist here:

• A fortification device reminiscent of the Napoleonic Wars – a defensive chancel (1812);
• memorial to the 1923 Klaipėda Uprising (1925);
• memorial to the Soviet Union soldiers of World War II (1949–1980; part of the memorial was dismantled in 2022 after the start of the Russian war against Ukraine);
• a memorial stone for the old residents of the Klaipėda region – the Memelenders (1992).

Memorials also honor the French prisoners of war who died in the Franco-Prussian War, the soldiers of the German Empire in World War I, the soldiers of Independent Lithuania, and the Belgian, Polish, and French prisoners of war in World War II.

Since 2005, the Sculpture Park exposition has been maintained by the Museum of the History of Lithuania Minor.

In the central part of Klaipėda city.

After the Soviets occupied Klaipėda, repressive structures (NKVD, MGB, KGB) settled in the city buildings at S. Nėries St. 2 and 4. People were imprisoned, interrogated and tortured here. In 1945–1953, 8,268 people were imprisoned in the cells in the basements of the house at S. Nėries St. 4 (the so-called internal prison). The KGB used these buildings until the mid-1980s, when they moved to other premises.

In 1992, the Klaipėda Territorial Customs Office was located in the building at S. Nėries g. 4, and in 2014, an exhibition of resistance and exile was opened in its basement. In the museum, visitors can see two surviving authentic cells and a restored interrogator's office. The exhibition introduces the Soviet repressive structures, the partisan war in Western Lithuania, the stories of exile and political prisoners of the Klaipėda region. The unique (compared to other regions of Lithuania) history of the Klaipėda region determined that the history of resistance to the Soviets here also had its own nuances. The improvised interrogator's office aims to convey to visitors the feeling of the oppressive and frightening environment that a person who fell into the hands of repressive structures experienced.

Although it is a military facility, today the barracks are home to Klaipėda University, and the former barracks campus is full of signs testifying to their past.

The barracks were built in 1904–1907 after the Klaipėda magistrate concluded an agreement with the Prussian War Office. The built barracks complex (architect unknown) consisted of eight main (brick) buildings, of which six have survived to this day, and auxiliary wooden buildings. Two main buildings were intended for soldiers to live in. In front of the wing of each barracks residential building were brick toilets, a one-story building with a turret housed a kitchen, and canteens for non-commissioned officers and soldiers. Non-commissioned officers and lieutenants lived in the buildings located along the current Herkuus Manto Street. The eighth two-story building, located in the northwestern corner of the plot, housed stables and a warehouse. The architecture of the barracks reflects the combination of historicist and reformist searches that appeared in the architecture of Prussian government institutions at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries.

In 1907–1914, the 3rd Battalion of the 41st von Boyen Regiment was stationed in the barracks, which fought on the Eastern Front during World War I and in 1916 in the famous Battle of Verden. In 1919–1920, the volunteer battalion of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the Prussian Volunteer Corps, which was being formed, was stationed in the barracks, as well as one battalion each of the 223rd Regiment and the 103rd Regiment, which were transferred to Klaipėda. In 1920–1923, the barracks belonged to the 21st Infantry Rifle Battalion of the French Army, in 1923–1934, to the 7th Infantry Regiment of the Duke of Samogitia Butigeidis of the Lithuanian Army, and in 1934–1939, to the 6th Regiment of the Duke of Pilėnai Margis.

The barracks are now home to Klaipėda University. The former military campus can only be viewed from the outside.

Near Salantai, on the right side of the Salantai–Plungė road (KK169) (there are information signs).

This space was started more than 40 years ago by stone masters father and son Kazimieras and Vilius Orvidai (1905–1989; 1952–1992). During land reclamation, they brought stones of more interesting shapes and centuries-old trees from the surrounding area to their homestead and created monuments with religious themes from them. It is said that this museum was born out of grief over the nature being destroyed by Soviet land reclamation and the desire to breathe life into the condemned stones, to resurrect them for a second life. The works created by the Orvidai themselves and other artists that appeared on the Orvidai homestead did not comply with Soviet ideological and artistic canons: the works created from stone, wood, metal and old agricultural implements intertwined symbols of various religions (Catholic, pagan, Buddhist). The homestead was also a gathering place for people who did not fit into the Soviet reality of life, and it became a place of refuge and gathering for those who thought differently. The Soviet government had repeatedly planned to destroy this space, but it was nevertheless saved. The Orvidai homestead became extremely popular during the period of the Lithuanian Renaissance.

Visitors to the farmstead-museum are greeted by the IS-2 tank. This tank was developed by the Soviets during World War II as a response to the German Tiger I. The name of the tank series IS is an acronym for the Soviet tyrant Joseph Stalin. Previously, this tank stood in Salantai, was part of the memorial to the burial site of Soviet soldiers of World War II. In 1991, it was transported to the Orvidai farmstead and became its exhibit.

The exposition is arranged in the former ballistic missile launch complex of the Soviet Union, which is the only well-equipped facility of its kind in Europe. The Plokštines missile base was completed in 1962. on December 31. It was placed in the largest forest massif, east of Lake Plateļi. There were 4 SS-4 "Sandal" medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with 2-megaton thermonuclear warheads, aimed at Western European countries. 1978 after the base was discovered by US intelligence, it was closed with the removal of armaments. 2012 after reconstruction, an exhibition of relevant content was opened here.

in 1962 "Dvina", one of the first underground R-12 ballistic missile launch complex in the Soviet Union, started operating in the Ploštinė forests (Plungė district).

A military town has been established 0.5 km from the missile launch base. On the territory of 12 hectares, about 30 buildings of various purposes were built: residential houses (barracks), officers' headquarters, 2 canteens, a boiler room, a power plant, a medical station, a club, a pig farm, warehouses, garages and other buildings.

The platform's underground missile launch complex operated until 1978. June 18 The soldiers left the area, taking only their weapons with them. in 1979 the management of the former military complex was handed over to the Association of Republican Agricultural Recreational Institutions of the Plungė district, and the Platelia Pioneers' Rest Camp "Žuvėdra" was established in the military town. The area was remodeled and adapted to the needs of the camp, which operated until 1990. After Lithuania regained its independence, the Pioneer Camp was closed.

Since 1993 the facility is managed by the Žemaitija National Park Directorate. Many buildings of the military campus were demolished in 2017 due to their state of emergency. Currently, there are about 10 buildings left in the area, which can be viewed from the outside by visitors. There are information stands that tell about the former buildings and their purpose.

The museum is located in the city of Telšiai, on the north-western coast of Lake Mastis.

in 2024 In September, after the reconstruction, the newly opened Žemaitia Museum "Alka" presents the history and culture of the Žemaitija region - archaeological finds, rare and unexpected historical artifacts, ethnographic treasure, the legacy of interwar and emigrant artists, the exclusive heritage of Žemaitija estates: historical furniture, masterpieces of art.

Three exhibition spaces are particularly interesting from the perspective of military heritage:

1. The audio-visual installation "Epochų lůmis" which is complemented by a small exposition of artifacts from the Second World War. The exclusive exposition, divided into two parts, displays authentic items used by soldiers during the Nazi German and Soviet occupations - helmets, ammunition boxes, bayonets, and relevant video projections.

2. "Loss stories" in which the painful part of the nation's history is told through the stories and destinies of different individuals and families, determined by the brutal Soviet occupation regime's terror against the local population.

3. "Guerrilla War in Žemaitija" exposition is arranged in a stylized reproduction of the interior of a post-war partisan hideout. In the exhibition, you can familiarize yourself with the structure of the Lithuanian partisans, see authentic artifacts found at the site of the Battle of God's Seat Forest near Telšiai, as well as examples of weapons typical of that period, an excerpt from a documentary film dedicated to this battle, and various photos of partisans who operated in this region are shown.

Rainiai Passion Chapel is located in the village of Rainiai, 5 km from Telšiai, next to road 160 Telšiai-Varniai - Laukuva.

in 1941 June 25-26 One of the worst massacres in the history of the Soviet occupation of Lithuania took place in Rainiai forest. At night, 75 political prisoners of Telšiai prison were brutally tortured by the Red Army and the repressive institutions of the USSR. The victims buried in a common grave were found a few days later by a passer-by.

To honor the victims of the massacres, according to the idea of the architect Jonas Viraks in 1943. the construction of the Chapel began. The return of Soviet power in 1944 demolished it. Later in 1990, after the regaining of Lithuania's independence, the architect A. Žebrauskas, according to the same author's drawings, began to build another chapel. The chapel was consecrated in 1991. June 23 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Rainai massacre.

The Rainiai Suffering Chapel is dedicated not only to the memory of the Rainiai martyrs, but also perpetuates the memory of all victims of Soviet terror. A stone cross carved by the sculptor R. Midvikis was erected in the forest near the chapel, where political prisoners were tortured. 3 more wooden crosses painted in the colors of the national flag stand on the way. They were built by the local people shortly after the massacre, but the thugs drowned them in the Viešvėnai pond. Only recently, after the pond was drained, the crosses were found, painted and restored.

Sukilėių kalnelis is a sand hill in the western part of the city of Šiauliai, whose history was affected by both world wars.
The place became infamous in the 19th century. p. II: 1863-1864 were buried in the mound. participants of the uprising against the oppression of the Tsarist Russian Empire, sentenced to death. Horrible legends began to spread about the place, it was abandoned and rarely visited, eventually being called Rebel Hill. During World War I, soldiers of the German Empire were buried there.
in 1926 maintenance of the hill has begun. City engineer Karolis Reison volunteered to prepare a project for a monument-obelisk dedicated to the rebels. in 1928 The 10th anniversary of Lithuania's independence was celebrated on the rebels' hill, the Independence Garden was opened, but the construction of the monument itself was completed only in 1935. The erected monument - a 14 m high pink granite obelisk - was unveiled and consecrated, and the remains of the rebels found here were reburied.
During World War II, people were buried in the hill between 1941 and 1944. dead soldiers of the German Reich.
During the Soviet occupation, the tombstones were dismantled, and in 1955-1957 The monument-obelisk of the rebel hill has been reconstructed - all national and religious symbols have been removed. In 1988, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the uprising, the authentic image of the monument was restored.

Venclauskių House-Museum is an exclusive residential house of interwar historicist architecture located in the city of Šiauliai. The building, nicknamed the White House, was built in 1926. in the former Šiauliai suburb lands for the family of Kazimieros and Stanislavas Venclauskiu. Kazimieras and Stanislava Venclauskiai - actors of the Lithuanian national movement and the restoration of the Lithuanian state, also famous as guardians of many strays and orphans.
During World War II, Stanislava Venclauskienė and her daughters Danuta and Gražbyle became famous as saviors of Jews. Despite the fact that the German commandant's office was located in their house during the war, they helped the Jews imprisoned in the Šiauliai ghetto and hid them at home. Danutė Venclauskaitė had permission to enter the Šiauliai ghetto, visiting there secretly bringing food and medicine. All three women have received the title of Righteous Among the Nations and have been awarded the Cross for the Rescue of the Perishing.
in 1991 Gražbylė and Danutė Venclauskaitė donated the family home to the "Aušros" museum in Šiauliai. In the building in 2019 after the reconstruction, the Venclauskių House-Museum was established. The permanent exposition of the museum tells the story of the Venclauski family, and the rooms in the basement are devoted to the themes of the Holocaust and the rescue of Jews.

On October 22, 2021, the Righteous Among the Nations Square was opened in Šiauliai, at the intersection of Ežeros and Vilniaus Streets. This is the first monument to the Righteous Among the Nations in Lithuania. The author of the monument is designer Adas Toleikis, originally from Šiauliai, and the initiator is the chairman of the Šiauliai County Jewish Community, Sania Kerbelis.
The created monument “Union” features the names of the Righteous Among the Nations of the Šiauliai County, immortalizing 148 rescuers of Jews, and artistic accents mark the locations of the gates of the Šiauliai ghettos. Two ghettos were established in the city of Šiauliai: in the so-called Kaukaza quarter and in the Ežero–Trakų g. quarter. Physically strong and fit persons were sent to the first ghetto, and specialists (doctors, mechanics, and others) to the second. The ghetto in Šiauliai was established in the summer of 1941 by order of the military commandant of the city of Šiauliai, and was liquidated in 1944, when Nazi Germany retreated and the remaining Jews were transported to the Stutthof and Dachau concentration camps. More than 5,950 Jews were imprisoned in the ghettos. During the interwar period, about 6,500–8,000 Jews lived in Šiauliai, some of whom voluntarily fled to the depths of Russia, and after the Holocaust, only about 350–500 residents of Jewish origin remained.

A restored deportation train carriage is located near the Radviliškis train station, reminding us of the tragic page of history when the occupying Soviet authorities massively deported the inhabitants of the Republic of Lithuania to remote areas of the Soviet Union in 1941-1952. More than 3,000 residents were deported from the city of Radviliškis alone.
In total, about 135,500 people were deported from Lithuania between 1941 and 1952. On June 14, 1941, the first day of mass deportations in Lithuania, residents of the city of Radviliškis and its surroundings began to be “placed” in the wagons of deportation trains.
In 2012, the wagon was transferred to the Radviliškis District Municipality free of charge by the Vytautas Magnus Jaegers Battalion of the Special Operations Forces of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, through the mediation of the Lithuanian Genocide and Resistance Research Center. The authentic deportation wagon was brought back from Kaunas, carefully restored by railway workers, and now houses a small exhibition.

In the central part of Panevėžys city.

The exhibition is located in an authentic location – the headquarters of the Panevėžys group of the Lithuanian Reform Movement. Panevėžys members of the Movement have been working here since October 1988.

In 2004, an exhibition dedicated to the resistance to the Soviet occupation and the Lithuanian Movement was opened in the building. The exhibition reveals the scale and forms of the nation's resistance from June 15, 1940 to March 11, 1990, introduces the most important stages and events of the anti-Soviet movement, and the repressions carried out by the Soviets.

In the central part of Panevėžys city.

At the end of the 19th century, the houses built by the famous Panevėžys citizens Moigai were expropriated by the Soviets. In 1940–1941, they housed the headquarters of a Soviet army unit, the NKGB Panevėžys district interrogation department, and the militia. One night in June 1941, the Soviet occupiers tortured three doctors from the Panevėžys hospital and four other people in the basement of this house. In 1944–1953, the NKVD–MVD–MGB Panevėžys district (since 1950, the district) department was located here. Now it is the premises of the Panevėžys Museum of Local Lore.

The exhibition "In the Grip of Occupations" reviews the Nazi and Soviet occupations. It introduces the topics of Jewish and Roma genocide, deportations, and partisan warfare. The section of the exhibition dedicated to 1953–1990 presents the everyday life of life in the "Khrushchevka", Soviet efforts to create a Soviet society and people's resistance to this oppression, and underground activities. You can hear a recording of a radio broadcast secretly listened to from abroad with Soviet interference.

The exhibition "Red Terror" is dedicated to the memory of the victims murdered in the basement of this house and shot near the Panevėžys sugar factory, and to the history of the crimes of the Soviet occupiers. The hopes of free people and their crushing after the Soviets came are allegorically expressed through spaces - the interior of the apartment of the tortured compassionate sister Zinaida Kanis-Kanevičienė from the times of Independent Lithuania and a replica of the NKVD interrogator's office.

10 km from Panevėžys, on the left side of the Panevėžys–Pasvalys road (A10; part of the Via Baltica road E67) (there is an information road sign).

The museum, founded in 2016 on the initiative of aviator and aviation enthusiast Virmantas Puidokas, operates on the territory of the Īstro airfield. The origins of the airfield date back to 1984. At that time, planes used to spread fertilizers or other chemicals on the fields. The museum has outdoor and indoor expositions. The outdoor exposition showcases Soviet-made Su-15, MiG-21, MiG-23 fighter jets, Mi-2, Mi-8 helicopters, and the Czechoslovakian-made L-29 military transport aircraft (all of which were launched in the 1950s and 1960s). The indoor expositions introduce the history of world and Lithuanian aviation, as well as military aviation equipment, tools and paraphernalia from the First, Second World Wars and the Cold War. The equipment of military pilots from various countries, rescue, communications, sound recording and other equipment, and a collection of daggers from the parade uniforms of military air force officers are exhibited.

Near Paliūniškis, on the left side of the Paliūniškis–Vabalninkas road (KK191) (there is a signpost), accessible via a forest path.

The Green Forest has been marked by the participants of the 1863–1864 uprising, the murderers of Jews in 1941, and Soviet and Lithuanian partisans. It was also used by the Soviet military. The forest was used as a training ground for the Soviet Air Force for bombing and shooting exercises. Local residents nicknamed this place the "bombardyne"; the holes made by the bombs have survived. A Soviet military base still stands in the forest. Little is known about its purpose and history. It was probably built in 1961–1977. It is said that it was a reserve military communications base. Although the media likes to call it the reserve headquarters of the Baltic Military District. A reinforced concrete slab fence, a bunker, and the remains of auxiliary buildings have survived.

In 2019, an amusement park, the Bunkeris Ideas Park, was established here. The former bunker introduces visitors to Cold War-era military and civil defense equipment, and features a horror room, which also features military and Soviet-themed decorations. The bunker is surrounded by a metal sculpture park.

Until 1890 The Russian Empire had built a system of fortifications around the perimeter of the city of Kaunas. It included 8 forts and 9 artillery batteries. The construction of IX Fort started in 1902, but was completed shortly before the First World War. During the time of the Lithuanian state, 1924 the fort became a branch of Kaunas prison. During the USSR, the NKVD prison was located here, as a transfer point to the GULAG camps. During the German occupation - the Holocaust, it was a place of execution. Today, a history museum has been established here.

In Kaunas city, near the Raudondvaris highway (there is a directional road sign).

The "KGB Spy Museum" part of the museum exhibits surveillance, secret communication and other equipment used in security structures and secret services. As they say, here you can see the largest collection of secret photo equipment in Europe, starting with cameras installed in a tie, jacket button or cigarette pack. The "Atomic Bunker" also presents the workplaces of the duty interrogator and the KGB chief, the KGB photo laboratory, the Central Committee Politburo dentist's office. Visitors are surrounded by unique authentic items: the telephone used by Marshal Zhukov, a one-of-a-kind radio receiver specially made for Stalin, etc.

The museum also introduces military and civilian means of protection. The largest collection of gas masks and closed-circuit breathing apparatus in the Baltic States, and perhaps in Europe, is presented. You can see children's gas masks, gas masks for horses, and Lithuanian gas masks, which were started to be produced in 1935.

The museum presents not only the Cold War, but also the techniques and tools of both world wars and other eras.

The museum was established in 2014 in a former civil defense shelter, 6–7 meters underground. The shelter, built during the Soviet era, belonged to the Kaunas “Aidas” factory. The founder of the museum is Julius Urbaitis.

In the city of Vilnius, near the Second Chamber of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania

in 1991 In January, due to the efforts of Lithuanian people who sought freedom and defended it, the Lithuanian Parliament House was surrounded by barricades. The barricades were an attempt to protect themselves from the military aggression of the Soviet Union at that time - Soviet attempts to carry out a coup d'état in Lithuania and restore Soviet power. It surrounded the parliament until 1992. the end in 1993 near the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, a kind of memorial was created from some barricades and other relics - a monument dedicated to the sacrifice of the people of Lithuania.

January 13 - the most tragic day of 1991. the event of January, when the Soviet army and special units occupied the Lithuanian Radio and Television building and the Television Tower, 14 defenders of freedom were killed and about 600 people were injured - the Memorial Day of the Defenders of Freedom was declared. As the tenth anniversary of the Freedom Defenders Day approaches, it was decided to protect the aforementioned composition by installing the January 13 memorial. The memorial was unveiled in 2008.

The memorial preserves the authentic 1991 a fragment of the parliament barricades, a chapel with St. with the image of the Virgin Mary, exhibited during the 1991 objects brought by people after the events of January, the events of the defense of Lithuania's independence are introduced. It is said that this is perhaps the only monument of this type in the world, which gives meaning to the defense of the independence of the parliament and the state.