On March 11, 1990, Lithuania declared the restoration of independence. However, it took more than three years for freedom to be established not only legally but also in fact – the last units of the Russian army withdrew from Lithuanian territory.
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After restoring independence, one of the first tasks for Lithuania was the withdrawal of the occupying army. At that time, about five occupying army divisions were deployed on Lithuanian territory – about 34.6 thousand soldiers, 1000 tanks, about 180 aircraft, and 1901 armored vehicles. Negotiations initiated by Lithuania with the Soviet authorities did not receive a benevolent response.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Soviet army stationed in Lithuania being taken over by Russia, negotiations were resumed. The process was not smooth. The Russian side repeatedly tried to negotiate concessions unacceptable to Lithuania and announced the suspension of the army withdrawal. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania maintained a firm position. After Lithuania banned the induction of new recruits into Russian military units, they were transported illegally – both by rail and air. The Russian army systematically violated Lithuanian laws. To prevent the replenishment of military forces with new recruits, the Lithuanian army and volunteers had to block Russian army units.
Nevertheless, the Lithuanian Government managed to resolve all the difficulties that arose during the withdrawal through negotiations and by using various political channels. Finally, on August 31, 1993, as planned in the approved withdrawal schedule, the withdrawal of the Russian army from Lithuanian territory was completed.
However, this path to freedom was not just a technical process of army withdrawal. Lithuania repeatedly faced attempts to negotiate its freedom, impose conditions, or impose a foreign understanding of what an independent state should be. Lithuania refused compromises because freedom dependent on another state’s will is not true freedom.
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Today, we see similar attempts to restrict a nation’s right to decide its own future in Ukraine. Therefore, the slogan “Towards Unconditional Freedom” is chosen consciously. Freedom is not a subject of negotiation or a privilege granted by someone. It is a right that cannot be partial, temporary, or imposed under foreign conditions.
The installation “Towards Unconditional Freedom” consists of four screens. Three of them constantly display archival photos and texts about Freedom Day, and the fourth shows Freedom Day posters created by people.
Visitors are invited all day to create their own poster and write what freedom means to them. The created posters will be displayed on the installation screen. This continues the social media campaign “We fought with posters, we celebrate with posters” for the third year.
On social media, people are also invited to share photos capturing what freedom means to them using the hashtag #LaisvesDiena.
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