„I was driven to the hotel by a friend’s wife. The navigation showed that we would be three minutes late for the competition, but we made it on time,“ he recalls. Not only did he make it, but he was very close to becoming the winner.
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Stories from practical shooting competitions are not uncommon in the life of 61-year-old Ramūnas; he is the IPSC European vice-champion.
This sport did not enter the former officer’s life after retirement when he needed to find a new hobby. On the contrary – the weapon has accompanied him since Lithuania regained independence.
Sport led to service
Ramūnas was born and raised in Kaunas, where he finished school. Sport was important to him from childhood, so he enrolled in the then Institute of Physical Culture, choosing the specialty of physical education teacher. One of the sports that interested him the most – karate – was banned in Lithuania at that time.
„I started practicing karate in the eighth grade. After a few years, this sport was banned in Lithuania. Why the Soviet authorities decided that martial arts were not allowed is hard to say. Maybe they thought it was dangerous to society,“ the athlete said.
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During his studies, he also had to perform military service in the Soviet army, and later his professional career began. This period coincided with the years before Lithuania restored independence, and later – with the events of 1991 itself. Thus, life circumstances, sport, and Lithuania’s historical transformation unexpectedly merged into one path – the one that led R. Sventickas to the protection of the Supreme Council.
„Since I did a lot of sports, the coach suggested: maybe you want to go protect the government? Then I thought: why protect the government, and from whom?“ – the interlocutor recalls today.
However, the bloody events at the beginning of 1991 changed his perspective. It was precisely that year that Ramūnas began working in the Supreme Council’s security department. Later, this structure was reorganized into the Leadership Protection Department, and today it is known as the Leadership Protection Service. He spent 25 years there.
Protected V. Landsbergis
At the beginning of 1991, R. Sventickas, who came to the Supreme Council’s security, entered a completely different environment.
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