R. Šalna was born on August 27, 1948, in Ukmergė. In 1976, he graduated from the then Vilnius Pedagogical Institute and obtained a history teacher’s qualification. He began his professional career working as a teacher in Vilnius schools, later taught at the Vilnius School of Culture, worked as a methodologist at the Teachers’ Training Institute, and as a senior inspector at the Ministry of Education. He also actively collaborated with the press, writing on pedagogical and cultural topics.
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R. Šalna dedicated the largest part of his life and professional activity to the research of the personality, work, and historical memory of the poet Adomas Mickevičius. For as many as three decades – from 1990 to 2020 – he headed the Adomas Mickevičius Museum of Vilnius University Library on Bernardinų Street in Vilnius.
During his leadership, the long-neglected museum spaces were restored and renovated, new exhibitions were installed, Gothic cellars were opened to visitors, and the Philomath Hall was established. The museum became not only a cultural heritage object but also a vibrant center for intellectual meetings, hosting discussions, book presentations, cultural events, and gatherings of various organizations.
In 2009, at R. Šalna’s initiative, the activity of “Literary Wednesdays,” reminiscent of interwar Vilnius traditions, was revived. These meetings brought together lovers of literature, history, and culture for discussions about Vilnius’s heritage, the activities of prominent personalities, and the city’s cultural memory. R. Šalna actively collaborated with the Polish Institute and the Polish Embassy in Lithuania, contributing to the strengthening of Lithuanian and Polish cultural ties.
He was also an active member of the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union – for many years he served on the LŽS council and the board of the Vilnius branch, actively participating in public activities.
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During his creative and scientific activity, R. Šalna wrote more than a hundred articles about Adomas Mickevičius, Juliusz Słowacki, the activities of the Philomath and Philaret societies, and the cultural history of the 19th century. His works were published in the Lithuanian and Polish press.
R. Šalna has published the books “Adomo Mickevičiaus bičiuliai Vilniuje” (2001), “Vilnietiški apmąstymai” (2002), “Adomas Mickevičius Vilniuje” (2003), “Baltos gulbės nemiršta” (2004), “Legendos ir tikrovė” (2005). In collaboration with the poet Wojciech Piotrowicz, he prepared and published books in Lithuanian and Polish: “Adomas Mickevičius Vilniuje” (2007), “Adomas Mickevičius tremtyje” (2008), and “Adomas Mickevičius ir moterys” (2010).
In 2013, his co-edited book “Skirtingose barikadų pusėse” was published, which examines the political and cultural ideas of the mid-19th century, the activities of the Philomaths and Philarets, and analyzes the approach of democratic movements of different nations to the concept of freedom.
For his long-standing work in preserving historical memory and strengthening Lithuanian and Polish cultural ties, R. Šalna was repeatedly awarded. He received the Polish Gold Cross Medal (1999), the Medal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland (2002), the medal “For Merits to Vilnius and the Nation” (2013), the Knight’s Cross of the Order “For Merits to the Republic of Poland” (2016), and the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union medal “For Merits in Journalism” (2018).
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