BNN ANALYSES | Some Lithuanian municipalities hesitate to remove Soviet heritage after minister’s backing

Linas Jegelevicius for the BNN
Even with the green-light from the Lithuanian Culture Minister, Simonas Kairys, to remove Soviet memorials at cemeteries and elsewhere, some Lithuanian municipalities just do not rush to demolish them – in a respectful manner, understandably.
The minister’s order gives leeway for the country’s municipalities to decide themselves on the fate of the Soviet memorials at their cemeteries, still relatively abundant.
Kaunas, Lithuania’s second-largest city, and, ethnically, predominantly Lithuanian, was the first to swiftly move forward with the decision to remove the Soviet monuments in the city and rename some of the streets and schools.
A monument to Soviet soldiers was taken down at a military cemetery in the city, the latest in the series of Soviet memorial take-downs prompted by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
Saulius Rimas, head of the cultural heritage division at Kaunas Municipality, says that the sculpture of the soldier had been temporarily moved from Aukštieji Šančiai Cemetery to storage with a municipal waste management company.
«We think that it could be exhibited in Grūtas Park in the future,» he said, referring to a privately-owned museum of Soviet-era sculptures near Druskininkai in southern Lithuania.
Meanwhile, at least in the beginning, Vilnius seemed reticent to follow into footsteps of Kaunas and was excusing itself it wants to avoid making hasty decisions, so it ‘will be consulting’ specialists, asking them to weigh in on the cultural significance of some of the Soviet-era relicts.
A representative of the Vilnius municipality, Paulius Vaitekėnas, told Lithuanian media that he is constantly receiving new proposals for changing the names of streets named after some prominent Soviet dignitary. When asked whether the names of Alexander Pushkin Gymnasium and Salomėja Nėris Gymnasium and other streets in the capital are not being considered, he replied that he did not want to make hasty decisions.
«Specialists, first of all historians, please evaluate the contexts, the origin of the names. Having gathered all arguments, we will also announce decisions,» he said.
Yet Vilnius authorities insist they aim to remove the sculptures of Soviet soldiers at Antakalnis cemetery and have already asked the Department of Cultural Heritage for permission.
«We looked at what we had and found the only Soviet eyesore – six granite sculptures, one of them with a rifle – standing in the Soviet graves’ section of the cemetery,» Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimasius wrote on Facebook on Thursday, May 12.
According to him, this sculpture ensemble is protected as cultural heritage in Lithuania, along with the adjacent graves of Soviet soldiers.
«Of course, we will not touch the gravestones, but I will initiate the removal of the sculpture ensemble, as no one is buried under them, and the Soviet habit of turning cemeteries into memorials for ideological idols is repulsive,» the Vilnius mayor said.
Vilnius municipality has already contacted the Department of Cultural Heritage. If permission is granted to remove the ensemble, the six sculptures will be transferred to Grūtas Park.
Šimašius previously stated on Facebook that «after this rampage of orcs in Ukraine, we will definitely give up a lot of Soviet heritage in Lithuania. We removed the sculptures on the Green Bridge and that of Petras Cvirka. I hope that the other» heritage «created by the Soviets and cherished by Russia will go soon to the rubbish bin, too» the mayor wrote.
The Šiauliai city government is apparently also still waiting for more instructions from the central government as to how to proceed with the ministerial order. The city’s effort can stall, some say, following a nasty incident at a Soviet monument.
In early April, an incident was recorded in Bubiai in the district – a monument dedicated to the memory of Soviet soldiers killed during World War II was destroyed and painted in blue and yellow.
There were more incidents of the kind.
Also in early April, a journalist in Ukmergė, a town in proximity of Vilnius, noticed that a Ukrainian flag was painted with red paint. There is still a Soviet monument, «Flag Carriers», in the town commemorating the 60th anniversary of the USSR in 1982.
Reportedly, in 2015, the-then members of the Ukmergė branch of the Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees asked to relocate of the monument to Grūtas Park, but Rolandas Janickas, the-then mayor of Ukmergė district, reminded that the «Flag Carriers» had already been relocated and said that the monument should continue to stand.
The Ukmergė authority has seemingly not announced yet its decision on the monument now.
The mayor of Tauragė district, Dovydas Kaminskas, resorted to social media to break news about the demolition of a monument to Soviet soldiers in the town.
«This is the last day for this monument to the occupiers. Instead, we plan to commemorate the 1422 Black Peace Agreement, which turns 600 this year on September 27,» the mayor of Tauragė district wrote.
Palanga, a Lithuanian resort on the Baltic Sea, is also yet to remove an obelisk to Soviet soldiers in the heart of the town.
According to the Culture ministry, there are 160 protected cemeteries or burial sites of Soviet troops in Lithuania, half of them with Soviet monuments. Lithuania started reviewing and dismantling Soviet memorial signs in various locations around the country after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
The Culture ministry-updated description of the criteria for the evaluation, selection, and determination of the level of significance of cultural property allows removing Soviet monuments without a delay.
Until now, the criteria have included an exception that graves, non-functioning cemeteries, and burial sites shall be added to the Register of Cultural Property.
On another note, almost two-thirds of people in Lithuania support banning the symbols Russia is using during its war in Ukraine, such as the Ribbon of St George and the letters «Z» and «V», according to a new survey. In the poll, commissioned by LRT and conducted by Baltijos Tyrimai, 67.3 percent of respondents said they strongly or rather supported such a ban. One in five were against, and 12.6 percent did not answer the question.
The public display of the St George’s Ribbon and the two letters has been banned in Lithuania recently, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Grūtas Park could not be reached for a comment.