Lithuania marks 35 years since defending right to decide its future

Lithuania is commemorating 35 years since the dramatic events of 13 January 1991, the day when unarmed civilians faced Soviet tanks to defend their freedom and their right to decide their own future. On this occasion, the symbolic “flame of freedom” was lit at the Embassy of Lithuania in Chisinau, as a tribute to the victims and to the courage of the Lithuanian people. Lithuania is now a member state of the European Union, and that winter night forever changed the course of its history.

In a message sent by the Embassy of Lithuania, the deep meaning of the 1991 sacrifice is highlighted:

“The courage of the Defenders of Freedom became a source of inspiration — an inner flame that reminds us that freedom is not a guaranteed given. It is a constant commitment to cherish and defend the opportunities it offers.”

On the night of 13 January 1991, thousands of Lithuanian citizens took to streets to defend state institutions. Fourteen people lost their lives at the Vilnius TV Tower, and hundreds were injured. The spirit of the people could not be broken. People formed human shields, defended the parliament and proved that unity and courage can be stronger than violence.





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Vytautas Landsbergis, who at that time was Chairman of the Supreme Council and a central figure in Lithuania’s independence movement, remained in the Parliament building throughout the siege. He later emphasized that the resistance on 13 January was, above all, a decision made by the people, not by politicians.

“13 January remains a powerful reminder of who we are, of the values we fight for, and of why freedom must never be taken for granted. Freedom lives as long as we protect it, cherish it, and pass it on to future generations,” the message of the Lithuanian Embassy also reads.

Annexed to the USSR in 1944, Lithuania was the first union republic to break away from the Soviet empire. On 11 March 1990, after the victory of the Sąjūdis movement in the elections to the Supreme Soviet, Lithuania proclaimed its independence. The Soviet Union tried to suppress the secession through an economic blockade and military interventions, culminating in the attacks of January 1991. Lithuania’s independence was widely recognized after the failure of the coup in Moscow, and the country joined the UN on 17 September 1991.

Lithuania became a member of NATO and the European Union in the spring of 2004.

Moldova was the first state in the world to recognize Lithuania’s independence, on 31 May 1990 — a historic gesture of political courage and solidarity, made even before Moldova proclaimed its own independence. The diplomatic relations between the two states were established on 8 July 1992.

Today, Lithuania is a strong supporter of Moldova’s European path. The bilateral cooperation includes trade exchanges, development assistance — Moldova being among Lithuania’s seven priority states — as well as cultural and community ties. The Moldovan Diaspora in Lithuania is represented by the “Dacia” society, founded in 1989, and more Lithuanian ethnocultural organizations are active in Moldova.

On 16 February, Lithuania celebrates its National Day, a moment of profound historical significance. On this date in 1918, the Council of Lithuania signed the Declaration of Independence, known as the Act of 16 February, through which the restoration of an independent Lithuanian state, founded on democratic principles with its capital in Vilnius, was proclaimed.