Soup and Freedom in Lithuania

FOTP Monday

Continuing our alphabetic tour of the great nations of Europe, we head this week to Lithuania, which has been a thorn in the side of the Soviet Union/Russia before being such a thorn was cool.

This from an article in The Guardian, March 12th, 1990:

Lithuania last night became the first republic to break away from the Soviet Union, by proclaiming the restoration of its pre-war independence. The newly-elected parliament, ‘reflecting the people’s will,’ decreed the restoration of ‘the sovereign rights of the Lithuanian state, infringed by alien forces in 1940,’ and declared that from that moment Lithuania was again an independent state . . . The voting, in a parliament dominated by the nationalist movement, Sajudis, was 124 in favour, none against, and six abstentions, who mainly represented Russian and Polish immigrants. Deputies joined hands, raised them over their heads, and chanted ‘Lithuania’. Outside, a gathering broke into cheers. Earlier, the crowd ripped down a metal Soviet crest from the outside door of the legislative building. ‘That’s the end of the Soviet regime,’ a deputy said.

My favorite part of the above: “was . . . none against.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is clearly still not over it.