February 16, 2011

Independence Day – Part 1

By amanda

On February 16, Lithuania celebrates its first independence day.  This afternoon I attended the independence commemoration in front of the Signatories’ House.  In this building, a group of Lithuanian intellectuals signed the a declaration of independence from Imperial Russia on February 16, 1918.  On March 11, 1990, another group of Lithuanians signed a declaration to re-establish independence and in doing so became the first republic to break away from the Soviet Union.

The Signatories' House on Pilies Street

 

Vytautas Landsbergis, first head of state and chairman of Parliament for independent Lithuania in 1990, gives a speech on the balcony of the Signatories’ House.

Waving the Lithuanian flag on Independence Day

About amanda

Creating academic and public environments for the humanities to flourish Researching Soviet and Eastern European history Engaging people and ideas as a writer and interviewer Traveling as much as possible View all posts by amanda
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 at 5:44 pm and posted in Life In Vilnius. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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