Lithuanians commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the failed Soviet crackdown on the newly independent Lithuanian state, which left 15 people dead in January 1991.
Lithuanians commemorated a symbolic anniversary while the war in Ukraine still rages. From the Lithuanian perspective, the Soviet repression of 1991 was an attempted foreign coup, since the country had declared independence (a restoration of independence in reality) almost a year earlier, in March 1990.
But this declaration was not recognized, neither by Moscow nor by most other countries.
The events began on January 7, 1991, when the Lithuanian government liberalized prices (under a planned economy, prices were set and controlled centrally). Food products, in particular, were immediately multiplied by 3 or 4. This measure had given the pro-Soviet forces a reason to organize anti-government demonstrations under the slogan of return to the USSR. In the context of these protests, Soviet President Gorbachev demanded the restoration of the Soviet constitution in Lithuania.
From January 11, Russian forces, mainly airborne troops and the KGB special unit “Alfa”, had begun to seize various key buildings in Vilnius and other cities. On the night of January 12 to 13, Soviet troops then stormed the central television studio. This operation cost the lives of 14 people and sparked a storm of condemnation throughout the USSR and abroad. Senior Soviet officials never recognized their responsibility in launching this operation which left between 700 and 900 injured over the period.
