Monument for Adomas Mickevičius

This is a monumental location for many reasons. First of all, it is a literal monument to Adomas Mickevičius (1798-1855) – a grand Lithuanian writer whose writings shaped the patriotic literature in Lithuania while it was under the Russian Empire.

Adomas Mickevičius

My friend Julius Sasnauskas, himself a member of the Lithuanian Freedom League, explained how, in 1987, dissidents saw similar rallies taking place in both Latvia and Estonia, none of which were suppressed by the authorities. Lithuanians wanted to defend their nation’s reputation and decided to try and organize a rally of their own. But they faced a small problem – there was no specific location they could choose which would be both patriotic and, well, safe – most places were rather closed off and would allow the authorities to easily arrest all the attendees and organizers. So, Julius suggested this monument right here – both patriotic and, as you can see, fully open. Julius recalls that some people came by and attended the event without really attending it – observing from further away, still being able to hear all that was said, but being far enough to feel safe.

Nijolė Sadūnaitė started the rally with a speech condemning Stalin, Hitler and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Robertas Grigas, dissident and priest, voiced that the occupation of Lithuania was exactly that – an illegal occupation. The rally was also attended by many correspondents from Western media outlets who reported about it to the entire world.

Nijolė Sadūnaitė (on the right) at the rally.

Our worries that we might be suppressed did not come true, luckily, but the Soviets were so furious with the rally that they used their media to report smaller numbers of attendees than there really were and increased the persecution of organizers. Nevertheless, the brave organizers wrote a public letter to then leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, expressing joy that the rally was not suppressed, despite inadequate representation in the media and the pressure exerted on the organizers and their family members.

Challenge for you: see if you can find a small monumental rock which commemorates this grand rally taking place here. When you‘re ready, click “Directions“ to find the next stop, then click “continue“ once you‘re there.

Next stop: Church of St. Johns’, Šv. Jono g. 12, Vilnius

Second, the first unsanctioned rally for independence took place here on 23 August 1987. That will be our main focus here.

The Lithuanian Freedom League - an underground dissident organization established in June of 1978 and focused on restoring Lithuanian independence - with their leader Antanas Terleckas, were the organizers of this rally. But they couldn’t have done it alone. They worked with other dissidents, as well as representatives of the catholic community, led by the dissident nun Nijolė Sadūnaitė.