Monument for Adomas Mickevičius
This is a monumental location for many reasons. First of all, it is a literal monument for Adomas Mickevičius (1798-1855) – a grand Lithuanian writer whose writings shaped patriotic literature in Lithuania while it was under the Russian Empire.
Adomas Mickevičius
Lithuanian Freedom League member Julius Sasnauskas told me how dissidents saw similar rallies taking place that year in both Latvia and Estonia, and none of them 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 both be 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. Priest dissident Robertas Grigas voiced that the occupation of Lithuania was exactly that – an illegal occupation. Many correspondents from Western media attended and 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 the leader of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, expressing their joy that despite the inadequate representation of the rally in the media and the pressure exerted on the organizers and their family members, the rally was not suppressed.
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 of all, the first unsanctioned rally took place here on 23 August, 1987. That will be our main focus here.
Lithuanian Freedom League - an underground dissident organization focused on restoring Lithuanian independence ever since its establishment in June of 1978 - and 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 the representatives of the catholic community, led by dissident nun Nijolė Sadūnaitė.
