On March 11, 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet Republic to declare its independence from the Soviet Union. The U.S.S.R. did not accept Lithuania’s independence and imposed an economic blockade and deployed troops against Lithuania. This move eventually triggered a series of independence movements across Soviet Republics, resulting in the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. the following year.
After the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia became independent nations. They remained independent until 1940, when they were annexed first by the Soviet Union and then occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. In 1944, the Red Army returned to occupy the Baltic states, maintaining control until their independence in 1991.
Resistance against Soviet rule persisted throughout the postwar period. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, USSR leader Joseph Stalin turned to mass repression, deporting about 600,000 people from the Baltics to Russia, with approximately 200,000 being Lithuanians. Under Khrushchev in the late 1950s and 1960s, resistance in Lithuania increased due to his policies of relaxation. Economic conditions improved as industrialization drew on local resources rather than relying solely on Russian workers. Additionally, the use of Lithuanian in education expanded.
However, despite improved conditions, opposition continued throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Protests occurred in Vilnius in 1956 and in Kaunas in 1960. In 1972, a young nationalist’s protest sparked a riot. When Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, he aimed to improve relations with the West and reduce political repression by rejecting the Brezhnev Doctrine. The Lithuanian government interpreted this as a green light to announce independence in 1990.
However, Gorbachev expressed dissatisfaction, clarifying that only satellite countries outside the Soviet Union could determine their own governments, not the republics within it. In March 1990, he presented an ultimatum to the Lithuanian government: either rescind its independence or face consequences. Nevertheless, on March 17th, Lithuania continued seeking diplomatic recognition from other countries.
As a result, economic sanctions were imposed on Lithuania, and Soviet troops were sent to Vilnius in 1990. In January 1991, Soviet troops stormed Vilnius, leaving 14 people dead and 150 injured. By the end of 1991, eleven other Soviet republics declared independence and formed the Commonwealth of Independent States. A few days later, Gorbachev resigned as president, and the Soviet Union dissolved that month.
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