Storming of the television center in Vilnius in January 1991 — photo

In the end, the Kremlin did not dare to escalate further. The leaders of the USSR, led by Mikhail Gorbachev, did not take responsibility for the events of the night of January 12-13 and stated that they had not given any orders. In August, the USSR had to withdraw troops from Lithuania, and in early September, it had to recognize its independence. In the pic: Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Lithuania, August 23, 1991.