As Russia celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on Thursday, some members of Lithuania’s Russian community visited cemeteries to honour Soviet soldiers who died in World War Two.
On the eve of the so-called Victory Day, Lithuania’s intelligence warned of possible provocations, yet the police recorded no incidents until early afternoon.
No banned symbols
Several dozen people came to Vilnius’ Antakalnis Cemetery between morning and noon. Most of them said they were there to commemorate victory over fascists and pay tribute to their grandparents and other relatives who died in the war.
A larger crowd, around 150 people, gathered at the site of a former Soviet memorial in central Klaipėda, Lithuania’s third biggest city on the Baltic coast.
Around 20 police officers were patrolling at Antakalnis Cemetery in Vilnius and nearby streets. The cemetery holds a tomb of Red Army soldiers. It was topped by a World War Two memorial which was removed in late 2022.
The police reported no incidents, noting that no visitors were wearing the black and orange Ribbon of Saint George, a Soviet symbol which was previously common on May 9. The symbol was banned in Lithuania in the wake of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Some people at Antakalnis Cemetery expressed anger over the removal of the Soviet WW2 memorial, where they had gathered and laid flowers for many years to commemorate the date.
Vilnius’ authorities had the statues of Soviet soldiers removed in late 2022 and the pedestal dismantled later.
A poster brought by one person on Thursday read: “Here stood a monument to anti-fascists; it was torn down by fascists’ defenders!”
Flowers and candles were placed on the stairs at the site on Thursday, and wreaths were brought from the diplomatic missions of some post-Soviet countries, Kazakhstan and Belarus, but there was no wreath or other tributes from the Russian embassy.
Erika Švenčionienė, an activist who is currently standing trial on charges of aiding another state to act against Lithuania, said she was celebrating “the victory of all nations”.
“I am celebrating Victory Day today. Ukraine must understand that they have to be with us on Victory Day. Because it was the victory of all nations,” she told reporters at the cemetery when asked if it was appropriate to commemorate the Soviet victory while Russia is waging war in Ukraine.
Most of those who came to the cemetery were avoiding media attention, expecting to be asked questions about Russia’s war against Ukraine and the Soviet occupation of Lithuania.
Valerij, a senior citizen, told BNS that he comes to Antakalnis Cemetery every year out of tradition and because his grandfather fought in World War Two and celebrated “the victory over fascists”.
“Fascists are everywhere. Fascism did not die, not only in Russia. Do you think there are none in Ukraine?” he said.
‘War on monuments’
In Klaipėda, some members of the city’s Russian-speaking community gathered at the memorial to Soviet soldiers on Daukanto Street at noon to mark Victory Day.
The memorial changed after Russia’s war in Ukraine: bronze statues of soldiers were removed, as was a sword. The fallen are commemorated by memorial plaques with engraved names.
“My relatives, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, a lot of them, they fought near St Petersburg, then Leningrad; most of them are now deceased. I come here out of respect,” said Igor Volkov, who has lived in Klaipėda for over 50 years.
History can be interpreted in different ways, the man said, and “you will never know how it really was”.
“What I regret is that they are waging war on monuments. It’s disgusting that you can fight without enemies,” he said.
Another Klaipėda resident, who did not give his name, told journalists that some members of the community no longer want to come to the place after part of the memorial was removed.
For him, May 9 symbolises liberation from Nazism, which is “what we are currently facing”.
Darius Petraitis, head of the Public Order Service at the Klaipėda County Chief Police Commissariat, said that heightened police presence around the monument will continue until Friday morning, adding that the area is also under surveillance by security cameras.
He said no incidents were recorded.
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