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The Soviet Republics: A Time for Independence?
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17551 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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7 / 1990 |
5,970 Words |
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THE WORLD & I: Are Latvia and Estonia's slower push and Ukraine's quiet revolution signals that Lithuania has moved too fast? Is Lithuania rocking the boat, as some have suggested?
Jonas Macys: We Lithuanians don't feel that we have moved too early. The situation has matured enough to allow us to move forward. One of the conditions certainly was the general democratization of the Soviet Union. Furthermore, on February 7, the old legislature of the Supreme Soviet of Lithuania voted that the referendum that they had held in 1940 was illegal, so there was no longer a Soviet authority in Lithuania. Another factor was, of course, that elections were allowed to be held in a fairly democratic manner on February 20.
When the opposition-backed candidates won the majority, and their platform clearly identified the desire to reestablish an independent state, we felt that we had mandate from the people to in fact destroy the old relationship.
We may have established independence in a certain sense because we had better conditions that Latvia and Estonia, because the Lithuanians are fairly homogeneous and we were the very first republic to have republicwide elections.
So this indicates that we were first in all sorts of ways. We feel that we are creating a good role model for the other republics.
W&I: Is it just historical memory or is it the proportion of the nationalities within the Baltic republics that has Lithuania moving most aggressively in its claim for independence?
Arnold Klotins: I think the demographics are an important factor in this situation. For example, in Latvia we have the situation in which Latvians are only a relatively small proportion of the republic. Until 1988, in the only political party of the country, there was also a majority of non-Latvians. For example, in internal administrative organs in Lithuania you have a large percentage of Lithuanians, where in Latvia you have a very small percentage.
But in Lithuania you also have had more dynamic activity, even under Stalin and later. I would like also to describe the phenomenon of the speed of Lithuania with such an-maybe -indefinable term as temperament. For example, after World War II, the partisan movement in Lithuania, the armed resistance to the Soviets, was much more pronounced and long lasting than in the other republics.
Also on the economic level, the Lithuanians were much more adept than other republics at gaining economic benefit from any given situation. In this context, I also want to mention a fact that not many people are aware of in the West. In 1959 in Latvia there was a repression of the active national Latvians. This was during the time of Khrushchev. And, again in 1959, there was an attempt to increase the political autonomy and the ethnic autonomy of Latvia. But it also resulted in repression, and over 2,000 people were removed from leading posts in the republic. Of course, they were replaced by non-Latvians.
W&I: Obviously the Baltic nations are working together in this. Is now the right
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