In December 1991, Lithuania had already left de facto of the USSR. On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Soviet dominated by Sajudis unanimously declared independence. Margarita Seselgyte is then a teenager who dreams only of living in her own country, free and independent. Thirty years later, she heads the Institute for International Relations at Vilnius University and has made security and defense issues her specialty.
From our correspondent in Vilnius,
Between the conferences abroad, the educational meetings, Margarita Seselgyte, the young director, also provides some lessons. For the third years, it will be a simulation exercise to learn to negotiate around an issue of global importance: the consequences of global warming. Almost thirty years ago, it was she who was in the same place. And since then, she has not left the institute: “ It was a totally different place where a new wind was blowing. It was the wind of freedom, of sincerity. The hierarchy no longer existed. It was the exact opposite of what we knew. ”
On Lithuania’s path to independence, one date remains in her memory: the attack by the Soviets on January 13, 1991. ” I was watching television, and suddenly the image disappeared, she remembers. I understood that something tragic had just happened. I was all alone at home and I was quite distraught. My parents had gone to defend parliament with my grandparents. It made a deep impression on me to understand that freedom could so easily be gagged, if you will. ”
► To read on RFI Knowledge: Russia and the world since 1991
2004 was a pivotal year for Lithuania. The country adheres to the European Union and NATO. The young political scientist then wrote the reports submitted to the European Commission to assess the country’s progress: ” We and everyone else in the civil service had a very great responsibility for Lithuania to succeed in this accession. And if you look at the history of Lithuania as a whole, it seems to me that this is one of the best things that has happened to her. ”
These two institutions are so far the best life insurance the country has. And that Lithuania today defends democracy in the world does not surprise the young woman: “ Iceland recognized the independence of Lithuania. It was very important that someone tell us: “We believe in you, we recognize you.” The fact that it was a small country that did it, the first and in a daring way, marked the identity of Lithuania. It is no coincidence that we are committed to the Eastern Partnership or Taiwan. A small country can do it and be bold. ”
The memory of this Soviet past must not disappear. The Institute of International Relations has created a center which collects and analyzes testimonies linked to Lithuania’s communist past.