European leaders marked the dying of Mikhail Gorbachev, the final chief of the Soviet Union who’s at this time credited with steering Russia away from communism and in direction of liberalism.
“Mikhail Gorbachev was a trusted and revered chief. He performed a vital function to finish the Chilly Struggle and produce down the Iron Curtain,” stated European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen.
“This legacy is one we is not going to neglect.”
Von der Leyen’s phrases had been echoed throughout Western Europe, with tributes rapidly pouring in from Berlin, Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Brussels, Amsterdam and Vienna.
However in Vilnius, the response was completely different.
“Lithuanians is not going to glorify Gorbachev,” stated Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s overseas affairs minister.
“We are going to always remember the straightforward indisputable fact that his military murdered civilians to lengthen his regime’s occupation of our nation.”
Landsbergis appeared to refer to the tragic occasions of January 1991, which nonetheless resonate throughout Lithuania. That month represented a turning level within the Baltic nation’s historical past and its lengthy quest for freedom.
Watch the video above to be taught what occurred in January 1991.
