In June 1940, as Nazi troops marched into Paris, the Soviet Red Army marched into Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; seven weeks later, the USSR Supreme Soviet ratified the Soviet takeover of these states. For half a century, Soviet historians insisted that the three republics had voluntarily requested incorporation into the Soviet Union. Now it has become possible to examine the events of that tumultuous time more carefully. Alfred Erich Senn, the author of books on the formation of the Lithuanian state in 1918-1920 and on the reestablishment of that independence in 1988-1991, has produced a fascinating account of the Soviet takeover, juxtaposing a picture of the disintegration and collapse of the old regime with the Soviets' imposition of a new order. Discussing the historiography and the living memory of the events, he uses the image of a "shell game" that focused attention on the work of a supposedly "non-communist" government while in the hothouse conditions of military occupation Moscow undermined the state's independent institutions and introduced a revolution from above.
Traces the history of the modern Olympic games, and looks at boycotts, performance enhancing drugs, judging controversies, corporate sponsorships, and international rivalries
The world watched first in fascination, then in horror, and eventually in amazement. From 11 to 14 January 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev went to Lithuania to persuade the leaders of that rebel Soviet republic to remain within the traditional Soviet system; from 11 to 13 January 1991, Soviet troops killed unarmed civilians in Vilnius in an effort to persuade the people of Lithuania to overthrow their leaders; then, in September 1991 Gorbachev, presiding over the collapse of the Soviet Union, recognized Lithuanian independence. It was Lithuania, above all, that demonstrated to the world the empire's bankruptcy. The book takes the reader into the maelstrom of politics in three different capitals during the period 1988-91. In Vilnius Lithuanians surged forward in what they called their 'national rebirth'; in Moscow Gorbachev struggled to maintain his position in a crumbling empire; and in Washington the administration doggedly supported Gorbachev as the foundation of its East European policy. In the end the Lithuanians, in a remarkable display of peaceful, non-violent resistance, were the only ones to achieve their ambitions.
At the close of this century, the identity of Lithuania as its own nation stands well-established, after many years of war and foreign domination. This book illustrates the way in which Lithuanian national consciousness grew from a shared feeling of unstructured instincts to a firm sense of nationhood in the course of this century. The authors reveal how this tiny country was caught at the intersection of Europe’s great powers, and how it was compelled to follow a foreign policy of survival. An enlightening work from Lithuania’s own ambassadors to the States, Lithuania in European Politics explains why the restoration of a Lithuanian state in 1990 cannot be understood without comprehending those critical years between the two World Wars.
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