Lithuanian May 9

The Vilnius Special Forces units were on alert since 2 am tonight.  The two remaining Soviet statues in the centre of Vilnius were vandalised.  Read full story and see more images of this accident in alfa.lt

I found about it this incident this morning, just before the military parade in Moscow.  Watched all broadcast live on Russia Today.  The Russian commentators only confirmed that the Westerners have a wrong image of the President Medvedev: he will defend Russia’s interests as firmly as the former President Putin.  And by defending it means ‘expanding’ the ‘security’ zone around Russia.

Those who studied the Russian history a bit will understand that Russia suddenly feels a threat when it stops to expand.  At the moment this expansion takes a place not through its tanks but through its banks.  If the Kremlin wished to exhibit the real Russia’s mussel the tanks and the tactical missiles should have been replace by the Gazprom trucks carrying the pipes.  The workers from the oil fields should have replaced the officers and the red flags should have been changed to the blue Gazprom flags.  I am convinced that the new President would have felt much more comfortable observing his ex colleges saluting him.

The new Gazprom ambassadors to the EU such as Mr Schroder, the current Hungarian PM Gyurcsany, PM Berluscony, the ex PM Prodi, the Greek, Bulgarian and the Cyprus leaders should have stood next the President Medvedev.

The commentators kept explaining that this parade is designed for the internal public to foster Russia’s pride and to show that there is a capability to defend the country.  However, it was broadcasted live on the Satellite TV channel.  How local is that!  However, those who know Russia, especially in the Baltic States are not concerned about those tanks too much.  We are members of NATO after all.  We are mostly concerned about the undercover Russian Army, the army of Gazprom, and what its forces doing in the Brussels, and the other Western European capitals.

The incident in Vilnius is disgusting; the hooligans should be caught and punished!  Russia suffered a lot to the extent, which the Russians don’t realise themselves.  The question is from what Russia suffered more, from the WWII or from the Stalin’s regime?  Lithuania suffered much more from the Stalin’s regime, hence the end of the WWII symbolises to us the beginning of another and more bloody war.  The war, which is unknown and took place behind the Iron Curtain.  It should be taken into consideration that Lithuania has lost nearly a 1 million of its population between 1940 and 1953 that is from the beginning for the Soviet occupation until Stalin’s death.  That is one third of its population, the absolutely best third of it!  It is fear to say though that about 200.000 of those were the Jews who perished in Holocaust.

Perhaps we should keep those statues on the Green Bridge to remind us what had happened to our country.  Such reminders should not let us to relax too much in planning our future.  Or better, the Soviet solders’ uniforms on the statues should be upgraded and replaced by the Gazprom uniforms.  And I am very happy that the former President Putin brought back the old Soviet National Anthem and made it to the Russian Anthem.  Every Lithuanian who hears this music feels shivers, that also keeps us alert.  Hence, Welcome to the 21-Century!