Lithuania

"When the emissary of Your Majesty, Oneš of Hurka, brought the definite news of victory and the praiseworthy armistice, it caused me great joy in my heart, which no pen can describe nor my voice express as is fitting. (...) Where, then, are the two swords of the enemies? They were indeed cut down with those swords with which they tried to terrify the humble! Behold, they sent you two swords, the swords of violence and of pride, and have lost many thousands of them, having been utterly defeated. Where are the swords, where the caparisoned horses, where the mail-clad warriors in whom they trusted? Where are the innumerable ducats or treasures?"

"And the Polish units, abandoning a hesitation which delayed them, threw themselves with many regiments at the enemy, who were positioned in sixteen regiments, in which found refuge also those who had suffered defeat under other banners, and the Poles waged a mortal battle against them. And although the enemies put up a resistance for some time, ultimately, surrounded by great numbers of the king's army, they were put to the sword and virtually all units fighting in the sixteen regiments either perished or were taken prisoner. After defeating and crushing the enemy's army, during which – as it is known – Grand Master Ulryk, marechals, commanders and all the more prominent knights and lords of the Prussian army perished, the remaining crowd of enemies beat a retreat and once they turned tail they began to run away with determination."

"The battle turned into carnage and pursuit. Those who refused to surrender, died. There had been many battles and engagements in those times across the world, but none of those alive remembered a devastation so terrible. At the great king's feet fell not only the Teutonic Order, but all of Germany, whose foremost knights supported the Teutonic avant-garde that was biting deeper and deeper into the Slavic flesh. Out of seven hundred "white cloaks" leading this Germanic deluge, only fifteen survived. More than forty thousand bodies lay in eternal sleep in this blood-soaked field."

"You will tremble at my voice: Grunwald, swords, King Jagiełło! Armors were hacked while wind blew and howled; piles of corpses, piles of bodies, and a river of blood flowed! It is there!!..."

"The most portentous national disaster was not the sad downfall of the Hohenstauffens owing to the intrigues of Papal and French policy, but the defeat of Tannenberg, which resulted in the loss of a large portion of the colonisation work of centuries, and the cession to the Poles of West Prussia and Danzig, and which put an end to the proud independence of the State of the German Order of Knighthood. (...) It may be questioned whether, had it not been for the black day of Tannenberg, the State of the Order of Knighthood would have been able to keep the East permanently German, in defiance of the superior power of Poland."

"To arms! Fight the Germans wherever you encounter them! Assault their transports, provide information, aid Polish and Soviet soldiers! On liberated territories, fulfill mobilization orders and enlist for the Polish Armed Forces, which will avenge the September defeat and, together with the armies of Allied Nations, will deal the Germans another Grunwald!"

"Dievas davė dantis, Dievas duos ir duonos."

"Drumstame vandeny bepigu žuvauti."

"Gera pradžia — pusė darbo.'"

"Kaip šauksi, taip atsilieps."

"Kaip senieji giedojo, taip jaunieji dainuoja."

"Kam niežti, tas kasos."

"Kas nedirba, tas nevalgo."

"Katė glostoma kuprą kelia."

"Koks tėvas, toks ir sūnus."

"Lašas po lašo ir akmenį pratašo."

"Liga raita atjoja, pėščia išeina."

"Meška girioje, o skūrą jau rėžia."

"Mieruok tris kartus, kirpk vieną kartą."

"Ne viskas auksas, kas auksu žėri."

"Obuolys nuo obels netoli krenta."

"Sena meilė nerūdija."

"Šiaučius be batụ, kriaučius be apsiausto."

"Svetimi dūmai akis graužia."

"Tylėjimas - sutikimas."

"Varna varnui akies nekirs."

"Žuvis žuvį (gaudo ir) ryja."

"While separatist nationalisms developed and were increasingly expressed, there was no protracted attempt to use the extensive military resources of the Soviet state to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union. Already, in 1986–7, the government had refused to employ force to support party leaders in the Baltic Republics. When the crisis rose to a height, counterreform attempts by the Soviet military, keen to preserve the integrity of the state, led to action against nationalists in Georgia (1989), Azerbaijan (1990), Lithuania (1991), Latvia (1991), and Moldova (1992). However, these steps were small-scale, and there was no significant violent supporting action by the 25 million Russians living within the Soviet Union but outside Russia, those, for example, who played a key role in crises in Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014. Gorbachev, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice of Marxism without there being, as in the story, any Sorcerer to restore order, had never sought the disruption he created."

"Article six of the Soviet constitution, which guaranteed the Communist Party a monopoly of power, was abolished in February 1990. However, the Party proved unable to compete effectively in the new political situation. Moreover, Gorbachev wanted to preserve the Soviet Union, if necessary only as a loose confederation. Thus, when the republics declared their independence, Gorbachev supported the attempt to maintain the authority of the Soviet Union by sending troops into them in January 1991. This policy led to clashes in Riga and Vilnius, the capitals of Latvia and Lithuania respectively. Fourteen unarmed people protecting the television tower in Vilnius were killed and five civilians in the seizure of the Interior Ministry in Riga. These steps did not intimidate the nationalists but led to the building of barricades in both cities. Iconic moments and locations were provided both for the nationalist movement and for post-independence memorialisation, notably in Vilnius."

"Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America."

"For as politics opened up while prosperity lagged behind, it became hard to see what benefits a state like Lithuania got from being part of the Soviet Union. The Lithuanians resented how that had come about—Hitler and Stalin had arranged their annexation in the 1939 Nazi- Soviet Pact. They followed closely what was happening now in Germany and Eastern Europe. Whatever lingering doubts there were disappeared in January, 1991, when Soviet troops in Vilnius fired on a crowd of demonstrators, and on February 19th, the Lithuanians decisively voted for independence. Much the same sequence of events occurred in Latvia and Estonia. Gorbachev, still hoping for love, was not inclined to resist. But if the Baltics seceded, why could the Transcaucasian republics not do the same? Or the Moldavians? Or even the Ukrainians? These were the questions confronting Gorbachev in the spring of 1991, and he had no answer for them. "[AJlthough we were slaying the totalitarian monster," Chernyaev recalled, "no consensus emerged on what would replace it; and so, as perestroika was losing its orientation, the forces it had unleashed were slipping out of control."

"If Lithuania needs to defend itself again, we will not be alone as we were in some fatal historical moments."

"In an age of digital ephemera and curated perfection, the Žygaičiai Lion reminds us of something older, rougher, and more enduring. It symbolizes Lithuania’s complex spiritual history—of resistance and resilience, imposed faith and reclaimed identity."

"Around the same time, communism in Central and Eastern Europe finally fell, but its economic rivalry with capitalism had, of course, long since been decided. It’s easy to think that these countries were never close to the market economies, but in 1950 countries such as the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary had a GDP per capita about a quarter higher than poor Western countries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece. In 1989, the eastern states were nowhere close. The eastern part of Germany was richer than West Germany before World War II. When the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, East Germany’s GDP per capita was not even half that of West Germany’s. Of these countries, those that liberalized the most have on average developed the fastest and established the strongest democracies. An analysis of twenty-six post-communist countries showed that a 10 per cent increase in economic freedom was associated with a 2.7 per cent faster annual growth. Political and economic institutions have improved the most in the Central and Eastern European countries that are now members of the EU, not least the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Today, they are some of the freest countries in the world and have more than tripled average incomes since independence. But one can also observe a recent reformer like Georgia. It was seen as an economic basket case, but after the Rose Revolution in 2003 it increased per capita incomes almost threefold and cut extreme poverty rates by almost two-thirds."

"Please accept the best wishes of the American people as you celebrate the 98th anniversary of Lithuania's declaration of independence. Lithuania continues to serve as a model to others, by advancing democracy and security on a global scale. Your dedication to helping other counties complete their own democratic transformation has been made clear through your work in the EU Eastern Partnership. In addition, you have continued to show leadership beyond your borders by standing with Ukraine and by maintaining your consistent support of Afghanistan."

"In the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—the return of the Red Army also provoked lasting resistance. Having become independent from Russia in 1918, the three countries were occupied by the Soviets in 1940, after Stalin’s pact with Hitler. The occupation was vicious, and the German invasion in 1941 had been greeted with relief by many Balts, who now turned their wrath on Russians and other local minorities, including Jews. The German defeat meant the return of the Red Army and the start of another round of bloodletting. In all three Baltic countries resistance coalesced around former officers, most of whom had collaborated with the Nazis; they were known collectively as the “Forest Brothers.” The fighting lasted for almost a decade and cost up to fifty thousand lives, mostly in Lithuania. Around 10 percent of the entire adult population of Balts was deported or sent to Soviet labor camps between 1940 and 1953."

"Original in Lithuanian: "Šiandien daugelis vakariečių nežino nieko apie Lietuvą. Neturime tokio stipraus identiteto kaip estai ar šveicarai. Tikime, kad turėdami inžinerinių kompetencijų ir pozicionuodami save kaip inžinerinę šalį tapsime lengvai atpažįstamais ir išskirtiniais""

"Translation in English: "Today, many in the West know nothing about Lithuania. We don't have as strong an identity as the Estonians or the Swiss. We believe that having engineering competences and positioning ourselves as an engineering country will make us distinctive and recognisable.""

"Lithuanian: Tauragės pilies statybą nulėmė 1836 m. įvykęs didelis senosios Tauragės gaisras, po kurio carinė vyriausybė įsakė statyti naują Tauragę."

"English translation: The construction of Tauragė Castle was decided in 1836 after a large fire in Tauragė old town, after which the tsarist government ordered the construction of a new Taurage."

"Original in Lithuanian: ES gali prafinansuoti nors ir monoreilą jeigu pagrįsi jo reikalingumą, bet beveik dešimtmiljardinio europinio traukinių tinklo projekto su rusiška vėže niekaip nepagrįsi."

"Translation in English: EU can even finance the monorail, if the need is substantiated, but you won't be able to substantiate a 10 billion project for train track with a Russian railway gauge."

"Original in Lithuanian: Kažkada anksčiau "Kionig Avto" mikrius pavažinėjo maršrutu Kaliningradas-Marijampolė-Kaunas. Maršrutas irgi "užsilenkė". Ivano-Frankovskas už Kaliningradą toliau..."

"Translation in English: Once upon a time, a "Kionig Avto" microbus drove the Kaliningrad-Marijampolė-Kaunas route. The route was also "cancelled". Ivano-Frankivsk is further than Kaliningrad..."

"Original in Lithuanian: Apskritai pastebėjau, kad rusų turistai kone užgulę bene visus "karštus" ir netgi ne tokius karštus turizmo taškus visame pasaulyje (arba bent jau ten, kur man teko lankytis per paskutinius kelis metus). Čia kaip ir viena didžiausių ir lengviausių pinigų melžyklų."

"Translation in English: In general, I've noticed that Russian tourists are almost overrunning almost all the "trendy" and even the not-so-trendy tourist spots around the world (or at least where I've visited in the last few years). It's like one of the biggest and easiest moneymakers."

"For the first time in Lithuania, a study of the central business districts (Central Business District, CBD) of 10 Northern European cities showed that the Vilnius CBD, located on the right bank of the Neris river, is comparable to large European cities in terms of office quality."

"Original in Lithuanian: "Vilniuje tokiu komerciniu centru (angl. central business district – CBD) tapo Konstitucijos prospektas, duodantis didžiulę naudą miesto infrastruktūrai, ekonomikai ir keliantis miesto prestižą, tačiau kaip šios vietos paklausa verslo segmente gali keistis artimiausiu metu?""

"Translation in English: "In Vilnius, area around Konstitucijos prospekt (Constitution Avenue) became city's central business district which brings huge benefits to the city's infrastructure, economy and prestige, but how is the demand for this location in the business segment likely to change in the near future?""

"Original in Lithuanian: "Vilniaus naujojo miesto centro (NMC) istorija prasidėjo 2000-aisiais, kai dešiniajame Neries krante vyko pirmųjų didžiųjų sostinės verslo centrų statybos.""

"Translation in English: "The story of Vilnius New City Centre (NMC) began in the 2000s, when the capital's first major business centres began construction on the right bank of the Neris River.""