"1984","15","archive","394",,,"disk0/00/00/19/84","2018-12-11 13:06:23","2018-12-13 14:42:39","2018-12-11 13:06:23","conference_item",,,"show","","",,,,"Ferguson","James N.","","","","",,,,,"","","The Green Bridge: Coming to Terms with Vilnius’ Soviet Legacy","pub","E09","","reconciliation",,"During the summer of 2015, the new Vilnius mayor had the Soviet-era sculptures removed
from the Green Bridge. Yet, much of this legacy remains in buildings throughout the city. Some of
these buildings are even protected under the Department of Cultural Heritage because of their
architectural uniqueness or role they played in the independence movement, known as Sajūdis, between
1988 and 1991.
This paper addresses the approach the city has taken with regard to its Soviet legacy. Municipal officials,
architects and historians have tried to determine what place these immovable objects have in the
UNESCO world heritage city, as well as the ramifications of the city’s post WWII history. The Green
Bridge and several key buildings will be examined, as they have served as lightning rods in this often
heated debate. Vilnius’ Russian-speaking community will also be studied, as parliament members
representing this group voiced their opposition to the removal of these sculptures and other actions by
the city.
As Lithuania approaches its centennial as a modern state, these are questions that define its national
identity. Vilnius is at the centre of this discourse, as the city has often found itself divided in opinion,
wrestling not only with its Soviet past, but Polish and Jewish past as well. The author, who has been
living in Vilnius for 20 years, provides a dispassionate voice to these contentious debates, which have
often spilled out into the international media casting unfavourable light on the city.
In conclusion, this paper will demonstrate that reconciliation is possible when the conflicting parties
choose to bury their ideological differences, rather than use incidents like the removal of the Soviet-era
sculptures from the Green Bridge as a means to highlight these differences.","2018","published",,,,,,,,"",,,,,"",,,,,"",,,,,"","",,"","City of Vilnius, Lithuania","","ICOMOS","",,"scientific_symposium","19th General Assembly, New Delhi, 2017",,"en",,,,,"public",,"paper",,,,,,,,,"ICOMOS 19th General Assembly and Scientific Symposium ""Heritage and Democracy""","New Delhi, India","13-14th December 2017","other",,,,,,"TRUE",,,,,,,,,"","","","Ambrasas. lt. (2017). Green Bridge, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2014. [online] [Accessed September 25, 2017].
Baločkaitė, R. (April 12, 2015). “The new culture wars in Lithuania: trouble with Soviet heritage”.
Cultures of History Forum.
BBC News. (June 17, 2008). “Lithuanian ban on Soviet symbols”. BBC.
Bienale. lt. (2017). KaunoBienalė: Coming or Going? [online] [Accessed September 25, 2017].
Coalson, R. (May 15, 2015). “Turning back time: putting Putin’s Molotov-Ribbentrop defense into
context”. Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. 
Dahlburg, J. (June 2, 1990). “Yeltsin meets Lithuanian on easing blockade”. Los Angeles Times.
Drėmaitė, M. (2017). Baltic Modernism: Architecture and Housing in Soviet Lithuania. Berlin: DOM
publishers. p. 17-26, 31-57.
East, G. (July 20, 2015).“Vilnius Mayor: Green Bridge statues represent ‘big lie’about the Soviet
system”. The Baltic Times.
Ereminaitė, R. (September 1, 2013). “Žaliojo tilto atminimo lenta sukiršino miestiečius”. Kaunodiena.
Fein, E. (August 19, 1989). “Soviets confirm Nazi pacts dividing Europe”. The New York Times.
Freedland, J. (September 14, 2010). “I see why ‘double genocide’ is a term Lithuanians want. But it
appalls me”. The Guardian.
Jačauskas, I. (March 5, 2017). “D.Varnaitė: ŽaliojotiltoskulptūrasturėtųperimtiLietuvosdailėsmuziejus”.
15min.
Kanter, J. (November 11, 2013). “Silent sentinels at center of Lithuanian debate on bygone era”. The New
York Times.
Loc.gov. (September 25, 2017). “Lithuania: ban on Nazi and Soviet symbols”. [online] [Accessed
September 25, 2017].
The Moscow Times. (August 27, 2012). “Lithuania gives Yeltsin a top award posthumously”. The
Moscow Times.
Parfitt, T. (November 6, 2014) “Vladimir Putin says there was nothing wrong with Soviet Union's pact
with Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany”. The Telegraph.
Ramonienė, D, Steponavičius, A. (1988). Lietuvos TSR istorijos ir kultūros paminklų sąvadas: I.
Černiachovksio tiltas. Vilnius: Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija. p. 126-127.
Sputnik. (July 18, 2015). “Lithuania’s cunning approach to removing the memory of the Soviet past”.
Sputnik International.
Unesco.org (2017). Republic of Lithuania Law on Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage. [online]
[Accessed September 25, 2017].
Varnienė, R. (2005). “Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Digitisation Projects”. Research and Innovation:
Nordic-Baltic Strategies for Library Development.p. 50-57.
Vilnacollections.yivo.org. (2017). The Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project. [online] [Accessed
September 25, 2017].","","",,,,,,,"",,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"L02",,"conflicts",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"Green bridge, Vilnius, Lithuania",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"L04",,"cultural identity",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"P05",,"cultural significance",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"russian",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"soviet architecture",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"post-soviet countries",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"soviet modernism",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"modernism",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"architectural heritage",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"sculptures",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"debates",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"contemporary history",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"Lithuania",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"1984",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"Socialist realism",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,