Lithuania's former KGB headquarters in Vilnius has been preserved and turned into a museum. This wall shows the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic state seal and a portrait of Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the the Cheka, the KGB's earlier incarnation. Dzerzhinsky was raised in Vilnius. Photo by Nathan Greenhalgh.
VILNIUS — President Dalia Grybauskaitė Wednesday ordered that all documents relating to the KGB secret services in Lithuania be released for the general public to view.
The order to release the documents is part of what is known as the “lustration” process, which is the outing and punishing of former KGB agents in the country and forcing them to [private_supervisor]impart knowledge about the system and how the service affected Lithuanians.
By releasing the documents the government would end its 20-year ordeal trying to out those who were part of the KGB. Linas Balsys, a spokesman for the president told Baltic Reports that it was time to stop to practice.
“The lustration process until now was a process with legal consequences. There was a commission finding collaborators and preparing things for the court. Then the court would say guilty of not guilty. This might have stopped those involved from taking jobs in the state service or something. This hasn’t worked for 20 years,” Balsys said.
Balsys said that those who confessed to working for the KGB early after independence were given protection by the state from discrimination. Others, however, had to be “hunted” and taken to court, but 90 percent of the court cases brought against alleged agents were acquitted due to lack of evidence or documents.
“The president said they must end the process — nothing has happened and we must end it and make public all the documents in the archives that may contain anything — instructions, documents which show or prove the extent and methods by which Lithuanians were into the activities of the KGB,” Balsys said.
Before the documents could be publicized, the Seimas would have to vote upon a new law enabling the lustration process to end.
The spokesman said there would be a specific education campaign to teach people how to read the documents before misconceptions spread.
“People need to be educated about the seriousness of the documents and how to read them when they are made public. It’s not like you see the name and they were a KGB agent,” Balsys said.
The KGB was the Soviet Unions’ secret service, responsible for spying on the population and punishing those who dissented from the totalitarian regime. The KGB was responsible for countless atrocities, including facilitating the deportation of people from the country as a punishment. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]impart knowledge about the system and how the service affected Lithuanians.
By releasing the documents the government would end its 20-year ordeal trying to out those who were part of the KGB. Linas Balsys, a spokesman for the president told Baltic Reports that it was time to stop to practice.
“The lustration process until now was a process with legal consequences. There was a commission finding collaborators and preparing things for the court. Then the court would say guilty of not guilty. This might have stopped those involved from taking jobs in the state service or something. This hasn’t worked for 20 years,” Balsys said.
Balsys said that those who confessed to working for the KGB early after independence were given protection by the state from discrimination. Others, however, had to be “hunted” and taken to court, but 90 percent of the court cases brought against alleged agents were acquitted due to lack of evidence or documents.
“The president said they must end the process — nothing has happened and we must end it and make public all the documents in the archives that may contain anything — instructions, documents which show or prove the extent and methods by which Lithuanians were into the activities of the KGB,” Balsys said.
Before the documents could be publicized, the Seimas would have to vote upon a new law enabling the lustration process to end.
The spokesman said there would be a specific education campaign to teach people how to read the documents before misconceptions spread.
“People need to be educated about the seriousness of the documents and how to read them when they are made public. It’s not like you see the name and they were a KGB agent,” Balsys said.
The KGB was the Soviet Unions’ secret service, responsible for spying on the population and punishing those who dissented from the totalitarian regime. The KGB was responsible for countless atrocities, including facilitating the deportation of people from the country as a punishment.[/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]impart knowledge about the system and how the service affected Lithuanians.
By releasing the documents the government would end its 20-year ordeal trying to out those who were part of the KGB. Linas Balsys, a spokesman for the president told Baltic Reports that it was time to stop to practice.
“The lustration process until now was a process with legal consequences. There was a commission finding collaborators and preparing things for the court. Then the court would say guilty of not guilty. This might have stopped those involved from taking jobs in the state service or something. This hasn’t worked for 20 years,” Balsys said.
Balsys said that those who confessed to working for the KGB early after independence were given protection by the state from discrimination. Others, however, had to be “hunted” and taken to court, but 90 percent of the court cases brought against alleged agents were acquitted due to lack of evidence or documents.
“The president said they must end the process — nothing has happened and we must end it and make public all the documents in the archives that may contain anything — instructions, documents which show or prove the extent and methods by which Lithuanians were into the activities of the KGB,” Balsys said.
Before the documents could be publicized, the Seimas would have to vote upon a new law enabling the lustration process to end.
The spokesman said there would be a specific education campaign to teach people how to read the documents before misconceptions spread.
“People need to be educated about the seriousness of the documents and how to read them when they are made public. It’s not like you see the name and they were a KGB agent,” Balsys said.
The KGB was the Soviet Unions’ secret service, responsible for spying on the population and punishing those who dissented from the totalitarian regime. The KGB was responsible for countless atrocities, including facilitating the deportation of people from the country as a punishment.[/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]impart knowledge about the system and how the service affected Lithuanians.
By releasing the documents the government would end its 20-year ordeal trying to out those who were part of the KGB. Linas Balsys, a spokesman for the president told Baltic Reports that it was time to stop to practice.
“The lustration process until now was a process with legal consequences. There was a commission finding collaborators and preparing things for the court. Then the court would say guilty of not guilty. This might have stopped those involved from taking jobs in the state service or something. This hasn’t worked for 20 years,” Balsys said.
Balsys said that those who confessed to working for the KGB early after independence were given protection by the state from discrimination. Others, however, had to be “hunted” and taken to court, but 90 percent of the court cases brought against alleged agents were acquitted due to lack of evidence or documents.
“The president said they must end the process — nothing has happened and we must end it and make public all the documents in the archives that may contain anything — instructions, documents which show or prove the extent and methods by which Lithuanians were into the activities of the KGB,” Balsys said.
Before the documents could be publicized, the Seimas would have to vote upon a new law enabling the lustration process to end.
The spokesman said there would be a specific education campaign to teach people how to read the documents before misconceptions spread.
“People need to be educated about the seriousness of the documents and how to read them when they are made public. It’s not like you see the name and they were a KGB agent,” Balsys said.
The KGB was the Soviet Unions’ secret service, responsible for spying on the population and punishing those who dissented from the totalitarian regime. The KGB was responsible for countless atrocities, including facilitating the deportation of people from the country as a punishment.[/private_subscription 1 year]
— This is a paid article. To subscribe or extend your subscription, click here.
