VILNIUS — British journalist and author Edward Lucas was awarded a medal from the Lithuanian government Wednesday for his coverage of the independence movement 20 years ago.

If you’re interested in Baltic affairs, you should know who Lucas is. Flying out of Prague to East Berlin and finally Vilnius, Lucas was the first foreigner to receive a visa from the newly-declared Republic of Lithuania that March. He then covered the events for the London newspaper The Independent, although he said he did not [private_supervisor]work for the Lithuanian government, as the Ministry of Defense’s official press release states.

Since those days, Lucas was the managing editor of The Baltic Independent (before it merged into The Baltic Times in 1996) and eventually he was hired to be the Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for The Economist. He also authored 2008’s “The New Cold War” about relations between Russia and the West, which received numerous positive reviews. In addition to Economist articles, he regularly comments on Baltic current events on his blog.

“I’m honored, Lithuania’s been part of my life 20 years,” Lucas told Baltic Reports in a coffee shop in Vilnius Thursday afternoon. “I look forward to covering it for the next 20 years.”

Lucas said he is impressed that Lithuanian democracy has took hold over the past two decades, unlike its eastern neighbors, which is something he didn’t expect.

“I was too pessimistic,” Lucas said. “I didn’t think democracy would take root so easily. This country and its neighbors were hardly models of democracy in the 1930s.”

However, he’s disappointed that Lithuania has not taken energy security more seriously, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian coercion.

“Energy security has been the biggest failure,” Lucas said. “It exemplifies two of the country’s biggest problems — constructing productive relations with its neighbors and making long-term decisions untainted by … a stench of corruption.”

Lucas was awarded the National Defense System Medal of Merit Wednesday. He was given another decoration by the Lithuanian government, the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas medal in 2004. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]work for the Lithuanian government, as the Ministry of Defense’s official press release states.

Since those days, Lucas was the managing editor of The Baltic Independent (before it merged into The Baltic Times in 1996) and eventually he was hired to be the Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for The Economist. He also authored 2008’s “The New Cold War” about relations between Russia and the West, which received numerous positive reviews. In addition to Economist articles, he regularly comments on Baltic current events on his blog.

“I’m honored, Lithuania’s been part of my life 20 years,” Lucas told Baltic Reports in a coffee shop in Vilnius Thursday afternoon. “I look forward to covering it for the next 20 years.”

Lucas said he is impressed that Lithuanian democracy has took hold over the past two decades, unlike its eastern neighbors, which is something he didn’t expect.

“I was too pessimistic,” Lucas said. “I didn’t think democracy would take root so easily. This country and its neighbors were hardly models of democracy in the 1930s.”

However, he’s disappointed that Lithuania has not taken energy security more seriously, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian coercion.

“Energy security has been the biggest failure,” Lucas said. “It exemplifies two of the country’s biggest problems — constructing productive relations with its neighbors and making long-term decisions untainted by … a stench of corruption.”

Lucas was awarded the National Defense System Medal of Merit Wednesday. He was given another decoration by the Lithuanian government, the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas medal in 2004. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]work for the Lithuanian government, as the Ministry of Defense’s official press release states.

Since those days, Lucas was the managing editor of The Baltic Independent (before it merged into The Baltic Times in 1996) and eventually he was hired to be the Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for The Economist. He also authored 2008’s “The New Cold War” about relations between Russia and the West, which received numerous positive reviews. In addition to Economist articles, he regularly comments on Baltic current events on his blog.

“I’m honored, Lithuania’s been part of my life 20 years,” Lucas told Baltic Reports in a coffee shop in Vilnius Thursday afternoon. “I look forward to covering it for the next 20 years.”

Lucas said he is impressed that Lithuanian democracy has took hold over the past two decades, unlike its eastern neighbors, which is something he didn’t expect.

“I was too pessimistic,” Lucas said. “I didn’t think democracy would take root so easily. This country and its neighbors were hardly models of democracy in the 1930s.”

However, he’s disappointed that Lithuania has not taken energy security more seriously, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian coercion.

“Energy security has been the biggest failure,” Lucas said. “It exemplifies two of the country’s biggest problems — constructing productive relations with its neighbors and making long-term decisions untainted by … a stench of corruption.”

Lucas was awarded the National Defense System Medal of Merit Wednesday. He was given another decoration by the Lithuanian government, the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas medal in 2004. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]work for the Lithuanian government, as the Ministry of Defense’s official press release states.

Since those days, Lucas was the managing editor of The Baltic Independent (before it merged into The Baltic Times in 1996) and eventually he was hired to be the Central and Eastern Europe correspondent for The Economist. He also authored 2008’s “The New Cold War” about relations between Russia and the West, which received numerous positive reviews. In addition to Economist articles, he regularly comments on Baltic current events on his blog.

“I’m honored, Lithuania’s been part of my life 20 years,” Lucas told Baltic Reports in a coffee shop in Vilnius Thursday afternoon. “I look forward to covering it for the next 20 years.”

Lucas said he is impressed that Lithuanian democracy has took hold over the past two decades, unlike its eastern neighbors, which is something he didn’t expect.

“I was too pessimistic,” Lucas said. “I didn’t think democracy would take root so easily. This country and its neighbors were hardly models of democracy in the 1930s.”

However, he’s disappointed that Lithuania has not taken energy security more seriously, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian coercion.

“Energy security has been the biggest failure,” Lucas said. “It exemplifies two of the country’s biggest problems — constructing productive relations with its neighbors and making long-term decisions untainted by … a stench of corruption.”

Lucas was awarded the National Defense System Medal of Merit Wednesday. He was given another decoration by the Lithuanian government, the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas medal in 2004. [/private_subscription 1 year]

— This is a paid article. To subscribe or extend your subscription, click here.