Lithuania’s memory of communism
The opening of Grūtas Park, an open-air museum with statues from the Soviet era, in 2001 provoked considerable public debate, with leading politicians expressing both strong support and firm opposition. The arguments on both sides revealed a deeper societal divide over how to evaluate – and what to do with – the heritage of communism.
December 8, 2025 -
Paweł Plichta
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Hot TopicsIssue 6 2025Magazine
The former KGB building that hosts the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights.
Photo: Paweł Plichta
The Lithuanian memory of communism manifests itself in multiple forms and dimensions. It is also shaped by broader processes characteristic of contemporary societies in Central and Eastern Europe – societies that were crippled by the experience of two totalitarian regimes in the 20th century. Vilnius is saturated with sites that recall both a distant and a not-so-distant past. It is worth emphasizing that cultural memory – which often reaches back to early nation-building traditions – holds particular significance for Lithuanians. This is also true for other nations: those that lived under the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence as well as those that, by historical necessity, co-constituted the Soviet state as its republics. In Vilnius, the layers of memory concentrate and refract, bringing together many centuries of Lithuanian history as if through a single, tightening lens.
Casting off Soviet domination
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communism, heritage, legacy, Lithuania
