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A storm over Lithuania

In Lithuania the second half of 2025 was marked by mass protests, the likes of which the country had not seen in a long time. They were caused by a shift in the political landscape following the 2024 parliamentary elections, which resulted in a victory for the Social Democratic Party. From the very beginning, this situation stirred up strong emotions and deepened divisions within society.

June 23, 2026 - Nikodem Szczygłowski - AnalysisIssue 4 2026Magazine

Vilnius, Lithuania - 17 December, 2025: Thousands of unidentified people took part in a rally in Vilnius against the threat to media freedom in capital city - Vilnius. Photo: astudio/Shutterstock

“Any efforts aimed at changing a society must, above all, be based on the belief that every person is capable of change. And that this change can be influenced in some way – slowly, carefully, with empathy, by talking to people and using the right words. The moment you lose faith in this possibility, you lose faith in humanity,” says the Lithuanian filmmaker Karolis Kaupinis.

In 2019, Kaupinis directed Nova Lituania, a film inspired by the interwar visionary Kazys Pakštas who, faced with mounting geopolitical threats, imagined creating a “spare Lithuania” on a distant exotic island. Set against the backdrop of late-1930s Lithuania, the film explores questions of nationalism, identity, and survival through the story of a geography professor’s radical plan to save the country.

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