LRT English Newsletter – January 23, 2026.
It's been cold this week – in Vilnius and in Greenland. Lithuanian officials have been walking a tightrope over Donald Trump’s designs for Greenland, with the rhetorical acrobatics ranging from expressing hope that everyone will get along to saying that a Greenland takeover would strengthen NATO. Granted, the Lithuanian president did endorse a statement criticising the tariff threats.
The main reason for this tip-toeing? Dozens of US tanks and hundreds of troops stationed in Lithuania as part of a deterrence package. Here’s more on Lithuania’s awkward position between security interests and Scandinavian-Baltic friends. Also, the Lithuanian president said the country would consider joining the Trump-led peace council, even if it includes Belarus and Russia.
Meanwhile, it’s also been freezing cold in Vilnius, which gave us some beautiful sights to behold day and night. There are fears, however, of looming floods.
POPULISTS THROWING HANDS
Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the controversial leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, was filmed pushing several protesters who turned up at one of his meetings with the electorate. In the aftermath of the incident, the president and prime minister (again) toed a careful line in not being too assertive over Žemaitaitis, saying that “both sides were to blame”.
In related news, Lithuania passed a strategy in combating anti-Semitism. That’s even if a person convicted of anti-Semitic hate speech – Žemaitaitis – remains in the governing coalition.
In more related news, the prosecutor’s office opened a probe into illegal gathering of personal information after Žemaitaitis claimed he had a team of people checking the backgrounds of the protesters.
ECONOMY UPDATES:
– Swedbank has upped forecasts for the growth of Lithuania’s economy.
– The increase of Lithuania’s labour force, fuelled by net immigration, is expected to plateau.
– Rail Baltic is moving too slowly, as expected.
– The transit of Belarusian fertiliser remains a hot topic.
– Lithuania’s debt remains among the lowest in the EU.
– And is Lithuania’s housing market becoming a bubble? (Some say yes, some say no)
BRUSSELS ON LRT
The European Parliament on Thursday condemned the “attempted takeover” of LRT. The previous day, EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas also had a say about the proposed changes.
TSIKHANOUSKAYA MOVING TO POLAND
It’s confirmed – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, an opposition leader and the former frontrunner against Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, is moving to Poland. The decision was taken in the wake of Vilnius downgrading her security detail and amid tensions between the Belarusian diaspora and local Lithuanians. That tension, intelligence previously said, was successfully fostered by the Belarusian KGB.
EDITOR’S PICS:
– Foreign nationals hoping to get Lithuanian citizenship are having to move mountains.
– There was a short-lived scare that Lithuania would not take part in the Venice Architectural Biennale, but the decision has now been reversed.
– Our colleague, who is blind, has travelled solo across the United States.
– And here’s how much you should tip in Lithuanian restaurants.
Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Justinas Šuliokas
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