Kelias į laisvę

As the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact neared, the people who followed the events of Sąjūdis began to whisper about a major rally being planned. News about the event spread from person to person via information published in the illegal press. Professor Vytautas Landsbergis, who headed the rally, went on national television to invite people to come to Vilnius. Although the interest was huge, the hundreds of thousands of people who gathered in Vingis Park surpassed all the expectations of organisers.

The speeches of speakers were dominated by stories about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and its consequences for Lithuania. People at the time did not know anything about it or only discussed it in the quiet and safe places at home.

In his speech, well known poet Justinas Marcinkevičius proposed to include specific requirements in the rally resolution. He suggested to publish the pact with all the protocols in the Soviet press. Also, he wanted to open the doors of archives, as well as publish the documents of the latest history of Lithuania.

The largest rally organised by Sąjūdis lasted more than three hours. The participants still remember how overwhelmed they were, there was an indescribable feeling of excitement, as if they had suddenly opened their eyes, as if the missing detail in the complex puzzle of the country’s history had finally found its place.

That year, rallies swept across Lithuania, not bypassing even the smallest town. They raised issues of the restoration of Lithuanian culture, preservation of monuments, as well as ecology.