Body Gym: Olimpieciu 3, tel. 272-7744. Aerobic classes with professional Lithuanian instructors. www.bodygym.lt

Forum Sports Club: Konstitucijos 26, tel. 263-6666. Swimming pool, gym, saunas, aerobics, stadium, massage, solarium, etc. www.forumpalace.lt

Grozio Terapijos ir Kosmetologijos Centras: À. Sugiharos 3, tel. 270-5710. A Western-standard beauty center that can do everything from dermatology to electrocoagulation to a dozen other skin and body treatments that you can’t pronounce. Their wide variety of aerobics classes include funk and step, just meters away from the pool/jacuzzi/sauna complex. They also have a hotel and a giant workout room. www.sugihara.lt

Le Meridien Villon Fitness Center: 20 km from Vilnius on the A2 (the Vilnius-Riga highway), inside the Le Meridien Villon hotel, tel. 273-9777. This spectacular fitness center could win awards on atmosphere alone: rooms all look out through tall glass windows towards a peaceful lake and birch-wood forest. A spacious, airy feel. Pool, jacuzzi, aerobics, weight rooms and more. Ideal for hotel guests, but also perfect for those staying elsewhere in Vilnius for the long term. www.hotelvillon.lt

Lietuvos Telekomas Sports Club: Savanoriu 28, tel. 260-3757, fax 231-3650. Aerobics, basketball, a solarium, a children’s playroom. Pricey, but widely considered the best in town www.telecomsportclub.lt

Nautilus Sporto Klubas: Justiniskiu 62a, tel. 248-1843. Weight room, aerobics.

Olympic Gym: Ozo 41, tel. 240-0960. Open: 09-22, Sat.-Sun. 10-21. Modern, popular gym, aerobics, Jacuzzi, pool, sauna. www.olympicgym.lt

Sprotvita Gym: Ateities 1f, tel. 270-1068. Only ten minutes from the city center. Lots of equipment, sauna, bar, etc. www.sportvita.lt

Bowling

Apollo Bowling: Ozo 25, at Akropolis; tel. 238-7777. 20 lanes.

Boulingas: Zirmunu 68, tel. 277-0760. Excellent facilities; cheapest bowling in town.

Boulingo Klubas: Jasinskio 16, tel. 249-6600. Modern bowling alleys, video games, pool, bar, food.

Cosmic Bowling Center: Vytenio 6, tel. 233-9909, www.bowling.lt

Go-carting
Kartodromas Brazilija: Savanoriu 178 tel. 231-1507. Tremendous fun for speed freaks.

Saunas

Most good hotels have their own sauna, but there are public saunas, too. Among them:

Grozio Terapijos ir Kosmetologijos Centras: Sugiharos 3, tel. 270-5710. Swedish and Turkish.

Villon Fitness Club: Le Meridien Villon Hotel, Vilnius-Riga highway, tel. 273-9777. Finnish and Turkish. The place to go for a super relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Skating

You can go to the mega mall Akropolis, Ozo 25 (see Department Stores). Ice Palace: Azuolyno 9, tel. 242-4212. A recently opened Western-styled rink and stadium that will house the new Vilnius hockey team. The rink is open to the public for skating at two hour intervals for 10-15 litas, depending on the time of day. Figure skating and ice hockey clubs are also based here. A pizza shop and café, with NHL paraphernalia, are upstairs. Real enthusiasts can also dart off about 30 minutes to the nearby city Elektrenai, the hockey capital of Lithuania. Call the rink on Draugystes 24 at tel. (528) 39-755.

Swimming
Vandens Pasaulis: Erfurto 13, tel. 270-6766; in the Lazdynai region. The only 50-meter pool in Vilnius. Diving.

Tennis/Squash

Vilnius Squash Club: (B-1) I. Simulionio 5, tel. 216-9211. www.vilniussquash.lt

Tennis Courts: ( G-2) B. Radvilaites 6, in Sereikiskiu Park by the Gediminas castle.

Sports

Of the three Baltic states, Lithuania is probably best known as a sports nation. This is primarily because of its national basketball teams, which are consistently among the top three or four in the world.

Football (Soccer): Basketball has long been No. 1 in Lithuania, but football’s increasingly popular. Lithuania’s international matches are played at Zalgiris Stadium, located just north of the river in central Vilnius at Rinktines 3. For more information contact the Lithuanian Football Association, Seimyniskiu 15, tel. 263-8741.
In the Lithuanian Premiership, champions Kareda Siauliai FC are always on track to win again. The other two strong teams in Lithuania are Ekranas Panevezys FC and Zalgiris Vilnius FC.

Hockey: Lithuania doesn’t have a strong hockey system, so most good players go abroad. To the deep disappointment, and even embarrassment of many Lithuanians, the nation’s top hockey player, Darius Kasparaitis, plays for the Russian national team. Pittsburgh’s Kasparaitis is considered one of the most valuable and hard-checking defensemen in the NHL. A rising Lithuanian star is Philadelphia’s 20-year-old winger Dainius Zubrus.

Basketball: In domestic leagues, the perennial powerhouse is Zalgiris Kaunas, which has also brought in several ex-NBA players; they were European champions in 1999. Having won the prestigious European Cup over all other clubs in Europe in 1997, Zalgiris earned a place in the EuroLeague, the top echelon of basketball on the continent-and then won its championship in 1999. Lithuania has two players in the NBA, both of them star centers: Arvydas Sabonis of Portland and Zydrunas Ilgauskas of Cleveland. In 1998, despite a much-publicized victory over the US team in the World Championships, Lithuania faltered and lost in the latter rounds. The national team won bronze in the last two Olympics.

Lithuanian basketball is back on top of the world, well, at least of Europe—after winning the European Championships for the first time since the then-dominant Lithuanians won in 1939 and 1937. The September, 2003 victory over favored Spain by a 93-84 margin prompted displays of euphoria in the streets of basketball-crazed Lithuania, which has long been to European basketball what Indiana is to the United States.

By making it to the finals, Lithuania automatically qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where they will be favorites for a medal. They had only one NBA player at the European Championships in Sweden, but could have three in Athens—should twin towers Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who plays for Cleveland, and Robertas Javtokas, who plays for San Antonio, be fully fit to play by then.
One ESPN analyst waxed poetically about what he described how Lithuanians are “loaded with sharp-shooters who need just a little bit of daylight to knock down a 3-pointer” and “who rarely make mistakes.” And Lithuanian fans, he went on, “are the rowdiest fans in the world. They blow ear-piercing whistles that sound like a massive swarm of killer bees from the jump ball to the final buzzer—but only when the opponents are on offense.”

Since independence, Lithuania has won three Olympic bronze medals. During Communist rule, Lithuanians made up the bulk of the gold-medal-winning Soviet teams, and they comprised the core of Soviet teams that won the European Championship eight straight times starting in 1957. Many considered Lithuania a chief pioneer of European basketball before the war—at a time when few countries on the continent paid the sport much heed.

Gravity: Jasinkio 16, tel. 249-7966. Open: Fri., Sat. 22-06. A Dutch-owned dance club. Hip, trendy and the closest thing to London in Vilnius. Foreign DJs play house music. Face control keeps away the thugs.

Helios: Didýioji 28, tel. 261-5040. Open: Thu.-Sat. 22-05. Popular nightclub just on the corner of Town Hall square.

Intro: Maironio 3, tel. 279-1508. Night club, café and an art gallery.

Lithuanian Wild Club: Gedimino 24, tel. 262-4473. Open:20-05. The name says it all.

New Orleans: Vienuolio 4, tel. (700) 55-599. Loud, local and respectable.

New York: Kalvariø 85, tel. 273-1273. Open 20-05. Closed Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun. Vilnius’ only music and cabaret theatre.

Pabo Latino: Trakø 3, tel. 262-1045. Open: Thu.-Sat. 20-05. For the brash-trash set.

Stereo 45: Jogailos 3. Bar with DJs at the weekend.

Casinos

You must be over 21 and you need to prove it.

Casino Planet: J. Basanavièiaus 4, tel. 272-5385. Open:16-4. Fri, Sat 16-6.
Grand Casino World: Vienuolio 4, tel. (700) 55-599. Open:24hrs.
Olympic Casino: Konstitucijos 20 (inside Reval Hotel Lietuva), tel. 123-4930. Open:24hrs.

Adult Entertainment

Dolls: Konstitucijos 18, tel. 212-1349. Open:21-06.

Exclusive: Vingriø 25, tel. 261-7673. Open:21-06; Sun. closed.

Lu-Lu: A. Goðtauto 12, tel. 262-0843. Open: Thu.-Sat. from 20:00.

Old Town: Rûdninkø 14, tel. 212-1349.

Ðachrazada: Ðvitrigailos 7/16, tel. 233-0995. Open:21-06; Sun. closed.

Waterworld: Didþioji 21, tel. 261-8226. Open:21-05.

Gay Clubs

Men’s Factory at Þygimantø 1
Relax: (B-4) Jakðto 12, tel. 6063-3463.

Rave/Alternative

The dance scene in Vilnius has, somewhat undeservedly, had the reputation of lagging behind Riga and Tallinn. But this, at least partly, has to do with a wider range of musical tastes here; there are strong followings for death metal, hardcore punk, reggae, jazz and the like. That can’t be said, say, for Tallinn.

Committed clubbers, however, need not fear: you can get satisfaction in Vilnius. A clearinghouse of information about non-club-based parties is the largest party organizer in Lithuania, Ore; you can also email them at ore@ore.lt. An Ore spokesman said their DJs stress “nu-jazz, nu-funk, breakbeats, deep and spacey house.” Other party organizers include Good Will People (techno and drum ‘n bass) and Metro Crew (techno).

These roaming parties are held in warehouses, printing plants and even at former Soviet bases in and around Vilnius. Landlocked venues also feature dance music, though often of the more commercial variety: one good place is Intro at Maironio 3, tel. 279-1508. The semi-underground Green Club is punk oriented but also dabbles in dance club music. They’re shy about publishing their address, but you can call Ore (above) for their coordinates.
Among the top DJs in Vilnius are Soulus Macoulus, DJ Mamania and DJ Halusin.

Argentinean

El Gaucho Sano: Pilies 10, tel. 210-7773. Open:12-02. Traditional Argentinean sausage, cajun rice, gazpacho and your choice of chicken, beef or fish with various sauces including chimichurri. Residents are grateful someone brought these exotic tastes to Lithuania, but the beef from Lithuania and local sauces are hardly the real deal. Expensive but fun.

Caucasian

Achtamar: Konarskio 1, tel. 233-1344. Open:11-23. The shoddy state of this odd little restaurant is eclipsed only by its reputation as one of the best places for Georgian and other Caucasian dishes in the country. They really know how to cook meat, and not knowing nouvelle cuisine from Pirosmani’s elbow, the portions are always terrifyingly large.

Sorena: Islandijos 4, tel. 262-7560 Open:11-23, Fri, Sat, Sun 11-24. Wonderful Azerbaijani cuisine in a laid back, slightly tongue-in-cheek atmosphere. Once again, the meat is cooked to perfection, coming in so many pungent combinations that you’ll need to visit a few times to get the best from their menu.

Chinese

Auksinis Feniksas: Gedimino 64, tel. 249-6909. Open:11:30-23; Sun. 12-23. This tiny hole serves the most expensive Chinese in town, and among the best. Frequented by businessmen and politicians as it’s across the street from the parliament. It’s a good idea to reserve one of the four upper tables for some privacy as the lower tables running along the wall are tiny. Hot favorites include spicy white mushroom soup, the Chinese salad and the pork, bamboo and Xianggu mushrooms.

Èili Kinija: Þirmûnø 68a, tel. 277-4111. Open:11-24. Fast, democratic and very good Chinese food. Also at Ozo 25 (inside Akropolis), tel. 238-7938. Open:10-24.

French

Les Amis: Savièiaus 9-1, tel. 212-3738. Open:10-23. By all accounts a much welcome addition to Vilnius French restaurant scene, this humble-looking bistro is full of culinary surprises all exquisitely stage-managed by an extremely hands-on French owner. The current favorite among the capital’s French expat community, dip into anything on the menu and feast with friends for the price of a poisson in Paree. Recommended.

Le Paysage: 20 km from Vilnius on the A2, tel. 273-9600. Open:07-24. Off the Vilnius-Riga highway in the Le Meridien Villon hotel, a 20-minute drive from the city. Even if you are not staying at the hotel, this fine restaurant is worth a trip. French cuisine, a beautiful view of a lake and a birch forest, and waiters and waitresses who know how to take care of you.

Greek

S. Metaxa: Pilies 5, tel. 652-00330. Open:09-03; Mon. 11-03. Notable not just for the authentic provisions on demand but also for the kind of location you’d sell your mother for, Vilnius’ only central Greek taverna turns out to be better as a bar than a place to eat, but is still worth ordering some small tasty side dishes to go with your drinks. The small salon to the right offers the best views but you can end up being forgotten by the staff. You choose.

Indian

Sue’s Indian Raja: Ðv. Mykolo 4, tel. 260-9592. Open:12-23. Sat, Sun 12-24. Superb dining courtesy of one of Vilnius’ more colorful characters, Wing Commander Rajinder Chaudhary (Indian Air Force, retired), who uses only the best, hand-picked Indian cooks to provide a range of delicious dishes to suit all tastes. Excellent value and mouth-wateringly good.

International

Brasserie Astorija: Didþioji 35/2, tel. 236-0840. Open:12-24. A better than average hotel restaurant that should be applauded for continually playing with the menu, Brasserie Astorija is best known and loved for its legendary Sunday Brunch, which as well as offering good value for money also attracts a fair proportion of Vilnius’ expat elite.

Èingischanas: Basanavièiaus 8, tel. 212-1178. Open:11-24; Sat., Sun. 12-24. A multitude of variations on the so-called Middle Asian theme, this slightly clinical two-floor restaurant has enough pertinent paraphernalia scattered around to keep you more than amused when tucking into your Turp Gazak (a delicious radish salad with brynza cheese) and plate of steaming mutant ravioliesque manty in carrot sauce. The service isn’t great, especially if they’re entertaining the local housing estate royalty who seem to like it here, and although rich Slavic types do patronize the place from time to time, the only bubbly hookahs here are the green ones used for smoking by the bar.

Cozy: Dominikonø 2, tel. 261-1137. Where the smart advertising executives and better class of embassy hooligans go for its utterly western look and feel and some good and extremely affordable food. This is just what G-Lounge should be but isn’t, and, accordingly, booking a table in the evening is a wise precaution. It’s also a nice place for daytime coffee and a good book.

Freskos: Didþioji 31, tel. 261-8133. Open:11-24. At this fine, thespian-themed restaurant, you savor painstakingly-prepared dishes in a delightful interior, which something of a cross between a Hungarian beer hall and backstage at a small Parisian theater. A cobalt-blue fresco in the middle room has been carefully restored and ornate, bejeweled costumes and colorful sketches donated by the National Opera grace the walls Main dishes ride out of the kitchen on a pair of Brobdingnagian plates, with meat and veggies separated.

Gras’as: Vokieèiø 2, tel. 212-2031. Open:10-02, Fri, Sat 10-06. Ignore the daft-looking gnomes in the window and follow the steps down into one of the best-looking locations in Vilnius, where an extensive menu of local and international dishes entice. Truly a masterpiece of old meets new, Gras’as is highly recommended at least for the atmosphere, and can be treated as a bar as well as a restaurant by the way. Booking a table in the evening is a wise precaution.

Hazienda: Maironio 13 (inside the Mabre Residence hotel), tel. 212-2087. Open:12-24. This German-run steakhouse is set in a simple but cozy vaulted room. Good atmosphere and tasty food, though a little pricey.

La Provence: Vokieèiø 22, 261-6573. Open:11-24. Exquisite Mediterranean cuisine served in an atmosphere that combines elegance and rusticity to resemble the French countryside. Start with delicately seasoned salads, Gazpacho, or escargot. The sophisticated meat and fish entrees include rabbit balls in a mustard sauce, venison with spinach ravioli, Roebuck filet with cherry sauce and game pate, or Monkfish with ratatouille. The lime sorbet, served in a frozen lemon shell, might be the best desert in town.

Markus ir Ko: Antokolskio 11, tel. 262-3185. Open:12-24. Has the feel of an upmarket college pub and has been the favored haunt of many visitors and residents for years. Essentially a better than average steak house, the menu does offer other international dishes as well.

Medininkai: Auðros Vartø 8, next to Europa Imperial hotel; tel. 266-0771. Open:12-23. Having made the successful transition from traditional Lithuanian to something more international without losing too much of its Lithuanian-ness, this die-hard favorite cellar restaurant of the first order attracts a mixed crowd of diners from the older generation locals who’ve been eating here since Soviet times to romantic youngsters looking to impress. Ask for one of their big steaks and a bottle of red wine, but don’t forget to leave some space for one of their special desserts.

Skonis ir Kvapas: Trako 8, tel. 212-2803. Open:08:30-23; Sat., Sun. 09:30-23. Head under the arch and enter the threshold marked with Roman numerals. Inside, there are lovely tapestries, faded wall paintings and dainty Elizabethan furniture. The extravagantly framed classical paintings, while hardly Caravaggio, do add to the scene. The music here is easy listening, the choice of tasty coffee is extensive, and there are also 30 types of tea. Portions of food are small but good. the beef with plums is just as good as every irresistible dessert here. Needless to say, the place is packed to the rafters with women.

Tores: Uþupio 40, tel. 262-9309. Open:11-24. It’s a wine cellar, gallery and restaurant with a view. This is the place to take a break if you are touring around Vilnius’ Bohemian neighborhood, Uþupis. It’s also one of hottest places to convene for after work drinks and new-style Lithuanian food. The underground cellar feels like a mazey cave but is brightened with tropical fish tanks and surreal, Dali-like art. Alternatively hang out in the large bar at the back overlooking Old Town. The choice is yours.

Italian

Da Antonio I: Vilniaus 23, tel. 262-0109. Open:11-23. There are over 30 varieties of pizza to choose from here. Service here is quick and friendly, but it’s the overall ambience of the place that should keep Da Antonio in the money. Two artistically decapitated Corinthian columns mark the doorway, and the high, off-white walls are modestly decorated with Roman trimmings. The plush booths are also cozy without seeming conspiratorial.

Da Antonio Trattoria: Pilies 20, tel. 261-8341. Open:09-24. A proletariat- friendly bistro with an earthy atmosphere complete with the prerequisite checkered table cloths and Chianti bottles. It works well, even though the menu is limited.

Rossini: (G-2) L. Stuokos-Gucevièiaus 3, tel. 210-7466. Open:11-24. A good Italian restaurant inside the Citypark hotel. Perfect location with a splendid view of the Cathedral. www.citypark.lt

Sorrento: Pylimo 21, tel. 264-4737. Open:07-23; Sun. 12-23. A bit of an anomaly when it arrived, this place has surpassed all expectations, and despite being located next to a busy bus stop remains calm and collected. Very popular with groups and Italians.

St. Valentino: Trako 18, tel. 231-4198. Open:07:30-23. Relaxed atmosphere, with a TV over the bar and further seating down a corridor. Pizza and some other Italian dishes. Banquet rooms.

Japanese

Kabuki: Didþioji 28, tel. 260-9020. Open:12-24. A good Japanese restaurant that’s kept up its standards and much favored by the local BMW-driving Bling When You’re Winning set and their lady friends, not least because, for Vilnius at least, the place is damned expensive. One of the best sushi options in the city, meaning booking ahead is more than advisable. A good choice if you don’t want to stuff yourself silly before visiting the equally bling club in the same building.

Tokyo: Vienuolio 4, tel. (700) 55-599. Open:12-24; Fri., Sat. 12-01. The only Japanese chefs in Vilnius don’t disappoint in this brilliant restaurant, and if you can’t stomach Maki Sushi then the noodle dishes are some of the best outside the city the place was named after. Try the excellent Tempura Udon or if you’re not feeling so flush go for the business lunch. For 6 Lt extra you can have it brought to your door too.

Lithuanian

Èili Kaimas: Vokieèiø 8, tel. 231-2536. Open:10-24. Fri, Sat 10-02. The extremely successful Lithuanian restaurant chain’s latest spin-off focuses on traditional dishes in a fun atmosphere for good prices. Too Disney for some, but recommended all the same. Also at (B-5) Þirmunø 2 (inside IKI Minskas), tel. 273-5473; and Ukmergës 282 (inside Maxima), tel. 238-8384. Open:10-24.

Stikliai Aludë: Gaono 7, tel. 262-4501. Open:11-24. The food is expensive but very tasty, from jacket potatoes to a great goulash. There is frequently live Lithuanian folk music in the beer hall, and, be warned, the performers sometimes ask customers to join in. The wine cellar downstairs is quaint and quieter.

Þemaièiø Smuklë: Vokieèiø 24, tel. 261-6573. Open:11-24. A superb selection of Samogitian and other Lithuanian specialties. People in the know say it is the place to try cepelinai for the first time. A half portion will probably do though. Diners can choose from one of the myriad of traditionally decorated cellar rooms or sit upstairs in the bar. Local beer is served in clay jugs and there is an extensive and well considered wine list. The game menu is excellent.

Russian

Èagino: Basanavièiaus 11, tel. 261-5555. Open:12-24. Authentic Russian cuisine amidst photos of historic Vilnius. The old-world cellar atmosphere clashes nicely with the posh decor. Named after a 19th-century Russian architect who moved to Vilnius and built various city monuments.

St. Peterburgas: Antakalnio 39, tel. 234-6650. Open:11-21, Sat., Sun. 12-21. Don’t let the absence of an English menu put you off, make sure you come on a Friday or Saturday evening (booking a table is recommended) and you’ll be more than happy you did. What most of us only do at weddings many Russians do whenever they can, which in this case comprises of eating lots, drinking even more, and then dancing the night away, preferably in pairs, to the sound of a live cabaret act. A refreshing break from the pretensions of Old Town, St. Peterburgas offers plenty of cheese and an enormous amount of fun. Highly recommended, especially for a group looking to celebrate in a unique and unforgettable environment.

Steaks

Helios Steakhouse: Didþioji 28, tel. 260-9009. Open:08-24. Sat, Sun 12-24. Damn fine steaks and other quality international dishes in a professional setting, popular with locals and expats alike, Helios offers daytime and evening menus to suit all tastes and tastebuds. The food really is very good indeed, and includes some fine fish dishes as well. Book a table in the evening to avoid disappointment. www.steakhouse.lt

Ukrainian

Ukrainos Vakarai: Algirdo 5, tel. 265-0302. Open:11-22; Sat.-Sun. 11-24. Ukrainian food that consists of various stews, roasts and other combinations of heavy meats and potatoes. This traditional restaurant offers Ukrainian borsch (with garlic and cabbage, tasty dumplings and a delicious Ukrainian vodka called Nemiroff, which is made from peppers and honey). They play Ukrainian music.

Vegetarian

Balti Drambliai: Vilniaus 41, tel. 262-0875, edge of the Old Town. Open:11-24; Sat., Sun. 12-24. White Elephants, as you’d expect, is decorated with elephant parts; a trunk and tusks hang above the bar. This place is endeavoring to be fashionable but not quite hitting the nail on the head; it has a bit of a musty, cellar feel to it. The food is above average, though, and it’s also relatively cheap, hence its popularity with area students. Fill up on potato pancakes with your choice of curd, cranberry and horseradish sauces.

Fast Food/Delivery

Èili Pica: Lithuania’s hugely successful pizza chain sells good pizza and other dishes at good prices in a number of locations throughout the city. Gedimino 23, tel. 261-9071; (D-4) Mindaugo 11, tel. 213-3388; Þirmûnø 64, tel. 278-8628; Ozo 25 (Akropolis), tel. 238-7927; (D-4) Ðopeno 1/17, tel. 210-5237; Jasinskio 16, tel. 278-6228; Didþioji 5, tel. 231-2462. Delivery: tel. 233-3555. www.cili.lt
Èili Kinija: tel. 277-8899. Chinese food.
Fortas: tel. 212-2000. Good pizza.
Rytu Perlas: tel. 212-1473. Excellent and reasonably priced Chinese food.

Akropolis: Ozo 25, tel. 248-4848. If you love the charm and tradition of this city, Akropolis might make you sick. But if you love shopping malls and American culture, this is your place. More than 90 stores and restaurants encircle an indoor skating rink (open:08-24) and 8 movie theaters (open:10-24). The food court features pizza, Chinese grub and Lido, the tasty Latvian chain cafeteria that makes splendid meat and potato dishes.

Europa: Konstitucijos 7a, tel. 248-7070. Heaps of quality retail and a handful of brasseries for the discerning modern shopper. It never knocked the socks off Akropolis like they said it would, but it does offer you everything under one roof without having to leave town to get it.

Markets

Hale: Pylimo 58/1. This market offers a maze of esthetically unappealing goods from fruits to Marlboros. Open in the morning; closed Mondays. Follow your nose. If you’re in the market for fresh pig’s heads, this is the place.

Flower Market: J. Basanaviciaus 42. As elsewhere in the Baltics, you don’t need an occasion to give someone flowers. Open 24h.

Gariunai: Outside the city, off the Vilnius-Kaunas highway. Literally everything on sale. Many traders specialize in Turkish goods. Packed. A people-watcher’s delight.

Kalvariju Farmers’ Market: Kalvariju 61. Open in the morning; closed Mondays. Take bus # 5 or # 10 across Zaliasis (Green) Bridge and get off with the babushkas. Cheap bulk deals and household goods for suspiciously low prices.

Handicrafts

Artisans ply their wares on Pilies street.

Amber: Ausros Vartu 9.

Amber Gallery: Sv. Mykolo 8.

Ars Bella: Daukanto 2/5-7. Souvenirs and folk art.

Juva: Ausros Vartu 21. Amber.

Linas:Stikliu 3. Linen museum and a shop. Also at Didzioji 11.

Mazoji Galerija: Latviu 19. A good selection of jewelry.

Sauluva: Sv. Mykolo 4. Wooden toys, ceramics, amber, glassware.

Suvenyrai Market: Pilies 23. Lithuanian-style tablecloths and amber.
Antiques

Antikvariatas: Pilies 21, tel. 212-4784.

Antikvariatas: Bernardinû 10, tel. 262-9077.

Galerija Maldis: J. Basanaviàiaus 4a, tel. 212-2192. High-class antique; 19th, 20th century items. www.maldis.lt

Sancta: Auøros Vartû 15, tel. 262-4033.

Senasis Kuparas: Dominikonû 14, tel. 262-1024. www.kuparas.lt

Versme: Didýioji 27, tel. 210-7082.

Vilnius Atniques Center: Dominikonu 16, tel. 262-6476.

Books

Akademine Knyga: Universiteto 4, tel. 261-9711. Open:09:30-19; Sat. 12-17; Sun. closed. Penguin novels, dictionaries, reference books. Go downstairs for the city’s widest selection of English-language leisure reading and travel books.

Draugyste: Gedimino 2, tel. 268-5081.

Littera: Sv. Jono 12, tel. 268-7258. Open:09-18; Sat. 10-15; Sun. closed.

Neta’s Uýsienio Knygos (Foreign Books):Traku 5, tel. 261-0416; tucked in an old-town courtyard. Open:10:30-18; Sat., Sun. 10:30-15. A nest of English-language books; also academic texts. Oxford center.

Prie Hales: Pylimo 53/2, tel. 269-1180. Open:09-18; Sat. 10-15; Sun. closed. Good selection of books in English. Books about Lithuania.

Rotas: Pylimo 42, tel. 261-5100. Open:09-18:30; Sat. 10-15; Sun. closed. Specializing in foreign-language learning books.

Vaga:Gedimino 50, tel. 249-8392. Open:10-19; Sat. 11-18; Sun. closed.

Versme: Didýioji 27, tel. 262-6410. Good location next to the Town Hall.

Suggested Souvenirs

You can’t visit Lithuania and not bring back some gintaras, or amber. This fossilized tree sap has adorned thrones of kings and tombs of pharaohs for thousands of years. You can find amber with insects inside, though this type of amber is relatively rare and more expensive if you do find it. Amber jewelry, from bracelets to watches, are among the most popular souvenirs from Lithuania.
Also wildly popular are Lithuanian wood-carvings. Wood craftsmanship in Lithuania is spectacular. There are assorted favorites, ranging from living figures (serious, humorous or even macabre) to Lithuanian-style crosses.

Linen items are an excellent buy.
A great place to do some comparative shopping is on Pilies street, where artisans, pensioners and others hock their finest works: including woodwork, paintings of Vilnius and Lithuania, hand-crafted knickknacks and, of course, things made with amber that would stretch the imagination. There are some true bargains here, and some poking around and patience can lead to some real gems.
You can also bring home some alcoholic beverages. A few bottles of Utenos or Kalnapilis beer would make things interesting at home, as would a bottle of Kvietino vodka. It’s also hard to beat a good bottle of krupnikas, or honey liqueur. Other liqueurs, like Palanga, Dainava, or Sokoladinis, are also popular and make a nice after-dinner drink.

Compact discs are also a good buy. Anything by M.K. Ciurlionis would definitely satisfy music lovers. Not all of his works can be found at your local HMV or Tower Records, so it is probably good to stock up here.

Also, for the sports fan, why not a basketball jersey of the top team, Zalgiris?

Arriving in Lithuania has become quite trouble-free, particularly at airports. By car, hold-ups at the Polish and Latvian border have also reduced. However, at the Belarusian and Russian (Kaliningrad) borders, lines can still be several hours long.

To and From the Airport: Vilnius Airport (or oro uostas in Lithuanian) is just 5 kilometers from the city center, so getting in and out poses few problems. Cabs are the best option for the 10-minute ride to city center. The trip should never cost more than 20 litas (6 EUR). Avoid the hagglers outside the main arrival hall and dart for the licensed taxis in line; they’re safe but have pricey meter rates. Taxi stands are right outside the arrival hall. If your budget is tight, buy a phone card, order a taxi (phoning tel. 1446 could cut your costs in half).

The airport is smallish and almost never crowded, so finding your way around is also simple. There are currency exchanges, money machines, luggage lockers and easy access to public phones.
If you don’t have much luggage, you can also take bus #2; buy a ticket for about 1 litas from the driver or from a kiosk inside the arrival hall. This airport bus goes near the Hotel Centrum, down the hill to the central Lukiskiu Square and then across the river past the hulking Lietuva Hotel. The #1 bus goes to the train and bus stations.

To and From the Train and Bus Stations: The train and bus stations are next to each other, so instruction on how to come and go from here are the same. Trolley buses #5 and #2 (for about 1 litas) can also take you to the city center, but make sure you buy and punch a ticket. Minicabs #4 and #5 just outside the bus station are quicker, and cost about 2 litas. But you’re not that far from the center anyway, so walking is a viable and pleasant option, if you don’t have much luggage. A cab from here to anywhere within the city center shouldn’t cost more than 10 litas.

Taxis

As cab drivers go, the ones in Vilnius are pretty civilized but not always models of honesty and good manners. Be sure the taxi meter is working and make sure you’re not charged the night rate during the day. Many taxi drivers drive like bats out of hell, so a seat belt, if you can dig one out of the back seat, is advisable. Rates are significantly higher if you pick one up in the street, but even at these inflated prices taxis are, relatively at least, cheap.

Ekipazas: tel. 1446. Highly recommended! English-speaking operators, cheapest rates, reliable, no minimum distances or fees.

Kabrioletas: tel. 1445. People movers for large groups.

Martonas: tel. 240-0004 or 1422. Highly recommended! Well-kept cars, good rates.

Mersera: tel. 278-888 or 1421.

Info Points

The Vilnius Tourist Information Center: (J-3) Didzioji 31 at the Town Hall, tel. 262-6470; open:10-18; turizm.info@vilnius.lt. Also at (C-4) Vilniaus 22, tel. 262-9660; open:09-18; TIC@vilnius.lt; and at Gelezinkelio 16, tel. 269-2091. These centrally located info centers will tell you much of what you need to know, and in fluent English. They also book hotel rooms and sell good maps. www.vilnius.lt

There’s a tourism information center at (G-2) Liejyklos 8/26, tel. 262-5242, run by the Visit Lithuania travel agency.
You can find some good tourism related web sites: www.tourism.lt and www.travel-lithuania.com.

Money

After regaining independence, Lithuania switched in 1993 to its national currency, the litas. The litas is pegged to the euro at the rate of 3,45 litas to a euro. Credit cards are widely accepted; there are ATM machines in abundance. You can change traveler’s checks at bigger banks, like Vilniaus. Currency exchanges are everywhere, and their rates don’t vary much. Snoras Bankas has exchange kiosks around the city center, some of which are open 24 hours.

Time

Lithuania is now also on Eastern European time, two hours ahead of GMT in winter and three hours in summer. Lithuania was in the First European Time Zone, an hour behind Latvia and Estonia. This was an ill-planned and poorly-motivated move to demonstrate Lithuania’s commitment to European integration. But the time change, which caused havoc with opening and office hours, was immensely unpopular with almost all Lithuanians, and so the government reverted back to Eastern European Time.

Telephones

Generally speaking, the phone system in Lithuania is solid, Western-standard.
New phone-card phones are now the norm in the city center. Cards range in price from 9 to 30 litas. You can buy them at kiosks, post offices and some stores. Cards can be used for local, national or international calls. Calling mobile phones or international numbers will gobble up your credit very, very fast.

Emergencies

Fire: tel. 01

Police: tel. 02

Ambulance: tel. 03

From mobile: tel. 112 for all emergencies.

Medical Help

Emergency and medical services tend to fall below Western standards. There are emerging pockets of good care, and with outside help, Lithuania has managed to set up some good medical facilities. But be cautious about care at most hospitals and clinics; without insurance you can end up paying a lot for a hospital room.

Baltic-American Medical and Surgical Clinic: Antakalnio 124, within the Vilnius University Antakalnio Hospital, tel. 276-2020. A friendly and attentive private Lithuanian-American clinic offers care for both children and adults; they do major and minor emergency care, as well as general, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Most resident foreigners, including diplomats, come here. This is the only hospital in Lithuania certified by all major insurance companies. It is run by highly qualified American doctors. Recommended.

Denticija: Grybo 32/10, in the Antakalnis region, tel. 270-9125. Supposedly the highest standard dental care in the Baltic states. Everything inspires confidence here the minute you walk through the doors, from the clean waiting room to the smiling, helpful receptionists. A Lithuanian-American venture, Denticija is often used by ex-pats and diplomats based in Latvia and Estonia. Recommended. www.denticija.lt

Gidenta: (B-4) A. Vienulio 14-3, tel. 261-7143. Private dental clinic for the whole family. www.gidenta.lt

Medicine Central Private Clinic: (B-3) Gedimino 1a-19 (2nd floor), tel. 261-3534. An Australian general/family doctor; consultant to Vilnius embassies. www.clinic.lt

Tips and Explanations

Familiarizing yourself with a few good landmarks in Vilnius should help you keep your bearings straight. A few good reference points are the Bell Tower and Cathedral (G-3), the Gates of Dawn (D-5) and Seimas, the Lithuanian parliament (B-3).

If drinking Lithuanian tap water is something you always wanted to do, it’s not the worst. But as a rule, stick with bottled or boiled water.

The shortest way from point A to point B is not a one-way street, at least not here in Vilnius. If you’re a driver, one-way streets can make your life miserable, especially in and around the old city. If you plan on doing lots of driving in the city center, learn in advance how to negotiate the one-way roads.

On one hand, Lithuanian bureaucrats can be more personable than their counterparts in either Estonia or Latvia. Lithuanians sometimes seem a little more amenable to bending the rules. At the same time, bureaucrats here can devise especially creative, nonsensical obstacles. (There’s a fondness here of notarizing anything and everything.) If they don’t like you, Lithuanian bureaucrats can dig in their heels and never budge. A kind word or a sad story can work wonders.

With foreign companies leaping at the chance to invest in a city that remains, for the outsider at least, somewhat difficult to navigate, and with more and more people visiting the city each year, the following provides a short introduction to surviving your first trip and finding your way into both the local and expat communities.

Accommodation

Please note that during the Sea Festival weekend all of the following will be full. If you’re planning on visiting the city at this time, book a room well in advance. If you can’t get a room, do what everybody else does and base yourself 25km up the coast in Palanga. See www.palanga.lt for more information.

Aribe: Bangu 17a, tel. 490-940, hotel@aribe.lt. Good value, friendly hotel, with a hands-on cast, cable television and receptionists who’ll cook you a meal in the middle of the night if you ask nicely. Singles from around €40.

Europa Royale Klaipeda: Zveju 21/1, tel. 404-444, palace@hoteleuropa.lt. Superb luxury in Old Town with a personal touch. Excellent location and really friendly staff. Singles from around €115.

Klaipeda: Naujojo Sodo 1, tel. 404-372, hotel@klaipedahotel.lt. The city center Soviet-era behemoth, thankfully brought up to exceptional modern standards and now offering such attractive ad-ons as a fully equipped gym and a club where ladies take their clothes off. Singles from around €80.

Litinterp: Puodziu 17, tel. 410-644, klaipeda@litinterp.lt. Superb value bed and breakfast in plain but agreeable rooms. A nice bunch of people who deliver your morning meal in a basket when you want it. Can also arrange accommodation in the popular resorts along the coast. Singles from around €25.

Navalis: Manto 23, tel. 404-200, info@navalis.lt. Amicable staff, great décor, an art gallery, and lots of people in suits running around with laptops. Business class with a spirited difference. Singles from around €110.

Radisson SAS: Siauliu 28, tel. 490-800, klaipeda@radissonsas.com. Exceedingly agreeable surroundings with all the usual Radisson trimmings, one of the best restaurants in town and a small bar often frequented by well-connected foreigners. Singles from around €100.

Sustenance

Black Cat 2: Zveju 21/1, tel. 411-167. Open:11-24. A spacious bar close to the river, popular with expats and offering a decent international menu. Trivia buffs will be delighted to learn that Hitler ate here in 1939.

Cili Kaimas: Manto 11, tel. 310-953. Open:10-24, Fri, Sat 10-02. Traditional Lithuanian dishes inside a renovated Soviet cinema. Being Klaipeda, the theme is aquatic, from the full-on décor to an exceedingly fishy, separate seafood menu.

Cili Pica: (H-4) Taikos 28, tel. 222-222. Open:08-24. A huge choice of good pizza and pasta dishes courtesy of one of Lithuania’s culinary success stories. Home delivery available.
Kurpiai: Kurpiu 1a, tel. 410-555. Open:12-24. A good bar in the middle of Old Town, famed for being the best jazz club in the country.

Luxor: Taikos 12a, tel. 312-122. Open 09-01. Sat, Sun 09-03. International nosh on big plates, international sport on big screens, smashing cocktails and five lanes of bowling no less.
Memelis: Zveju 4, tel. 403-040. Open:11-02, Mon 11-24, Thu 11-03, Fri, Sat 11-04, Sun 12-24. Vast microbrewery with a swanky club in the roof.

Navalis Café: Manto 23 tel. 404-200. Open 08-24. Fabulous coffee and snacks. Great people-watching windows too.

Skandalas: Kanto 44, tel. 411-585. A bar much loved by locals and expats alike, not least because of the stunning interior. A good place to get your feet wet.

Senoji Hansa: Manto 21. Open:10-20. Sun 10-18. Really good serve-yourself buffet food inside a modern shopping center.

XII: Naujoji Sodo 1, tel. 404-372. Open:12-03. At the top of the Klaipeda Hotel, and offering the best views of the city in town. Classy, but unfortunately feels the need to have a large, loud television behind the bar to keep the locals happy.

Sights

Clock Museum: Liepu 12, tel. 410-413. Open:12-17:30, Sun 12-16:30. Closed Mon. A rather blokey collection of historic timepieces. Quirky enough, but not recommended for those currently going through a mid-life crisis.

Sea Museum: Smiltynes 3, tel. 490-751. Opening hours vary. Check the website for precise details. Europe’s largest collection of seashells, and the only place in the world you’ll find dolphins singing Happy Birthday in Lithuanian. See the special box on this page for more information about the museum. www.juru.muziejus.lt

Transport

Ferries
Local shipping company Lisco operate several good ferries between Klaipeda and ports in Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Poland.

Flights
The local airport at Palanga, approximately 25 kilometers north of Klaipeda, handles some 50,000 passengers annually and is a good option if visiting western Lithuania from abroad. SAS operate direct flights to and from Copenhagen, and the small but agreeable airport also handles flights to destinations as bizarre as Birmingham and Bangkok.

Taxis
Taxis (tel. 311-211) are cheap, but should be called in advance for minimum tariff and hassle.

Public Transport
The local bus service remains appalling, and Klaipeda’s buses are notoriously riddled with pickpockets. Avoid, or be extremely careful.

Car Hire
Both Litinterp and Unirent offer friendly, good value car hire.

Trains
Two daily services and one night service operate between Klaipeda and Vilnius. A luxury class train ticket between the two cities will set you back around €15 for the five-hour trip. The early evening trip to Vilnius during the summer is a highly recommended experience.

Cycling
For more about hiring bicycles, cycle maps (like the one that comes with this city guide, see below), repairs and everything else.

Business

The only ice-free port in the Baltics, Klaipeda is also the only city in Lithuania with a currently active Free Economic Zone. The 205-hectare site is located close to the center of the city and offers all the incentives normally associated with such projects. To set up here immediately, Baltic Real Estate Investments (tel. 300-164, offer a wide range of walk-in office and warehouse facilities. For on the ground assistance in the city and western Lithuania in general you may like to contact Mark Uribe (tel. +370-6 993 3210, mark@englishcentre.lt), Honorary British Consul and long-time Klaipeda resident, who offers a number of brokerage services to foreign companies and individuals looking to do business in the area.

The Klaipeda telephone code is 46 if dialing from with the country. To call from outside Lithuania, proceed the number with +370-46.

A good starting point for any tour of the old city is the Gates of Dawn, at the southernmost point of the old city. This last remaining part of the old city wall (much of the fortifications in Vilnius were destroyed by the Czar’s army in the 1800s) was converted into a chapel in 1671. A main draw of the chapel is the gold and silver icon of the Virgin Mary, which is revered by Catholics in the region, from Poland to Belarus. The chapel is a mecca to thousands of pilgrims every year. As an act of devotion, some climb the cement steps to the icon on their knees.

Continue down Ausros Vartu and you will pass the Church of the Holy Spirit , an Orthodox church and site of the Holy Spirit Monastery, part of which has been rented to the Italian Ambassador in order to raise money for the church. Go further down the street and take a left on Stikliu: this area was once the heart of the city’s thriving, prewar Jewish community. A few steps away is the recently-erected monument to the celebrated Jewish scholar, Gaon of Vilnius.

Go straight on Stikliu and you come to Dominikonu and the Dominican Church, one of many supposedly haunted sites in Vilnius. During a plague that swept the land in 1657, a cellar in the monastery was used to accommodate an overflow of corpses. In the late 1800s, area residents began to complain about incessant moaning coming from the cellar area, where, upon investigation, police found hundreds of mummified, long-forgotten bodies. It is said that faint, eerie wailing can still be heard by those passing by the Church in the early morning hours.

Go down the hill on Dominikonu to Universiteto street, site of Vilnius University. You’ll find some of the old city’s most splendid architecture within the grounds of Vilnius University, which was founded by Jesuits in 1579 to stem the influence of the Reformation in Lithuania. The university was closed by Moscow from 1832 to 1917. Today, some 14,000 students attend the school.

Wind your way across the old city on Sv. Mykolo to the 16th century St. Anne’s Church , a fine example of Gothic architecture. When he came through Vilnius, Napoleon is said to have been so taken by St. Anne’s that he wanted to haul it back to Paris and set it down alongside Notre Dame.

From here, you can see the Hill of Three Crosses. Historical rumor has it that seven Franciscan monks who foolishly tried to convert Lithuanian pagans were murdered here. Four were tossed into the river while three were hung out on the hill to dry. The first crosses were erected in the 1600s to honor the martyrs. Stalin had them torn down; the prewar crosses rest at the foot of the mound where new ones were raised in1989. The hill offers a breathtaking view of the city, especially in the autumn or winter. A winding trail leads from Kalnu Park up steep steps on the south side of the hill to the top.

Heading down Maironio and through the park brings you to another hill. Castle Hill is the site of the oldest settlement in Vilnius, though there isn’t much left to show for it. In the 14th century, Grand Duke Gediminas dreamt he saw an iron wolf howling on this hill, which towers over the old city, between the Neris and Vilnia Rivers. The wolf’s cry signified to him that a great city would arise at this location, and he proceeded to construct it. From the original settlement, only a few structures remain, including the Gediminas Tower—the only major remnant of the 13th century Upper Castle still standing; there is a history museum inside the tower. At the base of the hill is a series of barrel-shaped structures covering the excavation site of the city’s ancient castle, the Lower Castle; the castle was the residence of the nation’s grand dukes for more than three centuries.

Next to the hangars is the Cathedral , originally built as a temple to the thunder god Perkunas. By the 19th century, after scores of transformations, it had been almost completely revamped in neoclassical style. After the Soviet takeover in the 1940s, the Communists turned the church into an art gallery. It was converted back to a church in the late ’80s. The church is still the resting place for many famous figures in the history of Lithuania-Poland, including royalty. Flanking the Cathedral is the distinct Bell Tower, one of the city’s leading landmarks and a favorite meeting place for local Lithuanians.

St. Casimir’s Church: Didzioji 34, off of Rotuses Square. Named after the patron saint of Lithuania, St. Casimir. Because Casimir was in the Lithuanian-Polish royal family, the church is topped by a golden crown. In Czarist days, it was removed and replaced by an onion dome. The crown was restored in the 1920s.

Church of Saints Peter and Paul: Antakalnio 1, just to the northeast of the old city; tel. 234-0229. Although plain from the outside, from the inside this church is truly breathtaking. The walls from top to bottom are alive with frescos in animal and human forms—no two of them exactly the same. This church was originally built in the 14th century, but was then rebuilt in Baroque splendor in the late 1600s. The some 200 artists who worked on the interior were directed by the Italian masters Pietro Peretti and Giovanni Maria Galli.

Presidential Palace: S. Daukanto Sq 3/8, tel. 266-4011. The huge presidential palace, or prezidentura, was built in the 14th century; it has undergone dozens of renovations throughout the centuries, most notably by architect Laurynas Stuoka-Guceviàius. Napoleon stayed here on his way to Moscow in 1812.

Museum of Genocide Victims: at Auku 2a, off of central Gedimino; tel. 249-6264. Open:10-17; Mon. closed. This is one of the only museums of its kind in the former Soviet empire. For a haunting sense of the terror that swept the land under Soviet rule, you’ll want to drop in to this museum in what was the much-feared KGB headquarters until 1991. You can tour actual cells where prisoners were held and tortured. On a recent trip, President Adamkus found the entry for him in the KGB log book, from when he was a prisoner in the building.

Elsewhere in Vilnius

Pilsudski’s Heart: At the Rasu Cemetery on Sukileliu, southeast of the old city. Pre-war Polish leader Jozef Pilsudski, who forcibly incorporated Vilnius into Poland in 1920, always said his heart lay in this city. To prove the point for posterity, he directed that his heart be cut out and buried in Vilnius after his death. His heart’s in this cemetery; the rest of him is in Waweï in Krakow.

Vilnius TV tower: In the Karoliniskes district, northwest of the city center, Sausio 13-osios 10, tel. 252-5333. Open:10-21. The city’s TV tower was the site of the bloodiest episode in Lithuania’s drive for freedom in the early ’90s. In the morning hours of January 13, 1991, Soviet troops stormed the tower, which was surrounded by hundreds of unarmed demonstrators, including many women and teenagers. Thirteen civilians were shot dead or crushed by advancing Soviet tanks. Many historians regard the massacre at the Vilnius TV tower as a landmark event which helped hasten the collapse of the Soviet empire. Crosses and flowers are placed at the base of the tower in memory of those who died; there is also a small exhibition devoted to the massacre inside the tower itself. The street itself was renamed to commemorate the date of the attack.

The top of the TV tower also offers spectacular views of the entire Vilnius region. www.lrtc.lt

Vingio Parkas: A 20-minute walk uphill and west from the city center. A vast, beautiful park, once the estate of a prominent Lithuanian aristocrat. Russian Czar Alexander I first heard of Napoleon’s invasion in 1812 while at a ball on the estate. The pre-invasion bash was described in Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Trails wind through 395 acres of pine forest; an ideal place for a walk or jog. Pleasant in the daytime, but dimly lit at night. In winter, this is a perfect place for cross-country skiing. Most large public events in Vilnius are held somewhere in this park.

Yiddish Vilnius: You wouldn’t necessarily know it by walking the streets today, but Vilnius was once one of the cultural centers of the Jewish world. Known before World War II as the Jerusalem of the North, Vilnius was home to more than 60,000 Jews, most of whom spoke Yiddish, a 1000-year-old German dialect. Vilnius was considered the capital of Yiddish culture and learning and was home to the famed Yiddish Institute of Higher Learning (YIVO) and the Strashum Library.

The first Jews came to Lithuania in the 14th century, lured to the area by tolerant Lithuanian regimes. On the eve of the war, some 240,000 Jews lived in Lithuania-virtually all of whom were killed during the Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944. Today, there are few reminders of Vilnius’ Jewish past, save for Hebrew letters on a gutted, hidden-away building near the train/bus station on Raugyklos street. There are some 6000 Jews left in Lithuania; around 200 of them are Holocaust survivors. Few speak Yiddish anymore, and there are fears that the culture will soon die out completely. For more details and guidance visit the Jewish Museum on Pamenkalnio 12, tel. 262-0730.

Eight kilometers from Vilnius, there’s the town of Paneriai. This eerie pine forest became a killing field during the Nazi occupation when up to 100,000 people, mostly Jews, were shot by German soldiers and local collaborators. The pits and trenches where the mass executions and burnings took place are still visible. A small museum recounts the horror. Also, see the Synagogue on Pylimo 39 and the small museum on Pylimo 4. Before the war, there were almost 100 synagogues in Vilnius.

Zappa: What do Frank Zappa and Lithuania have in common? Nothing. But that hasn’t stopped Vilnius from erecting a monument to the late great rock legend. The four-meter-high Zappa bust, at Kalinausko 1 in the city center, was unveiled in 1995 after intense lobbying by Zappamaniacs. The zany iconoclast, who died several years ago of cancer at the age of 52, achieved cult status in much of the former Communist bloc for his anti-establishment themes. He allegedly intended to visit Lithuania before he died, or so his fans here say. Some older Lithuanians thought the idea of a monument to a quirky American rock star with a penchant for four-letter word lyrics was, at best, nuts. The monument is said to be the first and only one dedicated to Zappa anywhere in the world.

Back in the USSR: The only Soviet nostalgia sight left in Vilnius are the Bridge Statues on Zaliasis Tiltas, glorifying The Soviet Worker, are gaudy and pompous. They make good landmarks and are memorable backgrounds for tourist photos.

Getaways

In Lithuania’s pagan days, a mere six centuries ago, forests were sacred, literally. Lithuanians still view their forests as a sanctuary from everyday pressures. Consequently, Lithuania has a lot to offer the outdoor enthusiast: fishing, hunting, hiking, mushrooming, swimming, camping, horseback riding and canoeing. The Soviet occupation left the all-too-common, Communist-inflicted scars on Lithuania’s environment: fouled rivers, contaminated sites from over 400 military bases, and decrepit, smoke-chugging factories. At the same time, collectivization here, as in Estonia and Latvia, left abandoned farms which were eventually reclaimed by the surrounding forests.

Today, over 27 percent of Lithuania is covered with forests, which are highly treasured by Lithuanians, young and old. Lithuania also has at least one herd of wild European bison, with a number of sightings reported near the Belarussian-Lithuanian border. If you hunt down and kill one of these rare beasts, Lithuania’s forestry department will draw and quarter you.

Anyksciai: In the north of the country is the small winery town, famous for the forest a little to the south. The Forest of Anyksciai has been an inspiration to many works of literature, most notably The Grove of Anyksciai, written by Antanas Baranauskas in response to the Czar’s government felling trees from the revered area. Within the forest is also a huge boulder, which, while hiding from Soviet forces, sculptor Bronius Pundlius created a monument to pioneering Lithuanian aviators Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas. It is not hard to see where the inspiration of the poem came from.

Aukstaitijos National Park: Located 100 kilometers northeast of Vilnius, this 40,570- hectare national park is a paradise of rolling pine forests, lazy rivers and sparkling, interconnected lakes. Contact its tourism and recreation center at tel. (368) 52-597 or e-mail at anp@is.lt for information on camping and accommodations, including tent, sleeping bag and canoe or surfing board rentals. www.ignalina.lt

Ballooning: For the daring and/or crazy, you can also see Lithuania by hot air balloon. You can book hour-long or even longer trips; one hour costs about 110 dollars. Contact the Balloonist Center at Pylimo 45, tel. 273-2703; www.ballooning.lt

Biking: Lithuania’s relatively flat, so it can be an ideal country for cycling. Info on routes and organized trips at www.bicycle.lt

Fishing: Some of the finest pike waters in Europe are found in Lithuania’s lakes, where lunkers of 5 kilos or more are caught every year. Lithuania’s rivers offer especially good trout fishing. Ice fishing in winter is wildly popular, though only for the hardy or foolish.

Horseback riding: Ýemoji riese, Zirgu 12, tel. 246-9091. Or at Gineistiskiu, tel. 231-9007. You can rent a horse with or without taking lessons. If you want to ride free, you can ask to clean the stables as payment. For other options you can also look at www.horse.lt

Countryside

Center of Europe: A small stone monument a bit north of Vilnius designates the spot considered by the French National Geographic Institute as the center of Europe. The point, 50°54 latitude, 25°19’ longitude, is now an out-of-the-way site that draws curious tourists. Little do they know that in Ukraine and Slovakia there are also similar monuments declared valid by other geographic institutes.

Europos Parkas: tel. 237-7077; an open-air contemporary art museum at the center of Europe (see above). It’s a big park with large-scale works by contemporary artists, including the Largest Sculpture made of TV set that was also registered in the Guinness World Record Book. Open daily 9:00 to sunset. www.europosparkas.lt

Neringa (Curonian Spit): A breathtaking peninsula off the southern Lithuanian coast, some 350 km from Vilnius. This sword-shaped sliver of land runs for some 100 km parallel to the coast. One of its wonders is the feeling of complete isolation; you may find yourself on your own for miles, strolling through the endless chain of sand dunes. Neringa, sometimes called the Baltic Sahara, which was much loved by Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann, who wrote about “the fantastic world of traveling dunes, pine forests filled with moose and birch between the bay and the Baltic Sea.” The prettiest town is on its southern end, Nida, which has the Thomas Mann house/museum. Further north, near Juodkrante, is Witches’ Hill, which boasts hundreds of playful and grotesque wooden statues.

Trakai: The nation’s medieval-era capital, and a sight not to be missed. Trakai, 25 kilometers west of Vilnius, is best known for the distinctive, red-bricked Castle sitting in the middle of a nearby lake. It was once the castle of Lithuania’s Grand Dukes. In Trakai, it is easy to conjure up images of ladies in distress and knights in shining armor. The area is also home to the Karaite community, a Turkic and Judaic people who came to Lithuania to serve as bodyguards to the Grand Duke in the 14th century. Tourist info in Vilnius is at Vilniaus 22 (C-4), tel. 262-9660, or in Trakai itself at Vytauto 69, tel. (528) 51-934. www.trakai.lt

Palanga: The tourism destination for many Lithuanians, Palanga (pop. 20,000) has a beach that seems to stretch forever. There are two must-sees in Palanga: Birute’s Hill-is a tall sand-dune which originally boasted a pagan temple to Thunder god Perkunas that was guarded by Vestal Virgins. Grand Duke Vytautas, smitten by one of the guardians, Birute, kidnapped her and made her his wife. The hill is now topped with a chapel and a statue of Birute rests at the foot of the hill. The second and most interesting tourist site is the Amber Museum, which has tens of thousands of different amber pieces on display, including some bigger than you can imagine. These days, Palanga is the place to go for active youngsters in search of bars and nightclubs, of which the town now has plenty. In summer, Palanga gets noisy.Tourist info at Kretingos 1, tel. (460) 48-811. www.palanga.lt

Kaunas: Lithuania’s second city was actually its first during the interwar period-and residents of Kaunas won’t let you forget it. Many consider Kaunas more Lithuanian than Vilnius, whose population and history is more varied. The city offers a pretty old town, including the ruins of Kaunas Castle and the Vytautas Church-built by Grand Duke Vytautas in the 14th century. There is the fascinating Devil’s Museum, which houses a collection of various devils and devil figures (Hitler and Stalin, not coincidentally, are also represented here). Kaunas is also home to the M.K. Ciurlionis Art Gallery (Putvinskio 55), a museum dedicated to the great Lithuanian painter and composer. Tourist info at Laisves 36, tel. (37) 425-088. www.kaunas.lt

Siauliai/Hill of Crosses: A wonderful day-tripper about 250 km northwest from Vilnius, Siauliai boasts many interesting and strange museums. The main site in town is the large St. Peter and Paul’s Church, which has the tallest church spire in Lithuania. From Siauliai you can reach the Hill of Crosses, which is 10 km north. It is a moving monument to the tenacity of religious belief. Hundreds of thousands of crosses adorn the hill, from the largest posted crosses to the small personal crucifixes left by travelers. The Pope, among millions of others, paid a pilgrimage to the site and left his cross. The Soviets bulldozed the site several times during occupation, but it was stubbornly rebuilt by believers. You should leave your devils in Kaunas, but make sure you leave a bit of your soul here with a cross-it is a remarkable feeling of spiritual unity. Tourist info at Vilniaus 213, tel. (41) 523-110. www.siauliai.lt

Answers to questions about how much life has changed for the better since independence can vary wildly according to whom you talk to. Younger people are far more likely to have benefited from the economic gains, and they rejoice about the dawn of free-market capitalism. They are, after all, the ones wearing new designer clothes and driving BMWs. The elderly are more likely to complain that their lives have become worse. There are those who would even look back fondly at Soviet rule, which, while utterly gray, boring and oppressive, was also more secure and predictable. In the Baltics, however, those who advocate turning back the clock are very few and far between. For bona fide reactionaries, try Russia or Belarus.
Complaining by the average man and woman on the street is relatively mute considering the hardships they have had to put up with in recent years. Plummeting living standards that nearly everyone has suffered to some degree or another since 1991 would have been enough to spark riots and bloodletting in most Western countries. Here, there is an underlying faith that things are moving in the right direction. There is, of course, the small matter of resurgent Russian imperialism. That potential threat is always more or less on the minds of people in the region. But Russia, like the weather, is something Balts understand they can only do so much about: just cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Different and the Same

A decade after independence, it has become fashionable for Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians to play down their similarities. After tearing themselves from Moscow’s iron grip, they are, understandably, taking the time to blow their own horns for a while.
But they have more in common than they’re inclined to admit.
All three were conquered and pillaged by the same communist superpower, for one thing. This bitter legacy continues to impact all three nations, from the emotional scars that come from living under totalitarianism to the ungodly apartment blocks that spoil the outskirts of every major city.

And while Lithuania’s history in the Middle Ages was unique, with its powerful monarchy and union with Poland, Estonian and Latvian histories have been closely parallel for going on 800 years—from the 13th century Teutonic invasion to the present. And since around 1800, Lithuanian history has also been remarkably similar to that of the other two Baltics.
In all three Baltic states, you also sometimes still get the same sense you’re in a time warp, where the 1930s have collided head on with the 1990s. Many Balts own the latest-model Mercedes and use laptops to log on to wireless Internet services, while others still drive Stalinist-era wrecks and don’t even have a phone.
Balts also share many of the same values and idiosyncrasies. They share a similar love of forests, and they have the same kind of tenacity and stubbornness—traits that have served them well as a series of occupiers tried and failed to break their spirits.
They can also have the same tendency towards suspicion of outsiders and can derive a little bit too much pleasure from the misfortune of others. As one Lithuanian saying goes, “Every Lithuanian hopes his neighbor’s horse dies.” They all have a well-ingrained fear, even loathing for Russia.
But there are clear differences, starting with their respective languages. Lithuanian and Latvian are related, but vowel-rich Estonian isn’t even in the same language family. There are also differences in national character: The stereotype is that the Estonians are too reserved, the Lithuanians too emotional and the Latvians somewhere in between.
Latvia and Estonia do share Lutheranism, the predominant religion in both countries. But Lithuanians are Catholic, and, as a rule, tend to be more religious.
As they take somewhat different social and economic paths, Balts spend a surprising amount of time ignoring each other. Most would be hard pressed to name a single cultural figure from one of the other Baltics, whereas they could name scores from Sweden or even Russia.

Island Nations

If you’re living here for extended periods, there are times when the Baltic states can feel like island nations. Surrounded by the Baltic Sea to the West and to the East by Russia, you can occasionally have the sense of being stranded. If only you could hop in a car for a quick drive to Western Europe. But despite a growing range of ferries and airlines servicing the region, getting out of the Baltics by car still poses serious problems. The border is one of them. While all three Baltic governments have pledged to improve inter-Baltic borders, crossing them can still take time.
As the three Baltics have opened up to the West, the sense of isolation has, in other ways, dramatically lessened. In the past, there was a tendency of Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians to look inward and disregard the world outside. To outsiders, this could also sometimes add to a feeling of being shut off. But as contact with the outside world increases, Baltic perspectives are broadening. These changing attitudes are also helping to make these countries more enjoyable places to live, work and visit.

We’re No. 1?

All three Baltic capitals still have aspirations of becoming the premier Baltic city, the place where foreign investors just have to be, the Baltic Hong Kong, the Paris of the North—in short, the Baltic city.

So far, Riga and Tallinn probably have the most credible claims to being the most important business and financial centers of the Baltics. (Whether you say Riga or Tallinn is the No. 1 city tends to depend, not surprisingly, on whether you live in Riga or in Tallinn. Rigans say it’s obvious that Riga’s No. 1, and Tallinners say it’s obvious Tallinn is.) As a result of its less-favorable geographic location, Vilnius may be a longer shot in this emerging battle of the Baltic cities. It too, however, has dreams of becoming the regional powerhouse. The improving Lithuanian economy and the increasing importance of Poland certainly bodes well for Vilnius.
Most bets, however, are still on Riga or Tallinn. Riga’s big trump card is that it is centrally located, and also that it is the largest, most cosmopolitan of the three Baltic capitals. Tallinn’s pluses include its close links to Scandinavia and its generally sophisticated Western outlook.

Baltica

The first recorded use of the word Baltic was by 11th century German chronicler Adamus Bremen, who, writing in Latin, referred to Mare Balticum, the Baltic Sea. One version is that he got the term from the Danish word for belt, bælte—as in the belt-like shape of the sea itself. Another theory is that Baltic derives from the Prussian word for land-locked bay, balt. Others say Baltic is from the Lithuanian word baltas, or white—as in the white, wind-swept sea.

Tidbits

The tradition of Christmas trees may have originated in the Baltics, say many Baltic historians. Journals from Riga in the early 1500s mention the practice of local merchants decorating fir trees on Christmas Eve, then setting the trees alight after a festive meal. Chronicles from Estonia also describe how German knights in Tallinn would carry a tree to the Town Hall Square, draping it with colored paper and fitting it with candles. Only later, say many historians, did the knights introduce the trees to their German homeland, from which the tradition spread to the rest of the world.

All three regional languages, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian, had no single standardized form until the early half of this century. In each country, there were at least two or three different dialects spoken. The High West Lithuanian dialect was declared the official language in 1918, and the North Estonian dialect was declared standard Estonian by 1914. In Latvia, the process of harmonizing the different dialects went on into the 1920s; the Latvian in the Latgale region is still distinct from standard Latvian. Estonians and Latvians also tried to purge their languages of German words, while Lithuanians tried to rid their language of Polish words.

In antiquity this region was known as the Amber Coast—so described by the Greek poet Homer after the golden translucent resin found off Baltic shores. Virtually all amber came from the Baltics and, via trading routes, arrived in Greece by 2000 B.C. It’s the only jewel mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey: “the cunning rascal came to my father’s home with a golden necklace strung at intervals with amber beads.” Some Baltic amber has even been found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs; treasure found with King Tut included an amber necklace.

So thick were forests in this region 1000 years ago, it is said a squirrel could hop from tree to tree from the shores of the Baltic to Moscow. About half of the area in the Baltic states is still forested.

Twenty things about life under Soviet rule that have become distant memories in the Baltic states:

1. KGB goons
2. Soviet troops in every nook and cranny of the region
3. Lines, lines and more lines
4. Rubles
5. Communist flags
6. Statues of Lenin
7. Rampant shortages of everything from bananas to toilet paper
8. Locked restaurant doors, and portly, ill-tempered doormen yelling at you to go away
9. Restricted zones, including certain cities and most coastal areas
10. State censorship boards
11. Outbound flights all connecting through Moscow
12. Virtually all ethnic-Russian police forces—the aptly named militia
13. Soviet war veterans with rights to cut food lines
14. Mikhail Gorbachev
15. Searchlights along the shore meant to prevent escape to the West
16. Beaches strewn with barbed wire
17. May Day parades
18. Mandatory exit visas for locals
19. Russian military planes regularly buzzing major Baltic cities
20. Communism

Five things the Baltic states have in common:
1. Mistrust of Russia: After nearly ten years free of Moscow’s grip, all three Baltics still hold a grudge. Getting over suspicions about their eastern neighbor will take decades.

2. Faith in the West: The West is best, or so many Balts still firmly believe. They want into NATO and the EU so badly they can taste it.

3. History: The most important similarity history-wise was the 50 years spent under Soviet rule. A Soviet thread, from ungodly apartment blocks to various Soviet habits, still runs through all three nations.

4. Love of Nature: Balts share a closeness to the land, especially forests. This is also evident in a similar sense of taste; most Balts tend to prefer low-key, earthy colors.

5. Stubbornness: One of the enduring qualities of all three Baltic peoples over the centuries has been a staunch refusal to submit to foreign occupations, of which there have been many. Occupation and passive resistance has helped foster in all three peoples a remarkable stubbornness, a characteristic which sometimes does and sometimes does not work in their favor.

Five things the Baltic states DON’T have in common:
1. Languages: All three national languages are different. Lithuanian and Latvian are related, but Estonian isn’t even in the same language family.

2. Each other: For all the proclamations about joint Baltic cooperation, Balts spend a surprising amount of time ignoring each other. If asked, most Balts would be hard pressed to name a single cultural figure from one of the other Baltics, whereas they could probably name many from Russia or Sweden.

3. History: They share the Soviet occupation in common, but beyond that, their histories have been varied, especially Lithuania’s.

4. Orientation: All three nations tend to look to and be influenced by different regions. Estonians have the best links with Finland and Scandinavia; the Latvians, with the Germans and to a lesser degree with the Scandinavians; and the Lithuanians with the Poles, the rest of Central Europe and also the Americans.

5. Religion: Latvia and Estonia do share Lutheranism, the predominant religion in both countries. But Lithuanians are Catholic, and, as a rule, they also tend to be more religious.

Ex-KGB need not apply to a wide range of jobs in Lithuania after the country’s parliament passed a law imposing severe restrictions on where former agents of the Soviet secret police can work.
The bill, which the Seimas adopted by an overwhelming 68-7 vote on June 30, bans one-time spies from virtually all government jobs and also from many jobs in the private sector, including banks, security firms and law offices.
The new restrictions were prompted by a wave of press reports alleging that former officials of the KGB have entrenched themselves in key government and private institutions, and that they may be using their intelligence skills to engage in criminal activities.
Police recently charged several former KGB staff with trying to smuggle millions of counterfeit dollars into the country, saying the scheme could have seriously harmed Lithuania’s monetary system had it succeeded. Others accuse former KGB of still spying for Moscow.
Backers of the law estimate that there are some 4,000 ex-KGB workers in Lithuania, about 2,000 of whom hold government jobs and could now be subject to dismissal.
“This law is needed because the KGB existed and still exist in Lithuania,” said Loretta Zakarvicene, spokesman for Parliament Speaker Vytautas Landsbergis, who drafted the legislation. “No one can be sure that these KGB workers have stopped their activities. And we know very well that, as a group and working together, they can be very dangerous.”
The employment bans appear to have wide support among Lithuanians, many of whom still have fresh memories of the KGB, which was responsible for stamping out political dissent and repressing religious worship during fifty years of Soviet rule.
But Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, a former U.S. environmental regulator who came to power earlier this year preaching greater tolerance in society, has expressed strong reservations about the law.
A day before the legislative vote, the president’s press chief told journalists the law was too vague. She also raised questions about parliament’s right to dictate to private companies who they could and couldn’t hire.
“Lithuania’s constitution ensures freedom of economic activity and private ownership, so such restrictions might go against the fundamental laws of the country,” Violeta Gaizauskaite said.
Since Lithuania regained independence 1991, the issue of how to deal with the legacy of the KGB has been hotly debated. Vytautas Landsbergis, an outspoken anti-Communist and former president, has led the drive for tough restrictions on former agents.
Government leaders and parliamentarians in Lithuania are already required to take an oath swearing they never worked for or cooperated with the KGB.

* A leading Nazi-hunting group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has blasted Lithuania for not acting fast enough to bring accused war criminal Aleksandras Lileikis to justice.
Lithuanian prosecutors charged the 91-year-old with genocide in February, but pre-trial hearings have dragged on for months. Last month, a Vilnius court fixed a trial date of Sept. 1—which the Wiesenthal Center said was too long to wait.
“Given the serious charges faced by the defendant and his advanced age, it is obvious that such delays reflect negatively on the willingness of Lithuanian authorities to try Lileikis,” Efraim Zuroff of group’s Israeli office said in a letter sent to Lithuania’s President Valdas Adamkus on June 28.
Zuroff said the slowness of the courts reflected a general reluctance among Lithuanians to confront their past under Nazi occupation, when over 90 percent of Lithuania’s Jews, or around 200,000 people, were massacred.
“One can understand why such a trial, which will expose the important role played by Lithuanians in the mass murder of Lithuanian Jewry, might prove difficult to your country,” Zuroff said. “Yet the repeated and unjustified delays in starting the trial, are making a mockery of the initial and praiseworthy decision to bring Lileikis to justice.”
Earlier, the Wiesenthal Center has said Lithuanians were hoping Lileikis would die before his trial begins, thereby avoiding the bad publicity for Lithuania that a war-crimes proceeding might bring.
Lileikis, who headed the notorious Vilnius security police during World War Two, is accused of ordering the arrest of scores of Jews and then handing them over to be killed. He has maintained his innocence.
While Lithuanian prosecutors insist they have enough evidence to convict Lileikis, defense lawyers have continually asked for more to time to prepare their case. They also say Lileikis is too ill to stand trial.
Lileikis lived in Norwood, Massachusetts before being stripped of his U.S. citizenship in 1996 and moving back to Lithuania.
Earlier in the week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center also criticized a recent decision by Latvia’s parliament to declare March 16 a day to commemorate World War Two soldiers, including those who fought in an all-Latvia division of the Waffen SS.
The Wiesenthal Center said that the decision showed Latvia has failed to face up to the country’s mixed record under Nazi occupation, from 1941-1944, when most of the country’s Jewish population was wiped out.
Many Western diplomats in Riga have also said that parliament’s move could be received badly abroad and could even complicate the country’s bid to join the EU and NATO, the Baltic News Service reported.
Latvians have argued that Latvia’s history during the World War Two era is misunderstood, and that the Waffen SS was not akin to SS divisions charged with carrying out mass murders and guarding concentration camps.
Historians confirm that the Latvia’s Waffen SS was primarily a fighting force used on the Russian front in the waning years of the war. They say non-Germans were barred from fighting in the regular German army. Many Latvian veterans say they wanted to fight for their independence against the advancing Red Army and had no choice but to serve in the Waffen SS. Thousands of others were conscripted into the unit.

*

A popular Catholic priest in Lithuania has disappeared after an apparent robbery at his home, and may have been kidnapped.
Ricardas Mikutavicius, who gained fame for recently baptizing a tiger over the objection of Church authorities, was reported missing from his apartment in Kaunas by his maid.
A collection of valuable art owned by the priest, including some 50 paintings, were also missing. The artwork, some of it dating back to the 16th century, has been valued at 4 million dollars.
Police said there was no sign of a struggle in the priest’s apartment and that the paintings, including several by well-known European masters, had been carefully cut from their frames.
In addition to a possible abduction, investigators said they were also looking at two other scenarios, but refused to say what they were.
The 63-year-old priest said earlier that he intended to turn his art collection over to Lithuanian state.
Despite criticism about him from the Church hierarchy, a recent poll voted him one of the most popular persons in Kaunas-a city of 430,000 some 100 kilometers west of the capital Vilnius.
Mikutavicius is chaplain at the Lithuanian University of Agriculture, and has authored several books of poetry.
*

The London-based Observer newspaper on June 28 released its human rights index, which included ratings for the Baltic countries. According to the survey, there are fewer human rights abuses in the three Baltic states than in the United States, which has been criticized abroad for maintaining the death penalty.
The index allots scores on various human rights abuses, from torture in prisons and restrictions on press freedom to a lack of children’s rights and discrimination against minorities. According to the scoring, the higher the score the worse the human rights violations; the first country listed is considered the worst human rights abuser. The scores follow:

Ranking Country Human Rights Index score
1 Algeria 110.55
2 North Korea 105.27
3 Burma 99.560
9 Yugoslavia 79.980
17 Cuba 64.347
28 Belarus 54.002
32 Russia 50.292
53 Israel 38.346
92 United States 25.434
106 Nicaragua 22.790
109 ESTONIA 21.728
114 LATVIA 20.974
125 France 17.974
139 Poland 15.012
141 United Kingdom 14.896
143 LITHUANIA 14.478
168 Germany 8.316
180 Denmark 4.635
183 Norway 4.243
185 Sweden 2.808
190 Finland 1.880
194 Tuvalu 0.700

News Highlights from June 23—June 29, 1998

*

In a move that it hoped could lead to improved relations with Russia,Latvia’s parliament has given final approval to amendments softening thecountry’s controversial citizenship law.
After eight hours of heated debate, the Saeima voted 49-26 on June 22 toaccept a package of amendments making it easier for Russian-speakers in thecountry to acquire citizenship.
Out of a population of 2.5 million, some 700,000 people in Latvia arestateless—most of them Russian-speakers who immigrated to Latvia in thedecades after the Baltic-coast nation was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940.
After regaining independence in 1991, Latvia granted automatic citizenshiponly to those who lived in the country before World War II and theirdescendants—leaving virtually all Soviet-era immigrants and their childrenstateless.
The Kremlin has accused Latvia of using citizenship laws to permanently disenfranchise Russian-speakers, who, without citizenship, can neither vote in national elections nor hold certain government jobs. A long-running-dispute between Latvia and Russia over the issue intensified in recent months, with Moscow even threatening trade sanctions. The new amendments end a much-criticized quota system and also grant automatic citizenship to all children born in Latvia after independence in1991. An estimated 25,000 children will now become immediately eligible for Latvia citizenship.Adults, however, will still have to pass language tests proving proficiency in Latvian—which most non-citizens do not speak.
In the months prior to the June 22 vote, deputies came under heavy pressure from the West, with the European Union and even NATO publicly urging Latvian legislators to adopt the changes. National Minorities Commissioner for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE) Max van der Stoel—who made the initial recommendations about modifying Latvia’s citizenship laws—welcomed parliament’s vote.
“Once the law has come into force…the key elements of my recommendations regarding citizenship and naturalization will have been fulfilled,” he said in a press statement. “Together with the implementation of [a national program teaching Latvian to Russian-speakers], these steps can serve to promote the process of integration which is presently under discussion in Latvia.” While official praise poured in from Europe and the United States, Moscow reacted coolly to the legislative vote, saying the changes to Latvia’s citizenship law were not substantial. Russian leaders have long said they also want the language requirement for citizenship to be waived. Many Latvians are still bitter about the influx of Russians during Soviet rule and say softening of naturalization rules is a threat to the ethnic Latvian majority. Those opposed to the amendments passed this past week said Latvia was caving in to pressure from Russia and the West. The right-wing For Fatherland and Freedom, the largest party in parliament and a member of the ruling government coalition, led opposition to the amendments, saying it would try to delay enactment of the changes and force a national referendum. But Latvia’s president and foreign minister have argued that making citizenship laws less stringent was the key to improved relations with Russia, and would also boost Latvia’s chances of winning European Union membership.
*

After repeated delays and criticism from abroad that it was acting too slowly, a court in Lithuania has finally fixed a trial date for alleged Nazi war criminal Aleksandras Lileikis.
Judge Viktoras Kazys said in a Vilnius court on June 26 that the trial of the 91-year-old Lileikis would begin on September 1 this year. It would be the first Nazi war crimes trial in Lithuania since the Baltic-coast nation won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Lileikis, who headed the war-time Vilnius security police, is accused of sending scores of Jews to their deaths during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, from 1941-1944. He has denied the genocide charges. Prosecutors expressed confidence that they had enough evidence to convict Lileikis, who lived in Norwood, Massachusetts before being stripped him of his U.S. citizenship in 1996 and moving back to Lithuania.
The lawyer for the defence, however, insisted that Lileikis is ill and not fit to stand trial. “I do not see how it’s possible that this trial can go on,” Algimantas Matuiza told journalists. “Lileikis is seriously ill and he can not attend the sittings.” The defendant was not in court, and has also not attended other pre-trail hearings.
During the German occupation of Lithuania, over 95 percent of the Baltic nation’s Jewish community—or some 200,00 people—perished at the hands of the Nazis. Since the country broke with the Soviet Union, five emigres, including Lileikis, have been stripped of their U.S. citizenship for lying about their Nazi past and have returned to Lithuania. Lithuania has vowed to prosecute Nazi war criminals, and genocide charges are pending against several other Lithuanians.
But Lithuania has been closely scrutinized by Nazi-hunting groups and also by Israel for what many critics say has been the country’s failure to act swiftly to bring alleged war criminals like Lileikis to justice.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has repeatedly accused Lithuania of dragging its feet, saying many Lithuanians wanted to avoid the upheaval of a trial and were hoping the frail, aging Lileikis would die before actually going to court.
*

A majority stake in Lithuanian Telecom, the largest state company ever auctioned off by Lithuania’s government, has gone to a consortium set up by Sweden’s Telia and Finland’s Sonera.
The decision to offer Lithuania’s telecommunication’s giant to the Swedish-Finnish consortium was made by privatization officials and confirmed by the government on June 24.
The consortium, called Amber Teleholding, will receive a 60-percent stake in Lithuanian Telecom at a price of 510 million US dlrs. The Swedish and Finnish buyers will also pump in another 221 million dlrs of investments over the next two years.
The Swedish-Finnish consortium beat out Danish Tele Danmark, which was also in the running to buy Lithuanian Telecom.
The sale is considered fulfillment of a promise by the country’s conservative government, which came to power in late 1996 vowing to speed up large-scale privatization.
Some observers had doubted the resolve of the government, which came undersome political pressure to delay or even abandon the privatization of such large state companies.
There were demonstrations in the country earlier in the year by Lithuanians who feared the privatization of Lithuanian Telecom would lead to steep rises in phone costs. Others said such a large infrastructure company should be kept entirely in Lithuanian hands.
*

A congress of pagans on June 25 called for pagan unity around the world, and also appealed for greater tolerance of their beliefs.
A resolution adopted at the close of the five-day World Pagan Congress in Vilnius said pagans should network and become more active in the societies in which they live.
“We encourage pagans of the world to strengthen their solidarity, and seek membership in international institutions, and we urge societies to be tolerant of our beliefs,” the statement said.
Some members of the congress complained that their beliefs were not accorded the same respect as established religions, and said pro-pagan organizations were often unable to secure any official recognition.
The gathering brought together about 150 pagan enthusiasts from 15 countries, including India and the United States.
Lithuania, the site of the congress, was the last nation in Europe to be converted to Christianity. Before its conversion around 1400, Lithuanians worshipped many different deities—including Perkunas, the god of thunder.
Since regaining independence, the predominantly Catholic country has seen a rise in groups advocating pre-Christian beliefs. Romuva—one of the largest, most outspoken pagan groups in Lithuania—says it is dedicated to founding a pagan university in Vilnius.

*

Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis on November 3 named Vilis Kristopans as his candidate for prime minister, asking the centrist politician to begin forming a new government.
The nomination of Kristopans, a head of the Latvia’s Way party, came as the country’s newly elected parliament, the Saeima, convened for the first time and followed a month of sometimes acrimonious political talks.
Latvia’s Way came in second in the October 3 parliamentary poll and, the day before parliament convened, it signed a coalition deal with the rightwing Fatherland and Freedom and the centrist New Party.
The three parties have just 46 out of 100 parliamentary seats, which means prime ministerial candidate Kristopans will have to woo the support of other parties to win approval for his government. If he succeeds in drawing additional support, Kristopans would replace incumbent Guntars Krasts of Fatherland and Freedom.
The party with the most votes in parliament, the center-right People’s Party, has not agreed to join a coalition led by Latvia’s Way and its absence could seriously complicate the process of stitching together a workable coalition government.
The People’s Party won 24 seat in the recent election, Latvia’s Way won 21, Fatherland and Freedom 17 and the New Party eight seats. If he can’t agree with the People’s Party, Kristopans may have to seek support from the leftist Social Democrats, who have 14 seats.
On policy, the People’s Party differs little from Latvia’s Way. But Andris Skele, the flamboyant leader of the People’s Party, is deeply disliked by other Latvian politicians and personality clashes have so far prevented his party from joining any coalition.
Skele has received heavy backing from the country’s food industry, though has fallen into disfavor with the nation’s powerful oil-transit industry, which helped finance the campaign of Kristopans’s party, according to widespread reports in the Latvian press.
Observers, however, say there is still a chance the People’s Party will come on board. President Guntis Ulmanis has signaled a preference for a government that includes the People’s Party, saying Latvia needed a government with a large, stable majority in parliament.
During the legislature’s first session, a member of Fatherland and Freedom was elected speaker of parliament and a member of Latvia’s Way was elected first deputy speaker, which could indicate that the proposed three-party coalition already has sufficient parliamentary support.
Vilis Kristopans, a minister of transport in the outgoing government and one-time basketball star, is known as a pragmatist who has broadly supported the country’s market reforms. As Minister of Transport who also gained respect for his administrative skills and creativity. But the 44-year-old also has a reputation for being unpredictable and sharp-tongued, once calling outgoing Prime Minister Guntars Krasts “a lice-eating hawk” and another time, in a fit of anger, describing Latvia as “a land of fools.”
The tall, lanky Latvian has called for efforts to improve Latvian-Russian relations, which have been strained in recent years over the status of Latvia’s huge Russian-speaking minority.
Addressing the newly elected deputies earlier on November 3, President Ulmanis said Latvia’s bid to join the European Union should be a top priority.
“This parliament will take Latvia into the finishing phase of the EU integration,” he told legislators. “Bringing Latvian legislation into conformity with EU norms is one of the priorities in the work of the parliament and the government.”
The president has said he would like to see a new government confirmed by Nov. 18, Latvian Independence Day, though many observers said the deadline would not be met.
*

Six decades after she and her family left Estonia, American-Estonian Melissa Wells has returned to the land of her birth to serve as U.S. ambassador.
Wells, the daughter of 1930s Hollywood actress Miliza Korjus, handed her credentials over to Estonian President Lennart Meri on November 3, officially beginning her tenure as the No.1 American envoy to Estonia.
“To come back to the place where I was born, with Estonia as a free and independent country and after its occupation and its tragic history…it is a dream come true, it’s a miracle,” the 64-year-old Wells said in an interview.
Wells, who has also served as U.S. ambassador to Zaire, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, was only 1 year old when her opera singer mother decided to leave Estonia in 1933 to pursue a career in Western Europe and then in Hollywood.
Seven years later, at the outbreak of World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Estonia. Mass deportations and arrests followed the communist takeover, and the Korjus family never returned. Estonia regained its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The family eventually settled permanently in the United States, where Meliza Korjus got her big break in Hollywood in 1938, playing a leading role in the critically acclaimed film “The Great Waltz,” about the life of composer Johann Strauss.
Wells traveled to Estonia for the first time in more than sixty years last Friday, insisting on returning the same way she had left: by ship. She said she thought about her parents, now both deceased, as her ferry approached the Estonian capital. She said they would have been amazed at her becoming ambassador to Estonia.
“I thought of them as the city of Tallinn rose up on the skyline,” said Wells. “I thought, ‘Mummy and daddy, if you could see me now!’”
As ambassador to Estonia, Wells says she hopes to help raise Estonia’s profile.
“I want Estonia to be better known in the United States,” she said. “I’d also like to focus on increasing investment between the two countries.”
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Latvia and Lithuania expressed deep disappointment at a recommendation by the European Union executive council on November 4 not to put them on the fast track to EU membership.
The decision by the European Commission (EC) dashed hopes in the two countries that they would soon join Estonia, which is the only Baltic country to have begun talks on full EU membership.
Six countries—Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus and Estonia—were invited lasted year to start negotiations with the EU. Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, were named as candidates for future EU membership, but they were told they needed to make further progress on economic and political reforms before joining formal talks.
Both Latvia and Lithuania have been lobbying hard all year to get the nod from Brussels, and many observers believed they had a good chance of winning EU approval–especially Latvia. In a report accompanying its recommendation this past week, the EC singled out Latvia as having made excellent progress towards meeting EU criteria and suggested that it could be invited to membership talks as soon as 1999.
Reacting to the news from Brussels, Latvian Minister Valdis Birkavs told a Latvian radio station that there was a discrepancy between the positive assessment of Latvia by the EC and the decision not to recommend it for membership talks.
The ministers said the EU report suggested that Latvia met the criteria and so should be invited to start talks on EU membership. He expressed concern that internal considerations among EU membership states may have affected the EC deliberations, which he said violated the spirit of the enlargement process.
“I think this should be explained before the EU ministers summit in Vienna so that the EU member countries do not link their own internal problems to candidates ability to start talks,” Birkavs said.
Said another Latvian official: “We don’t think the EU is telling us we can’t start talks because Latvia isn’t ready. They seem to be telling us that yes Latvia, you are ready, but we are not.”
Some Latvians complained that they had jumped through all the hoops set up by the EU, still only to face rejection. Latvia has consistently implemented radical free-market reforms, and this year also eased citizenship requirements for its Russian-speaking minority. The EU had said softening naturalization rules was important for Latvia’s EU bid.
Recent Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas Ilves also expressed disappointment that Latvia was not given the green light by the EU. He said Latvia was at least as prepared for EU membership as Estonia was when it was invited to start talks in 1997.
“It is sad that political criteria seem to be more important than objective criteria,” Ilves told KUKU Radio on Sunday.
Other Baltic observers said Latvia had been unlucky to come up for consideration at a time when enthusiasm for EU expansion, especially among German leaders, was on the wane.
While expressing disappointment, few Latvian and Lithuanian leaders lashed out at Brussels as many did last year when only Estonia received a coveted invitation to the elite European club.
“We got some very positive signals from the EU and we are trying to look on the positive side,” said one Latvian diplomat. “We prefer to look at the situation as the glass being half full, rather than it being half empty.”
The EC recommendation not to immediately open membership talks with any new candidate countries is not binding. But EU ministers, who will make a final decision in December, are expected to follow the recommendation.
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Estonian President Lennart Meri on November 4 cautioned that the whole drive to expand NATO appeared to be losing momentum and he called on members of the alliance to reinvigorate the process.
“Sadly enough, I do not find the rhetoric of enlargement in the political speeches of decision-makers anymore,” Meri told a NATO gathering in Brussels. “Other problems have overshadowed this truly important issue.”
Last year, the 16-nation military alliance invited three new members into NATO–Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The Baltic states, plus Romania and Slovenia, are among the countries hoping for invitations in a second wave of expansion.
But Estonia’s president suggested that there was little constructive discussion about sending out new invitations.
“People are not actively discussing the logic of the second wave, its reasons and its implications,” he said. “Enthusiasm for enlargement has faded to the background, and this is most unfortunate.”
Meri said he understood that the NATO expansion question was now more complex, but he said the alliance needed to stick to pledges to bring in new members. He also called on NATO to provide specific criteria for countries striving to join the alliance, saying requirements were still too vague.
Meri’s comments reflect long-standing nervousness here that NATO may not be entirely sincere about its open-door policy. Russia has bitterly opposed Baltic NATO membership, and observers say most Western nations are afraid of angering Moscow and so will be hesitant about sending out NATO invitations to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Denmark, however, has taken up the Baltic cause, coming out this past week with strong statements of support for Baltic membership in the alliance.
Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen minced few words in a meeting this week with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, telling her that his country wants the three Baltic countries in NATO, and the sooner the better.
“The second round of invitations to join the NATO alliance should include our neighbors in the Baltic states,” Petersen told Albright as their meeting in Washington D.C. got underway.
Another NATO member, Norway, has also emerged as a strong advocate of Baltic membership. During a visit to Norway by Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius this week, Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said his country believed Baltic membership would contribute to security in northern Europe.
“For Norway, based as we are up in the high north, it is important for us to have a northern dimension in the NATO enlargement process,” Norway’s prime minister told a news conference in Oslo. “We are working inside NATO in favor of Lithuania’s and the other Baltic states’ aspirations for membership.”
At the same news conference, Lithuanian Prime Minister Vagnorius said he hoped NATO would take a step further in its established policy on expansion.
“What we hope for is that the (NATO) door will be even more open,” he said.
He also countered assertions by skeptics that the Baltics didn’t stand a chance of ever getting into NATO.
“I think that in 1990 not very many of us really did believe that the independence of the Baltic states would be recognized,” he said. “Therefore, we have grounds to believe that our membership in NATO is not going to be a more difficult and complicated case than the recognition of our independence.”
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Alleged Nazi Aleksandras Lileikis, 91, was forced to face a court of justice on November 5, showing up at his hearing in Vilnius in a wheelchair. But within minutes of protesting his innocence and reciting the Lord’s Prayer, he was rushed away in an ambulance.
“I was working for my nation and my country for all my life…and now I am old and week,” Lileikis said, speaking from his wheelchair. “But I can still say I did nothing wrong in my lifetime.”
But minutes after beginning his statement, his hands began trembling, he started reciting the Lord’s Prayer, and asked for more air. His daughter rushed to his side, crying and handing pills to her father.
The judge called for a recess and asked doctors to examine Lileikis. He was then taken to an adjoining room and then rushed away in an ambulance.
A statement from a court-appointed medical panel said that Lileikis’s condition was serious and that he may have suffered a heart attack. The statement said the over-excitement of the trial and attention from some 60 journalists and photographers may have triggered the attack. The judge later ruled that the court proceedings would be postponed until November 9.
In October, the panel concluded that Lileikis was fit to stand trial, but warned that the stress of a trial could endanger his life. The trial was scheduled to start in September, but was delayed pending the medical commission’s finding.
In October, a judge subpoenaed Lileikis to show in court, though his lawyers strongly protested the decision. His defense team said their client suffered from 20 different ailments, including arterial sclerosis.
Jewish groups have criticized Lithuanian justice officials, saying they have been too slow to bring Lileikis to trial. Most Lithuanians say they have no sympathy for Lileikis, but at the same time have complained about what they see as a double standard; that alleged Nazis are actively sought while Stalinist-era criminals are not pursued with the same vigor.
Lileikis headed the security police in Vilnius during the 1941-44 German occupation, and is accused of handing scores of Jews over to Nazi execution squads. Over 90 percent of Lithuania’s 240,000 Jews were killed during Nazi rule.
Lileikis emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, where he worked in the Boston area in a publishing house. In 1996, he fled to Lithuania as a U.S. court was moving to have him deported.

News Highlights from October 26—November 2, 1998

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In marketing itself to the world, Estonia should sell itself as a Nordic country and avoid the ‘Baltic’ label, recent Estonian Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves said on October 27 at a special forum organized by CITY PAPER and the American Chamber of Commerce in Estonia (ACCE).
“When it comes to economics and how integrated Estonia is with the Finnish and Swedish economies, it shows this country is much more like a post-Communist Nordic country than a Baltic country,” Ilves said at the forum, entitled Marketing Estonia: Making Estonia’s Image Mean Business.
“I don’t see any advantage in the so called Baltic states. I don’t think Estonia is a Baltic state. I think the idea of a Baltic state is a construction made up elsewhere…as foreign minister, my goal was to separate Estonia from being a Baltic state.”
Ilves , foreign minister until earlier this month when he resigned to focus on campaigning for parliamentary elections in March, said Estonia’s image was too often tarnished by the mistakes of Latvia or Lithuania.
“I’ve seen Estonia suffer through the years because of misguided polices in other Baltic countries,” he told 150 participants at the Tallinn conference. “My line has been all along that Estonia pursued its reforms and that if they were not pursued elsewhere, then why should Estonia suffer as a result…each country should take responsibility for its own actions.”
Ilves said the perception in the West that the Baltic countries were a single unit had been useful in regard to NATO because the U.S.-led alliance saw geopolitical advantages in treating the Baltics as one.
“But I have yet to see one positive advantage of being treated as a Baltic state once you go beyond the NATO issue,” he said.
Ilves, Estonia’s foreign minister until earlier this month, added that he also did not see the Baltic states as a viable single market.
“I mean look at all the cars bought in Estonia,” he said. “But there are three times fewer purchases of cars in Lithuania, which has three times the population of Estonia.”
The comments, widely reported in the Estonian media, provoked sharp criticism from several leading politicians. Eino Tamm, chairman of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told KUKU radio that Baltic cooperation had played an important role in Estonia’s development since 1991. He said the continued progress of all three Baltic nations would also require that they work together closely.
Other panelists at the CITY PAPER/ACCE forum also strongly disagreed with Ilves, saying Estonia would be foolish to play down Baltic unity and to write off the potential of a pan-Baltic market.
Allan Martinson, of MicroLink computers and BNS news, said the concept of Baltic unity and of a workable Baltic market was critical to Estonian businessmen.
“The Baltic states is a market of 8 million people, and these are all people who eat, drink, drive cars, use computers and read news…salary levels, too, are roughly the same in all three Baltics,” said Martinson. “The Baltics is very much of a market, and a very important one…foreign investors also want to treat the Baltics as a single market.”
Scott Diel, a regional director of Saatchi & Saatchi advertising, argued that while there may be reasons to separate the Baltics in marketing to foreign investors, marketing to foreign tourists was another matter.
“If the object is to get as many people on buses and fill as many hotels in the region, I can certainly see the benefits of selling the Baltics as a package,” he said.
In trying to attract tourists, Diel also suggested that Estonia not shy away from marketing itself as a former subject of the Soviet Union, saying this was one aspects that intrigued outsiders and made them want to come to the region.
(A full transcript of the CITY PAPER/ACCE forum is now available.)
* Lithuania’s foreign minister has warned that the country’s reliance on a Soviet-built nuclear power station could spoil Lithuania’s chances of early European Union membership.
Algirdas Saudargas told a television audience on October 27 that Lithuania’s economy was strong but that the continued operation of the Ignalina atomic power plant could be the reason the EU decides against extending Lithuania an invitation to start negotiations on membership.
At a summit in December, EU ministers will consider whether to invite additional emerging-market countries to begin membership talks. Lithuania and Latvia are thought to have a very good chance of getting the nod from the EU.
Last year, the EU sent out its first invitations to five countries–the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus.
The European Union has not officially made the shutdown of Lithuania’s nuclear power station a prerequisite for Lithuanian membership, but behind the scenes has pushed hard for a Lithuanian commitment to eventually close the plant.
Even with safety upgrades in recent years, many environmentalists say Ignalina, located some 130 kilometers northeast of Vilnius, remains a potential danger to the region.
Lithuanian President Valdas Admakus said earlier this year that he would like to see one of the plant’s two RBMK reactors shut down within 10 years and the other within 20 years.
The Lithuanian government, however, has not committed itself to closing Ignalina and has repeatedly called for further studies. Ignalina supplies over 80 percent of Lithuania’s energy needs, and many government officials have said costs of closing the plant and developing new energy sources are prohibitive. Western experts have suggested that total costs could amount to more than 4 billion dollars.
On October 28, six major environmental groups urged the European Union to tie aid to ex-communist states, including Lithuania, to the closure of their nuclear plants.
“EU accession offers a unique chance to close reactors which threaten citizens across Europe,” said Linas Vainius of Friends of the Earth Lithuania, one of the groups that made the appeal in a special report. “Unless this opportunity is seized and a clear closure strategy adopted, the consequences could be catastrophic. If left to their own devices, the governments of the region will likely do nothing to close these reactors. On the contrary, they will operate them to their limit and beyond, regardless of the risks.”

* A four-nation mine sweeping operation, one of the largest of its kind in the region since the Soviet collapse, got underway off the Estonian coast on October 26.
A flotilla of nine ships from Estonia, Sweden, Holland and Great Britain is focusing its search for World War II sea mines in bays and inlets near Tallinn.
During World War II, some 85,000 sea mines were laid in waters near Estonia and the other two Baltics. Most were laid by Nazi Germany, and the rest by the Soviet Union, Great Britain and Sweden.
While virtually all sea mines elsewhere in Europe were cleared after the war, mine-clearing operations in Soviet waters were not as thorough. An estimated 30,000 mines still remain off the Baltic coast. The mines, however, are not thought to pose a major threat to anyone. Many of the 50-year-old explosives have become duds and all the main Baltic shipping lanes were cleared years ago. The mine sweeping exercises are seen largely as a precaution.

* Latvian legislators have adopted an education law that will eventually make Latvian the sole language of instruction at public schools, including those attended predominately by Russian-speakers.
The law, adopted in a third and final reading on October 28 by a 64 to 4 vote, has been criticized by many Russian-speakers, who make up around 40 percent of Latvia’s 2.5 million population.
The language requirement will be phased in over the next decade, with the first categories of Russian students switching over to Latvian instruction in 2004. The use of Russian in private schools and in some special education institutions will be permitted under the law.
Legislators say their goal is to see virtually all public schools eventually shift to Latvian. Supporters of the bill say it will boost the status of Latvian, which they say suffered under 50 years of Soviet rule. They argue the law will also encourage the process of integrating Latvia’s Russians, the majority of whom still speak little or no Latvian.
But many local Russians have said the education law imposes the use of Latvian on Russian-speakers against their will. They have also complained that making Latvian the main language of instruction in schools will make it difficult for Russians to maintain their cultural identity.