Human chain formed in Lithuania

The "STEBUKLAS" stone in Vilnius Cathedral Square, in the place where, according to an urban legend, the Baltic Way started

"Baltic Way" (also Baltic chain, Estonian: Balti kett, Latvian: Baltijas ceļš, Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias) is the event which occurred on August 23, 1989 when approximately two million people joined their hands to form an over 600 kilometer long human chain across the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). This original demonstration was organized to draw the world's attention to the common historical fate which these three countries suffered. It marked the 50th anniversary of August 23, 1939 when Soviet Union and Germany in the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact divided spheres of interest in Eastern Europe which led to the occupation of these three states. Image File history File links Baltic_Way. ... Image File history File links Baltic_Way. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1440x1378, 876 KB) Cathedral Square, Vilnius, Lithuania Author: Wojsyl, 2005 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Baltic Way Cathedral Square in Vilnius Metadata This file contains additional... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1440x1378, 876 KB) Cathedral Square, Vilnius, Lithuania Author: Wojsyl, 2005 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Baltic Way Cathedral Square in Vilnius Metadata This file contains additional... Cathedral and its bell tower The Cathedral Square in Vilnius is the main square of the citys downtown, right in front of the neo-classical Vilnius Cathedral. ... An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... The 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally human chain was 500-km long. ... The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania The Baltic states refer to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Molotov signs the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. ... A sphere of influence (SOI) is an area or region over which an organization or state exerts some kind of indirect cultural, economic, military or political domination. ... Map of Eastern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ...

Background

In the light of glasnost and perestroika, street demonstrations had been increasingly growing in popularity and support. In 1986 a handful of people in each capital gathered to make their protest and were quickly dispersed by police. In 1987 large demonstrations in all three capitals were denounced by the authorities and ended in arrests. A year later, for the first time, mass protests were sanctioned by the authorities and passed off peacefully. //   (Russian: IPA: ) is politics of maximal openness, transparency of activity of all official (governmental) institutes, and freedom of information. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

A week before the event, the Soviet Union admitted the existence of the secret protocol but still insisted that the three states joined the union voluntarily. A couple of days before, 170 members of the council of Lithuania's Sąjūdis movement (which won 36 seats out of 42 in the Supreme Council of Lithuania in March) voted to seek an independent Lithuanian state "without political, cultural or administrative subordination to the Soviet Union". S is the nineteenth letter in the modern Latin alphabet. ... The Supreme Soviet (Верховный Совет, Verhovniy Sovet, literally the Supreme Council) comprised the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in the interim of the sessions of the Congress of Soviets, and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments. ...

The protest

The chain was sanctioned by local Communist Party authorities and well-planned to make sure that it had no gaps. For example, most cities and towns had designated spots they needed to cover and provided free bus rides for those who did not have other transportation. Demonstrators linked hands for 15 minutes at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). Special radio broadcasts helped to coordinate the effort. Later, a number of local gatherings and protests took place. For example, in Vilnius, thousands of people gathered in Cathedral Square, holding candles and singing national songs and Tautiška giesmė. In other places priests held masses or rang church bells. In one of the most spectacular of the protests, leaders of the Estonian and Latvian Popular Fronts gathered on the border between their two republics for a symbolic funeral ceremony in which a giant black cross was set alight. A public holiday was declared in Estonia. For alternate meanings of GMT, see GMT (disambiguation). ... Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Vilnius County Municipality Vilnius city municipality Coordinates Number of elderates 20 General Information Capital of Lithuania Vilnius County Vilnius city municipality Vilnius district municipality Population About 600,000 in 2006 (1st) First mentioned 1323 Granted city rights 1387 Not to be confused with Vilnius... Cathedral and its bell tower The Cathedral Square in Vilnius is the main square of the citys downtown, right in front of the neo-classical Vilnius Cathedral. ... TautiÅ¡ka giesmÄ— is the national anthem of Lithuania. ...

The protest was completely peaceful. However, participants feared retaliation or other physical sanctions. In fact, Erich Honecker from East Germany and Nicolae Ceauşescu from Romania offered the Soviet Union military assistance in case it decided to use force and break up the demonstration.^[1] In Moscow's Pushkin Square, ranks of special riot police were employed when a few hundred people tried to stage a sympathy demonstration. TASS said 75 were detained for breaches of the peace, petty vandalism, and other offences. About 13,000 demonstrated in Moldova which also was affected by the secret protocol. Erich Honecker (25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was an East German Communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until 1989. ... GDR redirects here. ... Nicolae CeauÅŸescu (IPA , in English, normally (and erroneously) ) (January 26, 1918 - December 25, 1989) was the leader of Communist Romania from 1965 until shortly before his execution. ... Pushkin Square in Moscow, named for Alexander Pushkin, is located on the Boulevard Ring at the junction of Tverskaya. ... Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union at the USSR Cabinet of Ministers or TASS (Russian: ) was the central agency for collection and distribution of internal and international news for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations. ...

The estimates vary, but Reuters News the following day reported that about 700,000 Estonians, 500,000 Latvians, and 1,000,000 Lithuanians joined the protests. These numbers rank much higher than 1,500,000 overall estimate before the event. About 8 million people in total live in the three states. The official Soviet numbers provided by TASS were 300,000 people in Estonia and nearly 500,000 in Lithuania. No official Soviet estimates for Latvia were released. Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ...

Aftermath

1 litas coin for the tenth anniversary of the Baltic Way

The human chain symbolized the Baltic peoples' solidarity in their struggle for more autonomy and eventual independence. It helped to establish the idea of three "Baltic sisters" and encourages cooperation to this day. For example, some politicians raised the idea that together the three republics could place a Summer Olympic bid. Also, the protest outlined the main features of future protests: massive and peaceful. It helped to attract those that were passive, sceptic, or afraid of persecutions. Image File history File links 1_litas_coin_-_Baltic_Way_(1999). ... Image File history File links 1_litas_coin_-_Baltic_Way_(1999). ... The litas (ISO currency code LTL, symbolized as Lt; plural litai or litų) is the official currency of Lithuania. ... The Summer Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event held every four years, organised by the International Olympic Committee. ...

On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall fell. In December 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev signed the declaration condemning the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol. In about half a year, Lithuania became the first Soviet state to declare independence on March 11, 1990. Only two years after this demonstration, the independence of all three Baltic states was recognized by most western countries. November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: ), surname more accurately romanized as Gorbachyov; born March 2, 1931) is a Russian politician. ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (71st in leap years). ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ...

This protest is recorded by the Guinness World Records as the longest human chain. The Lithuanian record book lists the event as the greatest traffic jam: 100 km length Vilnius-Kaunas highway was clogged for a couple of hours. Similar human chains were later organised in many East-European countries and regions of the USSR and, more recently, in Taiwan (see the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally). Guinness World Records 2007 edition front cover. ... The 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally human chain was 500-km long. ... Location Ethnographic region AukÅ¡taitija County Kaunas County Municipality Kaunas city municipality Coordinates Number of elderates 11 General Information Capital of Kaunas County Kaunas city municipality Kaunas district municipality Population 361,274 in 2005 (2nd) First mentioned 1361 Granted city rights 1408 Kaunas ( (help· info), approximate English transcription [ˈkəʊ.n... Chinese: 228百萬人手牽手護台灣; pinyin: 228 bǎi wàn rén shǒu qiān shǒu hù tái wān; meaning literally 228 one million people hand-in-hand to protect Taiwan) was a demonstration...

See also

• Singing Revolution

Singing revolution is the common title for events in 1988 - 1990 that led to the renewal of independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. ...

References

1. ^ Alexandra Ashbourne, Lithuania: The rebirth of a Nation, 1991-1994, Lexington Books, 1999, page 24. ISBN 0-7391-0027-0

• Ann Imse, Baltic Residents Form Human Chain in Defiance of Soviet Rule, Associated Press, 23 August 1989
• Robin Lodge, Human Chain Spanning: Soviet Baltics Shows Nationalist Feeling, Reuters News, 23 August 1989
• Mary Dejevsky, Baltic groups plan mass protest; Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia's struggle for independence, The Times, 23 August 1989
• Baltic residents entwine hands in defiance of rule by Soviets, Associated Press, The Harrisburg Patriot, 24 August 1989

The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1785, and under its current name since 1788. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• Photo album, a virtual gallery hosted on Government of Lithuania website
• Baltic Chain 1989-1999 homepage dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the Baltic way
• Postage stamps issued ten years after Baltic Chain
• Central Europe Review The Baltic Chain: Ten Years After
• Embassy of Latvia in Ottawa Speech of Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Artis Pabriks on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of the Baltic Way
• The Baltic Way A short 1989 documentary film by Arunas Matelis and Audrius Stonys
• The Baltic Way Music Video of 1989 Music video in three languages sang by singers from corresponding countries: "Wake up, the Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania!"