Lithuania in Comparative Perspective: From Transition to Flawed Democracy

Thirty years ago, Central Eastern Europe was taken by a storm of democratic revolutions. A cradle of these revolutions was on the Baltic shores. In 1988, new popular movements in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia suddenly and unexpectedly emerged from below to reshape the Soviet political system. A zeitgeist at least temporarily managed to land in three Baltic Republics almost in parallel. Like in a snowball effect and in just half a year, three new popular movements have been set up here: Rahvarinne or the Popular Front of Estonia was founded in April 1988, Sąjūdis in Lithuania emerged in June 1988 and finally Tautas Fronte in Latvia was created in October 1988. Initially all three popular movements intended to support Gorbachev’s perestroika as a reform from above to modernise a state-controlled economy and very partially to liberalise political regime or to bring a human face to communism.

(Introduction)