Lithuanian Men in the Forced Soviet Army

An Alien World – Transformation of Attitudes

The attempts by the Nazi German authorities to carry out military mobilisation and establish an SS legion in occupied Lithuania ended in failure. The occupants took revenge – after eliminating the recalcitrant Lithuanian Territorial Defence Force, they arrested its commander, General Povilas Plechavičius, and sent him to the Salaspils concentration camp. For the sake of intimidation, the Gestapo imprisoned 46 members of the intelligentsia in the Stutthof concentration camp. However, the activities of Lithuanian anti-Nazi resistance affected the consciousness of the nation and coordinated the directions for the further struggle. However disastrous the fall of the government in June of 1940 was, the policy of patriotic education undergone in Independent Lithuania for several decades bore its fruits. Although the period of Independence was too short, the increase in the size of intelligentsia and the growth of culture and farms resulted in a strong self-consciousness among patriotic citizens, who were ready to defend the Fatherland.

Reoccupation

During 1944–1945 the occupation of Nazi Germany was replaced by the reoccupation of Soviet Union. Lithuanian society met the occupants with hostility. They announced the mobilisation of Lithuanian men, with the primary goal to “destroy the ring of the nation – the youth and young men – in the fire of the war, thereby halting further development of the nation and opening up vital space for the colonists from the ‘fraternal republics’, and undermining the roots of the potential resistance by limiting human resources and starting the integration of Lithuania into the Soviet Empire.”¹ Motivated by patriotic feelings and wanting to avoid being drafted into the Red Army, Lithuanian men joined the armed resistance or went into hiding. According to historian Vytautas Tininis, there were approximately 40,000 armed partisans and men in hiding in the forests on 1 June 1945.² The leaders of the puppet government, Antanas Sniečkus and Mečislovas Gedvilas, promised the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that they would round up 250,000 conscripts for the Russian army.³ The power structures managed to mobilise 108,378 of Lithuanian men.⁴

¹ K. Kasparas, Lietuvos karas (The War of Lithuania), Kaunas, 1999, p. 163
² V. Tininis, Prievartinė mobilizacija į Raudonąją armiją (The Forced Mobilisation to the Red Army), Vilnius, 2014, p. 60
³ K. Kasparas, Lietuvos karas (The War of Lithuania), Kaunas, 1999, p. 163
⁴ V. Tininis, Prievartinė mobilizacija į Raudonąją armiją (The Foced Mobilisation to the Red Army), Vilnius, 2014, p. 118

The Beginning of Mobilisation

According to V. Tininis, the mobilisation of Lithuanians into the Red Army was unsuccessful both from a military and political point of view. Some 80,000 men disobeyed the laws of the occupants and did not voluntarily join the army, thus showing a negative attitude towards the Soviet government (46,000 of them were arrested and forcibly sent to the military units, while 30,000–34,000 of them went into hiding and only later became legalised).¹ The deaths of men fighting against soviets, the extermination of the population, the deaths of recruits who had been mobilised on the front line, the prisons, labour camps and exile, and the fleeing of the intelligentsia to the West drained the most conscious, active part of the nation. The men, who were captured and sent to the Red Army, accepted their lot. Their shared fate and the “Lithuanian regiments” that existed for a while rallied them together and bolstered their spirit. In 1950, it was decided that the military commissariats must be headed by Lithuanians; this arrangement remained in place until 1990.² The memoirs of contemporaries often mention the gloomy mood of the soldiers of that time – this can also be felt in the inscriptions of the photos on display.³

¹ V. Tininis, Prievartinė mobilizacija į Raudonąją armiją (The Forced Mobilisation to the Red Army), Vilnius, 2014, p. 118
² Ibid, p. 44
³ Ibid, p. 196–215

“Forge of Masculinity”

Once the wars ended, the foreign army became a place for some of the conscripts where a positive assessment of their abilities and individuality was expected. Even a soldier humiliated in the army could form the image of a youngster becoming a man for himself and his family and friends. Propaganda in the barracks focused on presenting the postulate that the Soviet Army was a “forge of masculinity”. Thoughts that it was a foreigner force that occupied the Fatherland and was carrying out or supporting the genocide of the nation and protecting the annexation of Lithuania faded over the years. A number of Lithuanians who would take pictures next to the communist idols, propaganda posters and communist symbols gradually increased. Inscriptions about the meaning of military service became more frequent. More and more Lithuanians began voluntarily choosing long-term military service and the professions of non-commissioned officers and officers. Sitting at the table in their homes, some soldiers would proudly tell relatives and guests about their military experience after completing their service.

Over time, young people increasingly came back from the Soviet Army with abusive behaviour patterns and a wealth of Russian phrases that they constantly used in their speech, as well as the inability to resist Soviet propaganda.

“Asked Not to Cry”

The recruits, who suffered non-statutory coercion and met a tragic fate, described a different – inhumane and cynical – service in their letters. In her book, entitled “Prašė neverkti” (“Asked Not to Cry”), Vytautė Žilinskaitė writes: “Many young men came back in zinc coffins for not renouncing their moral and religious beliefs, for disobeying the laws of the beasts, for not raising a hand to strike back, for not being a Komsomol, or for being the child of a political prisoner.”¹ There were cases when conscripts dared not take the oaths that contradicted the international law. This courage resulted in them being terrorised by the officers.

¹ V. Žilinskaitė, Prašė neverkti (Asked Not to Cry), Vilnius, 1991

Relations

The relations between Lithuanian soldiers changed. Lithuanian camaraderie was destroyed by a desire to secure a “warmer” place, differences in the “rights” of those who had been in the army for different periods of time, and promotions and awards. The compatriots became distanced. There were cases when Lithuanians became informers for officers or translators and censors of letters that did not show the system in a favourable light. Malnutrition and poor food forced soldiers to steal, as well as to rob people during the military invasions. Alcoholism and drug addiction were rampant. Lithuanian men sometimes came back from service with foreign wives. This resulted in foreign culture and denationalisation spreading in Lithuania. In Afghanistan, the atrocities of “international aid” led to other transformations in the consciousness of soldiers. The fear of death and the desire to survive drastically changed the attitudes of the recruits. Zigmas Stankus was a war veteran, who penned several books about the tragedy of Afghanistan. In his documentary film, entitled “Afganų sindromas” (“Afghan Syndrome”), he presents the tragedy he experienced during his compulsory service as a senseless absurdity.

Mankurtism

The transformations of consciousness were not only caused by military propaganda. From an early age, in kindergartens and at schools, the regime instilled mankurtism – a life without national self-esteem or historical memory. In families where parents had successfully climbed the career ladder, it was disadvantageous to talk about non-domestic patriotism, and in others, parents and grandparents avoided telling their children and grandchildren about the painful past for fear of getting in trouble. Some young people tried to get out of military service, but these efforts were usually not driven by moral or patriotic convictions. Young men who reached conscription age were afraid of dedovshchina, a seniority-based culture of hazing conscripts, and saw compulsory service as a difficult and senseless loss of their youth. The penal laws of the occupants provided years of imprisonment for men who evaded such “service”.

The Revival

The Revival that began in Lithuania in 1987 led to a sudden break with regard to the compulsory service in the Soviet Army. Young men began leaving Soviet military units, refusing to obey the military commissariat calls for conscription. During the mass protests, the former soldiers and war veterans burned their military IDs and gave up their Soviet awards. Once again, the Soviet army started going after deserters and evaders.

On the 29^th of July 1991, Russian Federation recognised the independence of the Republic of Lithuania. The nearly 50-year period of forced service in a foreign army ended.