Culture at the cliff in Lithuania
Lithuania 🇱🇹 is a country with exquisite food and lovely people, but recently something disturbing is happening and you can see it in Vilnius by marches of hundreds of people, mysterious classical music and solidarity that can be felt around focused on making their country a better place and using democratic means to do so.
At about 2 p.m. a classical music composed by Čiurlionis, a famous Lithuanian compositor. What is the march all about and why did all operas and theaters in Vilnius played this song equivocally at the same time in solidarity? I was in the spot and asked a local taking part in the happening to find out.
She (the local I spoke to) is frustrated with the political party that has the most influence and power in the current Lithuanian political scene. She complains about the direction in which most European countries and around the world more broadly, are going into. The far right socialism and nationalism. That’s the threat they are facing and they believe they collectively have the power to oppose the trend that’s being rolled out and their belief is amplified by the fact that the ex minister of culture was dismissed just a few days ago. The people of Lithuania believe he wasn’t appropriate for the position he was given and his dismissal resulted from the pressure and tension that’s been unraveling in the prior months. It’s a small victory for them, and they feel confident that they can influence their incumbent in a democratic way.
The symbol they use is a warning sign resembling the one on the road that’s signalizing the end of the road and a beginning of a cliff found near seas, rivers and lakes so that a driver doesn’t drop into the body of water. Similarly, culture in Lithuania (kultūra) is about to fall into the abyss if they don’t take an immediate action.
Moreover, the local feels solidarity with other Baltic countries like Poland, Latvia, Estonia and believes they support the Lithuanian cause. She feels that people are against the far right propaganda and she hopes for a better future. Ocean waves could be seen on a huge display installed on the pavement during the march along one of the main streets in Vilnius. The choice of the composer – Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis – isn’t random. The dismissed Culture Minister Ignotas Adomavičius said, asked about his expertise necessary to be a good culture minister, answered that he knows the music by Čiurlionis. People accuse him of being incompetent in the area of culture, and having no proper education. The choice of his music is an act of irony based on that, probably uttered in the heat of the moment, statement. The frustrated protesters claim Adomavičius not only be dismissed but entirely banned from the politics as well.
The scale of the protest is amazing, especially seen in such a small country with a population of about 1.8m people. The symbol can be seen on the shops’ windows, theaters, at the top of the Vilnius opera house, and, first and foremost, on the jackets of the people that pass me by on the streets. Those people are well educated, speak English very well. Mostly young people, but also a lot of experienced faces.
They go out in a peaceful way, they want others to spread the word and warn the surrounding about the imminent far right extremism.