Lithuania, independent again : the autobiography of Vytautas Landsbergis
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Lithuania, independent again : the autobiography of Vytautas Landsbergis
University of Washington Press, c2000
- Other Title
-
Lūžis prie Baltijos
- Uniform Title
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Lūžis prie Baltijos
Available at 4 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 376-377) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
On January 13, 1991, thousands of unarmed Lithuanians rallied to defend Parliament against encircling Soviet tanks and many were crushed beneath their tracks. Television pictures flashed around the world, revealing the reality of Gorbachev's Soviet Union and stirring the world's conscience. These dramatic events were crucial not only for the re-emergence of an independent Lithuania but for the breakup of the Soviet Union.Vytautas Landsbergis was the first president of the new independent Lithuania and leader of his people on that memorable night. In this book he retraces the process which led to Lithuania's independence and admission to the United Nations: the shifting positions of Gorbachev and Yeltsin; the attitudes of Bush, Thatcher, and Mitterand; the solidarity with the other Baltic states; the struggle between old Communists and new democrats within Lithuania; and the machinations of the KGB.
Landsbergis was born into a family of Lithuanian patriots and traces their influence as he grew up during the German and Soviet occupations. His deep involvement in the artistic and intellectual community -- he was professor of music history at the Vilnius Conservatoire -- led him into political life.
An impassioned personal statement and an essential document for historians of the last days of the Soviet Empire, this autobiography also offers unique insights into the life and capacity for survival of a small culture caught in the web of big-power politics.
by "Nielsen BookData"