27 Facts About Vytautas Landsbergis

Vytautas Landsbergis is a Lithuanian politician and former Member of the European Parliament.

Vytautas Landsbergis was the first Speaker of Reconstituent Seimas of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union.

Vytautas Landsbergis has written 20 books on a variety of topics, including a biography of Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, as well as works on politics and music.

Vytautas Landsbergis is a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration, and a member of the international advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Vytautas Landsbergis's son, Vytautas, is a well-known Lithuanian writer and film director.

Vytautas Landsbergis entered politics, in 1988, as one of the founders of Sajudis, the Lithuanian pro-independence political movement.

In 1989 elections to the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union, Vytautas Landsbergis was elected as one of the People's Deputies from Lithuanian SSR.

Vytautas Landsbergis held this post from March 1990 until the next elections in November 1992.

Vytautas Landsbergis was extremely dubious of the view that Mikhail Gorbachev was trying to liberalize the Soviet Union and that Lithuania should not prevent him from doing so.

Vytautas Landsbergis played a crucial role during the confrontation between the Lithuanian independence movement and Soviet armed forces in January 1991.

In 1993, Vytautas Landsbergis led much of Sajudis into a new political party, the Homeland Union.

Vytautas Landsbergis served as Speaker of the Seimas from 1996 until 2000.

Vytautas Landsbergis ran, although unsuccessfully, for president in 1997.

In 2004, Vytautas Landsbergis was elected by Lithuanian voters to the European Parliament in Brussels, and has been returned at every election until 2014.

In 2005, Vytautas Landsbergis became an international patron of the newly formed Henry Jackson Society.

Since 2015 Vytautas Landsbergis is together with Roswitha Fessler-Ketteler, MEP Heidi Hautala, Aleksi Malmberg and Frank Schwalba-Hoth member of the advisory board of the Caucasian Chamber Orchestra association and its German "Forderverein".

In January 2005, Vytautas Landsbergis, backed by Member of the European Parliament from Hungary Jozsef Szajer, urged that Communist symbols be banned in the European Union, in addition to Nazi symbols.

Vytautas Landsbergis sent a letter to Franco Frattini, the European Commissioner of Justice and Internal Affairs, suggesting that in case the EU decides to ban Nazi symbols, Communist symbols should be banned too.

Vytautas Landsbergis's proposal caused quite a stir in Italy, where leftists strongly protested such a move.

One of the most influential Italian dailies, La Repubblica, published an interview with Vytautas Landsbergis outlining his proposal.

Vytautas Landsbergis's proposal was opposed by the Russian Parliament as well.

Vytautas Landsbergis is a fierce critic of Russia's intentions to impose any kind of influence on the Baltic states and publicly questions Russia's actions vis-a-vis the Baltic States on both local and international media, as well as in the European Parliament.

Vytautas Landsbergis warns that Russia might have intentions to control Lithuania and the other Baltic States economically and politically through a wide network of former KGB agents and other clandestine activities.

Vytautas Landsbergis is one of the most active politicians who urge Russia to compensate Lithuania and other post-Soviet republics for damage done to them during their occupations.

Vytautas Landsbergis posted a poem on social media that referred to the Virgin Mary as a "zydelka", and Faina Kukliansky, chair of the Jewish Community of Lithuania, condemned it.

The question of whether V Landsbergis should be officially acknowledged as the head of state of Lithuania from 1990 to 1992 has been polarising the Lithuanian public for many years.

On 30 June 2022, Vytautas Landsbergis was officially recognized as the first post-soviet Lithuania's head of state.