M. Kundrotas. Libkonai Lithuania – a reflection of Russia?
For the third decade, the antithesis of Russia has been depicted in the sense of Lithuania’s existence. As if being against something – Russia, Poland, the European Union or America – would be the goal of a nation’s and a state’s existence. Knowing the long-standing historical experience and current trends in antithesis is understandable, but can it be sufficient in terms of purpose and the foundations of the nation?
Looking deeper, another question arises: perhaps the constant distance from Russia stems from the fact that we are still too close? Not just geographically. One can ask even more heretically: are we still part of the Russian world? Let’s discuss this from a political, legal, informational and mental point of view.
Russia’s political regime can be described in two words: systemic pluralism. Formally, there is no single-party dictatorship there. Elections and a multi-party system are in place. A whole bouquet of parties is represented in Parliament. These are the presidential, fascist United Russia, the Leninist Communist Party, the Social Democratic Justice Russia, the Chauvinist Liberal Democrat Party and the Liberal Central Party New People.
The first four agree on key issues. Whether it be imperialist international politics or the internal supremacy of the state over the nation and the human being. The fifth party in parliament is still a newcomer admitted to parliament to increase the visibility of democracy.
She opposes the escalation of the conflict in Donbass, but sees Crimea as an integral part of Russia. So this is just a more moderate faction in the overall imperialist bloc. And if it were a real opposition, it would remain an absolute minority among the pro-regime forces, arguing only for the nuances.
In Lithuania, the pluralism of that association can be observed for years. Whatever parliamentary parties – conservatives, liberals or social democrats – they agree on key issues. This includes deeper European integration at the expense of Lithuania’s sovereignty, a largely cosmopolitan model of society, and support for ever-emerging conceptions of gender and family.
The only exception was the Seimas of the previous term, which was conducted by peasants. At present, and during the Group of the Regions, they are the only real opposition in the national parliament.
Of course, there is still room for the Lithuanian political system before Russia. An important, albeit more symbolic, position of the President was seen – Gitanas Nausėda, who was in favor of the majority of the nation, rather than the prevailing political situation.
It is probable that in the next elections an attempt will be made to fill this gap with one’s own person – maybe the former president of the system, Mykolas Burokevičius ‘co-party Dalia Grybauskaitė, has been invited to speak from the Signatories’ balcony. Upon her return to Simonas Daukantas Square, a final consolidation of the regime’s forces can be expected.
Well, the other, more pro-system forces – the Union of Nations and Justice, the Union of Christians, the National Union – are kept at a safe distance from power. To say that this is the will of the electorate would be naive and superficial, if not a deliberate lie. What can a voter say who, according to many polls, supports national and conservative values but lacks objective information about the party representing those values? He simply does not associate his values with the corresponding political forces.
Here we move on to another important section – information. And there are also many similarities with Russia. We are talking about the fact that the government is much legitimized through electoral fraud. But comparing data from objective, anti-systemist polls with election results over the past decade seems to be a secondary factor. Many of the country’s citizens really support the ruling system, as it is programmed by the media loyal to the regime.
The situation of Russia and Lithuania is different here. most of the major media are in the hands of the state or with companies. In Lithuania, most of the news is private. However, both here and there, the media sharks support one political line. Not even the institution – the Lithuanian-speaking media giants spoke the parliamentary majority of the peasants quite sharply and still speaks to the President – namely the political line. it is often a Putinist, in Lithuania, a pseudoliberal political line, which, according to certain historical analogies, can still be called Jacobin.
The so-called National Broadcaster has a special role to play here, and its loyalty to the Jacobin Current would be more difficult to match even for openly engaged private media channels. In this case, Lithuanians, like Russian citizens, pay for washing their brains.
Thus, in Lithuania, as before, the programming of the society in the direction of one political line is taking place. Systemic pluralism in the media leads to the same nature of pluralism in politics.
In the legal field, we are more like Russia, I can not imagine. opponents of the system are quickly strangled through the anti-extremist legal base. Organizations of patriots of the annexed countries, Russian nationalists, and religious dissidents are being closed down. The pretext is seriousness, harmony and tolerance. When do you remember? Yes, in Lithuania it is a register of hate crimes, which is already included in the Criminal Code and is being broken into administrative law.
According to this code, suffice it to say that Lithuania belongs only to its historical inhabitants, and the family consists of fathers, mothers and their children, so that there is a risk of problems.
It is true that the extent of legal censorship still varies in Lithuania. We start with open statements against and criticism of the groups under the auspices of the system, but in theory there is already a basis for punishing purely positive messages that would “discriminate” against the groups. How can you advocate for Lithuanian Lithuania or a natural family if it violates the feelings of privileged strata?
There is less and less space and critics of the system itself. Anti-systemic events are banned, and trying to get to official events for citizens who think differently simply prevents them. Anti-systemic media is not yet legally prosecuted, as it is, but with the expansion of the hate crime register, a natural development of bans can be expected here as well.
Finally, the most important incision is mental. The attitude of the Russian political system is described by many political scientists as a syndrome of a besieged fortress. We are the good, attacked by the wicked from the outside, so let us all gather around the comment of the fortress that will save us. Whatever the commandant, he is our hope. Because without it we will just perish.
The only difference is that later that commandant was a one-man team, in Lithuania a team. soon any opposition to the government is linked to a foreign enemy agency. In Lithuania – exactly the same. Only foreigners are different.
If Russia ever succeeded in reclaiming Lithuania, it would have little to change here. Just an enemy in Moscow would be replaced by an enemy in Washington. The same type of thinking would remain the same. The same media. Same right. Maybe even the same political parties: their ancestors have already changed hands.
Both in Lithuania, as an apparatus of power, force and coercion, it is above the nation, the highest man. Then, in this area as well, everything would remain after antiquity. Only the metropolis would change.
Will we be able to break out of the spiritual world of Russia and turn the parody of free, national European states, first of all, Poland and Hungary, in the next few years.
There are already good signs – mass opposition movements are emerging, anti-systemic parties are uniting, numerous anti-systemic events are taking place, fewer and fewer people are distrustful of the official media and are looking for alternatives.
It is only important to realize that Russia is not a positive alternative to the current Lithuanian system.
No. Russia is the same authoritarian country of corruption and individuals as we are, only a little more of it.
Thirty-two years ago, we were formally liberated from Russia. Let’s get rid of it and it costs money.
The author is a political scientist