A Song Festival to Be Long-Remembered

by Rimas Cernius with photos by Jonas Kuprys and Arvydas Zabulionis Lithuanian song festivals in North America are special and rare events. The first one took place in Chicago’s Coliseum in 1956. This year the 10th Lithuanian Song Festival took place at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on July 5th. …

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Once in a Lifetime!

By DALIA CIDZIKAITĖ. The title of this article is not an allusion to the Talking Heads song from 1980 “Once in a Lifetime,” which is included in the list of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.” I heard these words from Daniela Šablinskas, …

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Lithuania Under the Big Sky

By CECELIA LANKUTIS.   When one considers Lithuanian American communities in the United States, ethnic enclaves in cities such as Chicago, New York and Boston come to mind. I too can claim part of my heritage from Chicago, since that is where my mother grew up and where all of …

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The History of Lithuania ’ s National Anthem

by Zigmas Tamakauskas. The word himnas, which is what Lithuanians call their national anthem, comes from the Greek word hymnos, a holy and solemn song used to worship the gods in ancient times. Here we will focus on Lithuania’s current anthem, while mentioning songs that at one time or another were …

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Mission: Siberia 15

By VIDA KUPRYS. Pursuant to the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, 75 years ago, the Soviet Union unilaterally occupied and annexed the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The brutality of the occupation became manifest, when in June of 1941, thousands of Lithuanians, as well as their fellow Balts, were …

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Russia’s deadly virus in the Kaliningrad exclave (2)

By DR. STASYS BAČKAITIS. Sometimes history can’t be put to bed even though agreements to end wars have been concluded, boundary lines drawn by victors, promises made …whether it’s intentional or not, things in time get either forgotten or swept under the rug as if they weren’t there. Such is …

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Birding the Wetlands of Kaunas

by Philip Spendley. It is late August 2014 and time to make our yearly pilgrimage to Lithuania to spend some quality time with my wife’s family in Kaunas. We have made the trip every year for the past seven years, ever since my wife and I met whilst studying at …

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Russia’s deadly virus in the Kaliningrad exclave (1)

DR. STASYS BAČKAITIS. Sometimes history can’t be put to bed even though agreements to end wars have been concluded, boundary lines drawn by victors, promises made …whether it’s intentional or not, things in time get either forgotten or swept under the rug as if they weren’t there. Such is the …

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Balys Buračas —Ethnographic Photographer : Illuminating the spirit of Lithuania

by Stanislovas Žvirgždas. Balys Buračas (1897-1972) was a photographer who created a vast archive of visual memory of Lithuanian villages and ethnic culture. He was a chronicler, saving the remnants of a life that was fast disappearing from people’s memories. Many post-war Lithuanian art photographers have long acknowledged that they grew …

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AN INTERVIEW WITH PROF. VYTAUTAS LANDSBERGIS

By Darius Furmonavičius. On July 1, 2015, Lithuania’s former head of state Prof. Vytautas Landsbergis was invited to the United Kingdom to address the House of Commons. His address entitled “The EU – Russia relationship with special reference to the security of the Baltic States” was a presentation analyzing recent developments …

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