Ieva Butkute, Lithuania in the World, May 19, 2005. University of Washington, Seattle

Ieva Butkute
Lithuania in the World

Keynote Address, May 19, 2005
University of Washington, Seattle

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dr. David Hodge,
Chair of Department of Scandinavian Studies Dr. Terje Leiren,
Honorary consul Mr. Lapatinkas,
Our special guest Jūratė Kazickas,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to join you in a celebration of the generous donation by Kazickas Family Foundation to the Baltic Studies Program at the University of Washington. We are very honored to have Ms. Jūratė Kazickas among us today, whom we can personally thank for her family’s contribution to the Baltic Studies Endowment Fund. I myself am very grateful for the opportunity to talk to you about my home country Lithuania - a thing I am very fond of doing on every occasion.

For those of you who are less familiar with the region, let me remind you that Lithuania, a country of 3.5 million inhabitants is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea and is the biggest of the three Baltic republics, other two being Latvia and Estonia. While politically, Lithuania has always been regarded as belonging to "Eastern Europe," the country actually lies at the very heart of the European continent, with the geographical center of Europe located just 30 km away from the Lithuanian capital city Vilnius.

We, Lithuanians, are very proud of our history. Four years from now, in 2009 Lithuania will be celebrating a 1000-year anniversary since its name was mentioned for the first time in the Qedlinburg annals. Our statehood dates back to the early 13^th century, when in order to protect the Lithuanian lands against the Livonian and Teutonic knights, King Mindaugas formed a strong unified state. In the fifteenth century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania reached from the Baltic to the Black Sea and was the largest country in medieval Europe. The legendary story of how our ancestors’ horses could drink water from two seas lying across the continent from each other is one of those few historic facts known to the absolute majority of the present day Lithuanians. In the fourteenth century Lithuania entered into a formal Union with Poland in order to ensure a stronger defense of the country. However, after several centuries, Lithuanians lost independence to Russian empire for first time as a result of the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian State in 1795.

Only after 123 years, when the world had almost forgotten the name of the country, and when there was little left of the state that King Mindaugas had created, Lithuania restored its independence. It was February 16, 1918. During the interwar period independent Lithuania grew and thrived, enjoying similar economic development standards to Scandinavian countries. Lithuania’s prosperity did not last long, however, due to the beginning of the WWII and the Soviet invasion of 1940. The German occupation from 1941-44 further devastated the country. In 1944 the Soviets returned and stayed in Lithuania for almost fifty years.

Then the 1989 came marking the turning point in the East-West relations. The communist systems crumbled across Central and Eastern Europe, and Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia finally regained their independences.

Since it restored independence, Lithuania has made great progress in nation-building, consolidating its political institutions and building market economy. The 11th of March this year marked independent Lithuania’s 15th birthday. At such a young age, the country and its citizens have endured a fair share of economic pains, troubled relationships and image crises. However, despite all that Lithuania developed at a breath-taking speed.

Perhaps the most visible achievement of Lithuania is the accomplishment of the two long-standing foreign policy goals to become a member of the European Union and NATO. At first, pursuing membership in these two very powerful organizations seemed more of an abstract exercise than a feasible goal. Nonetheless, the idea of euro-atlantic integration was so popular in Lithuania that it quickly gained the support of every mainstream political force what allowed our politicians and diplomats to concentrate on achieving this goal.

Lithuania was officially invited to join NATO in the Prague Summit in 2002. Few Lithuanians will forget the words that USA President George W. Bush’s said in Vilnius immediately following the NATO conference in Prague. "The long night of fear, uncertainty and loneliness is over. You're joining the strong and growing family of NATO. Our alliance has made a solemn pledge of protection, and anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy, has also made an enemy of the United States of America." With these words my country, which has been a land bridge for every invading army from Teutonic Knights to the Soviets, got something it hadn't had in more than 200 years: a true sense of security. Equally, if not more important than the military security, NATO membership has given Lithuania acceptance and recognition in Western world.

Similarly, Lithuania became a member of the EU on May 1, 2004. It was perhaps the most celebrated event in Lithuania since the fall of the Communist regimes in the region. It was the day of Lithuania’s return to the European political and economic space.

By joining NATO and the European Union (EU) Lithuania restored its place in the Western community of nations, gained security, stability and a number of economic opportunities. If you come to Lithuania today, you will find it hard to believe the scope of changes that have taken place in the last fifteen years. You will find an open and democratic country with one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. If you come to our capital city Vilnius, you will see that it is hard to distinguish from any other west European city. With a brand new skyscraper district rising several times higher than the old town’s churches and towers, Vilnius is growing and changing faster than ever.

Parallel to Lithuania’s integration to the Western political and economic structures, the country has also tried to upkeep good bilateral relations with its eastern neighbors and especially Russia. An example of Lithuania’s successful cooperation with Russia is the so-called "Kaliningrad issue." Separated from the mainland Russia by Lithuania and Poland the region of Kaliningrad became a heated issue once these countries decided to pursue membership in the EU. Lithuania addressed constructively the issue of a visa free regime with Kaliningrad and managed to find a creative solution within the boundaries of the Schengen agreement.

A major focus of Lithuania’s post-accession strategy is helping other post-Soviet nations to proceed with the democratic reforms. A great example of this new direction in the country’s foreign policy was Lithuania’s role in Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. While the revolution, which started as a series of protests in response to allegations of massive corruption and electoral fraud during Ukraine’s Presidential Run-Off, put Ukraine on the map for many Westerners, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and his Polish counterpart Alexander Kwasniewski were one of the few European leaders that actively engaged in the crisis by helping to mediate negotiations between the rival parties. The fact that Lithuania played such a high-profile role in the domestic affairs of a country several times its size is remarkable. This, however, is only the most noticeable aspect of a comprehensive effort by Lithuania to advocate for Ukraine’s membership in Euro-Atlantic organizations. Just last Sunday, a new leader of Ukraine President Jushchenko was in Vilnius, where he and Lithuanian President discussed democratization in Ukraine and the prospects of euro-integration.

Lithuania is following a similar course of action in other former Soviet republics such as Georgia and Belarus. If all goes well, this new foreign policy direction should open up limitless possibilities for strengthening democracy in the region, while establishing Lithuania as a key player in regional and international politics.

The last fifteen years have been an incredible journey for Lithuania, and I am very proud of where my country is today. First and foremost, today’s achievements were made due to the hard and consistent work of our people. Over the last fifteen years we have seen the efforts of the peoples of Lithuania and the other two Baltic countries to transform their societies and to regain their rightful place in the so called "West," where the rule of law, individual freedom replace totalitarian regime and one party monopoly. A number of people have contributed to this goal. Our political leaders, diplomats, academicians, our basketball players, of course, and many others have been working hard to restore the country’s place in the world and promote the interest in us.

A big role in the country’s reconstruction efforts was played by the Lithuanian emigrant community living abroad. During the Soviet period, members of the Lithuanian community in the West spread democratic ideas in Lithuania through, advocated for the country’s independence and in general acted as unofficial ambassadors of their lost homeland. When Lithuania regained independence, Lithuanian emigrant community provided much needed political, financial and humanitarian support to the country. Especially important was the role played by the Lithuanian community in the West in helping to establish independent Lithuania’s contacts with the Western leaders, lobbying for the country’s international recognition and later for membership in the EU and NATO.

Finally, the list of the individuals and institutions spreading the word and knowledge of the country and stimulating interest in it would be incomplete without mentioning of the Baltic Studies Program here at the University of Washington. Established in 1994, it served as a gateway to the Baltics to hundreds of American students. As our ambassador Vygaudas Ušackas once noted, the growing community of the program students, which is traveling to and doing research on Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, not only broadens their horizons, but also brings knowledge of the Baltics to their American peers. I have to add, that this program not only brings Baltics to Americans, but it brings us, Lithuanians residing in Seattle, closer to home. When I first came to the United States as a recipient of George Soros Undergraduate scholarship, I was quite disappointed, to tell you frankly, with the selection committee’s decision to send me to the University of Washington. At the time I knew very little about academic institutions in the US, so looking at the globe and I remember thinking to my self that I would probably be the only Lithuanian in this furthermost corner of the United States. So you can only imagine how surprised I was to come here and discover that the University of Washington is actually the only academic institution in North America that offers courses of all three Baltic languages, and that there is an entire Program devoted to the Baltic Studies. When I came back to the United States several years later on a Fulbright scholarship and could choose a university myself, I had no doubts over my choice to return to the University of Washington for my graduate studies. I have to say that the Baltic studies program at this university was one of the "pull" factors. Due to this Program, I, as a student at the Russian, East European and Central Asian studies with the concentration on the Baltics, not only can get help from professors with an expertise in the region, and have access to an incredible library collection in the Baltics, but I can also get to speak my native language every day as a Teaching Assistant of Lithuanian. I know for sure that a number of students of the program have similar enjoyable experiences. Therefore, I am really glad to know that the Baltic Studies Program is endowed, and that future generations of American and Baltic students like me will be able to enjoy the benefits of this program. Thank you.