1972 metų įvykių Kaune atspindžiai ir vertinimai Vakaruose

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: 1972 m. įvykiai; Kaunas; Vakarų reakcijos; Kaunas, the events of year 1972; Western reflections.

ENThis article is an aspiration to expose and look into the one important, but not revealed aspects of recent historical - political development of Soviet-occupied Lithuania. The subject - W estern reflections and approaches to events in Kaunas in 1972 - is discussed in this article using Western sources and historiography. On M ay 14th of 1972 a young student, Romas Kalanta, immolated himself in protest against the occupation of Lithuania. On the day of R. Kalanta’s funeral, M ay 19th 1972, the youth went into the streets to demonstrate. The drastic deed of the nineteenyear-old youth aroused anti-occupation spirit in the country and made the world speak again of the illegal incorporation of Lithuania into the USSR. Thenformation about R. Kalanta’s self-immolation reached the W est through the dissident sources in Moscow on M ay 20th. First announcements were broadcasted through W estern radio stations, and a few days later a lot of articles in periodical press appeared in all W estern states. Some generalisations could be done from the revised articles in W estern press. M any analyses of Kaunas events emphasised the role of the youth in the antiSoviet protest. Also high mass aspirations of national and religious nature were noted. The events in Kaunas could be interpreted in the wider geopolitical and social context. R. Kalanta’s self-immolation and unrest in Kaunas took place approximately at the same time the US President R. Nixon visited Moscow. American, as well as all Western foreign policy of that era was based on detente policy characterised by the prevailing balance of power with the Soviet Union. Thus, although events in Kaunas were in public eye, they could not have any effect on international coexistence. The youth movement in Lithuania was of the same kind as world-wide youth protest activities.But, differently from the West where protests were targeted against consumer society, in the Soviet bloc the youth movements correlated with national feelings. Kaunas events in 1972 could be interpreted as a symbol of common faith: Lithuania reacted to the powerful resistance movements in Central Europe - the revolution in H ungary in 1956 and “Prague spring” in 1968 — all of which were equally directed against the Soviet regime. The youth movement and dramatic expression of anti-Soviet attitudes were important reminders to the world community about the fight for the independence of Lithuania. [From the publication]