[LINK] "Lithuania's challenge"

[rfmcdonald]

The Montreal Gazette's Karla Gruodis writes about the ways in which that country's current catastrophic economic shock is reflecting and shaping that Baltic state's culture and identity, caught between the Soviet and the European unions.

Vilnius is a tense and dynamic place, a dramatic blend of sparkling new skyscrapers and crumbling Soviet-era buildings, elegant modernist homes and ramshackle wooden cottages. Some of its residents enjoy all the freedoms and comforts of modern European life, but many Lithuanians are still struggling, both economically and emotionally, to adapt to the massive changes their society has undergone.

Angele Kiausiniene, a 57-year-old teacher who participated in the Baltic Way [when two million Balts held hands to symbolize their desire for independence in 1989], expresses the frustrations felt by many people here.

"We saw Lithuania's future through rose-coloured glasses. We knew that it would be hard, but we thought that the unity we felt during the Baltic Way would be with us for decades to come." She describes herself as a patriot but says she is disappointed with the political infighting and corruption that followed independence, and understands why her sons, a 33-year-old meat packer and 24-year-old taxi driver, hope to soon join the hundreds of thousands of Lithuanians who have emigrated to Western Europe in the last 10 years in search of better wages.

Establishing an independent Lithuania turned out to be messier than anyone expected, says Gintaras Chomentauskas, a prominent Vilnius psychologist.

While the political gains the country has made are unquestionably positive, he says, the psychological cost of such rapid change has been high. Lithuania leads Europe in suicides and accidental deaths, and surveys show citizens lack faith in politicians, police and government institutions.

"A good number of objective studies show that, despite the positive changes that have taken place, a lot of people are miserable."

The past's legacies remain, it seems.