In the Footsteps of Vietnam Veterans: The Community-Building of Lithuanian ‘Afghans’

• In Event: Military Studies

Abstract

Between 1979 and 1989, the Soviet Government sent around 5,000 Lithuanian conscripts to Afghanistan. Most ex-soldiers started returning home from the war during the ‘Perestroika’, gradually leading to inner national movements resulting in such regime-changing powers as ‘Sąjūdis’.

After Lithuania‘s Independence, the situation of Lithuanian ‘Afghans’ (a special term for the Afghanistan veterans) became even more complex. They were not only on ‘the loser’s side’ but also represented the state, which was dissolved and fought in the army of the occupants. As a result, their social group eventually landed under the ‘Soviet legacy’ umbrella. This meant that the Afghanistan veterans resembled living relics from the past, and their memory was excluded from the public discourse.

However, they decided to fight for the recognition. Taking inspiration from the Vietnam War veterans and being led by the charismatic ‘Afghan’ Rimantas Ruzas, they organised protests and other social and cultural campaigns. The ‘Afghans’ also initiated the first large-scale psychological research that convinced the Lithuanian Government to provide them the status of victims of the Soviet regime, thus legitimising their experiences.

I would overview these aspects in my presentation, grounding them with my ethnographic research material, interviews, and data from online sources and archives. Moreover, for the first time, I would publicly talk about the little-known connections between Lithuanian ‘Afghans’ and the Vietnam veterans in the US: their visits, visions and hopes to create an international alliance of veterans of unpopular wars.

Short Bio

I am a research assistant on a UK government-funded research project intended to enhance community cohesion between Ukrainian refugees and host communities in five countries: Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, I work at Vilnius University's Department for Research and Innovation, where I am responsible for transferable skills training coordination for doctoral students.

I graduated from Vilnius University with a BA in Political Science (2021) and an MA in History (2023). My academic interests include the Holocaust, memory, trauma, transitional justice, veterans studies, and conflicting pasts. I am also very much drawn to the (geo)political complexities of the Baltic region, Poland, Ukraine and Russia.

Besides my academia-related activities, I was a journalist at the Lithuanian National Radio and Television and the news outlet '15min'. Moreover, I established a leading Lithuanian youth organisation, the Vilnius University Young Journalists' Society. I will also manage next year's International Romas Sakadolskis Journalism Forum, which annually brings together prominent Lithuanian and foreign academics and journalists to discuss various issues regarding democracy and freedom of speech.

Author

• Gabija Strumylaitė, Independent Scholar / Vilnius University