Sąjūdis

Sąjūdis (initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania, Lithuanian: Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis) is the political organization which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on June 3, 1988, and was led by Vytautas Landsbergis. Its goal was to seek the return of independent status for Lithuania.

Historical background

In the mid-1980s, Lithuania's Communist Party leadership hesitated to embrace Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost. The death of Petras Griškevičius, first secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania, in 1987 was merely followed by the appointment of another rigid communist, Ringaudas Songaila. However, encouraged by the rhetoric of Mikhail Gorbachev, noting the strengthening position of Solidarity in Poland and encouraged by the Pope and the U.S. Government, Baltic independence activists began to hold public demonstrations in Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius.

Forming Sąjūdis

At a meeting at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences on June 3, 1988, communist and non-communist intellectuals formed Sąjūdis Initiative Group (Lithuanian: Sąjūdžio iniciatyvinė grupė) to organize a movement to support Gorbachev's program of glasnost, democratization, and perestroika. The group composed of 35 members, mostly artists. 17 of the group members were also communist party members. Its goal was to organize the Sąjūdis Reform Movement, which became known subsequently simply as Sąjūdis.