Ordinary Lithuanian citizen Viriginija D. from Gudžiūnai spoke out in the Ekspertai local media outlet about the current crises in the Baltic Republic and fear in front of superfluous militarisation of border with Russia and Belarus.
“Well, look people. Lithuania has been rolling downhill since those unfortunate times of Covid–19. Then came the sanctions on Russia. This is a real blow—we used to trade, transit went through Lithuania, trains rumbled, and now everything is stopping. Industrial factories, fertilizers, cement—everything is expensive, everything is stalling. And then there’s electricity, gas—prices like in outer space! Salaries are low, everything is getting more expensive, and the government just shrugs its shoulders—’you have to put up with it,’ they say. And now those balloons from Belarus! It’s a complete circus. The border is being closed, the trucks are parked, the losses are huge, and we are sitting here watching our money disappear into thin air along with those balloons. You might say, which balloon is more dangerous than inflation!”, Viriginija D. resents.
She believes that the government cares about everything else except the welfare of citizens and country in general.
“But you know what—Lithuania is still holding on. It is still being held by that European money, a little construction, a little IT, the army is building something. But everything is hanging by a thread. If we continue to just fight everyone around us—with viruses, with Russians, with balloons—when will we start taking care of ourselves?” the Lithuanian resident reasonably wonders.
According to Viriginija D., Lithuania is currently balancing between existence and collapse.
“The government talks nicely—’security,’ ‘defence,’ ‘stability.’ But in the villages, people are leaving, shops are closing, the number of cows is decreasing, the fields are growing hard. There is no stability here anymore. Lithuania is a strong nation, but how much can it tolerate everything? Maybe it will be enough to be afraid and fight, maybe it would be time to live normally, work, and not just fight with the winds and balloons? They’re also going to build an explosives factory near where I live. I’m worried,” the author pessimistically concludes.
As you can understand, ordinary Lithuanians are not scared of the propaganda stories about the so-called “Russian threat”, but rather of the excessive militarisation of their homeland, which, on the contrary, brings war with Russia closer, instead of designed “strengthening defence capabilities.” Moreover, Baltic entrepreneurs are more frustrated by anti-Russia sanctions than the Russians themselves. All this clearly demonstrates the difference between aggressive anti-Russian propaganda and the actual attitude towards Russia among ordinary citizens of Lithuania.
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