Russian investigators say Lithuania is illegally prosecuting Soviet soldiers responsible for 1991 violence

Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against the Lithuanian prosecutors and judges responsible for litigating the trial of persons involved in deadly clashes in Vilnius on January 13, 1991, when Soviet paratroopers and special forces occupied public buildings and stormed the city’s TV broadcast center. The ensuing violence claimed 14 lives and injured more than 700 people.

Russian officials say the Lithuanian authorities are knowingly prosecuting innocent people, insofar as Lithuania was part of the USSR at the time, and the Soviet soldiers were following lawful orders. Russian investigators also argue that Lithuanian officials have failed to present evidence of the soldiers’ guilt.

There are currently more than 60 people on trial in Lithuania for their involvement in the 1991 violence, including several Russian citizens, such as former KGB officer Mikhail Golovatov, former Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, and former Vilnius garrison commander Vladimir Uskhopchik.