Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts

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Assaults on border posts
Part of
January Events (Lithuania), and Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Memorial customs wagon in a transparent enclosure in Medininkai, where seven Lithuanian officers were killed
Date17 December 1990 – 22 August 1991
Location
Lithuania
Result Lithuanian statehood preserved
Belligerents

 Lithuania

  • State Border Guard Service

 Soviet Union

Casualties and losses
8 killed
60 injured		 1 killed

Several Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts occurred after

State Border Guard Service, before it was internationally recognized on 27 August 1991 by the states of the European Community.[1] These posts also became a symbol of its struggle for independence.[2] The Soviet government viewed the customs posts as illegal and sent the OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) troops to harass the posts, especially those along the eastern border with Byelorussian SSR. The unarmed[3] customs officers and armed policemen were intimidated, beaten or killed, their cars were stolen or bombed, the posts were burned down or wrecked, and work of the checkpoints was otherwise disrupted.[4] Two of the incidents resulted in the deaths of a total of eight Lithuanian citizens. In total, about 60 officers were attacked and injured,[5] and 23 border posts were burned or destroyed.[6]

Early attacks

The first incident occurred on 17 December 1990 in

events of 11–13 January 1991 in Vilnius when 14 civilians were killed near the Vilnius TV Tower. Soviet troops attacked and burned border posts in Medininkai and Lavoriškės on 27 January.[3] On 1 March, OMON troops fired at a border guard bus returning from Vilnius. Three Lithuanian guards were injured.[6]

In mid-May 1991, various incidents were reported almost daily. On 18 May, Belarusian police captain A. Fiyaz fired at a Lithuanian post in

Leningrad TV.[5]

Following these attacks, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius officially complained to Boris Pugo, Soviet Minister of Internal Affairs in charge of OMON troops. Moscow denied responsibility for the attacks and claimed that the OMON troops acted without their approval.[6] Mikhail Gorbachev disclaimed any knowledge of the attacks and ordered Pugo to investigate. However, on 24 and 25 May five more posts were assaulted.[5] Lithuania appealed to western countries asking to protest about the actions of the Soviet government. Moscow continued to deny responsibility, but admitted that the actions of OMON troops were criminal.[6] Despite promises to intervene, the attacks continued through mid-June.[5] On 28 June, Moscow took the first actions to discipline OMON – its leaders were called to explain themselves and were reassigned.[7]

Medininkai incident

Monument to the seven Lithuanian customs officers killed on 31 July 1991 in Medininkai

The most serious attack occurred when OMON troops from Riga attacked the Lithuanian customs post in

Cross of Vytis
(6 September 1991) and the Medal of 13 January (9 January 1992).

The incident occurred during US President George H. W. Bush's two-day visit in Moscow. Bush specifically addressed the incident in one of the press conferences, but downplayed its importance in the Lithuanian struggle for international recognition and shielded Gorbachev from responsibility.[10] It was speculated that the assailants wanted to embarrass Gorbachev showcasing his inability to control the situation in the collapsing Soviet Union.[9] The attack might have been a response to a treaty between Lithuania and Boris Yeltsin, newly elected President of Russian SFSR.[9] The treaty established formal diplomatic relations and addressed economic and cultural issues between Lithuania and Russia;[11] it was seen as an important step towards recognition of Lithuania's independence.[9] Another version claims that the guards discovered a large smuggling operation.[9]

Investigation and trials

The attacks stopped after the executions in Medininkai, save for an attack on a post in

January Events and Medininkai incident.[12] However, the Lithuanians were refused even requests to question witnesses.[12]

Trial of Konstantin Mikhailov

In December 2006, the Lithuanian prosecutors issued a

January 1991 events in Latvia. After the trial, Nikulin became a key witness to an unrelated murder and changed his surname to Konstantin Mikhailov (Konstantinas Michailovas) as part of a witness protection program.[13] On 28 January 2008, the Supreme Court of Latvia decided to extradite Mikhailov to Lithuania, and he was jailed in the Lukiškės Prison awaiting trial. The case has some 220 witnesses and volumes of written material.[14] The statute of limitations for murder is 20 years; thus the expiration date would be July 2011.[14] On 11 May 2011, Mikhailov was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.[15] Mikhailov appealed against the decision claiming innocence while Lithuanian prosecutors appealed against the decision hoping to convict Mikhailov of crimes against humanity.[16] On 6 June 2016, the Appeals Court upheld the life imprisonment sentence and reclassified the crime from murder to "acts against people prohibited by international law" (Article 100 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania).[17] Mikhailov appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Lithuania which started its proceedings on 11 January 2017.[18] The Supreme Court upheld the conviction on 28 February, but Mikhailov submitted an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.[19]

In absentia trials

Other suspects in the Medininkai case, namely commander Czeslaw Mlynnik (Česlavas Mlinykas), Alexander Ryzhov (Aleksandras Ryžovas), and Andrei Laktionov (Andrejus Laktionovas), are citizens of Russia and have not been extradited.[13] In 2009, Ryzhov was tried for organized crime and armed robbery in Saint Petersburg, and in June 2011 he received a 15-year sentence.[8] In December 2010, Lithuania amended its Criminal Code to allow in absentia trials in cases of crimes against humanity. In June 2013, the Lithuanians completed pre-trial procedures in absentia for a trial of the three men for crimes against humanity.[16] Lithuania has issued European Arrest Warrants for the three men. All three were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in October 2016; they are also liable to pay 653,850 euros to the state to cover expenses of state funerals, benefits and pensions to relatives, medical expenses of the survivors, etc. as well as a further 100,000 euros in compensation to each parent, spouse, and child of the killed men.[20] Another suspect, Igor Gorban, was identified by the only survivor Tomas Šernas during Gorban's 2004 trial in Riga. However, Gorban was not charged due to lack of evidence.[21]

Another in absentia trial concerns Vilnius OMON commanders Boleslav Makutynovich (Boleslavas Makutynovičius) and Vladimir Razvodov (Vladimiras Razvodovas). They are not implicated in the Medininkai massacre, but are accused of ordering assaults on other border posts and other actions aimed at intimidating the public (in total, 15 specific instances).[22] In July 2015, Vilnius District Court found them not guilty.[22] The decision was appealed by Lithuanian prosecutors. According to unconfirmed reports, Makutynovich died in November 2015.[23] On 24 January 2017, the Appeals Court ruled that the District Court improperly interpreted that crimes against humanity could be committed only in a time of war or other armed conflict and sentenced Razvodov to 12 years imprisonment and 14,000 euros in compensation for damages.[24] Razvodov is believed to live in Russia, and Lithuania has issued a European Arrest Warrant for him.[24]

References

  1. ^ "Litauen Infobasis | Geschichte".
  2. ^ Clines, Francis X. (28 June 1991). "Baltic Arena: Roadside Border Post". The New York Times.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9986-9216-9-4. Archived from the original
    on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  4. State Border Guard Service (SBGS)
    . Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-9955-423-63-8
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1-56432-053-7
    .
  7. ISBN 0-275-97217-8
    .
  8. ^
    Delfi.lt
    .
  9. ^ a b c d e f Keller, Bill (1 August 1991). "Gunmen Kill 6 Lithuania Border Guards". The New York Times.
  10. ISBN 978-1-56432-053-7
    .
  11. ISBN 0-312-12457-0
    .
  12. ^
    ISBN 0-7923-3094-3
    .
  13. ^ a b c Khalip, Irina (4 February 2008). "The unmasked face. An officer of Riga OMON, who took part in killing of Lithuanian customs officers in Myadininkai, to be arrested 17 years after the act". Novaya Gazeta. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  14. ^
    Delfi.lt
    .
  15. Delfi.lt
    .
  16. ^
    delfi.lt
    .
  17. delfi.lt
    .
  18. delfi.lt
    .
  19. Delfi.lt
    . Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  20. delfi.lt
    .
  21. Delfi.lt
    . 27 July 2006.
  22. ^
    Delfi.lt
    . Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  23. Delfi.lt
    . Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  24. ^
    Delfi.lt
    . Retrieved 11 February 2017.
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