Wow - what a year!

One year ago today (1/13/11), I took a 15 minute phone test that proved I had learned enough Russian to get into the Foreign Service. Since then, we’ve moved to DC, met tons of wonderful people, started learning Lithuanian, and found out we’re also going to Moscow as our second post. I’ve also managed to forget 95% of the Russian I learned, although I continue to believe that it’s somewhere in my brain, just tucked behind Lithuanian for the time being.

January 13^th is also an important but sad day in Lithuania’s history (in 1991, to be exact). That day was the beginning of the end of Soviet occupation in the country. Lithuanians declared independence about 10 months earlier, but the Soviets largely ignored it and few countries recognized their independence. In fact, it took the US another 9 months after January 13^th to formally recognize them.  So, back to January 13^th: Lithuanian leaders took full advantage of Glasnost in 1990, declaring independence and electing their own leaders. By the end of 1990, Gorbachev had had enough of this “anti-Soviet agenda,” and ordered tanks and military to go into Vilnius.  On the night of January 12^th, 1991, the Soviet military tried to cut off Lithuanian ties to the outside world (and to audiences at home) by taking down the Vilnius TV tower.  Soldiers also fired shots into crowds of thousands gathered in public squares and near the parliament building. Fourteen non-violent protesters were killed and over 1,000 were injured, but the Soviet aggression backfired and only served to garner international support for Lithuania, the Baltics, and the rest of the former Soviet republics. If you want to see footage (with English subtitles) of the night, you can watch this YouTube video.

While you may be thinking that I’m just late in reflecting on 2011, it seems to me that January 13^th of last year was a much bigger turning point for us, and really the start of this adventure that we embarked on just a year ago. Only two short months before we take on the world! I really do intend to be better about posting this year, and I think I’ll have more interesting things to write about. Stay tuned!