Nations in transit 2023: Lithuania

ENLithuania experienced another consecutive year of multiple crises in 2022. Issues around the COVID-19 pandemic and “illegal migration” from 2021 were still at thetop of the political agenda at the beginning of the year. After Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine commenced on February 24, multifarious support for the attacked country and its people, as well as concerns for Lithuania’s own national defense, started to dominate and overlap many other topics for national and local government agendas, the media, and ordinary citizens alike. The situation was further complicated by a crisis in energy prices and record-high inflation. However, these challenges did not hinder the democratic character of the country, and to some degree caused even greater societal cohesion and focus on joint action as a result. All main Lithuanian institutions provided substantial and unwavering support to war-torn Ukraine during the year in sweeping ways: by condemning Russia's actions, expressing solidarity with Ukraine, advocating its interests at various diplomatic levels (on the question of Ukraine’s European Union [EU] membership, for example) and in the public sphere, providing humanitarian support and munitions, and supporting tough sanctions against and seeking legal accountability for Russia. Significant and various forms of state support, both at the national and municipal levels, were complemented by civil society actions. These demonstrated, as in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, the self-mobilizing power of Lithuania’s civil society in a time of need. Civil society organizations (CSOs) reaffirmed their importance in crisis management and fundraised record sums of money, even over the course of a few days. Thousands of individuals volunteered, and two-thirds of the population contributed either individually or through communities and organizations to assist both the people in Ukraine and its war refugees.(At the end of the year, Ukrainian refugees comprised about 2.5 percent of Lithuania’s population.) Moral support was widely expressed through symbolic actions, artistic performances, and ethical consumerism, and the government’s stand on the war in Ukraine received widespread public support. The war in Ukraine also raised the importance of national security concerns significantly. A state of emergency was reintroduced on February 24 and extended twice. With 90 percent of Lithuanian’s sharing the fear that the war in Ukraine would spread to other countries, the portion of the 2022 state budget allocated to defense was increased from 2.05 to 2.52 percent of GDP without resistance. Additionally, a strategy for preparing Lithuanian citizens for civil resistance was approved, the paramilitary Riflemen’s Union (Šauliai) was strengthened, and an all-parliamentary agreement on defense was signed. Thetopic of national security often spilled over into other areas; for example, the national Special Investigation Service (STT) presented the fight against corruptionas a matter of national security in June. [...].