Monument to partisan leader, Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, unveiled

Vanagas Ramanauskas Monument. Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas
Vanagas Ramanauskas Monument. Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas

On 6 October 2020, at the Pantheon of the State Leaders in the Antakalnis Cemetery, a ceremony was held to unveil the tombstone monument dedicated to Adolfas Ramanauskas codenamed Vanagas (Hawk), Signatory to the 16 February 1949 Declaration of the Council of the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania, Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania (LLKS), and Head of State of Lithuania who had fought against the Soviet occupation.

In commemoration of the second anniversary of the funeral of Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, the Holy Mass was celebrated at St Peter and Paul’s Church in Vilnius.

The remains of Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas were found in the Našlaičiai Cemetery in Antakalnis in 2018. They were subsequently reburied in the Pantheon of the State Leaders of the Antakalnis Cemetery on 6 October 2018.

Seeking to honour this historical personality of importance to Lithuania and its people, the Seimas declared 2018 the year of Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, and recognised him, on 20 November 2018, as the Head of the State of Lithuania who had fought against the Soviet occupation. In its declaration, the Seimas noted that Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Council of the Union of the Lithuanian Freedom Fighters, performed his duties honourably and remained loyal to the oath, given to the State of Lithuania on 12 October 1956, until his heroic death on 29 November 1957.

Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas was working as a teacher. When Lithuania was occupied by the Soviets, he joined the partisan struggle for Lithuania’s independence and became one of the most prominent partisan leaders. He was consequently promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

On 16 February 1949, Adolfas Ramanauskas-Vanagas, together with seven other partisan leaders, signed the Declaration of the Council of the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania. The Seimas recognised the Declaration by law as a legal act of great importance for the continuity of the State of Lithuania. In this document, the Movement of the Struggle for Freedom of Lithuania announced that it assumed the responsibility to lead the restoration of an independent and democratic state of Lithuania.

Ramanauskas-Vanagas was arrested and tortured in 1956 and executed by a firing squad in Vilnius on 29 November 1957.

You may like

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


RECOMMENDED ARTICLES