Soviet repression against the officers of the Lithuanian armed forces

Straipsnyje atskleistos sovietinių represijų prieš Lietuvos kariuomenės karininkus priežastys, pobūdis ir mastas, pateikti duomenys apie represuotus Lietuvos krašto apsaugos ministrus ir karininkus.The article reveals the reasons, nature and extent of the Soviet repression against the officers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and presents the data about the repressed ministers and officers of the Lithuanian National Defence System. The majority of the Lithuanian residents suffered from the repression during the Soviet occupation. The Lithuanian officers did not escape it as well and even became one of the first targets of the Soviet occupants. They were destroyed and persecuted for being an educated, professional, patriotic, highly motivated and organized force capable of organizing the armed resistance against the Soviet occupation and annexation. The repressions sought to break a possible resistance by eliminating patriotic officers from the military and destroying physically, imprisoning or exiling them to the harshest regions of the Soviet Union. Lithuanian officers proved their determination to defend their homeland during the fights with the Bolsheviks for the independence of Lithuania and the Soviet occupants were well aware of that. Hundreds of officers of the Lithuanian Armed Forces were arrested, imprisoned or exiled. Some of them were shot in shooting chambers, while others were tortured by interrogators to complete exhaustion or died from cold, starvation and diseases in prisons and concentration camps. The conditions the deportees lived in were not any easier, they also suffered from starvation and cold in the furthest regions of the Soviet Union and worked in forests and factories. Together with the active service officers, the Soviets also repressed Lithuanian reserve officers and graduates of the Military School, i.e. active and patriotic civil servants, members of the political and public organizations, commanders of the Riflemen’s Union and members of different resistance organizations. A total of 1262 Lithuanian officers were subjected to direct Soviet repression; 150 of them were shot, 663 died in prisons, concentration camps or in exile, while more than 2000 officers opted for forced emigration. The families of the repressed officers suffered greatly as well. They were left without a source of livelihood, their property was confiscated and they were exiled to harsh and mostly uninhabited areas of Komi, Kazakhstan, Altai, Sakha (also known as Yakutia), etc. in Siberia. The majority of them died there from cold, diseases and starvation. The officers who survived the imprisonment and exile were persecuted upon their return to Lithuania. They were prevented from employment, registration and living in a desired place. Throughout the Soviet period, the survivors were tagged as prisoners and unreliable persons; they were monitored and controlled