Lithuanian politics of history in 1990-2018. Legal solutions

The following article provides an insight into Lithuanian public holidays and days of remembrance in the period 1990–2018, established on the basis of national legislative acts, including legal acts and stenographic records drafted up during the sittings of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Both the Seimas and the president of Lithuania have made subsequent decisions on drafting the list of public holidays and days of remembrance, enabling to determine the most important dates and events that have laid the groundwork for Lithuania’s historical memory. The list of public holidays displays a clear pro-state and religious tendency while that of days of remembrance seems to be marked by clear anti-Soviet sentiment, tilting towards promoting a pro-Western system of values. Before adopting the relevant legal acts, members of the Lithuanian parliament held a discussion, under which two additional holidays commemorating the Constitution of May 3, 1791 and the Mutual Pledge of the Two Nations of October 20, 1791 were officially put on the list. Also, attention should be drawn both to the relevance and consistency of the list of public holidays and days of remembrance as the document is subject to constant updates. Endeavours to adopt legislation to commemorate the nation’s historical memory appeared unsuccessful while, given the 100th anniversary of Lithuania’s independence on February 16, 2018, all related efforts were forwarded to the relevant institutions; in consequence, a parliamentary committee was eventually convened on June 20, 2017. Nonetheless, too little time has passed since then to properly evaluate the works performed by the aforementioned body and the validity of all its decisions taken so far