The Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania

This was the first time that a republic declared independence from the dissolving Soviet Union

The Day of Restitution commemorates the act that declared Lithuania free from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990. Though Lithuania had made its wishes known to the USSR and the rest of the world, it was not until almost a year later that foreign nations began to officially recognize Lithuania as an independent state.

In 1990, Lithuania was allowed to hold a democratic election, and the elected Parliament declared independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990, considered the Restoration of Independence Day. This decision, however, wasn’t without consequences, as Soviet forces persecuted Lithuanians until the Soviet Union finally recognized Lithuania’s independence in 1991.

This was the first time that an occupied state declared independence from the dissolving Soviet Union.