Vilnius gets creative in trolling Putin

The road leading to the Russian embassy in the city renamed to “Heroes of Ukraine”

The city authorities of Vilnius have found some creative ways in the last couple of days to express their protest against Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine. Perhaps the most interesting among them is the decision to name the road leading to the Russian embassy in the Lithuanian capital to “Ukrainian Heroes” Street.

Can this be a new trend in putting international pressure?

Undoubtedly, there is a dose of dark humour in such a move and the mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Šimašius, explained it best: "From now on, the business card of every employee of the Russian Embassy will have to pay tribute to Ukrainian heroes. The only address on Ukrainian Heroes Street will be that of the Russian Embassy."

In a Twitter post, he added that the formalities concerning the renaming of the street will be concluded by next Wednesday.

#Russian Embassy's ​​new address in #Vilnius: Ukrainian heroes - 2.
We will sort out the formalities on Wednesday, in accordance with the law.
I suspect that the post will not necessarily deliver the letters if the address is given incorrectly. pic.twitter.com/4vzaAolJWX

— Remigijus Šimašius (@RemiSimasius) March 3, 2022

Furthermore, the mayor, together with other Vilnius citizens had taken some time on 28 February to spray paint a large sign on the very same road reading: “Putin, the Hague is waiting for you”. There were, however, concerns that traffic and weather conditions would eventually erase the sign, so yesterday he showed a picture displaying the sign on top of a tall building in order to make it more visible.

Likewise, starting from Monday on the territory of Vilnius City Municipality, natural and legal persons are allowed to illuminate the buildings belonging to them or managed by them in the colours of the flags of the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Ukraine without a separate request and coordination.

Before that, both residents of the city and institutions and businessmen had to obtain a permit for such actions. When installing lighting, however, it is important to leave a free path for pedestrians on pavements and footpaths if the necessary lighting equipment is built.