KGB ir lietuvių visuomenė : slaptasis karas 1954-1991 metais

Abstract

The system of Soviet rule relied principally on the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which had legislative and executive monopoly based on the nomenklatura (the system of appointments to specific Party and government posts of power elite, their friends and relatives) and on repressive structures (primarily the KGB). These institutions controlled the population of the country and enforced on it the will of only the ruling party. The KGB permeated all the spheres of public life, the Soviet State, likewise, practised the policy of the same "secretiveness" to extremes. Stamps of "top secret" or "classified" marked all major areas of state governing and social manipulation. The technique of KGB personnel selection inspection, and its activity developed in the first decades of the Soviet security activity. That struc- ture influenced particular events and processes taking place in society. It became undeniably evi- dent when desparate attempts were made to de- nounce the policy of non-recognition of Lithuania's annexation by compromising political fig- ures in exile, by demolishing the unity of political organizations striving toward the independence of Lithuania, by purposefully channelling the activity of Lithuanian artists, collectors, etc. In all its actions - from gathering secret infor- mation to indirectly supporting politicians and organizations willing to collaborate, to slander and split devout adherents of Lithuania's independence and to spread unfavourable information about Lithuania among international organizations and Western countries - the KGB endeavoured at first to prevent the reestablishment of the Lithuanian State, and afterwards to obstruct its international recognition. The KGB officials foresaw to a certain extent the perspective of internal development of the events, however, they were no more in a position to alter the trend of the processes taking place in 1988-1991. When the struggle for Lithuania's independence shifted to Lithuania itself, Soviet security structures could no longer employ the old techniques of influencing society. Support of radical Communist or overtly anti-Lithuanian groupings ("Edinstvo" et.al.) became one of the principal means to fight against the national movement and the formation of public opinion (especially outside of Lithuania).