iron wolf · christmas itself, but rather kūčios is more anticipated and has more traditions,...
TRANSCRIPT
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All Saints’ Day in Lithuania is one of the most solemn of holidays
November 1st, people of the Christian Faith all over the world celebrate All Saints’ Day. In Lithuania it is one of the most solemn of holidays. This day is set aside as a day to honor the souls of family members that have passed away as well as remembering the Saints of the Catholic Church. While in modern times, this day involves visits to cemeteries to decorate graves, attending Church and get togethers with
family, the meaning of this day and some of its traditions go back to ancient times and it is interesting to see how some of these ancient traditions have intertwined with the traditions of the Christian Faith in Lithuania today. To this day, you will still hear most Lithuanians refer to All Saints’ Day as “Vėlinės” which was a holiday going back to pagan times that celebrated the souls of dead ancestors with feasts and special rituals. History is not exactly clear about this, but it is known that the feasting and rituals did not take place on one specific day but rather continued over the course of several weeks. In ancient writings this ritual is called "Ilgės" - pangs of love or longings. The name comes from the fact that this ritual went on for a long time - long ritual. In Eastern Lithuania, this ritual was called "Dziedu" days, old men's days. This name was related to beggars who were asked to pray for the souls of the dead.
The ritual traditions of the dead were and still are today directly related to peoples' belief that on this day the souls of the dead return to earth to Churches, cemeteries or their homes. The most ancient belief is that they returned to their homes. Therefore, the souls of the dead were and still are graciously received and treated according to rituals of our ancestors. In the 1500s some of the practices began to change to more of what is common these days. Now it became common for people to gather in cemeteries, where people would pray for the deceased and comment to each other about all the good qualities of the departed person. Afterwards a bountiful supper would be prepared for all to enjoy. Now when it is said “for all to enjoy” it is meant ALL – including the departed. This is based on the belief that “the soul of the dead cannot rest if the table is not set”. In the Žemaitija region of Lithuania there is this traditional prayer that is given by the father of the house.
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IRON Wolf
Lapkritis * November * 2019 * V 2 * # 11
Knights of Lithuania #96 * Dayton, OH
Dayton, OH Lithuanians &
Friends of Holy Cross
Lithuanian RC Church
M a g a z i n e
KNIGHTS of LITHUANIA #96 All Saint’s Day 1 C96 Officers 2 Lapkritis 2 Upcoming Calendar 3 Upcoming Events 5 Region XII 6 MAD Events 7 Lithuanian President 8 General Consul in Cleveland 9 Lithuanian News 9 Lithuanian Anglers 10 Žuvys recipes 11 Children’s Page 14 Rosary 15 K of L Scholarship 16 All Saint’s Day 17 Plotkelė orders 19 Maria Fedyk 20 Lithuanian Spells 22 Ragana 25 Hill of Witches 26 Hungarian Revolution 27 St. Peter’s Bazaar 32 From your editor 33 Our Lady of Šuliva 33 Condolence Report 34 Kazimierz Pułaski 35 Lithuanian Current NEWS 40 Support IRON WOLF 46 K of L Membership Application 47
Join us for mass every
Sunday at 1030am
Holy Cross Lithuanian RC Church 1924 Leo Street * Old North Dayton Parish Administration Office = 937.233.1503.
Pastoral Region XII Father Tony Cutcher, Pastor [email protected]
Father Ambrose Dobrozsi [email protected]
Father Joe Kindel, in residence
Father Johann Roten, S.M.
Pray the rosary to Our Lady of Šuliva
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SINCE YOU ARE READING THIS…. THANK OUR SPONSORS & consider being one!
If you are unable to be a sponsor, consider asking your dentist, doctor, bakery, or grocery to be a sponsor. We need patrons to keep the newsletter successful.
Lapkritis (November) is derived from lapas, leaf, and kristi, to
fall. Its older names include vėlių, vėlius, spalinis,
lapkrėstys, lapkristys, grodis, gruodinis, and vilkų.
C96 Officers &
Committees
President - Michael Petkus 1st VP - Membership Nathan Fletcher 3rd VP – Junior Members Tina Kavy Recording Secretary - Anne Louise Tucker Treasurer - Alex Fletcher Financial Secretary - Mary Petkus Trustees - George A. Mikalauskas & Daniel Tucker Sgt. at Arms - Adam Fletcher Religious - Frances Petkus Lithuanian / Cultural Affairs - Michael Petkus Ritual committee - Anne Louise Tucker IRON WOLF Magazine - MaryAgnes Mikalauskas Historian - Elena Mikalauskas Social committee - Annamarie Sluzas Berger Condolence - Julie Goecke By-Laws - Nathan Fletcher & Frances Petkus SARYSIS / Parish Council - Lauretta Pant Vytis correspondent - Open & need a volunteer Trumpet correspondent – Open & need a volunteer Public Relations - Open & need a volunteer Ways & Means - Open & need a volunteer Sports committee – Open & need a volunteer Photographer - Open & need a volunteer
Offices and committees
are elected annually in October by the general membership and are open to those in good standing with a willingness to work for the good of the organization. A complete position description is available in the by-laws.
MaryAgnes Mikalauskas * 937.461.7139 * 224 Rita Blvd. * Dayton, Ohio 45404-2060 [email protected]
IRON WOLF is published monthly by the Knights of Lithuania #96, Dayton, OH, USA. Subscription is free for 1 year (12 issues) with
your paid dues for membership in the Knights of Lithuania national organization. Additional printed requests are $2 per + $2 postage
per issue or free via pfd. & email. Email requests to [email protected]. The IRON WOLF is a free & open forum for the expression of opinions. The opinions expressed herein are solely the opinion of the author & in no way reflect the opinion of the
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original articles or advertising. Every effort has been made to give reference to information & historical material. It is presented
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Articles are accepted from readers like you and officers for the IRON WOLF newsletter. You may submit via email or in person.
St. Peter’s Catholic Church
6161 Chambersburg Road Huber Heights, Ohio 45424
Phone 937.233.1503 FAX 937.237.3523
Office 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday
REGIONXII.org
Father Tony Cutcher, Pastor [email protected]
Father Ambrose Dobrozsi [email protected] Darren Backstrom Business Manager 937.233.1503
Joy Blaul Pastoral Associate 937.237.3516
Laura Joliat Communications 937.233.1503
PARISH CHURCH BULLETIN DEADLINE. Bulletin articles are due in writing by Friday at 12noon (10 days before the Sunday bulletin date), emailed to [email protected] or mailed or dropped off at the Parish Administration Office. For additional information, please contact Laura in the Parish Administration Office at 937.233.1503.
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Upcoming Events…mark your
calendars… so you can PARTICIPATE Knights of Lithuania Big Koffee Klatch and raffles, Sun, Nov 17th following 1030a mass in the church hall. Open to all members, parishioners, & those who attend mass. Annalouise Tucker is chair of this project. Members are asked to donate items suitable for the wine and beer basket, and children and teen basket. There is also a 50-50 raffle. Annalouise is having delightful & delicious fall brunch treats for everyone who attends mass & comes to the Big Koffee Klatch! Call Annalouise @ 937.776.8027 if you would like to bring a treat for all at the food table. Don’t miss this exciting event. Everyone from church is
invited to this FREE event…children
are always welcome!
HOLY CROSS LITHUANIAN
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
PARISH / SARYSIS Council President James Geiger @ 937.896.7996
Council Secretary Mary Petkus @ 937.898.8177
BINGO Betty Nash @ 937.298.2534
Choir Director Connie Geiger @ 937.836.7996
Knights of Lithuania Michael Petkus @ 937.422.7946
Lithuanian Anglers Andrew Berczelly @ 937.604.7074
Lithuanian Culture Council Michael Petkus @ 937.422.7946
Lithuanian Vejeliai Dance Group Eric Geiger @ 937.896.7996
St. Peter’s Society George A. Mikalauskas @ 937.275.8235
November Monthly Knights of Lithuania meeting, Sunday, Dec 1st in Holy Cross church hall immediately following 1030a mass.
Annual Christmas Caroling, Sunday, Dec 8th, immediately following 1030a mass. Please attend mass then go to the church hall to get ready to “van up” for our rides to visit and sing to the homebound of the Knights of Lithuanian 80+ or those in assisted living. Participate in this
FREE event as we sing and distribute
a beautiful poinsettia from FURST the FLORIST. Call Frances Mikalauskas for list details.
Kūčios is Sunday, Dec 15th, 6pm,
Holy Cross Church hall. This is a reservation ONLY 1. Donation is $10 for each adult and
$5 10yo & under, PLUS canned food donation for the northeast food pantry.
2. Fran Petkus is taking reservations @ 236-0395 to make your reservation. YOU MUST SPEAK WITH FRAN DIRECTLY TO MAKE RESERVATIONS.
3. The hall only holds 110 max when set for Kūčios…advance booking is required.
Christmas Season is unarguably the greatest among all holidays in Lithuania - much like in most Western countries. What may surprise you, however, that not Christmas itself, but rather Kūčios is more anticipated and has more traditions, both cultural and culinary, attached to it. Authentic Christmas Eve celebrations encompass a variety of ceremonies and rituals, some of which date as far as Lithuania's pagan times before the end of the 14th century.
Knights of Lithuania Vyčių Himnas Nuženk, Galybe iš dangaus, Sustiprink jauną Vyčių dvasią! Mes už teisybę stosim drąsiai Tėvynę ginti kuo narsiau. štai plevesuoja vėliava. Ką kalba jos žymė? Ei, Vyčiai, gyvenam Tautai ir Bažnyčiai Mūsų širdyse Lietuva, mintys, darbai, karšta malda. Ei, Vyčiai, gyvenam Tautai ir Bažnyčiai
Lithuania’s National Anthem Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų, Tu didvyrių žeme, Iš praeities Tavo sūnūs Te stiprybę semia. Tegul Tavo vaikai eina Vien takais dorybės, Tegul dirba Tavo naudai Ir žmonių gėrybei. Tegul saulė Lietuvoj Tamsumas prašalina, Ir šviesa, ir tiesa Mūs žingsnius telydi. Tegul meilė Lietuvos Dega mūsų širdyse, Vardan tos, Lietuvos Vienybė težydi!
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LITURGY 101 with Father Tony, Tues, Nov 5th @11am -12 30p in the Reis Center. Or you can attend the alternate time of Thurs, Nov 7th @ 7pm - in the Reis Center.
Practice for children for Christmas Eve is on Sunday, Dec 22nd, immediately following 1030a mass. Attend mass and have your voices ready to practice your song for midnight mass. Come to mass every Sunday. Tell your mom & dad to bring you until you are old enough to drive.
MIDNIGHT MASS is December 24th, at midnight, Holy Cross with Father Roten. Christmas carols begin at 1140p. Please arrive early.
January Monthly Knights of Lithuania meeting, Sunday, Jan 5th in Holy Cross church hall immediately following 1030a mass.
NOVEMBER SUPPORTERS
Armon & Venice Grantham, c96
Karen A. kuritar
Welcome to new Champion
Supporter KAREN A. KURITAR
to the IRON WOLF magazine! Karen is a friend of many in the
Holy Cross family and comes from St. Stephen Hungarian Church.
We certainly appreciate your generosity!
S A C R A M E N T S BAPTISM: The baptismal preparation class is the 1st Sat, 9a-1030a in the Senior Center at St. Peter Parish. 937.237.3516 to RSVP for the baptism class and 937.233.1503 to schedule the baptism. Baptisms are held after the 11a Sunday Mass at St. Peter. Baptisms at Holy Cross, Our Lady of the Rosary, and St. Adalbert are by request. MARRIAGE: Arrangements are made 6 months in advance. Call Parish Office at 937.233.1503. RECONCILIATION: Sat 3p-4p at St. Peter & 4p-430p at Our Lady of the Rosary, 1st Sun; at St. Adalbert from 8a-830a & Holy Cross 10a-1030a. Also, by request. ANOINTING of the SICK: Priests are available to administer the Sacrament of the Sick. Please call the Parish Administration Office at 937.233.1503.
Ačių IRON WOLF 2019 supporters:
SPONSOR Joan Kavalauskas, c96
Joan Tillman, c102 Constance Zilinkas, c96
PATRON Anonymous
Victoria Zilinkas Carter, c96 Regina Mikalas Dell Fred P. Kreuzer, CPA
Elena Mikalauskas, c96 Frances George Mikalauskas, c96
Terry & Jerry Scott, c96 CHAMPION
Karen A. Kuritar Gecas – McCarthy Family, c96
ANGEL MaryAgnes Mikalauskas, c96
Dr. Alan Wilimitis, DO GUARDIAN ANGEL
Armon & Venice Grantham, c96
Ačių IRON WOLF 2018 supporters: Venice Grantham
Barb Kreuzer Fred P. Kreuzer, CPA & Associates
Lithuanian Anglers Elena Mikalauskas
MaryAgnes Mikalauskas Dr. Alan Wilimitis, DO
Upcoming Events…mark your
calendars… so you can PARTICIPATE
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Upcoming Events…
Up
NORTHEAST CHURCHES EMERGENCY FOOD CENTER
Thank you for your continued generous support for the food center. You can designate the NE Food Panty
when you complete your United Way pledge card.
VETERAN’S DAY CELEBRATION in REGION XII Monday, November 11, @ St. Peter 8:45 am Breakfast in the Ries Room 9:30 am Assembly in the Gym Sunday, November 17, @ OLR 11:00 am Mass 12:00 noon Dinner in Shumaker Hall
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REGION XII Event Changes…
MASS INTENTIONS changes for Dayton
Region XII, which includes Holy Cross
Lithuanian Church beginning Tuesday,
October 1st:
1. All Mass Intention requests must be in writing
2. Include who the intention is for
3. The date mass is requested for
4. The Mass preference, i.e.: 1030a @ Holy Cross
5. The Church, i.e.: 1030a @ Holy Cross
6. Only six requests will be allowed per family.
7. The Mass stipend is $5 per Mass.
8. If paying by check, please make the check
payable to the Church where the Mass Intention
will be said, i.e.: payable to Holy Cross
9. Mass Intentions can also be requested by mail
(St. Peter Church, Parish Administration Office,
6161 Chambersburg Rd, Huber Heights 45424)
10. Emailed [email protected]
11. Currently, no Mass Intentions will be taken by
phone.
12. All intentions must be in writing
13. They will be put in the book on a first-come, first-
served basis.
14. Since we will be taking Mass Intentions for all
four churches, we are hoping the above
guidelines help the process go more smoothly.
15. Please contact Jan Barbour at 937.233.1503 or
email [email protected]
for additional information.
To reserve HOLY CROSS Church
Hall for all occasions: 1. Call the Region church office at 937.233.1503
2. Request your date
3. This will begin the reservation process.
BULLETIN BOARDS in
CHURCH FOYERS 1. All flyers posted in the foyers at all Region XII
churches need to be cleared by the Parish
Administration Office.
2. Please call Laura at 937.233.1503 to receive
approval to post flyer.
EVENTS AFTER MASS
1. All parishioners & groups in Region XII who
would like to have event sign-ups following Mass or
sell items need to receive permission from the
Parish Administration Office
2. Please contact Laura at 937.233.1503.
CHURCH BULLETIN DEADLINE
1. Bulletin articles are due in writing by Friday at 12:00 noon (ten days before bulletin date) by
2. email to [email protected],
3. or mailed or dropped off at the Parish Office.
4. For more information, please call Laura in the Parish Administration Office at 233-1503.
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Upcoming Events with Mid America District …
District
Our Lady of Šiluva Monthly Mass Members are reminded that a monthly Mass in honor of Our Lady of Šiluva is said on the first Friday of every month at St. Pius X Parish, 4314 South Oak Park Avenue, Stickney, IL 60402. Everyone is invited to attend. The Mass is held at 7:00pm, in English, with the Šiluva Novena Prayers recited afterward. The next Mass will be on Friday, November 1st, 2019.
Annual Service for Deceased Members Our annual Mass of Remembrance will take place on Sunday, Nov 10, 2019 at St. Pius X Church, 10am. We will then attend the 10:30am Sunday Mass. St. Pius is located at 4314 South Oak Park Avenue, Stickney, IL 60402. Council Presidents are requested to contact Georgianna Macke at 1.630.416.0658 or by email at [email protected] no later than Thurs, Nov 7, 2019 with a listing of your council’s members who have passed away within this past year so that they can be included in the memorial service. Following the Mass those wishing to will go together for lunch at a local restaurant to be decided.
Chicago Lithuanian Women’s Club Fall Festival. The members of the Chicago Lithuanian Women's Club will hold their annual fundraiser on Sunday, November 3, 2019. Please plan on joining them for a "Lithuanian Luau" featuring a Hawaiian Review presented by Royale Hawaiians. In addition, there will be Lithuanian vendors available for your shopping pleasure. The festivities will be held at the Palos Country Club, 13100 Southwest Highway, Orland Park, IL 60462. Tickets are $50.00 per person. Hoping everyone can come out and support the CLWC as they continued their great works throughout the Lithuanian Community of the Chicago Area. For tickets, more information and reservations please contact either Genevieve Maluska at 1.708.974.4924 or by email at [email protected] or Cecilia Matul at 1.708.460.6004 or by email at [email protected].
Mid-America District Bowling. The 2019-2020 season has begun! Members of the Mid-America District and friends meet on the 3rd Saturday of each month from September to May. Our next bowling date is Saturday, November 16, 2019. We will start at 4:00pm at El Mar Lanes, 8435 South Harlem Avenue, Bridgeview, IL 60455. Come on out and bowl with us or cheer on your favorite district bowler. After bowling head out to dinner as a group. As always, all our thanks to Sports Chair, Tony Armalis, for all his work in coordinating our bowling season.
Kenosha Harbor Holiday – International
Market & Festival. Please C38 –
Kenosha, WI on Sat & Sun, Dec 7th-8th,
2019, from 10a–5p as they take part in the
18th Annual Kenosha Harbor Holiday –
International Market & Festival. This
collaborative international holiday event
takes place at the Kenosha Public Museum
Campus, 5500 First Ave., Kenosha, WI,
53140. This event combines the Civil War
Museum’s Victorian Christmas, Kenosha
Public Museum’s International Holiday
Faire, the Winter Harbor Market event, and
more. A combination of indoor and outdoor
events offering fun and food for the entire
family, plus holiday shopping! You won't
want to miss this wonderful holiday-themed
event.
District Mini-Golf Outing. Please plan on joining your fellow district members and friends on the 3rd Sat of June; July; and August 2020 for an afternoon of mini-golf and fun. We will gather at 11:00am at the PGN Fun Village at 8125 West 95th St, Hickory Hills, IL 60457. Cost of a round of golf is $8.00 per person.
Masses at the Chapel at Catholic
Charities St. Casimir Center The Sisters of St. Casimir invite you to join them in prayer for the Beatification of Mother Maria Kaupas. Masses are held 930a in the Chapel at Catholic Charities St. Casimir Center, 2601 West Marquette Rd, Chicago, IL 60629. The next Masses are as follows: Sat, Dec 7, 2019. Please plan to attend and pray with the Sisters at these special services. C112 – Chicago, IL Annual Christmas Party. Members of C112 will hold their annual Christmas Party on Friday, December 6, 2019 at Mabenka Restaurant & Banquet, 7844 South Cicero Avenue, Burbank, IL 60459. The festivities will begin at 5:30pm with cocktails. Dinner will begin at 6:00pm. The evening will also include music by Algimintas Barniskis and a raffle. Cost will be $25.00 per person. Reservations are required and should be made by contacting Regina Juskaitis at 1.708.422.3541, no later than Friday, November 29, 2019. Members and friends from all councils are invited to join us for some Christmas cheer!
C157 – Lemont, IL...members of C157 will hold their annual Kučios on Mon, Dec 2, 2019 at the Ateitininkų Namai, 1380 Castlewood Dr, Lemont, IL 60439, beginning at 630p. All attendees are asked to bring a meatless dish to share. So that they can plan accordingly, it is extremely important that you please contact Georgianna Macke at 1.630.416.0658 or by email at [email protected] by Wed, Nov27, 2019 to make a reservation to attend. All are welcome!
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The President congratulated Turkey on Republic Day 2019-10-29 President Gitanas Nausėda extended congratulations to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey on Republic Day. “I firmly believe that bilateral cooperation between Lithuania and Turkey as well as their membership in NATO will contribute to ensuring the security of both nations. It is my strong hope that in the coming years increasingly more opportunities will open for our citizens to launch joint initiatives and develop new projects in business, tourism, culture, and education,” the President wrote in his message of congratulations. Gitanas Nausėda wished Turkey and its people peace, wellbeing and success.
The President congratulated the Czech Republic on Independence Day 2019-10-28
President Gitanas Nausėda extended congratulations to President Miloš Zeman of the Czech Republic on Independence Day. The President underlined that Lithuanian and Czech people shared a similar historical experience and the same path towards independence. The Velvet Revolution that took place 30 years ago inspired the Czech people and all Europeans to move on with courage and determination towards democracy. Lithuania will always remember the historic moment in 2002 when we were invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the NATO summit in Prague. “Today, the Czech Republic is a committed partner and ally of Lithuania, working together to deal with urgent European and international agenda issues. We highly appreciate Czech Republic’s contribution to strengthening the security of Lithuania and the entire region. Czech troops are deployed to NATO’s enhanced forward presence in Lithuania. This year, the Czech Air Force is also on rotation in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission,” the President wrote in his message of congratulations. Gitanas Nausėda expressed his firm belief that the bonds of friendship – built on common values and respect for the principles of democracy – would keep the two nations united as they move forward to ensure continental security and wellbeing. He further noted that dynamic people-to-people contacts in education, science, culture, tourism, and business would make the bilateral dialogue increasingly more effective. Gitanas Nausėda wished the President of the Czech Republic and its people continued success, prosperity and unity.
The President: activities of the Red Cross bring society together 2019-10-28
President Gitanas Nausėda and First Lady Diana Nausėdienė met with Francesco Rocca, President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). The Lithuanian Red Cross Society, the oldest non-governmental organization in the country, marks its centenary this year. It was established together with the first authorities immediately after the declaration of Lithuania’s independence. The President emphasized that the activities of the Red Cross bring people together, develop vital values of mutual understanding, compassion, solidarity, volunteering and charity, therefore Lithuania is privileged to have a strong and efficient national Red Cross. According to the President, Lithuania valued the meaningful and devoted work done by the IFRC members. This organization is crucial to overcoming humanitarian crises around the world that still cause human suffering and displacement at an unprecedented scale. For this reason, the noble objectives and activities of humanitarian organizations, especially the Red Cross, are highly valued. During the meeting, the President highlighted that Lithuania would continue to fulfill its obligations and support humanitarian initiatives, including the activities of the IFRC. The humanitarian agenda is an important part of Lithuania’s national and foreign policy. It is an indispensable element for achieving the goals of peace and security, development and human rights.
Thank you to: [email protected] for our Presidential Greetings!
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Brangieji artimu koloniju vadai,
Malonekite paskelbti Jusu nariam apie Konsuline Misija gruodzio 6-7 dienomis Klyvelande, kuria atliks
atvyke is LR Generalinio Konsulato Cikagoje. Norim kuo daugiau LR pilieciu pasiekti kuriem gali buti
reikalingi konsuliniai patarnavimai. Sirdingai aciu
Please announce to your members about the Consular Mission, December 6-7, in Cleveland, which will be conducted by the
Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania in Chicago. We want to reach as many citizens of the Republic of Lithuania
as possible who may need consular services. Thank you very much.
Demesio LR pilieciam ir norinriems tapti pilieciais:
Gruodzio 6-7 dienomis Klyvelande ivyks LR Generalinio Konsulato is Cikagos Konsoline Misija.
Proga sutvarkyti ivairius dokumentus.
1.Paso keitimai , pilietrybes atstatymas
2. Uzsienyje registruotu civilines bukles aktu
3. Gyvenamos vietos deklaravimas
4. Igaliojimai
Kvieciam registruotis iki lapkricio 23 d. LR Garbes Generaliniam Konsulate Klyvelande skambinant
Ingridai Bublys 440 046 3388
arba e-mail [email protected]
Bus pranesta vieta ir laikas jai bus uzsiregistravusiu.
For citizens of the Demesio Republic of Lithuania and wishing to become citizens:
In December 6-7, the mission of the Consulate-General of the Klyvelande Bishop LR is
The opportunity to arrange the various documents.
1. Passport changes, citizenship restoration
2. A civil booklet registered in the Abroad
3. Declaration of Residence
4. Validity
Invite to register until 23 November, at the consulate of LR Garbes in Klyvelande callers by Ingrida Bublys 440 046 3388
or e-mail [email protected]
The place and time will be registered.
Ingrida Bublys Honorary General Consul Republic of Lithuania
5900 SOM Center Rd., Suite 12-223, Willoughby, Ohio, 44094 USA
tel: +1 440 946 3388 US mob: +1 216 798 5136 Lithuanian mob: +1 370 698 24 824 em: [email protected]
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The Lithuanian Anglers KUGELIS Sale was held on Sunday, October 20th, 2019, 9a-12noon, in the Holy Cross Lithuanian Church Hall. KUGELIS from the Lithuanian Anglers was only $6 for the popular 2 lb. or $15 for the large 5 lb. container. Larger sizes were available for special orders. Many people made space in their freezer and refrigerator. A very simple instruction paper was given out to all who purchased their KUGELIS: thaw, place in oven at 350꙳ for 1 hour. Following 1030a mass, coffee and donuts were available. Andrew Berczelly made excellent coffee with real half and half (my favorite) and plenty of sweet treats for everyone at
pickup. Raffles were offered after purchasing the KUGELIS. You could buy the big raffles for a wide variety of adult beverages and more and the ever popular 50-50 in a separate raffle.
Molly Haas Erin Petkus
George A. Mikalauskas, II
Andrew Brian
Berczelly Citringo
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George A. Mikalauskas II jumped to the stage with our ticket “drawer”,
who is known as Maycie Geiger. Time to pull out your
RED TICKETS …here we go for $94 cash money for the 50-50…and
the winner is Fran Petkus! Next was the infamous Andrew
Berczelly…remember Andrew took all the orders this year and has a
special day coming up with Nicole Hauffman.
All prizes were donated by the Lithuanian Anglers. This year extra
incentives were provided by Connie Geiger: her handmade holiday door
weath and MaryAgnes Mikalauskas: her
handmade amber bracelet along with adult
beverages and other items. Andrew Berczelly
and Maycie Geiger pulled the GREEN
TICKETS for the next sets of prizes…check
your tickets…drum roll please…
Dėkojame už jūsų paramą!
Thank you for your support!
#1 Jason Gough
#2 Andrew Berczelly #3 Kyle O’Brien #4 Joe Mantz #5 MaryAgnes Mikalauskas #6 Erin Petkus #7 George A. Mikalauskas II #8 Connie Geiger Article & photos by MaryAgnes Mikalauskas
Žuvys - Fish In Lithuania most fish eaters live along lakes or the seacoast. Along with freshwater fish, saltwater fish are also popular. Fish are much used for food reserves, small fish are dried, while larger ones are salted. Some salted fish are hot smoked for immediate use. Fish for salting are seasoned with black pepper, powdered bay leaf, crushed juniper berries and ground cardamom. Herring are popular throughout Lithuania.
FISH BAKED IN HOT COALS
Žarijose kepta žuvis
1 fresh fish * 100 g (3 oz) bacon, cut into thin strips
1 onion, sliced * salt and pepper to taste
1. Prepare fish for baking. Stuff fish with bacon, onion and pepper.
2. Sprinkle salt on the outside. Wrap stuffed fish in brown paper and place into hot coals and bake for about 30
minutes.
3. Eat with black bread or with hot potatoes baked in same coals.
4. This fish is a favorite among fishermen, hunters and campers.
George A. Mikalauskas II
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COOKED TENCH OR BREAM - Virti lynai arba karšiai
Tench is a lake bottom fish. Bream is a fish found in the Curonian lagoon. It resembles carp.
1 k (2 lbs.) fish * juice of 1/2 lemon; 1 hard-boiled egg
aromatic vegetables - onion, carrot, parsnip and celery * salt and pepper to taste
HORSERADISH SAUCE
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup freshly grated horseradish root
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup vegetable broth; 1/2 cup sour cream
juice of 1/2 lemon
sugar and salt to taste
1. Clean fish and blot dry.
2. Salt inside of fish and sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Cut fish into medium pieces and place into cooking pot.
4. Cover with seasonings and chopped aromatic vegetables.
5. Add enough water to cover fish and vegetables, cook on gentle heat for about 20 minutes, uncovered.
6. To make sauce melt butter and fry flour until lightly browned,
7. Add grated horseradish, vegetable broth, lemon juice, pinch of salt and bring to a boil stirring gently.
8. Add sour cream and mix well.
9. This fish is eaten for dinner with hot potatoes and hot horseradish sauce.
FISH DUMPLINGS - Žuvies kukuliai
1 k (2 lbs.) fish, cod, pike, flounder or other * 2 slices white bread, soaked in milk
3 onions, finely chopped * 1/2 cup milk; 30 g (2 tablespoons) butter
2 eggs; 1/2 cup sour cream * salt, pepper and marjoram to taste
100 g (6 tablespoons) breadcrumbs * oil for frying
1. Clean fish, bone, filet and grind. Fry onion in butter, add to ground fish.
2. Soak bread in milk, squeeze dry and add to ground fish.
3. Beat eggs, mix with sour cream, seasonings and add to fish mixture.
4. Make medium sized fish dumplings, roll in breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil until crisp and browned.
5. The fish dumplings can also be cooked, about 15 minutes, in salted water.
6. Hot fish dumplings are eaten with cooked potatoes and dill pickles.
7. Fish dumplings are also eaten cold.
8. They are then served with horseradish mixed with sour cream or finely chopped dill pickles in sour cream.
COOKED CRAWFISH - Virti vėžiai
1 k (2 lbs.) crawfish; 50 g (4 tablespoons) butter * 1/2 l (2 cups) beer; 5 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns * medium piece of horseradish root * parsley and dill; 3 l (3 qts.) water; salt to taste
1. Soak crawfish in cold water for about 10-15 minutes to remove sand.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil, add beer, bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley, dill and horseradish root.
3. Bring to a boil and add crawfish, cover pot and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.
4. Remove pot with crawfish from heat and let sit covered, so that crawfish is well seasoned.
5. After 1 hour, remove crawfish from cooking water,
6. Paint crawfish with melted butter to give them a shine and sprinkle with finely chopped dill and parsley.
SMOKED COD WITH STEWED CARROTS - Rūkyta menkė su troškintomis morkomis
1/2 k (1 lb.) smoked cod * 3 carrots, coarsely grated
2 onions, chopped * 3 apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup vegetable oil * salt to taste
1. Heat oil in skillet, add carrots, onion, apples and simmer until carrots are soft.
2. Remove bones from fish, cut into small pieces and arrange on a platter.
3. Cover with simmered, cooled vegetables.
4. Serve with black rye bread.
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DRIED SMELTS AND OTHER SMALL FISH - Džiovintos stintos ir kitos smulkios žuvytės
1. Fish are cleaned and blotted dry. A dry marinade is prepared with black pepper, bay leaves and much salt.
2. Rub fish with dry marinade and keep fish in marinade for 48 hours.
3. Then scrape off marinade.
4. Blot fish and thread fish through eyes on wire or string and hang in the sun, in a windy spot.
5. The fish can also be dried in an oven on low heat.
6. Such dried fish are eaten cold. They are also used to make fish chowders.
HERRING WITH HEMP SEED - Silkė su spirgyne
8 herring fillets; 3 onions, sliced * 1 cup hemp seed; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil * salt to taste
1. Cut herring fillets into small pieces and place on a serving platter.
2. Fry 2 sliced onions in hot oil, add pepper. Cool and pour over herring pieces.
3. Fry hemp seed together with 1 finely chopped onion and salt until hemp seed are crisp.
4. Then pour hemp seed mixture into mortar and grind to a fine powder and pour over herring.
5. This herring is eaten as a snack or light meal with bread or with hot potatoes, cooked in their jackets.
HERRING WITH MUSHROOMS - Silkės su grybais
12 herring fillets; 3 onions, finely chopped * 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons sour cream; 6 dried mushrooms * sugar and pepper to taste
1. Soak dried mushrooms in hot water for 3 hours, cook and cut into thin strips.
2. Fry onions add mushrooms, pinch of pepper and sugar and cook on low heat for 5-10 minutes.
3. Spoon mushroom-onion mixture over each fillet, roll fillets and place side by side on serving platter.
4. Cover herring rolls with sour cream.
5. This is eaten as a snack or a light meal with bread or hot potatoes.
HERRING IN HORSERADISH SAUCE- Silkės krienų padaže
12 herring fillets * 100 g (6 tablespoons) vegetable oil
100 g (6 tablespoons) flour * 100 g (6 tablespoons) freshly grated
horseradish root; 1 teaspoon sugar * pinch of salt; 3 egg yolks
1 cup sour cream; dash of vinegar
1. Roll herring fillets in flour and bake in oil.
2. Place baked fillets in serving platter and cover with horseradish sauce.
3. To make sauce: brown flour in hot oil, add horseradish and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add sour cream, heat on low heat, add dash of vinegar and pinch of salt.
5. Beat egg yolks, add to sauce, stirring constantly bring to a gentle boil.
6. Cool sauce and pour over herring fillets.
7. Serve with bread.
HERRING POTATOES - Silkių bulvytės
10 potatoes, cooked in their skins * 4 herring fillets; 2 cooked carrots, coarsely grated
3 tablespoons vegetable oil * 1 onion, finely chopped;
1 sour apple, peeled and coarsely grated * 1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon caraway seed * salt and pepper to taste
1. Fry herring fillets in hot oil.
2. Cut fried fillets into very small pieces and mix with 2 coarsely grated, cooked potatoes, carrots, apples and onion.
3. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
4. Scoop out centers of 8 remaining cooked potatoes and fill with herring-potato mixture.
5. Pour sour cream over tops of filled potatoes and sprinkle with caraway seed.
6. Serve as a snack or light lunch.
http://www.lnkc.lt/eknygos/eka/food/fish.html
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Children’s Pages… Children attend mass every Sunday at Holy Cross Lithuanian Church. Say your prayers every day.
Palemonas Palemonas is supposed to be a somewhat corrupted version of the name of a Roman navy commander who got himself into trouble with Roman emperor Nero. To escape Nero's wrath, he brought his family and his retinue of Roman nobles to Lithuanian territory and settled there. This is the legendary genesis of Lithuanian noble families. This legend came about because of the need for Lithuanian noble families to prove their noble roots. Lacking adequate written records, Lithuanian nobility was susceptible to plausible theories of their ancestral beginnings.
Pilėnai In late February 1336, a large crusader army consisting of Austrian, French, and German contingents and numbering about 6,000 fighters, guided by a force of Teutonic Knights, invaded Lithuanian territory from East Prussia with the goal of destroying the Pilėnai hill-fort, a key part of the Lithuanian defensive line of forts along the Nemunas River. The fort was filled with residents seeking shelter for their families along with Lithuanian defenders commanded by Margiris, brother of Lithuania's ruler, Grand Duke Gediminas.
Burning and killing as it went, the crusader army reached Pilėnai, surrounded the hillfort and commenced bombardment to breach the defensive walls. When the defensive walls started to collapse and the fall of the fort became certain, to deny the crusaders booty and captives, choosing death over a life of slavery, the defenders lit a large bonfire, burned all their valuable possessions, killed all their women and children and then killed themselves.
Gaining the inside of the fort, the crusaders were shocked and disappointed to find only the charred remains of bodies and goods and had to return to Prussia empty-handed. For their bravery and their stubborn refusal to surrender, the names of Margiris and Pilėnai have become legendary and inspirational to succeeding generations of Lithuanians.
http://www.lithaz.org/links/culture.html
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History of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary from Universalis:
The feast of the Holy Rosary was instituted by Pope Pius V to celebrate the anniversary of the defeat of
the Turkish fleet at the battle of Lepanto on the first Sunday in October 1571, which ended the threat of
Muslim domination of the Mediterranean and was ascribed in part to the prayers and processions of the
Rosary confraternity in Rome. The rosary involves meditation on the Life of Christ, while praying a
sequence of prayers which include the Our Father and the Hail Mary. There used to be 15 mysteries for
mediation, until Pope John Paul the Great added another 5 to make 20.
Praying the Rosary. The rosary is pictured above and is prayed daily by many Catholics. Your rosary
should be blessed by a Catholic priest and should be treated with love and respect. Many fervent Catholics
carry their rosary in their pockets wherever they go. A rosary can be prayed anywhere; in the car, in
waiting rooms, or going for a walk.
You start by making the Sign of the Cross. Then, holding the crucifix in your fingers, pray the Apostle’s
Creed. Many kiss the crucifix before starting or make the sign of the cross with the crucifix Move to the
first bead and pray the Our Father. On the next three beads, pray three Hail Marys, followed by a
Glory Be (on the chain) before the next bead. The three Hail Marys often represent prayers for Faith, for
Hope and for Charity. The last bead (on the straight part of the rosary before the center piece) begins the
first decade with an Our Father. Then you move to the ten beads on the right of the center piece, on
which you pray ten Hail Marys. During the first decade, you meditate on the first mystery. The
mysteries are listed below. The rosary contains five decades, and as you pray each decade, you announce
and meditate on one of the five mysteries for that day (see photo of rosary above).
Sign of the Cross: Vardan Dievo Tėvo, ir Sūnaus, ir Šventosios Dvasios. Amen.
Hail Mary: Sveika, Marija, malonės pilnoji! Viešpats su Tavimi.
Tu pagirta tarp moterų, ir pagirtas Tavo Sūnus Jėzus. Šventoji Marija, Dievo Motina, melskis už mus, nusidėjėlius, dabar ir mūsų mirties valandoje. Amen.
http://www.marysrosaries.com/collaboration/index.php?title=Lietuviskai_(Lithuanian)_Rosary_Prayers
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The Knights of Lithuania Scholarship
The Knights of Lithuania Scholarship Program is intended to help a worthy and deserving Knight obtain a college education. Applicants must be a member of the organization for at least two years in order to be eligible to apply for a scholarship award, which is verified with the National Financial Secretary.
The Scholarship Program is intended to be a stimulus for young Lithuanian Americans to join and be active in our organization. Service to the Knights of Lithuania organization is of prime importance to be considered for this award. Scholarships are awarded annually and are paid to the recipients in two installments. Applications must be complete (e.g., photo, transcript, recommendations, etc.) to be considered by the Scholarship Committee.
PLEASE NOTE: 1. Applicants may apply for a scholarship more
than once; however, an applicant may only be awarded a scholarship twice.
2. There are various scholarships available with individual amounts decided upon by vote of the Scholarship Committee each year.
3. Each applicant is responsible for completing the application and securing entrance to the college of choice. If the recipient of an award drops out of college, or academic standing becomes unsatisfactory, the unexpended balance of the award may be forfeited.
4. Scholarship awards may be made to a person for undergraduate or graduate work. There is no age limitation. Organizational activity within the Knights of Lithuania is one of the most important criteria for obtaining a scholarship along with the following requirements and stipulations:
An applicant will be scored based on recommendations made by his/her
1) Council President or 3rd Vice President; 2) Spiritual Advisor or Pastor; 3) Former Teacher; 4) Character Reference.
Applicants will be evaluated based on their scholastic records, financial need, and most importantly, Knights of Lithuania involvement. The Scholarship Committee will carefully study the applications. Decisions of the committee are final. Recipients of the Scholarship Awards will be announced at the next National Convention of the Knights of Lithuania.
For the official and complete application go to the Knights of Lithuania scholarship application site and
complete the application form. http://knightsoflithuania.com/scholarship/
Membership application at end of this newsletter…must be a member 2 years!
Important things to remember:
It is imperative the scholarship applicant be
involved in the Knights of Lithuania activities so…
1. Participate regularly in meetings
2. Participate in Knights of Lithuania’s sponsored
activities such as Lithuanian Independence,
St. Casimir’s Day, Palm Sunday breakfast,
Mother’s Day, Cemetery Visits, Fall No-bake
bake-sale, and Christmas Caroling
3. Participate in Lithuanian church activities like
St. Casimir’s mass, Easter mass and Midnight
mass.
4. Attend District meetings and National
conventions
5. Participate in a Lithuanian dance group,
language classes, or cooking class.
6. Write an article for the IRON WOLF newsletter or
Vytis and submit for publication.
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All Soul’s Day …. Continued page 1
“Dear souls of the dead, you are still remembered by the members of my family, you are most worthy of our perpetual remembrance, especially you, my grandparents, my parents, also our relatives, children and everyone whom death took away from our home. I invite you to this annual feast. We wish that this feast is agreeable to you, just like memory of all of you, is to us”.
After a short silence, the father asks everyone to sit at the table and the food is eaten in silence. Another practice was that on the eve of All Saints’ Day tables would be set with food in the evening, in rooms with doors and windows ajar to allow the souls of the dead, easy entry. Also, soft beds were prepared with white bed linen for the anticipated guests. Blessed candles were then placed and lit on either side of the pillow and the family knelt near the bed awaiting the arrival of the soul of their dead family member. If they heard cracking in ceilings or floors, this meant that the dead souls had arrived.
Even as late as the early 1900s, in some parts of Lithuania, an assortment of food was brought to cemeteries and left there. Upon returning home from the cemetery a dinner of seven different foods of meat, grains and eggs was prepared and the table was set in a room with windows and doors open wide to allow the souls to enter as it was believed that the souls of the dead partook of the meal together with the living members. No one sat at the corner of the table as this spot was reserved for the souls of the departed. An assortment of food was also placed on that corner of the table and then everyone began to eat.
In Lithuania, the belief that souls of the dead come for a visit during All Saints’ Day has lasted to this day. The traditions of honoring the dead that are practiced today began in the mid-1800s. The most common practices are joint visits to cemeteries, decorating of graves, lighting of candles and prayers. So, Monday 1 November I will do what millions of Lithuanians will do around the world - honor my ancestors. The day will start by me driving around to different homes in Vilnius to pick up some of my relatives that no longer drive. We will make the forty-five-minute drive from Vilnius to Guronys which is the ancestral home of my grandfather’s family Karnila and my grandmother’s family Petkevičius. As always, we will go to the two “old cemeteries” first. Here will be the meeting point for
other members of the family since on this day, the same as with so many Lithuanian families, we have family members from near and far traveling to our ancestral home.
The oldest of the two “old cemeteries” in Guronys is where my great grandfather Vincentas and my great grandmother Kristina are buried. I go to this cemetery quite often in the course of a year’s time. Whenever I am driving through the area I’ll stop by for “a visit”. I think you can understand that it gives me a very warm feeling inside to be at the final resting place of my ancestors especially when I can look three hundred meters away and see the spot where their house once stood. I don’t mind telling you though that when I “visit” Vincentas and Kristina on All Saints’ Day there is very much a different feeling. On this day, you get this very strong feeling that they are there with you and they can feel your feelings and hear your thoughts. Now I’m sure that among our dear readers there are those in the scientific and medical fields that could very aptly explain these feelings. Sincerely I can tell you that I would like to hear these explanations. Please don’t be offended though when I ask that on this day, All Saints’ Day, don’t give me the scientific explanation for these feelings. On this day I’m having too much fun “visiting” with my ancestors.
From one cemetery to another and another, candles will be lit, prayers will be given, gravesites will be decorated and at the grave of each person we will stand and talk about their fine qualities and the things they accomplished in their life, the same as has been done for hundreds and hundreds of years. The visits to one cemetery to another is not only for the members of the Karnila and Petkevičius families. This also includes visiting the graves of the wive‘s and husband‘s families as well so all and all it‘s an all day affair.
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Once we have visited and paid our respects to all the departed most of the group, this is usually six to eight carloads of people, will gather at the home of one of the families that live near by. Here we will go inside and socialise and enjoy a wonderful meal. Of course, it goes with out saying that at one corner of the table a place will be set with a plate, silver ware and drinking glass and no one will begin eating until food has been placed on and near this plate and drink has been poured into the glass. After all, this day is for our ancestors and it would be impolite to start eating before they are served at the table.
The drive home is very pleasant. There is much conversation about the family. Its history, notable events,
hardships that were borne, accomplishments and joyous occasions. During the drive home you also behold a very glorious sight. The sun has set, it is dark and all along the way you drive by cemetery after cemetery that are all aglow with the candles placed their by the cemetery’s inhabitant’s loved ones. This is truly a magnificent and heartwarming sight to experience. Probably the most pleasant experience of the drive home is the feeling you have inside you. You have spent the day with family. Not just the family members that had traveled from near and far to pay their respects, but you have spent the day with your ancestors and departed loved ones. I think you would all agree that to spend the day with your ancestors is always a wonderful experience and one which leaves you with a warm feeling in your heart.
Su pagarbe, Vincas Karnila The origins of All Saints’ Day go back to ancient times as do also some of the beliefs. While some would say that these “beliefs” are basically superstitions, to this day there are many people that still believe in many of them. I thought you may find interesting some of the beliefs that are held by some people in Lithuania to this day. While one may believe none of them, another in only a few another person may believe in many.
The beliefs of All Saints' Day are: 1- On the day of All Saints, the souls of the dead come to visit the living, asking that the living pray for them. 2 - Before All Saints' Day, a homemaker will sweep the house and sprinkle the floors with sand. In the morning, if she sees the floor covered with small footprints, but there are no small children in the house she would believe that souls of dead children had come into the house. 3 - If a mother goes to the cemetery at midnight on All Saints' Day, she will see her dead children. 4 - On All Saints' Day, churches are filled with souls of the dead. That day, the souls are not burning in hell. They are happy. However, some souls, whose mothers are wailing, arrive wet, soaked by earthly tears. Moral of the story - No need to cry for the dead. 5 - On the Eve of All Saints' Day, one does not go visiting or walking through villages because all roads and the countryside are filled with souls of the dead. There can also be some mean souls. 6 - On All Saints' Day and in the evening no ashes or garbage should be taken out because the souls can be witched by these items. 7 - If it rains on the night of All Saints' Day, there will be numerous deaths the following year. 8 - If the sun does not shine on All Saints' Day, the following year will be filled with misfortunes. 9 - If on All Saints' Day, trees are still fully covered with leaves, it will be a year of black death. 10 - If a child is born on the eve of All Saints' Day, when in life they attend a funeral meal, they will see evil souls.
http://vilnews.com/2011-01-all-saints-day
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ORDER YOUR CHRISTMAS WAFERS by December 1st, end of 1030a mass
FREE to each family
Get the paper in the back of church and put the paper into the collection basket or email [email protected] with number needed per family
Christmas wafer - Lithuanian: plotkelė, kalėdaitis, plural kalėdaičiai, Polish: opłatek, plural opłatki; is a central European
Christian Christmas tradition celebrated in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and in some parts of Slovakia during Wigilia, or the Christmas
Eve Vigil. The unleavened wafers are baked from pure wheat flour and water, are usually rectangular in shape and very thin; they are
identical in composition to the altar bread that becomes the Eucharist at the consecration during Mass in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Opłatki wafers are embossed with Christmas-related religious images, varying from the nativity scene, especially Virgin Mary
with baby Jesus, to the Star of Bethlehem.
Observance and practice. Before partaking of the Christmas Eve meal, the family gathers around the table. The eldest member holds
a large wafer and breaks off a piece to begin the ritual. The remaining wafer is passed on to another member while a prayer for loved
ones is said. This continues until everyone at the table has a piece of the wafer. Finally, the family members consume their share
quietly.
History and cultural importance. The breaking of the Christmas wafer is a custom that began in Poland in the 10th century and is
practiced by people of Polish ancestry around the world. It is considered the most ancient and beloved of Polish traditions. In Poland
and some parts of Central Europe, these Christmas wafers are dyed and used as ornaments. They are also sent as small trinkets with
greeting cards to loved ones who are away from home. The Christmas wafer symbolizes the unity of the family, which many
consider to be the main pillar of society. According to beliefs, the bond of unity should exist between family members. The father is
seen as the link in the unbroken chain of One Body, One Bread, One Christ, and One Church, while other family members join him in
this eternal procession. The wafer also symbolizes forgiveness and reconciliation.
Lithuania. Before the Kūčios meal starts, the families in Lithuania share kalėdaitis, also known as plotkelė, paplotėlis, plokštainėlis
or Dievo pyragai depending on the region of Lithuania a family is from. A plate with as many wafers as there are persons participating
in the meal is placed in the center of the table. Each member of the family is given a piece of unleavened wafer. The head of the
family, typically the oldest person present however often father of the family, then takes a wafer and offers it to a family member
wishing them a Happy Christmas. "God grant that we are all together again next year", they respond and break off a piece of wafer.
The family member then offers the head of the family a piece of their wafer in return. The head of the family then offers their wafer to
every family member or guest at the table. After them, all the diners exchange greetings and morsels of wafer. Care is taken not to
skip anyone for that means terrible misfortune or even death the following year. In breaking a piece of wafer, each tries to get a piece
larger than that remaining in the other's hand for it means his year will be better. The person holding the wafer tries to prevent a large
piece being taken for this will "break his luck". When everyone has exchanged wafers, the family members take their pile of wafers
before the head of the house. He then looks at the wafers in the family members' hands and reads a fortune from how they are
assembled. After this has been completed, people return to their seats and the wafers are eaten.
Poland. As a Christmas custom the opłatek originated in Poland and was spread widely as far back as the 17th century. It was the
part of the szlachta's (Polish nobility) culture and the custom had spread throughout the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and
neighboring countries. In the 19th century, in the aftermath of the partitions of Poland, it gained patriotic subtext, as the common wish
during sharing of opłatek became the wish for Poland's regaining its independence. Since that time, opłatki are often embossed with
religious images. In the 20th century, opłatek custom went beyond families and gained another meaning: the meeting of present or
past co-workers or students.
Slovakia. Christmas wafers, oblátky in Slovakia, are round (usually oval) and embossed with various Christmas motifs. They are
eaten with honey (and sometimes with garlic) at the beginning of Christmas Eve's dinner. Origins. The tradition traces its origins to
the times of early Christianity (see Antidoron) and is seen as a non-sacramental foreshadowing of the liturgical partaking of the
Holy Eucharist (Host), unleavened bread consecrated into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.
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Maria K. Fedyk March 4, 1936 - June 16, 2019
The memorial Mass for Maria K. Fedyk was held at Holy Cross Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church, 1924 Leo Street, Dayton, Ohio, Sunday, October 27th, 1030a. Following mass there was a luncheon and commemoration in honor of Maria in the church hall. Ingrida Zėringytė organized the memorial tribute in the church hall.
FEDYK, Maria K. (nee Vasiliauskas). Loving mother of Sylvia (Steve) Zoller, Maria (Ken) Bryant, Diana (David) Renner, Joe (Amy) Fedyk, Mike (Lori)
Fedyk and the late Audra Fedyk. Wife of the late Josef Fedyk. Grandmother of Andrew, Jessica, Alexandra, Rebecca, Evan, Mikhaela, Madison, Emily, Joey and Molly. Great grandmother of Mason, Aurelija, Hazel, Josephine, Cassidy,
Ryan, Luke, Aubrey, Addison and Dawson. Sister of Algirdas Vasiliauskas and the late Nina Schuster and preceded in death by 2 brothers and 1 sister in
Lithuania. Maria was an officer and active member of the Cincinnati Chapter of the Lithuanian American Community. Maria passed away Sunday, June 16,
2019, age 83. Visitation was Corpus Christi Church, 2014 Springdale Rd.,
Cincinnati, 45231, Friday, June 21, 10a until Mass of Christian Burial at 11a.
Ingrida Zėringytė beautifully
decorated the church hall with
white and purple tablecloths, and candles with the
Lithuanian colors of yellow green
and red. Numerous flower
containers were on the tables with
purple flowers and the original plant of Lietuva,
ruta. Darius Sabaliunas re-introduced the Cincinnati Lithuanian Community to Dayton friends and eloquently spoke about Maryte and her
loving involvement in Lithuanian activities. Darius invited all Lithuanians to continue to gather, Cincinnati and Dayton, and share the ethnicity and love of our ancestral homeland. All feasted on the multitude of delicious food prepared by our Cincinnati friends and offered to all those present. Maryte’s daughters and family in attendance
thanked everyone for the love shown to their mother. An excellently completed PowerPoint of photos showed the many aspects of Maryte’s life.
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LITHUANIAN S P E L L S By Marija Zavjalova http://www.lnkc.lt/eknygos/eka/spells/spells.html
Spells represent a specific genre of folklore. It is characterized by very close relations with the archaic forms of national culture and the mythical outlook. Being directly connected with practical magic, spells are practiced by a relatively small group of people. The verbal contents of spells are usually kept in secret, consequently, spells are subject to change to a lesser degree than the texts of other genres of folklore. In this respect spells can be regarded as a profound source of ancient tradition. A deep-rooted opinion that spell techniques cannot be revealed to anybody because this deprives spells of their power hinders the collection of texts. So, it is difficult to determine both the precise number of spells and the area of their distribution. It is only possible to speak about the registered and correspondingly processed texts.
Maybe first hints about spells should be sought in the descriptions of mediaeval witch trials (see Raganų teismai Lietuvoje (Witch trials in Lithuania). However, until late 19th c. there had been no serious attempts to collect and examine Lithuanian spells. First modest collections of Lithuanian spells (with or without translation) could be occasionally found in the books by German and Polish authors (see Bezzenberger; Wolter; Kraszewski; also, the Polish Wisla magazine publications teeming with spell descriptions since 1880). It was only at the beginning of the 20th c. that the first exhaustive collection of spells, that is a book by the Finnish researcher V. Mansikka appeared (see Mansikka). Though several spells were published earlier in the book by A. R. Niemi and A. Sabaliauskas (see Niemi, Sabaliauskas), Mansikka’s contribution into the research of Lithuanian spells could be hardy surpassed: V. Mansikka provided the most profound descriptions of spells.
Later the boom of folklore collection started in Lithuania. The twenties and the thirties produced an exceptionally vast quantity of material. Various periodicals, such as “Kosmos”, “Mūsų tautosaka”, “Tauta ir žodis”, “Gimtasai kraštas”, “Lietuvių tauta”, “Mokykla ir gyvenimas”, “Švietimo darbas”, “Tautosakos darbai” , etc. often published texts of spells. Among the authors who wrote about spells the following major ones could be mentioned: J. Elisonas (see Elisonas), V. Krėvė-Mickevičius (see Krėvė-Mickevičius), P. Stukėnaitė-Decikienė (see Stukėnaitė; Stukėnaitė-Decikienė). In the collection compiled by Stukėnaitė-Decikienė, Mansikka’s texts are repeated in several places, but otherwise the work is very interesting. Judging from literature published in those times, it is possible to conclude that the interest in this particular folklore genre, that is in the secret folk knowledge increased considerably: in the course of the two pre-war decades lots of folk magic descriptions appeared (see Mažiulis; Palukaitis; Rūdzis; Miškinis; Šimkūnas; Tumas).
It is necessary to stress that the investigation into Lithuanian spells fostered a tremendous interest in the research of ancient religion and mythology. Compared to the tradition of neighboring Slavs, Lithuanian spells have a more archaic structure. This is determined by historical reasons: due to a relatively late introduction of Christianity in Lithuania, Lithuanian folklore (spells, in the first place) managed to preserve certain characteristics of pagan outlook. For example, material relating to Lithuanian spells was used by V. Ivanov and V. Toporov to restore the basic Indo-European myth; it was also used in a number of other interesting studies of world outlook of ancient Balts and other nations (see Ivanov; Toporov; Nevskaja; Dundulienė; Vėlius).
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Extracts form popular prayers, or the names of saints are usually inserted. The most important acts are performed either by the spellbinder himself or by other characters. There are also the texts describing actions performed by Christian characters (Jesus, Holy Virgin, and saints). The texts were possibly borrowed from neighbors who had correspondingly developed plots. Possibly, such characters just substituted pagan deities mentioned in primary texts. This is evidenced by analogous texts in which, for example, actions are performed by St. George (a more recent variant) or by Švaistikas, a pagan Baltic god (a primary variant).
It is noteworthy that Lithuanian spells addressing pagan deities are very numerous. In them the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the Fire (named Gabija) are often mentioned as separate independent characters. They are addressed not only in case of simple incantation against a disease (the Sun and the Earth are asked to “take away” venom; the Earth is responsible for the snake’s behaviour; the Moon “treats” toothache) but also in special prayers, for example:
Mėnuo, Mėnuo, Mėnulėli, dangaus šviesus dievaitėli, duok jam ratų, man sveikatų, duok jam pelnystį, man Perkūno karalystį.
Moon the Bright God of the Heaven, give him a circle, give me health, give him completeness, give me the kingdom of Perkūnas the Thunderer. Balys, p. 17, N 1)
Such prayers constitute a separate group of spells. Some researchers distinguish spells from the prayers of the above-mentioned type. We think this is not necessary because prayers and spells serve the same purpose: to protect a human from diseases, misfortunes, etc. Besides, the structure of prayers and spells is similar.
Texts of spells are like legends or short stories. We have texts relating about a certain event, for example, somebody’s travel or meeting. Such texts usually take the form of a dialogue, for example:
Jėzus Kristus ėjo anksti rytą su Šv. Petru ir Panele Švenčiausia. Dievo gimdytoja ėjo pirmiau jų. Marija paklausė Jėzaus: - Mano Sūnau, kur mes einam? Kad čia kelias eina kalnais, skardžiais ir per miškus. Taip apsaugok ir mano kelią nuo viso pikto. Šventas Petras ištraukė savo raktus ir užrakino vilkų gerkles, kad jie kojų neapgraužtų, jokių nelaimių nepadarytų ir nuo kelio pabėgtų. Amen.
Early in the morning, Jesus Christ went for a walk in the company of St. Peter and the Holy Virgin. The God’s Mother walked before them. Mary asked Jesus: - My Son, where are we going to? As here the path goes through the mountains, steep slopes and forests, so, you protect my path from all evil. St. Peter took out his keys and locked the jaws of wolves lest they could pick the feet or bring about some misfortune; so that they run away from the path. Amen. Balys, p. 89, N 555).
However, such texts are not typical of Lithuanian tradition. Most probably they appeared later when Christianity had been firmly established, or, as a result of it, had undergone great changes. Word itself is equally powerful in spells. If uttered correctly or pronounced by a powerful character, it may become a strong weapon, for example:
Griaudžia griausmas, žaibai žaibuoja, krenta rūdys, žaidai byra, dievo žodžio niekas negal pergalėt... Thunder is thundering, lightning is flashing, rust is falling, sparks are flying, nothing can overcome the word of God... Mansikka, p. 103, N 181.
Somebody’s name is a word of special importance: if you know your enemy’s name you can defeat him or her; and vice versa: if you mention the names of powerful characters, you can make use of their power, for example:
Aš visų vardus žinau, nė vienos nebijau: ar juodoji, ar margoji, ar varinė trejos devynerios. I know the names of them all, I am not afraid of any of them be it the black one, be it the spotted one, or the copper-colored one three times nine. Balys, p. 56, N 382)
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Per Dievo vardų pagalbes tegul pamočyja Onai Mažeikienei. ...through the God’s name may Ona Mažeikienė be helped. LTR 4921 (17).
Name carries the internal essence of the character. No wonder various taboos against the revelation of name exist: if you know a person’s name, you can destroy him/her or demand his/her help; in any case you can control the owner of the name. The victim’s (patient’s) name is to be mentioned in every incantation. The name is the main distinctive feature of it. If incantation is uttered on behalf of an animal, the colour of its coat is to be mentioned. As soon as the spellbinder utters the name, the joint power of all forces is turned in the favourable direction. The name of the spellbinder himself/herself is also very important, for example:
Švinta Marija, pristok Holy Mary, stay a while (to be repeated 3 times) Plaukė ilgauodegė par mares The long-tailed one swam across the sea (to be repeated 3 times) Švinta Marija nemiega Holy Mary is not sleeping (to be repeated 3 times) Juodas plaukas nemiega The black hair is not sleeping (to be repeated 3 times) Mano vardas nemiega My name is not sleeping (to be repeated 3 times).
(LTR 3863).
Secret power of the word is stressed also by a secret and discreet ritual of casting a spell: incantations had to be uttered in a low voice, in a whisper, and quickly (without pausing for breath) so that nobody (even the person on whose behalf the incantation is uttered) could understand anything. Only a person with healthy teeth was able to utter incantations so that the word (and breath) released by him/her could not be mutilated. Word was related with breathing: having uttered the incantation the magician had to blow softly on the object or wound on which the spell was being cast (as if sending out the words pronounced by him/her). It was extremely difficult to utter the whole text without stopping for breath, especially if the text had to be repeated several times (3, 9, 12 or sometimes 27 times!). So, the spellbinder had to have not only good teeth but also good lungs. Besides, only the oldest or the youngest member of the family could become a spellbinder. A spellbinder could hand down his/her powers only to somebody who was younger than he/her or whose gender was the same as his/her.
The time and the place of the ritual was special: spells used to be cast usually at dawn or at sunset, within or without the house (depending on the purpose). Spells used to be suited to some important ritual moment, for example, sowing, sending the cattle to grass for the first time in spring, or kindling a fire. In such cases spells are like short prayers, that is a genre close to them. For example: In spring when driving the cattle off to the pasture for the first time, it is necessary to walk in a circle around your herd three times a twig of kemalas in hand, then turn to the East and repeat the following three times:
Šventas Jurgi, vilkus pažabok, šituos gyvulius saugok. Neskirk vilku nei karvės, nei kioulės, nei paršuko, nei teliuko, nei mažo ėriuko. Laisk vilkam gaudzic cik kiškius, lapias, miško žvėris. St. George, bridle the wolves, protect these animals. Do not give the wolf either a cow, or a pig, or a piglet, or a calf, or a small lamb.
Let the wolves be after rabbits, foxes and other forest animals. Krėvė-Mickevičius. Kerai, p. 508, N XIX) Žemynėle, žiedkėlėle, žydėk rugiais, kviečiais, miežiais ir visais javais, būki linksma, dievel, ant mūsų; [kad] prie tų mūsų darbų švents angelas pristotų; piktą žmogų pro šalį nukreipk, kad mūsų neapjuoktų.
Žemyna the Raiser of Flowers, bring yourself forth through the blooming rye, wheat, barley and all corn, show us your mirth, o Goddess; [so that] Holy Angel may stay with us while we perform our works; turn an evil human away from us so that he or she may not ridicule us. Balys, p. 53, N 360.
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RAGANA, THE SEEING WITCH SUGGESTED BY BARBARA KREUZER, C96
Ragana, [ˈrɑ:gʌnʌ] is the Lithuanian goddess who takes
care for healing and seeing into the future. Ragana in Lithuanian means the Seeing, which is close to English Witch (who watches)
and Slavic Vjed(ż)ma (who knows).
RAGANA EMBODIES WISENESS. Ragana’s weapons are watching,
thinking and feeling, the contrary to the methods of
Perkūnas, Bangpūtys, Vėjopatis and many other masculine gods who achieve their objectives by
means of power. Ragana’s day of the week is Saturday, the best day for collecting herbs and the best night to spend at a bonfire. Ragana watches and understands the gist of things, she can predict the future from the signs that can be observed now. Ragana is not a doer, she is a watcher, thinker and feeler. So, Ragana is very feminine.
THE GODDESS OF MEDICINE. Ragana decides if a patient will recover or not. All the medicines are powerless if the soul refuses to turn back to life. Therefore, raganos (witches) and raganiai (wizards) have always been the best healers. Ragana taught her followers both faith and the knowledge of the healing qualities of nature. Even now, sometimes only followers of Ragana can help the people who are already discarded by the doctors.
WITCHES AND WIZARDS ARE ENVIED FOR THEIR LONGEVITY AND GOOD
HEALTH. The knowledge of nature’s secrets and the habit of thinking twice before doing anything allow the followers of Ragana to live long and remain healthy even at very old age. That makes many others envy them.
THE SYMBOL OF RAGANA
counter-propaganda.com/?person=en_Ragana,_Witch,_the_Seeing
"Ragana ir Lietus" (The Witch and the Rain)
was written by the contemporary Lithuanian
writer and essayist Jurga Ivanauskaitė (1961-
2007) and is the most popular novel, translated
into various foreign languages (Latvian,
Estonian, German, Croatian, Swedish, Czech).
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J U O D K R A N T Ė , L I T H U A N I A
Hill of Witches Lithuania's outdoor sculpture trail of wooden folk art.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/hill-of-witches
Just off the main street in Juodkrante, Lithuania, the forest is alive with a vast array of fairytale creatures, crow-monsters, devils, and saxophonists. Known as the Hill of Witches, this public trail through the woods takes visitors on a trip through the most well-known legends and stories in Lithuanian folk history. Work began in 1979 on the sculpture park, and it now features 80 different wooden carvings from local artists. Painstakingly hand-crafted, each sculpture depicts a popular character from folk and pagan traditions in the Juodkrante. The public park got its name long before the sculptures were placed along the wooded trails and is in fact a reference to the pagan celebrations that take place on the hill during the Midsummer’s Eve Festival. Each year on June 24th, people across Lithuania dance, sing, and bring in the midsummer with the older folk traditions of the country. After Christianity came to Lithuania, the celebration was renamed Saint Jonas’ Festival, but many of the practices still have pagan roots, as is echoed by the fantastic world of the Hill of Witches sculptures.
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H u n g a r i a n Revolution of 1 9 5 6
Continued from last month…now…part three and final section
March to support Hungary in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, 5 November 1956
Responding to the plea by Nagy at the time of the second massive Soviet intervention on 4 November, the Security Council resolution critical of Soviet actions was vetoed by the Soviet Union; instead resolution 120 was adopted to pass the matter onto the General Assembly. The General Assembly, by a vote of 50 in favor, 8 against and 15 abstentions, called on the Soviet Union to end its Hungarian intervention, but the newly constituted Kádár government rejected UN observers. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was aware of a detailed study of Hungarian resistance that recommended against U.S. military intervention, and of earlier policy discussions within the National Security Council that
focused upon encouraging discontent in Soviet satellite nations only by economic policies and political rhetoric. In a 1998 interview, Hungarian Ambassador Géza Jeszenszky was critical of Western inaction in 1956, citing the influence of the United Nations at that time and giving the example of UN intervention in Korea from 1950 to 1953. However, a Department of Defense study recently declassified by the National Security Archive suggests that one of the main reasons the United States did not intervene was the risk of inadvertently starting a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. These concerns made the Eisenhower Administration take a more cautious approach to the situation. During the uprising, the Radio Free Europe (RFE) Hungarian-language programs broadcast news of the political and military situation, as well as appealing to Hungarians to fight the Soviet forces, including tactical advice on resistance methods. After the Soviet suppression of the revolution, RFE was criticized for having misled the Hungarian people that NATO or United Nations would intervene if citizens continued to resist. Allen Dulles lied to Eisenhower that RFE had not promised U.S. aid; Eisenhower believed him, as the transcripts of the broadcasts were kept secret. Soviet intervention of 4 November. On 1 November, Imre Nagy received reports that Soviet forces had entered Hungary from the east and were moving towards Budapest. Nagy sought and received assurances (which proved false) from Soviet ambassador Yuri Andropov that the Soviet Union would not invade. The Cabinet, with János Kádár in agreement, declared Hungary's neutrality, withdrew from the Warsaw Pact, and requested assistance from the diplomatic corps in Budapest and Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General, to defend Hungary's neutrality.[133] Ambassador Andropov was asked to inform his government that Hungary would begin negotiations on the removal of Soviet forces immediately. On 3 November, a Hungarian delegation led by the Minister of Defense Pál Maléter was invited to attend negotiations on Soviet withdrawal at the Soviet Military Command at Tököl, near Budapest. At around midnight that evening, General Ivan Serov, Chief of the Soviet Security Police (KGB) ordered the arrest of the Hungarian delegation, and the next day, the Soviet army again attacked Budapest. During the early hours of 4 November, Ferenc Münnich announced on Radio Szolnok the establishment of the "Revolutionary Workers'-Peasants' Government of Hungary". The second Soviet intervention, codenamed "Operation Whirlwind", was launched by Marshal Ivan Konev. The five Soviet divisions stationed in Hungary before 23 October were augmented to a total strength of 17 divisions. The 8th Mechanized Army under command of Lieutenant General Hamazasp Babadzhanian and the 38th Army under Lieutenant General Hadzhi-Umar Mamsurovs from the nearby Carpathian Military District were deployed to Hungary for the operation. Some rank-and-file Soviet soldiers reportedly believed they were being sent to Berlin to fight German fascists. By 21:30 on 3 November, the Soviet Army had completely encircled Budapest.
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At 03:00 on 4 November, Soviet tanks penetrated Budapest along the Pest side of the Danube in two thrusts: one up the Soroksári road from the south and the other down the Váci road from the north. Thus, before a single shot was fired, the Soviets had effectively split the city in half, controlled all bridgeheads, and were shielded to the rear by the wide Danube river. Armoured units crossed into Buda and at 04:25 fired the first shots at the army barracks on Budaörsi Road. Soon after, Soviet artillery and tank fire was heard in all districts of Budapest. Operation Whirlwind combined air strikes, artillery, and the coordinated tank-infantry action of 17 divisions. The Soviet army deployed T-34-85 medium tanks, as well as the new T-54s, heavy IS-3 tanks, 152mm ISU-152 mobile assault guns and open-top BTR-152 armored personnel carriers.
Two Soviet ISU-152 assault guns positioned in a street in Budapest 8th District. An abandoned T-34/85 stands behind them.
Between 4 and 9 November, the Hungarian Army put up sporadic and disorganized resistance, with Marshal Zhukov reporting the disarming of twelve divisions, two armored regiments, and the entire Hungarian Air Force. The Hungarian Army continued its most formidable resistance in various districts of Budapest and in and around the city of Pécs in the Mecsek Mountains, and in the industrial centre of Dunaújváros (then called Stalintown). Fighting in Budapest consisted of between ten and fifteen thousand resistance fighters, with the heaviest fighting occurring in the working-class stronghold of Csepel on the Danube River.[145] Although some very senior officers were openly pro-Soviet, the
rank and file soldiers were overwhelmingly loyal to the revolution and either fought against the invasion or deserted. The United Nations reported that there were no recorded incidents of Hungarian Army units fighting on the side of the Soviets. At 05:20 on 4 November, Imre Nagy broadcast his final plea to the nation and the world, announcing that Soviet Forces were attacking Budapest and that the Government remained at its post. The radio station, Free Kossuth Rádió, stopped broadcasting at 08:07. An emergency Cabinet meeting was held in the Parliament but was attended by only three ministers. As Soviet troops arrived to occupy the building, a negotiated evacuation ensued, leaving Minister of State István Bibó as the last representative of the National Government remaining at his post. He wrote For Freedom and Truth, a stirring proclamation to the nation and the world.
Ruszkik haza! (Russians go home!) slogan in Budapest
At 06:00, on 4 November, in the town of Szolnok, János Kádár proclaimed the "Hungarian Revolutionary Worker-Peasant Government". His statement declared "We must put an end to the excesses of the counter-revolutionary elements. The hour for action has sounded. We are going to defend the interest of the workers and peasants and the achievements of the people's democracy." Later that evening, Kádár called upon "the faithful fighters of the true cause of socialism" to come out of hiding and take up arms. However, Hungarian support did not materialize; the fighting did not take on the character of an internally divisive civil war, but rather, in
the words of a United Nations report, that of "a well-equipped foreign army crushing by overwhelming force a national movement and eliminating the Government." By 08:00 organized defense of the city evaporated after the radio station was seized, and many defenders fell back to fortified positions. During the same hour, the parliamentary guard laid down their arms, and forces under Major General K. Grebennik captured Parliament and liberated captured ministers of the Rákosi–Hegedüs government. Among the liberated were István Dobi and Sándor Rónai, both of whom became members of the re-established socialist Hungarian government. As they came under attack even in civilian quarters, Soviet troops were unable to differentiate military from civilian targets. For this reason, Soviet tanks often crept along main roads firing indiscriminately into buildings. Hungarian resistance was strongest in the industrial areas of Budapest, with Csepel heavily targeted by Soviet artillery and air strikes. The longest holdouts against the Soviet assault occurred in Csepel and in Dunaújváros, where fighting lasted until 11 November before the insurgents finally succumbed to the Soviets. At the end of the fighting,
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Hungarian casualties totaled around 2,500 dead with an additional 20,000 wounded. Budapest bore the brunt of the bloodshed, with 1,569 civilians killed. Approximately 53 percent of the dead were workers, and about half of all the casualties were people younger than thirty. On the Soviet side, 699 men were killed, 1,450 men were wounded, and 51 men were missing in action. Estimates place around 80 percent of all casualties occurring in fighting with the insurgents in the eighth and ninth districts of Budapest. Soviet version of the events. Soviet reports of the events surrounding, during, and after the disturbance were remarkably consistent in their accounts, more so after the Second Soviet intervention cemented support for the Soviet position among international Communist Parties. Pravda published an account 36 hours after the outbreak of violence, which set the tone for all further reports and subsequent Soviet historiography:
1. On 23 October, the honest socialist Hungarians demonstrated against mistakes made by the Rákosi and Gerő governments. 2. Fascist, Hitlerite, reactionary, counter-revolutionary hooligans financed by the imperialist West took advantage of the unrest to
stage a counter-revolution. 3. The honest Hungarian people under Nagy appealed to Soviet (Warsaw Pact) forces stationed in Hungary to assist in restoring
order. 4. The Nagy government was ineffective, allowing itself to be penetrated by counter-revolutionary influences, weakening then
disintegrating, as proven by Nagy's culminating denouncement of the Warsaw Pact. 5. Hungarian patriots under Kádár broke with the Nagy government and formed a government of honest Hungarian revolutionary
workers and peasants; this genuinely popular government petitioned the Soviet command to help put down the counter-revolution.
6. Hungarian patriots, with Soviet assistance, smashed the counter-revolution. The first Soviet report came out 24 hours after the first Western report. Nagy's appeal to the United Nations was not reported. After Nagy was arrested outside the Yugoslav embassy, his arrest was not reported. Nor did accounts explain how Nagy went from patriot to traitor. The Soviet press reported calm in Budapest while the Western press reported a revolutionary crisis was breaking out. According to the Soviet account, Hungarians never wanted a revolution at all. In January 1957, representatives of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania met in Budapest to review internal developments in Hungary since the establishment of the Soviet-imposed government. A communiqué on the meeting "unanimously concluded" that Hungarian workers, with the leadership of the Kádár government and support of the Soviet army, defeated attempts "to eliminate the socialist achievements of the Hungarian people". Soviet, Chinese, and other Warsaw Pact governments urged Kádár to proceed with interrogation and trial of former Nagy government ministers, and asked for punitive measures against the "counter-revolutionists". In addition, the Kádár government published an extensive series of "white books" (The Counter-Revolutionary Forces in the October Events in Hungary) documenting real incidents of violence against Communist Party and ÁVH members, and the confessions of Nagy supporters. These white books were widely distributed in several languages in most of the socialist countries and, while based in fact, present factual evidence with a coloring and narrative not generally supported by non-Soviet aligned historians. Aftermath. Hungary.In the immediate aftermath, many thousands of Hungarians were arrested. Eventually, 26,000 of these were brought before the Hungarian courts, 22,000 were sentenced and imprisoned, 13,000 interned, and 229 executed. Approximately 200,000 fled Hungary as refugees. Former Hungarian Foreign Minister Géza Jeszenszky estimated 350 were executed. Sporadic resistance and strikes by workers' councils continued until mid-1957, causing economic disruption. By 1963, most political prisoners from the 1956 Hungarian revolution had been released. With most of Budapest under Soviet control by 8 November, Kádár became Prime Minister of the "Revolutionary Worker-Peasant Government" and General Secretary of the Hungarian Communist Party. Few Hungarians rejoined the reorganized Party, its leadership having been purged under the supervision of the Soviet Praesidium, led by Georgy Malenkov and Mikhail Suslov. Although Party membership declined from 800,000 before the uprising to 100,000 by December 1956, Kádár steadily increased his control over Hungary and neutralized dissenters. The new government attempted to enlist support by espousing popular principles of Hungarian self-determination voiced during the uprising, but Soviet troops remained. After 1956 the Soviet Union severely purged the Hungarian Army and reinstituted political indoctrination in the units that remained. In May 1957, the Soviet Union increased its troop levels in Hungary and by treaty Hungary accepted the Soviet presence on a permanent basis. The Red Cross and the Austrian Army established refugee camps in Traiskirchen and Graz. Imre Nagy along with Georg Lukács, Géza Losonczy, and László Rajk's widow, Júlia, took refuge in the Embassy of Yugoslavia as Soviet forces overran Budapest. Despite assurances of safe passage out of Hungary by the Soviets and the Kádár government, Nagy and his group were arrested when attempting to leave the embassy on 22 November and taken to Romania. Losonczy died while on a hunger strike in prison awaiting trial when his jailers "carelessly pushed a feeding tube down his windpipe". The remainder of the group was returned to Budapest in 1958.
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Nagy was executed, along with Pál Maléter and Miklós Gimes, after secret trials in June 1958. Their bodies were placed in unmarked graves in the Municipal Cemetery outside Budapest. During the November 1956 Soviet assault on Budapest, Cardinal Mindszenty was granted political asylum at the United States embassy, where he lived for the next 15 years, refusing to leave Hungary unless the government reversed his 1949 conviction for treason. Because of poor health and a request from the Vatican, he finally left the embassy for Austria in September 1971. Nicolas Krassó was one of the left leaders of the Hungarian uprising and member of the New Left Review editorial committee. In an interview he gave to Peter Gowan shortly before his death, Krassó summed up the meaning of the Hungarian revolution with a recollection from Stalin's short speech in the 19th Congress of the Soviet Union in 1952:
Stalin kept silent throughout the Congress till the very end when he made a short speech that covers about two and a half-printed page. He said there were two banners that the progressive bourgeoisie had thrown away and which the working class should pick up—the banners of democracy and national independence. Certainly, nobody could doubt that in 1956 the Hungarian workers raised these banners high.
International. Despite Cold War rhetoric by western countries espousing a roll-back of the domination of Europe by the USSR and Soviet promises of the imminent triumph of socialism, national leaders of this period as well as later historians saw the failure of the uprising in Hungary as evidence that the Cold War in Europe had become a stalemate. The Foreign Minister of West Germany recommended that the people of Eastern Europe be discouraged from "taking dramatic action which might have disastrous consequences for themselves". The Secretary-General of NATO called the Hungarian revolt "the collective suicide of a whole people". In a newspaper interview in 1957, Khrushchev commented "support by United States ... is rather in the nature of the support that the rope gives to a hanged man". In January 1957, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, acting in response to UN General Assembly resolutions requesting investigation and observation of the events in Soviet-occupied Hungary, established the Special Committee on the Problem of Hungary. The Committee, with representatives from Australia, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Denmark, Tunisia, and Uruguay, conducted hearings in New York, Geneva, Rome, Vienna, and London. Over five months, 111 refugees were interviewed including ministers, military commanders and other officials of the Nagy government, workers, revolutionary council members, factory managers and technicians, Communists and non-Communists, students, writers, teachers, medical personnel, and Hungarian soldiers. Documents, newspapers, radio transcripts, photos, film footage, and other records from Hungary were also reviewed, as well as written testimony of 200 other Hungarians. The governments of Hungary and Romania refused entry of the UN officials of the Committee, and the government of the Soviet Union did not respond to requests for information. The 268-page Committee Report was presented to the General Assembly in June 1957, documenting the course of the uprising and Soviet intervention and concluding that "the Kádár government and Soviet occupation were in violation of the human rights of the Hungarian people". A General Assembly resolution was approved, deploring "the repression of the Hungarian people and the Soviet occupation", but no other action was taken. The chairman of the Committee was Alsing Andersen, a Danish politician and leading figure of Denmark's Social Democratic Party who served in the Buhl government in 1942 during the Nazi German occupation of Denmark. He defended collaboration with the occupation forces and denounced the resistance. He was appointed Interior Minister in 1947 but resigned because of scrutiny of his role in 1940 as Defence Minister. He then entered Denmark's UN delegation in 1948. The Committee Report and the motives of its authors were criticized by the delegations to the United Nations from the Soviet Union and Kádár government. The Hungarian representative disagreed with the report's conclusions, accusing it of falsifying the events, and argued that the establishment of the Committee was illegal. The Committee was accused of being hostile to Hungary and its social system.[189] An article in the Russian journal "International Affairs", published by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, carried an article in 1957 in which it denounced the report as a "collection of falsehoods and distortions". Time magazine named the Hungarian Freedom Fighter its Man of the Year for 1956. The accompanying Time article comments that this choice could not have been anticipated until the explosive events of the revolution, almost at the end of 1956. The magazine cover and accompanying text displayed an artist's depiction of a Hungarian freedom fighter and used pseudonyms for the three participants whose stories are the subject of the article. In 2006, Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány referred to this famous Time Man of the Year cover as "the faces of free Hungary" in a speech to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1956 uprising. Prime Minister Gyurcsány, in a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, commented specifically on the Time cover itself, that "It is an idealised image but the faces of the figures are really the face of the revolutionaries". At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the Soviet handling of the Hungarian uprising led to a boycott by Spain, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. At the Olympic Village, the Hungarian delegation tore down the Communist Hungarian flag and raised the flag of Free Hungary in its place. A confrontation between Soviet and Hungarian teams occurred in the semi-final match of the water polo tournament on 6 December. The match was extremely violent
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and was halted in the final minute to quell fighting among spectators. This match, now known as the "blood in the water match", became the subject of several films. The Hungarian team won the game 4–0 and later was awarded the Olympic gold medal. Norway declined an invitation to the inaugural Bandy World Championship in 1957, citing the presence of a team from the Soviet Union as the reason. On Sunday, 28 October 1956, as some 55 million Americans watched Ed Sullivan's popular television variety show, with the then 21-year-old Elvis Presley headlining for the second time, Sullivan asked viewers to send aid to Hungarian refugees fleeing from the effects of the Soviet invasion. Presley himself made another request for donations during his third and last appearance on Sullivan's show on 6 January 1957. Presley then dedicated a song for the finale, which he thought fitted the mood of the time, namely the gospel song "Peace in the Valley". By the end of 1957, these contributions, distributed by the Geneva-based International Red Cross as food rations, clothing, and other essentials, had amounted to some CHF 26 million (US$6 million in 1957 dollars), the equivalent of $53,500,000 in today's dollars. On 1 March 2011, István Tarlós, the Mayor of Budapest, made Presley an honorary citizen, posthumously, and a plaza located at the intersection of two of the city's most important avenues was named after Presley, as a gesture of gratitude. Meanwhile, as the 1950s ended the events in Hungary produced fractures within the Communist political parties of Western European countries. The Italian Communist Party (PCI) suffered a split. According to the official newspaper of the PCI, l'Unità, most ordinary members and the Party leadership, including Palmiro Togliatti and Giorgio Napolitano, supported the actions of the Soviet Union in suppressing the uprising. However, Giuseppe Di Vittorio, chief of the Communist trade union CGIL, spoke out against the leadership's position, as did prominent party members Antonio Giolitti, Loris Fortuna, and many others influential in the Communist party. Pietro Nenni of the Italian Socialist Party, a close ally of the PCI, opposed the Soviet intervention as well. Napolitano, elected in 2006 as President of the Italian Republic, wrote in his 2005 political autobiography that he regretted his justification of Soviet action in Hungary, stating at the time he believed Party unity and the leadership of Soviet communism was more important. The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) suffered the loss of thousands of party members following the events in Hungary. Though Peter Fryer, correspondent for the CPGB newspaper The Daily Worker, reported on the violent suppression of the uprising, his dispatches were heavily censored by the party leadership. Upon his return from Hungary Fryer resigned from the paper. He was later expelled by the Communist Party. In France, moderate Communists, such as historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, resigned, questioning the French Communist Party's policy of supporting Soviet actions. The French philosopher and writer Albert Camus wrote an open letter, The Blood of the Hungarians, criticizing the West's lack of action. Even Jean-Paul Sartre, still a determined Communist, criticized the Soviets in his article Le Fantôme de Staline, in Situations VII. Left Communists were particularly supportive of the revolution. Commemoration
Memorial plaque at the Embassy of Serbia, Budapest in memory of Imre Nagy who took sanctuary there during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
In December 1991, the preamble of the treaties with the dismembered Soviet Union, under Mikhail Gorbachev, and Russia, represented by Boris Yeltsin, apologized officially for the 1956 Soviet actions in Hungary. This apology was repeated by Yeltsin in 1992 during a speech to the Hungarian parliament. On 13 February 2006, the US State Department commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice commented on the contributions made by 1956 Hungarian
refugees to the United States and other host countries, as well as the role of Hungary in providing refuge to East Germans during the 1989 protests against Communist rule. U.S. President George W. Bush also visited Hungary on 22 June 2006, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary. On 16 June 1989, the 31st anniversary of his execution, Imre Nagy's body was reburied with full honors. The Republic of Hungary was declared in 1989 on the 33rd anniversary of the Revolution, and 23 October is now a Hungarian national holiday. In the north-west corner of MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, California, the Hungarian-American community built a commemorative statue to honor the Hungarian freedom fighters. Built in the late 1960s, the obelisk statue stands with an American eagle watching over the city of Los Angeles. There are several monuments dedicated to the Commemoration of the Hungarian Revolution throughout the United States. One such monument may be found in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Cardinal Mindszenty Plaza. There is also a monument of A Boy from Pest in the town of Szczecin, Poland. Denver has Hungarian Freedom Park, named in 1968 to commemorate the uprising.
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COAT GIVEAWAY Children & Adult Coats Scarves, Hats, Gloves
Saturday, November 16
11am to 2pm
Holy Cross Church Hall
1924 Leo Street
Please donate new or clean,
gently used coats, hats, gloves,
and scarves to be shared
with our
neighbors in need.
You can bring items to any Region XII Churches
on the weekends or take them to the
Parish Administration Offices betw 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Sponsored by Dayton Region XII Parishes and
Christ Lutheran Church
33
from your IRON Wolf editor…Maryagnes Mikalauskas
This is our publication for the Knights of Lithuania, c96. We can make it as specialized as possible for local, state, and national events. We can include world activities and how they affect us. The last letter writing campaign by the Knights of Lithuania including freeing Simon Kudirka, to Nijole Sadunaite who was a religious sister held captive in a Siberian prison, and countless letters to free Lithuania.
If we do not talk up the Knights of Lithuania, no one else will.
I CHALLENGE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU ….TO A KNIGHTS OF LITHUANIA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE…. each of you get one new member to join our council…just one…and that will double our council in size. We offer members scholarships for their undergraduate and graduate degrees…there is the potential to earn two…you can apply as listed in this newsletter! All you must do is be a member for 2 years prior to applying for a scholarship, actively participate, and meet the other requirements. We have many annual activities including Lithuanian Independence Day, St. Casimir’s Day, Palm Sunday, Mother’s Day, Cemetery visits, and Christmas caroling. If someone wants to start up bowling or another sport activity the possibilities are endless. Applications are at the end of this newsletter.
CONGRATULATIONS NEW MEMBER REGINA MIKALAUSKAS
I am personally offering monetary rewards and amber jewelry for whoever gets the most members accepted by the end of December! Accept the challenge…be an active member. If you can’t make all the meetings right now, participate in other ways, write an article for the newsletter, or think of something to help keep our organization exciting. This is my personal challenge to you… participate…get a new member…come to a meeting…suggest an activity…bring your children…take the children to an activity…teach your children the Lithuanian language, customs and culture… do something!
Prayer to Our Lady of Šiluva
O Most Holy Virgin Mary, thou who didst appear to the shepherds
in the fields at Šiluva, thou whose tears did bathe the rock where
once an altar stood, thou who didst with plaintive voice say:
“You plow and seed here where formerly my Son was honored,”
grant that we, moved by Thy tears, may, once as our Forefathers
did, revive the spirit of adoration of Thy Son in our fallow hearts,
strengthen the tottering structure of the shrine which is the
family, and seek forgiveness for our negligence and sins.
O Mother of God, we desire to raise up the glory of Your
revelation from forgotten ruins, that we may more honor Thee,
the Patroness of Lithuania, and with Thy help obtain for us the
spirit of a living Faith. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
http://www.ourladyofsiluva.org/our_lady/prayer/
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Our Lady of Šiluva... pray for us St. Casimir… pray for us.
Knights of Lithuania Council # 96 * Condolence Report If there are any changes to the birthday list and / or other cards to be sent,
Please email those changes to Julie Goecke at [email protected]
Joseph Boeke Michael Petkus
Frances Petkus Frances Mikalauskas
Joe Berger
• Offering envelopes, include a form printed directly on the face so your donation will be kept confidential.
• Offering envelopes make the process of donating a breeze because all that will be required is to fill out the form on the envelope, insert the cash or check into the sleeve, seal the flap, and that's it...It’s as simple as that!
• Offering envelopes are also helpful when thinking of environmental concerns. With forms being printed on the envelopes themselves, this allows your church to cut down on unnecessary paper usage
• Offering envelopes serve as a physical reminder of the fiscal responsibility members have to the church.
35
Kazimierz Michał Władysław
Wiktor Pułaski of Ślepowron (Polish pronunciation: [kaˈʑimjɛʂ puˈwaskʲi];
EnglishCasimir Pulaski; March 4 or March 6, 1745 – October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman,
soldier and military commander who has been called, together with his counterpart Michael Kovats
de Fabriczy, "the father of the American cavalry".
Born in Warsaw and following in his father's footsteps, he became interested in politics at an early
age and soon became involved in the military and the revolutionary affairs in the Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth. Pulaski was one of the leading military commanders for the Bar Confederation
and fought against Russian domination of the Commonwealth. When this uprising failed, he was
driven into exile. Following a recommendation by Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski travelled to North
America to help in the cause of the American Revolutionary War. He distinguished himself
throughout the revolution, most notably when he saved the life of George Washington. Pulaski became a general in the Continental
Army, created the Pulaski Cavalry Legion and reformed the American cavalry as a whole. At the Battle of Savannah, while leading a
daring charge against British forces, he was gravely wounded, and died shortly thereafter. Pulaski is remembered as a hero who
fought for independence and freedom in both Poland and the United States. Numerous places and events are named in his honor, and
he is commemorated by many works of art. Pulaski is one of only eight people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship.
Pulaski never married and had no descendants. Despite his fame, there have long been uncertainties and controversies surrounding
both his place and date of birth, and his burial. Many primary sources record a burial at sea. However, in 1853 remains found on a
bluff above Augustine Creek on Greenwich Plantation were believed to be the generals. These bones are interred at the Casimir
Pulaski Monument in Savannah, Georgia. Recent DNA testing indicates that the remains belong to Pulaski. Forensic analysis of these
remains suggests that he might have been intersex.
Ślepowron coat-of-arms
Personal life. Pulaski was born on March 6, 1745, in the manor house of the Pułaski family in
Warsaw, Poland. Casimir was the second eldest son of Marianna Zielińska and Józef Pułaski,
who was an advocatus at the Crown Tribunal, the Starost of Warka, and one of the town's most
notable inhabitants. He was a brother of Franciszek Ksawery Pułaski and Antoni Pułaski. His
family bore the Ślepowron coat of arms. The Pułaski family was Roman Catholic and early in
his youth, Casimir Pulaski attended an elite college run by Theatines, a male religious order of
the Catholic Church in Warsaw, but did not finish his education.
There is some circumstantial evidence that Pulaski was a Freemason. When Gilbert du Motier,
Marquis de Lafayette laid the cornerstone of the monument erected in Pulaski's honor in
Savannah in 1824, a full Masonic ceremony took place with Richard T. Turner, High Priest of
the Georgia chapter, conducting the ceremony. Other sources claim Pulaski was a member of
the Masonic Army Lodge in Maryland. A Masonic Lodge in Chicago is named Casimir Pulaski
Lodge, No.1167 and a brochure issued by them claims he obtained the degree of Master Mason on June 19, 1779 and was buried with
full Masonic honors. To date no surviving documents of Pulaski's actual membership have been found.
Military career. In 1762, Pulaski started his military career as a page of Carl Christian
Joseph of Saxony, Duke of Courland and vassal of the Polish king. He spent six months
at the ducal court in Mitau, during which the court was interned in the palaces by the
Russian forces occupying the area. He then returned to Warsaw, and his father gave him
the village of Zezulińce in Podole; from that time Pulaski used the title of Starost of
Zezulińce.
Pulaski at Częstochowa, an 1875 painting by Józef Chełmoński
Bar Confederation. With his family, he took part in the 1764 election of the new Polish monarch, Stanisław II Augustus. In
December 1767, Pulaski and his father became involved with the Bar Confederation, which saw King Stanisław as a Russian puppet
and sought to curtail Russian hegemony over the Commonwealth. The confederation was actively opposed by the Russian forces
36
stationed in Poland. Pulaski recruited a unit and on February 29, 1768, signed the act of the confederation, thus declaring himself an
official supporter of the movement. On March 6, he received the rank of a pułkownik and commanded a chorągiew of cavalry. In
March and April, he agitated among the Polish military, successfully convincing some forces to join the Confederates. He fought his
first battle on April 20 near Pohorełe; it was a victory, as was another on April 23 near Starokostiantyniv. An engagement at
Kaczanówka on April 28 resulted in a defeat. In early May he garrisoned Chmielnik, but was forced to retreat when allied
reinforcements were defeated. He retreated to a monastery in Berdyczów, which he defended during a siege by royalist forces for over
two weeks until June 16. Eventually he was forced to surrender and was taken captive by the Russians. On June 28, he was released in
exchange for a pledge that he would not again take up arms with the Confederates, and that he would lobby the Confederates to end
hostilities. However, Pulaski considered the pledge to be non-binding, and made a public declaration to that effect upon reaching a
camp of the Confederates at the end of July. Agreeing to the pledge in the first place weakened his authority and popularity among the
Confederates, and his own father considered whether or not he should be court-martialed; some heated debates followed and Pulaski
was reinstated to active duty only in early September.
Casimir Pulaski gathering supporters for the Confederation at Bar. Painting by Korneli Szlegel
In 1769, Pulaski's unit was again besieged by numerically superior forces, this
time in the old fortress of Okopy Świętej Trójcy, which has served as his base of
operations since December the previous year. However, after a staunch defense,
he was able to break the Russian siege. On April 7, he was made the regimentarz
of the Kraków Voivodeship. In May and June he operated near Przemyśl, but
failed to take the town. Criticized by some of his fellow Confederates, Pulaski
departed to Lithuania with his allies and a force of about 600 men on June 3.
There, Pulaski attempted to incite a larger revolt against Russia; despite no
decisive military successes, he was able to assemble a 4,000-strong army and
deliver it back to a Confederate staging point. This excursion received
international notice and gained him a reputation as the most effective military leader in the Bar Confederation. Next, he moved with
his unit towards Zamość and — after nearly losing his life to the inferior forces of the future Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov in the
disastrous Battle of Orekhowa — on the very next day, September 15, he was again defeated at the Battle of Włodawa with his forces
almost completely dispelled. He spent the rest of the year rebuilding his unit in the region of Podkarpacie.
In February 1771, Pulaski operated around Lublin; on February 25 he was victorious at Tarłów and on the night of February 28 and
March 1, his forces besieged Kraśnik. In March that year he became one of the members of the Confederates' War Council.
Dumouriez, who became a military adviser to the Confederates, at the time described him as "spontaneous, more proud than
ambitious, friend of the prince of Courland, enemy of the Potocki family, brave and honest" as well as popular among other
commanders. This was due to his refusal to follow orders and adhere to discipline. Jędrzej Kitowicz who met him as well around that
time described him as short and thin, pacing and speaking quickly, and uninterested in women or drinking. Furthermore, he enjoyed
fighting against the Russians above everything else, and was daring to the extent he forgot about his safety in battles, resulting in his
many failures on the battlefield.
In May 1771, Pulaski advanced on Zamość, refusing to coordinate an operation with Dumouriez against Alexander Suvorov; without
Pulaski's support, the Confederates were defeated at the Battle of Lanckorona. Pulaski's forces were victorious at the Battle of
Majdany, and briefly besieged Zamość, but it was relieved by Suvorov. He retreated, suffering major losses, towards Częstochowa.
On July 27, pressured by Franciszka z Krasińskich, he declared he would from then on strictly adhere to orders from the Confederacy
that he had previously habitually disregarded. In October his responsibilities in the War Council were increased, and the same month
he became involved with the plan to kidnap King Poniatowski. Pulaski was initially opposed to this plan but later supported it on the
condition that the king would not be harmed. The attempt failed, weakening the international reputation of the Confederates, and when
Pulaski's involvement with the attempted kidnapping became known, the Austrians expelled him from their territories. He spent the
following winter and spring in Częstochowa, during which time several of his followers were defeated, captured or killed.
On May 31, 1772, Pulaski, increasingly distanced from other leaders of the Confederation, left the Jasna Góra monastery and went to
Silesia in Prussia. In the meantime, the Bar Confederation was defeated, with most fighting ending around the summer. Overall,
Pulaski was one of the most famous and accomplished Confederate leaders. " At the same time, he often acted independently,
disobeying orders from Confederate command, and among his detractors (which included Dumouriez) had a reputation of a "loose
cannon". Leaving Prussia, Pulaski sought refuge in France, where he unsuccessfully attempted to join the French Army. In 1773, his
opponents in Poland accused him of attempted regicide, and proceedings began at the Sejm Court on June 7.
Poniatowski himself warned Pulaski to stay away from Poland, or risk death. The court verdict, declared in absentia in July, stripped
Pulaski of "all dignity and honors", demanded that his possessions be confiscated, and sentenced him to death. He attempted to
37
recreate a Confederate force in the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War, but before he could make any progress, the Turks
were defeated, and he barely escaped by sea to Marseilles, France. He found himself in debt and unable to find an army that would
enlist him. He spent the year of 1775 in France, imprisoned at times for debts, until his allies gathered enough funds to arrange for his
release. Around that time, due to the efforts of his friend Claude-Carloman de Rulhière, he was recruited by the Marquis de Lafayette
and Benjamin Franklin (whom he met in spring 1777) for service in the American Revolutionary War.
In the United States. Northern front. Franklin was impressed by Pulaski, and wrote of him: "Count Pulaski of Poland, an officer
famous throughout Europe for his bravery and conduct in defense of the liberties of his country against the three great invading
powers of Russia, Austria and Prussia ... may be highly useful to our service." He subsequently recommended that General George
Washington accept Pulaski as a volunteer in the Continental Army cavalry and said that Pulaski "was renowned throughout Europe for
the courage and bravery he displayed in defense of his country's freedom." Pulaski departed France from Nantes in June, and arrived
in Marblehead, Massachusetts, near Boston, on July 23, 1777. After his arrival, Pulaski wrote to Washington, "I came here, where
freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it."
Pulaski on horseback, painting by Juliusz Kossak, 1883
On August 20, he met Washington in his headquarters in Neshaminy Falls, outside
Philadelphia. He showed off riding stunts and argued for the superiority of cavalry
over infantry. Because Washington was unable to grant him an officer rank, Pulaski
spent the next few months traveling between Washington and the United States
Congress in Philadelphia, awaiting his appointment. His first military engagement
against the British occurred before he received it, on September 11, 1777, at the
Battle of Brandywine. When the Continental Army troops began to yield, he
reconnoitered with Washington's bodyguard of about 30 men, and reported that the
enemy were endeavoring to cut off the line of retreat. Washington ordered him to
collect, as many as possible, the scattered troops who came his way, and employ
them according to his discretion to secure the retreat of the army. His subsequent
charge averted a disastrous defeat of the Continental Army cavalry, earning him fame
in America and saved the life of George Washington. As a result, on September 15,
1777, on the orders of Congress, Washington made Pulaski a brigadier general in the
Continental Army cavalry. At that point, the cavalry was only a few hundred men
strong organized into four regiments. These men were scattered among numerous
infantry formations and used primarily for scouting duties. Pulaski immediately
began work on reforming the cavalry and wrote the first regulations for the formation.
On September 16, while on patrol west of Philadelphia, Pulaski spotted significant British forces moving toward the Continental
position. Upon being informed by Pulaski, Washington prepared for a battle, but the encounter was interrupted by a major storm
before either side was organized. On October 4, Pulaski took part in the Battle of Germantown. He spent the winter of 1777 to 1778
with most of the army at Valley Forge. Pulaski argued that the military operations should continue through the winter, but this idea
was rejected by the general staff. In turn, he focused on reorganizing the cavalry force, mostly stationed in Trenton. While at Trenton
his assistance was requested by General Anthony Wayne, whom Washington had dispatched on a foraging expedition into southern
New Jersey. Wayne was in danger of encountering a much larger British force sent to oppose his movements. Pulaski and 50 cavalry
rode south to Burlington, where they skirmished with British sentries on February 28. After this minor encounter the British
commander, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stirling, was apparently convinced that he was facing a much larger force than expected, and
prepared to withdraw his troops across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania at Cooper's Ferry (present-day Gloucester City). Pulaski
and Wayne joined forces to attack Stirling's position on February 29 while he awaited suitable weather conditions to cross. In the
resulting skirmish (which only involved a few hundred men out of the larger forces on either side), Pulaski's horse was shot out from
under him and a few of his cavalry were wounded.
American officers serving under Pulaski had difficulty taking orders from a foreigner who could scarcely speak English and whose
ideas of discipline and tactics differed enormously from those to which they were accustomed. This resulted in friction between the
Americans and Pulaski and his fellow Polish officers. There was also discontent in the unit over delays in pay, and Pulaski's imperious
personality was a regular source of discontent among his peers, superiors, and subordinates. Pulaski was also unhappy that his
suggestion to create a lancer unit was denied. Despite a commendation from Wayne, these circumstances prompted Pulaski to resign
his general command in March 1778 and return to Valley Forge. Pulaski went to Yorktown, where he met with General Horatio
Gates and suggested the creation of a new unit. At Gates' recommendation, Congress confirmed his previous appointment to the rank
of a brigadier general, with a special title of "Commander of the Horse” and authorized the formation of a corps of 68 lancers and 200
light infantries. This corps, which became known as the Pulaski Cavalry Legion, was recruited mainly in Baltimore, where it was
38
headquartered. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow would later commemorate in verse the consecration of the Legion's banner. By August
1778, it numbered about 330 men, both Americans and foreigners. British major general Charles Lee, commented on the high
standards of the Legion's training.
The "father of the American cavalry" demanded much of his men and trained them in tested cavalry tactics. He used his own personal
finances when money from Congress was scarce, in order to assure his forces of the finest equipment and personal safety. However,
later that year a controversy arose related to the Legion's finances, and its requisitions
from the local populace. His troubles with the auditors continued until his death;
Pulaski complained that he received inadequate funds, was obstructed by locals and
officials, and was forced to spend his own money. He was not cleared of these charges
until after his death. In the autumn Pulaski was ordered to Little Egg Harbor, where in
the engagement on October 15, known as The Affair at Little Egg Harbor, the legion
suffered heavy losses. During the following winter Pulaski was stationed at Minisink,
at that time in New Jersey. Ordered to take part in the punitive Sullivan Expedition
against the Iroquois, he was dissatisfied with this command, and intended to leave the
service and return to Europe, but instead asked to be reassigned to the Southern front.
On February 2, 1779, Washington instead ordered him to South Carolina.
Location. 39° 52.384′ N, 75° 34.309′ W. Marker is in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Delaware County
Southern front. Pulaski arrived in Charleston on May 8, 1779, finding the city in crisis.
General Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the southern army, had led most of the army toward
Augusta, Georgia, in a bid to recapture Savannah, which had been captured by the British in
late 1778. The British commander, Brigadier General Augustine Prevost, responded to
Lincoln's move by launching a raiding expedition from Savannah across the Savannah River.
The South Carolina militia fell back before the British advance, and Prevost's force followed
them all the way to Charleston. Pulaski arrived just as military leaders were establishing the
city's defenses. When the British advanced on May 11, Pulaski's Legion engaged forward
elements of the British force, and was badly mauled in the encounter. The Legion infantry,
numbering only about 60 men before the skirmish, was virtually wiped out, and Pulaski was
forced to retreat to the safety of the city's guns. Although some historians credit this action
with Prevost's decision to withdraw back toward Savannah the next day (despite ongoing
negotiations of a possible surrender of Charleston), that decision is more likely based on news
Prevost received that Lincoln's larger force was returning to Charleston to face him, and that
Prevost's troops had gone further than he had originally intended. One early historian criticized
Pulaski's actions during that engagement as "ill-judged, ill-conducted, disgraceful and
disastrous". The episode was of minor strategic consequence and did little to enhance the
reputation of Pulaski's unit. Pulaski mortally wounded by grapeshot while leading cavalry charge
Although Pulaski frequently suffered from malaria while stationed in Charleston, he remained in active service. At the beginning of
September Lincoln prepared to launch an attempt to retake Savannah with French assistance. Pulaski was ordered to Augusta, where
he was to join forces with General Lachlan McIntosh. Their combined forces were to serve as the forward elements of Lincoln's army.
Pulaski captured a British outpost near Ogeechee River. His units then acted as an advance guard for the allied French units under
Admiral Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing. He rendered great services during the siege of Savannah, and in the assault of October 9
commanded the whole cavalry, both French and American.
Death and burial. While attempting to rally fleeing French forces during a cavalry charge, Pulaski was mortally wounded by
grapeshot. The reported grapeshot is on display at the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah. The Charleston Museum also has a
grapeshot reported to be from Pulaski's wound. Pulaski was carried from the field of battle and taken aboard the South Carolina
merchant brig privateer Wasp, under the command of Captain Samuel Bulfinch, where he died two days later, having never regained
consciousness. His heroic death, admired by American Patriot supporters, further boosted his reputation in America. The historical
accounts for Pulaski's time and place of burial vary considerably. According to several contemporary accounts there were witnesses,
including Pulaski's aide-de-camp, that Pulaski received a symbolic burial in Charleston on October 21, sometime after he was buried
at sea. Other witnesses, including Captain Samuel Bulfinch of the Wasp, however, claimed that the wounded Pulaski was actually later
removed from the ship and taken to the Greenwich plantation in the town of Thunderbolt, near Savannah, where he died and was
39
buried. In March 1825, during his grand tour of the United States, Lafayette personally laid the cornerstone for the Casimir Pulaski
Monument in Savannah, Georgia.
Exhumation and analysis of remains. Skeletal remains in Monterey Square in Savannah, Georgia, alleged to be Pulaski's, were
exhumed in 1996 and examined during a forensic study. The eight-year examination, including DNA analysis, ended inconclusively,
although the skeleton was consistent with Pulaski's age and occupation. A healed wound on the skull's forehead was consistent with
historical records of an injury Pulaski sustained in battle, as was a bone defect on the left cheekbone, believed to have been caused by
a benign tumor. A later study funded by the Smithsonian Institution, the results of which were released in 2019, confirmed that the
skeleton was Pulaski's via the mitochondrial DNA of his grandniece, known
injuries and physical characteristics. The skeleton has several female features,
which features led to suggestions that Pulaski may have been female or intersex.
In 2005, the remains were reinterred next to the Casimir Pulaski Monument in
Savannah in a public ceremony with full military honors including Pulaski's
induction into the Georgia Military Hall of Fame.
General Casimir Pulaski, United States postage stamp. Issue of 1931, 2c
Tributes and commemoration. The United States has long commemorated
Pulaski's contributions to the American Revolutionary War, and already on
October 29, 1779, the United States Congress passed a resolution that a
monument should be dedicated to him, but the first monument to him, the
Casimir Pulaski Monument in Savannah, Georgia, was not built until 1854. A
bust of Pulaski was added to a collection of other busts of American heroes at
United States Capitol in 1867. On May 11, 1910, US President William Taft
revealed a Congress-sponsored General Casimir Pulaski statue.
In 1929, Congress passed another resolution, this one recognizing October 11 of
each year as "General Pulaski Memorial Day", with a large parade held annually
on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Separately, a Casimir Pulaski Day is
celebrated in Illinois and some other places on the first Monday of each March. After a previous attempt failed, Congress passed a
joint resolution conferring honorary U.S. citizenship on Pulaski in 2009, sending it to President Barack Obama for approval. He duly
signed it on November 6, 2009, making Pulaski the seventh person so honored. In Poland, in he has been mentioned in the literary
works of numerous Polish authors, including Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki and Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. Adolf Nowaczyński
wrote a drama "Pułaski w Ameryce" (Pulaski in America) in 1917.[38] A museum dedicated to Pulaski, the Casimir Pulaski Museum in
Warka, opened in 1967.
Throughout Poland and the United States, people have celebrated anniversaries of Pulaski's birth and death, and there exist numerous
objects of art such as paintings and statues of him. In 1879, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death, Henri Schoeller
composed "A Pulaski March". Twenty years earlier, Eduard Sobolewski composed his opera, "Mohega", about the last days of
Pulaski's life. Commemorative medals and stamps of Pulaski have been issued. Several cities, towns, townships and counties in
United States are named after him, as are numerous streets, parks and structures, such as the Pulaski Bridge and the Pulaski Skyway.
There are also a number of educational, academic, and Polish-American institutions named after him. A US Navy submarine,
USS Casimir Pulaski, has been named for him, as was a 19th-century United States Revenue Cutter Service cutter. A Polish frigate,
ORP Generał Kazimierz Pułaski, is also named after Pulaski. Fort Pulaski between Savannah and Tybee Island in Georgia, active
during the American Civil War, is named in honor of Casimir Pulaski. A statue commemorating Pulaski stands at the eastern end of
Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.
There is an equestrian statue of Pulaski in Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as one in the center of Pulaski
park in Manchester, New Hampshire. A statue by Granville W. Carter depicting Pulaski on a rearing horse signaling a forward charge
with a sword in his right hand is erected in Hartford, Connecticut. There is a Pulaski Monument in Patterson Park in Baltimore,
Maryland. Pulaski High School and Casimir Pulaski High School, both in Wisconsin, are named after him. Pulaski County in Virginia,
Pulaski County in Arkansas, Pulaski County in Georgia, Pulaski County in Kentucky, and Pulaski County in Indiana are named after
him as well. Polish historian Władysław Konopczyński, who wrote a monograph on Pulaski in 1931, noted that he was one of the
most accomplished Polish people, grouping him with other Polish military heroes such as Tadeusz Kościuszko, Stanisław Żółkiewski,
Stefan Czarniecki, and Prince Józef Poniatowski.
40
Lithuania to sign second -
biggest military purchase
deal in November
Lithuania may sign a contract for purchasing almost 200 American JLTVs as early as November, Minister of Defense Raimundas Karoblis says. He made the comment during a Wednesday meeting of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense which considered next year's defense budget. “The signing of the contract will take place […] next month,” Karoblis said. The value of the deal stands at 149 million euros, according to the minister. It is the second-biggest acquisition in the history of the Lithuanian military. In 2017, Lithuania finalized a 386-million-euro deal for purchasing 88 German Boxers. The first armored vehicles arrived last summer. The JLTVs – Joint Light Tactical Vehicles – will be allocated to various units of the Lithuanian army. The Lithuanian army now uses HMMWV and Toyota Land Cruiser 200 vehicles.
LRT.lt 2019.10.30
Russia remains a threat,
says Lithuanian Defense
Minister
“Russia remains the main security threat in our region, therefore, strengthening NATO deterrence and defense and implementing security measures [...] is essential,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis said at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Friday, according to the Lithuanian MoD press release.
“Lithuania firmly upholds the commitment to allot at least 2 percent of GDP for defense and has all mechanisms in place that will ensure additional national defense funding if the economy grows at a faster pace than forecasted,” Burden-sharing will be high on the agenda of the NATO Summit due to take place in London on December 3-4, according to the ministry.
Karoblis underscored that the Baltic states lack adequate air defense measures, which leaves them vulnerable. Lithuania has been seeking to change the mandate of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission to an air defense deployment. Speaking earlier in October, Karoblis said the air defense mission had already been approved by NATO in 2016 but has not yet been implemented. The new mandate would allow fighter jets to carry out defensive tasks, and NATO could deploy ground-based air defense. During the upcoming NATO summit, Lithuania will also call on the alliance to implement the NATO Readiness Initiative agreed in Brussels in 2018, according to the ministry. “It is a very important initiative to which Lithuania will contribute corresponding capabilities,” said Karoblis. LRT.lt 2019.10.28
Nausėda to Lukashenko:
'We do not need other
lands, nor do we need to
intimidate our neighbors”
Following reports that Belarus will send more troops to the Lithuanian border in response to US presence in the Baltic country, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said "we do not need other lands, nor do we need to intimidate our neighbors, because our policy has been, is and will be peaceful". Nausėda's statement comes in response to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who said on Monday that Minsk will respond to US stationing 30 tanks in Lithuania, but will "not rattle sabers".
However, later on Monday, Belarusian Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov announced measures, including sending more troops to the Lithuanian border, according to the Belarusian state-owned news agency, BelTA.
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Speaking on Žinių Radijas radio station on Tuesday, Nausėda said "the deployment of NATO troops and NATO equipment to Lithuania is no more than a desire to protect people from potential interventions so that they could safely build their well-being". "That is the only goal of Lithuania's defense policy," he added. "We are making efforts to protect our country."
American armor arrived in Lithuania on October 21 for a rotational deployment as part of US Army Europe Operation Atlantic Resolve, aimed at deterring Russia. The battalion-sized force is bringing 30 Abrams tanks, 25 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) and 70 wheeled vehicles and will stay in Lithuania until spring 2020. The US deployed a company-sized unit of around 200 troops to Lithuania in 2014 in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea but pulled out the rotational force in 2017 after NATO's German-led international battalion was stationed in the country.
LRT.lt 2019.10.29
Belarus to send troops to
Lithuanian border in
response to US presence
Belarus will beef up its military presence on the border with Lithuania in response to US stationing 30 tanks as part of NATO Operation Atlantic Resolve aimed at deterring Russia. “Individual tactical actions will be taken [...] by missile and artillery units, air force, motorized infantry, paratroopers," Belarusian Defense Minister Andrei Ravkov told reporters on Monday, according to the Belarusian state-owned news agency, BelTA. American armor arrived in Lithuania on October 21 for a rotational deployment as part of US Army Europe Operation Atlantic Resolve, aimed at deterring Russia. The battalion-sized force is bringing 30 Abrams tanks, 25 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) and 70 wheeled vehicles and will stay in Lithuania until spring 2020.
During a meeting earlier on Monday between the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and the heads of security and defense, Belarusia President Alexander Lukashenko said that Minsk should prepare measures to counter the rotational US military deployment in Lithuania. However, Lukashenko added that “30 tanks sound ridiculous for our army,” according to BelTA. “We can stand back and take no measures in response as all.”
"We do not rattle our arms. We prepare adequate responses to any movements. What worries me is the precedent,” said Lukashenko. “I do not want troops to be stationed 15 kilometers from our borders, no matter what they are.” According to the Belarusian leader, “there is no need to call upon the whole world to stand up for Belarus. We are capable of protecting ourselves.”
However, Belarusian Defense Minister Ravkov told reporters later Monday that Minsk will aim to bring the matter to international attention. Lithuanian Minister of Defense Raimundas Karoblis said previously there's no threat to Belarus from the West “Lithuania is directly interested in the preservation of Belarus' independence and territorial integrity, as well as the development of economic cooperation,” he said.
"Therefore, I can assure that at least from the Western side, there's no military or any other threat to Belarus's sovereignty. The battalion-size army unit, to be deployed in Lithuania until spring, cannot pose any threat to Belarus' security, therefore, we really hope Belarus' reaction will be adequate," Karoblis said. The Belarusian president said on Monday that “we indeed take note of the statements of European and American politicians [...] that they are peace-loving people and that they are not going to fight with us”.
Lukashenko also said that Belarus should prepare military exercises "in the medium-term" to counter US-led NATO Defender 2020 drills due to take place next year. Their scope and size are like the yearly Zapad exercises held in Belarus together with Russia.
However, Lukashenko also said the US deployment in one of Lithuania’s two major military ranges in Pabradė, eastern Lithuania, is close to the Belarusian nuclear plant under construction in Astravyets. “We need to be careful here; God forbid a second Chernobyl,” the Belarusian leader said, according to BelTA, adding that Lithuania understands any emergency would affect both sides of the border. Lithuania has lobbied in the past several years to prevent the Belarusian nuclear plant from becoming operational. Lithuanian officials say the nuclear plant 50 kilometers from Vilnius is unsafe, an allegation Minsk denies.
LRT.lt 2019.10.28
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Russia moves to pardon
Norwegian involved in spy
swap with Lithuania
Former Norwegian border guard Frode Berg, imprisoned in Russia on spying charges, has been recommended for a presidential pardon, the Interfax news agency reports. Berg was recently named in media reports as potentially being involved in spy swap involving Lithuania, Russia and Norway. In the deal, Lithuania will release an FSB agent detained in the country, and Moscow will send back the Norwegian ex-border guard and two Lithuanians that the Kremlin says worked for the country’s military intelligence.
According to the BBC, Moscow's official pardons commission said the documents on Frode Berg’s pardon had been passed on to President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Brynjulf Risnes, the Norwegian lawyer acting for Frode Berg, said the pardon announcement fits perfectly ahead of Friday's ceremony marking the anniversary of Soviet forces entering Norway in fight against the Nazis. “We see this as confirmation of a breakthrough, but there's always uncertainty because of the secrecy surrounding this case,” Risnes told the BBC. Lithuanian parliament is due to amend its pardon legislation, which would pave the way for the exchange to take place. However, none of the parties involved has yet made any public statement about the spy swap.
LRT.lt 2019.10.25
Poland ready to halt
import of Russian gas
Poland is ready to ensure its energy supplies without importing gas from Russia, said Piotr Woźniak, the CEO of Poland’s state gas and oil company PGNiG, according to Emerging Europe. Speaking in an interview with Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, the PGNiG CEO said that the company had “done its homework” when it comes to diversifying gas imports, noting that PGNiG has signed contracts with US suppliers to buy LNG at a price which is 20-30 per cent lower than the price of gas from Russian energy giant Gazprom. “From 2022, via the Baltic Pipe [...] we will import around 2.5 million cubic metres natural gas from our own extraction on the Norwegian Continental Shelf,” wrote Polish public broadcaster, quoting Woźniak. “We will buy the rest of the fuel from the Norwegian market,” he added.
LRT.lt 2019.10.25
Klaipėda LNG terminal
should not be used to
import Russian gas –
president's adviser
The Klaipėda liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal should not be used to import Russian gas in the long run, an adviser to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda believes. “From the long-term perspective, the terminal should undoubtedly remain an alternative supply channel and the capacities of the facility, which was built with Lithuanian consumers' money, should not be given away to players from the East,” Jaroslav Neverovič, who is also a former energy minister, told BNS.
The terminal, launched in 2015, was intended to break Lithuania's total dependence on Russian pipeline gas imports. Today, Russian gas accounts for less than half of Lithuania's imports. If LNG prices are favorable, the state-owned energy group Ignitis and other gas importers should look for opportunities to sign new long-term LNG supply contracts, according to the adviser.
“I believe there is definitely potential for this. Global LNG prices are attractive, and there emerge an increasing number of suppliers. A longer-term contract could help ensure, in a sense, a gas price ceiling for the entire market,” Neverovič told BNS. “I think companies that need a constant supply of gas, such as Ignitis, will make the decisions ahead of everyone else," he added.
Lithuania's fertilizer manufacturer Achema, the Klaipėda terminal's biggest customer, has been actively importing LNG from Russia. According to information available to BNS, Achema imports small LNG cargoes of Novatek gas from the Baltic Sea port of Vysotsk, and it has imported a large shipment from the Russian supplier's Yamal LNG terminal in Siberia through intermediaries.
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The fertilizer manufacturer does not comment on whether it has long-term contracts, nor does it disclose who its LNG suppliers are. It is known that the company also imports LNG from Norway's Equinor. “I cannot comment on Achema's priorities. It is a private company and it is up to them to decide how to organise things. It should be noted, however, that they are enjoying the benefits of the terminal,” Neverovič said. Ignitis has also bought a cargo of Novatek LNG from Vysotsk via an intermediary. The state-owned company has a 10-year LNG supply contract with Equinor (former Statoil), effective until 2024. Before the launch of the Klaipėda terminal in 2015, pipelined gas from Russia's Gazprom was the only source of gas imports for the Baltic countries. The terminal has helped Lithuania diversify its supplies, sharply reducing Gazprom's share of its gas imports. The natural gas transmission system Amber Grid has told BNS that Gazprom's gas accounted for 42 percent of Lithuania's total gas imports in January-September 2019. Vytautas Budzinauskas, LRT TV BNS2019.10.24
Moscow seeks more power
in Latvian Orthodox
Church
The Moscow Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church may be attempting to force Metropolitan Alexander (Aleksandrs Kudrjašovs) of the Latvian Orthodox Church (LPB) to retire and replace him with a more someone more acceptable to the Russian side, Baltic News Network quotes LTV’s programme De Facto.
Earlier in October, the LPB council decided to reinstate a clause in its rules, reaffirming the independence of the Latvian church from Moscow. The request was also sent to the Moscow Patriarchate in Russia, and shortly after, Russian media published an opinion piece accusing the LPB of secrecy and excessive loyalty to the government of Latvia.
In 2018, a Russian citizen was appointed as the head of the neighboring Estonian Orthodox Church. He had visited the Russian-occupied Crimea while serving in Moscow and had taken part in a campaign against the Ukrainian church, which recently broke away from the Moscow Patriarchate.
Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, third from left, conducts the Easter service as Russian President Vladimir Putin, second from right, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, fourth from left, Medvedev's wife Svetlana, third from right, and Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, right, attend the service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, April 28, 2019. / AP
Concerned about security, Latvian lawmakers passed amendments to the Law on the Latvian Orthodox Church, requiring members of clergy running for the posts of the metropolitan and bishops to be citizens of Latvia and to have lived in the country for the past ten years.
De Facto reported that a senior LPB priest, Nikolajs Tihomirovs, has warned about possible influence from Moscow and attempts to divide the Latvian Orthodox Church. He also suspects that a priest was sent by the Moscow Patriarchate to incite discord among members of the church.
LRT.lt 2019.10.21
44
After foreign tip-off,
Lithuanian officers probe
police corruption in
Kaunas
Lithuania's police is carrying out an international investigation into police corruption in the country's second-largest city of Kaunas, prosecutor Vytautas Kukaitis told a press conference at the Police Department on Wednesday. Kukaitis said the investigation uncovered a scheme of using forged documents to acquire various goods, including alcoholic beverages and car parts, abroad. The value of goods exceeds 300,000 euros. "The investigation has moved forward, with three new pre-trial investigations on serious crimes launched," the prosecutor said. According to him, the police is investigation "international fraud, money laundering when acting in a criminal group with links to groups operating abroad, and also related to smuggling". According to Kukaitis, detention periods for members of the organised groups have been extended.
"It turns out that most of the evidence was received from foreign countries. The Criminal Police Bureau is in direct contact with the French Gendarmerie, the Spanish internal affairs attaché, as well Belgian, Danish and German law enforcement," Kukaitis said. Police Commissioner General Linas Pernavas also said during the press conference that Kaunas Police chief Darius Žukauskas would be removed from his position.
Five people are currently detained, with suspicions brought against more than a dozen of people. They also include foreign citizens. "Following the launch of the pre-trial investigation, officers of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau are receiving additional information on the theft of car parts and their wide-scale seizure abroad," Kukaitis said.
Car parts acquired abroad were sold in Lithuania by an organized group. "Today, I will sign an order on the removal of Darius Žukauskas from this position," Pernavas said, due to the threat to classified information. Pernavas said he ordered the police's Immunity Board to launch an internal investigation into Žukauskas' ability to work and get acquainted with classified information.
In early October, Donatas Karalukas, the head of the third division of the Economic Crime Investigation Board of Kaunas County Chief Police Commissariat, was detained at his workplace, suspected of having covered up illegal business and received bribes worth more than 10,000 euros.
Jonas Kisielius, BNS2019.10.30
As Ukrainians find home in
Lithuania's regions, red
tape hinders integration
Ukrainians make up a large proportion of foreign workers in Lithuania, and many have found homes in smaller regional towns lacking a labor force. However, their integration is hindered by the lack of simple resources and bureaucracy. Around 200 Ukrainians work in Tauragė, a town of 23,000 in western Lithuania. Employers are happy the newcomers are taking up jobs, while the local authorities offer free Lithuanian-language classes.
Tania from Ukraine came to Lithuania with her four-year-old son around a year ago and found a job in a Norwegian company based in the region. While her son attends a nursery, she knits nets for the fishing industry. “Truth be told, the first month was very hard,” she tells LRT TV. “But then I got used to it, and now I already like the job and that’s why I stayed. The coworkers are nice, I made some friends.”
45
Out of 300 workers in the company, 10 are Ukrainians. Wages start at 500 euros a month after tax. The minimum wage in the country is a little under 400 euros and the average wage stood at about 800 euros. Tauragė Municipality is one of the first local authorities to organize free Lithuanian language courses for Ukrainians. “Tauragė receives people who pay taxes [...] which is very important for the town, that someone can take up jobs that Lithuanians maybe don’t want,” says Tauragė District Mayor Dovydas Kaminskas.
Around 10 Ukrainians come to the twice-weekly Lithuanian classes. However, an acute lack of textbooks and exercise books is hindering the learning process, the teacher says. “There were some [exercise books for Russian-speakers] published between 2000-14, but they can no longer be found, I even phoned the publishers,” says the Lithuanian-language teacher, Kristina Nevelkienė.
“I plan to live here, and I will need to communicate with people,” says Andrei Donchenko from Ukraine. “Not everyone speaks Russian, and since we live in Lithuania, we need to know the language.” “The most complicated parts are the pronunciation and spelling,” adds another Ukrainian, Aliona Galachuk.
However, employing Ukrainians is not easy, according to business owners. A work visa is only issued for a year, according to the head of a local recruitment agency, Tomas Juodikis. The procedure takes around a month and a half, while in neighboring states, the process can take as little as a few days.
Temporary residence permits in Lithuania are also struck by delays. “The [residence] permit is issued, if expedited, in two months and it costs several hundred euros,” says Tomas Juodikis, director of recruitment agency ‘Darbo turo’. “The process can take up to half a year.” Despite the limitations, the number of Ukrainians in the country is increasing. This year alone, around 20,000 have arrived in Lithuania so far.
Aina Mizgirdė, LRT TV, LRT.lt2019.10.30
Lithuania to rebury
remains of 1863 uprising
participants on Nov 22nd
The remains of participants of the 1863-1864 uprising against Tsarist Russia will be reburied in an official ceremony in Vilnius on November 22, the government confirmed on Thursday. The rebels' remains, which were found on the capital's Gediminas Hill, will be buried in Rasos Cemetery following a memorial service at Vilnius Cathedral.
According to Deividas Matulionis, vice-chancellor of the Lithuanian government, the Cabinet will discuss the details of the ceremony on October 8. "The ceremony would start in the Cathedral Square, in the cathedral. We will decide how to organize a solemn transportation of the remains to Rasos Cemetery," the official told BNS. "The remains will be placed in symbolic, smaller coffins and will be transported in a respectful manner," he added.
Lithuania is inviting Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Latvia to attend the ceremony. 21 rebels were executed in the Lithuanian capital's Lūkiškės Square between 1863 and 1864 and were secretly buried on the hill, which was closed to the public at that time.
Archeologists have unearthed the remains of 20 of the 21 executed rebels, including those of their leaders, Zigmantas Sierakauskas (Zygmunt Sierakowski) and Konstantinas Kalinauskas (Konstanty Kalinowski). Their names will be written in Lithuanian, Polish and Belarusian.
BNS 2019.09.26
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