Lithuania angered by new Russian coin reminiscent of Soviet occupation


Russia has issued a coin with the image of the Soviet sculptures from the Green Bridge in Vilnius, which was removed last year.

A senior Lithuanian diplomat considered this act of the Russian side to be unwillingness to perceive the historical truth about the Soviet occupation. This is how the political director of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry Rolandas Kačinskas described the 5-ruble coin issued by the Central Bank of Russia. It has two five-pointed stars, the inscription “Vilnius” and the date “13 July 1944” – in Vilnius this day is associated with the occupation of the city by the Red Army.

Five-ruble coin of “Vilnius”

In turn, both the Soviet propaganda and Moscow present this event as the “liberation by Soviet troops from Nazi invaders.” Lithuanians also stress that the Nazi occupation was replaced by the Soviet one accompanied by terror and deportation of the Lithuanian people to Siberia.

“Lithuanian Foreign Minister knows of and pays attention to the coins issued by the Central Bank of Russia. We have no doubts about the role of the Red Army and its place in the history of Lithuania,” said Rolandas Kačinskas.

The bank had the following response to the claims of Lithuanians:

“No geopolitical changes that occurred after the end of the Second World War can call into question the undeniable importance of the victory over fascism, for all the peoples of Europe and the world. It is to this victory that a series of commemorative coins of the Bank of Russia is dedicated to.”

Scandalous series

The series of coins “Capital cities of countries liberated by Soviet troops from Nazi invaders” was issued by The Bank of Russia on August 1, 2016. The series includes coins dedicated to Minsk, Belgrade, Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Vienna, Vilnius, Kyiv, Chisinau, Prague, Riga and Tallinn.

The coin dedicated to Minsk, reflected “Mound of Glory” (Smalyavichy district):

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