Lithuania: Vilnius University fires Russian professor who denied Soviet occupation

Lithuania’s Vilnius University has dismissed Russian professor Andrey Desnitsky, who earlier denied the occupation of the Baltic States, LRT reports. Professor Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, dean of Vilnius University’s Faculty of Philology, said that Desnitsky, who had been working as a researcher and lecturer at the university since autumn 2022, had earlier written publications in which he denied the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States. He claimed that Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin had not occupied but only “insisted” that the Baltic States join the Soviet Union. Also, Desnitsky asserted that there was more freedom under Russian occupation than during independent Lithuania. Desnitsky’s work was funded by an international philanthropic family foundation.