The founder and chairman of Lithuanian property developer Hanner, Arvydas Avulis, is the country’s most influential business person, according to two new polls, BNS reports. Avulis ranked highest in surveys of both the country’s professional elite and general public. Combining the two polls, 51.6% of respondents ranked Avulis first. Dainius Dundulis, founder and owner of…
The number of Russian citizens with valid residence permits declined in all three Baltic States in 2025, according to Eurostat data, Meduza reports. Since 2016, their number has fallen every year in Estonia and Latvia, but rose in Lithuania from 2019 to 2023. Estonia had 78,377 Russians with residence permits at the end of 2025,…
The Lithuanian Catholic Church will investigate sexual abuse of children since 1990, LRT reports. The Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference (LVK) decided to launch the investigation into crimes against minors and vulnerable adults within the church after two Lithuanian priests were charged for sexual offenses involving children. Church officials are waiting for guidance from the Holy See…
The Lithuanian government has declared a nationwide emergency and four municipalities have declared local emergencies after a severe storm on 22-23 August 2026, BNS reported. Wind speeds reached up to 33 mps on the seaside and a month’s rain fell in 12 hours in some areas, according to the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT), BNS reported….
Latvia was hit by the strongest storm since 1966 on the night of 22-23 August 2026, LSM reported. Wind speeds exceeded 30 mps in some areas, according to the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVGMC), LETA reported. Several injuries and one fatality were recorded. Electricity distributor Sadales Tikls reported that the storm cut power…
Lithuania’s Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius and parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas resisted calls for an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, BNS reported. Earlier, two local priests were charged with sexual offences against children. Sinkevicius insisted that any investigation was up to Church authorities. Olekas asserted that courts should do their work…
Lithuania’s most popular public figure is former president Valdas Adamkus, according to Baltijos Tyrimai’s poll for ELTA in late July 2026, DELFI reports. Approval for Adamkus stood at 80% and disapproval at just 11%. Former president Dalia Grybauskaite was second with 59% approval and 32% disapproval, followed by incumbent President Gitanas Nauseda with 52% approval…
Estonia’s population is smaller but richer and healthier now than it was at the restoration of the country’s independence in 1991, according to Statistics Estonia’s data, ERR reports. Estonia’s population totalled 1,360,745 people in the beginning of 2026, which was down 13.2% from 1,567,749 in 1991. Native Estonian-speakers now account for 68.5% of Estonia’s population,…
Lithuania’s Culture Minister, Lukas Alsys, called for a systematic shift away from the use of Russian language in public administration, BNS reported. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Alsys stressed that government institutions and municipalities in Lithuania communicated in the state language, Lithuanian. However, the policy of phasing out Russian should take into account…
