twenty years ago the largest country in. the suitcases of the. one hundred. each began a journey. where did it take the. wealthy british soil holds a spot on the front. of the. markets why no. one knows what's really happening to the global economy because the record.

welcome back this is also the headlines and. sounds have turned out to demanding the resignation of the prime minister. in protests that some observers say the demonstrations which have swept this yet. another. dead to fold fail is that they were probably controlled house of representatives rejects a bill proposed by the democrats from hungary continues to try to reach a deal before tuesday's deadline with president obama urging congress to. veterans have gathered for that. but it. once again caused outrage among activists

who say turning a blind eye to such meetings can lead to more tragedies similar to what happened in norway. and those the headlines up next it's our special report about when you would have gained independence from the u.s. assigned nineteen ninety one and has been trying to leave its soviet past behind scenes that. vilnius is the capital of lithuania the city changed hands many times during the twentieth century after world war one the poles were in charge then during the second world war nazi germany took control when the soviet army drove the fascists out of the baltics the city became if you a nice competent once again in the country join the soviet union. they like saying in russia we liberated the lithuanian people from that scene germany let's go to that i added the following yes you did but you didn't bother to leave afterwards

should it worry. you when perestroika go to underway in the late one nine hundred eighty s. it was one of the first soviet republics to demand independence. was far as we are concerned felonious is the count but so you know it's moscow that's the way it's has been on whale a b. in the future. the confrontation between the soviet empire is weakening senta of the rebellious baltic republic resulted in street clashes. fourteen people were crushed by tanks hundreds were. that the town came to hold to when my leg was called between the caterpillar tracks i realized then that there was no escape other than death. if you wanted to independence in one thousand nine hundred one small baltic republic then desperately trying to join european structures and leave it soviet past behind as fast as possible.

if you any in business move the you must know now skies lives in the village of groups has one hundred twenty kilometers from vilnius he runs a new. business selling the mushrooms and berries that grow on his land but another source of income is also his hobby. if you walk around the whole park you'll cover two color matters the park contains one hundred thirteen different open air sculptures. in soviet times the sculptures held pride of place and if you any in cities and towns. after the fall of the soviet union they were taken down and fell into neglect. that prompted volume us to set up

a park dedicated to let you and his son did history. this open a museum welcomes visitors only around and there's no shortage of them into. foreigners and lithuanian tonight come here to get a glimpse into the country's relatively recent past. here people learn something about socialism and what we went through in those times . the iron curtain weighed down very heavily on the soviet union the outside world knew little about this country. in one thousand nine hundred decided to split from the soviet union. parliament led by the tout as landsburg declared the republics independence thousands back to the decision rallies became a constant feature in central vilnius with demonstrators demanding that moscow recognize that you and statehood. first the speaker said emotional words

about freedom then the craze began singing literally as anthem many people had tears in their eyes they couldn't sing along because they were so overcome with emotion they saw that something was indeed changing they felt they could no speak up with hired. fear. moscow sold the developments in lithuania as a slap in the face tanks and special forces were sent to kill me as i thought. the kremlin felt that flexing its muscles would be enough to compel the goldston of the republican to backing down. this was them we knew we told him we had no right to rejoin the soviet union we have not been elected to do that you say. was a massacre followed. the television center until news was assaulted on the night

of january fourteenth and something challenging. the building seems within a short time is un is independent television. i know most. of you know we are being attacked why. give me i can see is shots from most science they have seized the sweeney as radio center. is an anchor for a state run t.v. channel but live report was a moment of triumph for the young journalist but her moment of glory came with a price. i knew that they used access to break the dogs exhibited their lease patch has been left here as a reminder of those events. that

night foundations of people resolve to stop the troops by acting as a human shield. in order for moscow said the troops were to fire blank shells. and get it was among the residents who protected the television center when the troops began firing and galileo was injured. yeah i think i managed to crawl away i thought that i had been able to get away from that town of have to roll my own and at that very moment my leg was caught between the caterpillar tracks and the time came to holt and yet. now the former bookkeeper has to use a wheelchair and receives a disability grant. freedom was worth that sacrifice i have no regrets and believe it's my destiny. fourteen residents of vilnius died sacrificing their lives for the few in his

independence in one thousand nine hundred one. the new state government launched a vigorous campaign against the soviet legacy. bolton that equated soviet symbols to nazi ones. nowadays made ninth the date marked by soviet republics for the victory of a fascist germany is seen as just another ordinary day by most lithiums. it out there in lithuania made a name for it is no occasion for festivities yes some people here did fight for that but this way it has nothing to do with that russian politicians sometimes say we liberated the lithuanian people from nazi germany by responses the following yes you did but then you didn't bother to leave afterwards patient had given way to another. the fall if you a new got its independence war veterans used to march through central vilnius on victory day but now they can only mark their holiday at

a military cemetery. but are you near her government has created a mountainous fear where war veterans are called occupiers. the current propaganda slant is that lithuania was a second time in one thousand nine hundred eighty four when soviet troops entered the country to drive the germans. know that young people have been brainwashed into believing that war veterans are ok pires the veterans don't feel like demonstrating in the streets. may the ninth twenty ten. each of the fifteen veterans here for the. victory. despite each of them. they've decided to. just. a band of infusing asked of musicians accompany them as they march through the

streets. comes from holding flowers and colorful. people with nationalistic slogans lining the streets on both sides. the war came to. the country in one thousand nine hundred ninety three. those veterans can mark their victory and commemorate fallen heroes at a cemetery. and people a lot of flowers up. but marching through the heart of the city promotes the wrong ideology. symbols. affected by the campaign against soviet legacy. this is december thirty first one thousand nine hundred eighty three ten o eight pm that was when the first power generating unit was officially linked to the country's power grid. this footage is from the film marking the anniversary of

the ignalina nuclear power plant. the station met all the electrical needs of miss you and two neighboring soviet republics. the two nuclear reactors commission the plan the more powerful. than any of the reactors at the time it would seem that this technological model inherited from the soviet union might stand a few enduring good stead after independence the country itself would have a plentiful supply of electricity and also be able to sell a surplus to others at a premium. with the supply still etherial we're cutting in those years because of an economic slump but this nuclear power plant provided of uninterrupted supplies of tricity to customers in lithuania bellary. consumers at the lowest prices which we pretty much be able to deliver to any an economy during that period of transition in fact we pave the way for the countries

further economic development. of. off the list left the u.s.s.r. it's all to join the european union. if you a new was told that it could acquire e.u. membership on the condition that it shuts down the nuclear power plant. it even received from zte to help dismantle the plant's equipment and build storage for nuclear waste. the first reactor was closed in two thousand and four the other in two thousand and nine if you any of them joined the e.u. . where in the reactor room of the first unit nuclear fuel used to be stored underneath. it was used to generate heat and electricity and that year. many of those who built the station and worked at it had to be trained in how to

dismantle it. with me i put a turbine together with my own hands after it went into service my job was to maintain and repair it but in the past seven years i've been taking all that apart again with my own hands it's a pity creating something is much better if you ask me. you and valleri good newton were made redundant when the station was shut down but there was no other work for them to to go. they were nice people working at the plants i enjoyed working there we still keep in touch with them. to certificates a photo album and the film showing the jubilee celebrations and the only mementos from those years. the european union funded the station's closure some of the money was earmarked for severance pay. the allowance we were entitled to after the

stations shot daryn was four hundred dollars for when the so-called crisis set in the song was cut to three hundred and fifteen dollars that's what we get paid no. the decommissioning of the power plant instantly led to high utility costs although lift you any accused to sell electricity to other countries today it buys it from them energy bills grow with each passing month those who worked at the station have had to slash their family budgets. have you got the readings yes put them down fifty two three hundred forty seven rights how about the water hot water is ninety cold water is eighty four that's it that's quite a lot so i have to say still for we have to pay five times as much as we do eat when you will find it back in december two thousand and nine. the former

employees of the becoming a power plant will have to survive on their social welfare packages until they become pensioners unemployment is at over fifteen percent if you a new official a twenty percent of its population lives in poverty according to your a staff this un year is one of the five poorest countries in the european union. the last time the close of team was in the cool down region where men flock from all over the world to out a few centimeters to their self-confidence. this time r.t. goes to the amore region. for the gold rush still gets people hiked up.

for an ancient try to save its culture. for cranes are protected in the first of the only unofficial nature reserve. to the amore egypt. bush a close up on the r.t. . world. bringing you the latest in science and technology from around russia. we've got the future covered.

a restitution law was passed in lithuania after a declared independence collective farms were disbanded land was handed over to some of its former owners. and jay under the cabbage received sixty hectares of land that used to belong to his father. and jay's an engineer his wife neo lia is an accountant they became farmers against their will. a severe economic

slump began after lithuania declared independence unemployment had read its head for the first time in the post soviet region. we had to go into farming simply because we had no other source of income now i'm pretty certain our farm has no prospects. to existed any time a sudden change in the weather might ruin at least some of the crops and reduce all of their efforts to nothing. there's no scope for the farm to grow the reluctant farmers don't have the money to save for a rainy day. most small farms here face a similar bleak situation. the government lost interest in large scale farming such as collective farms its policy in the early one nine hundred ninety s. was entirely wrong collective farms were raised to the ground but now the process

has been reversed in favor of large scale production only large farms have real prospects. but to farmers in very hard times during the two thousand and eight economic crisis. j. and his wife were on the brink of bankruptcy their farm survived only because they had been working on it without hired help they had also managed without bank loans . the influence of international capital in our banking sector amounts to nearly ninety percent when the. banks were primarily concerned about parents banks in stockholm copenhagen or always low so this is. it was of secondary importance to them they stopped issuing loans and started exporting capital to help parents and banks of course all vats has an effect on the situation here.

she is old but much of her life has passed without her. he's been working in germany to make a living meanwhile brother and sister live in. poverty where is he a daddy. you know daddy let's look for him. there is a picture of him born here. well don i know most of you know whenever she sees a man in the street the first thing she says is mom this is a man ad in daddy. she says that just in case the man responds. he tried to work. an internet cafe in germany to speak to his family by making

a video call so that the questions we get at school are real mindblower it's. them yeah this five minutes of internet chat keeps the family in contact until so gay can be with them for real again and that could be six months away. this is typical for. which is joining the club of leading suppliers of manpower to western european countries. and now to something more to the point have you sent us the money. yesterday yes ok that will help all deals are in the rental. in january two thousand and nine fountains of protesters crowded the main square most provincial towns in lithuania as well as its capital since the start of the crisis the government has been raising taxes and cutting social benefits. found themselves

on the verge of bankruptcy. people struggled for survival. for example my pension is two hundred and forty dollars in winter a basic extra money for heating my flat. if i were to pay for it in fuel i've have to pay forty dollars over and above my pension. when. government plans to tax pensions on top of the taxes he decided to join protesters despite his age and health. this. meeting took place in vilnius near the parliament building. seven thousand people gathered. police used tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the demonstrators. and when one of the bullets hit and to nasa in the leg

he was taken to an ambulance. to a we were at the village ruled out when the cuts my trousers open it was a rubber bullets it's got stuck in a song i can't see it as a souvenir of sorts. but. the police brutality in dealing with the demonstrators spurred the public into action. an unprecedented number of people joined the opposition within a short period of numerous protests rallies and demonstrations were held. and people from the government bowed to pressure to make some concessions several unpopular measures were cancelled but the move deepened the budget deficit. you get more democracy will set in only after several generations those who once had any idea of democracy have become soviet people in spirit and so have all of our

politicians. the founder and owner of the park featuring the history of soviet union says he's lucky that he's lived in a free country for the past twenty years but he notes the growing nostalgia for the soviet period the limits is pessimistic about his country's future and he's skeptical about the government's political decisions. i don't think the european union will last for even fifty years but it will break up in the same way as the soviet union did the two are very similar in that they have both been a complete mass. of the. luminous is playing with the idea of expanding his pocket modern day exhibits may soon be added to the collection. the trouble is this nobody yet knows who won't was

and will become a symbol of this un yes new era. the people of the united states and their friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder is a regime as an active program to acquire and develop nuclear weapons and let there be no doubt about we know for a fact that there are let's say. this we're just being carried out into the direction of dr david kay respected scientist and former u.n. inspector was leading the weapons search in iraq we are determined to take this

apart we have a tremendous a group of dedicated american men and women involved in this with the best assets of the intelligence community can provide. data cheney is not going to be done with this for quite some time david kay wants more time and he says it could take another six to nine months to make a definitive finding ministration is asking congress for hundreds of millions more six hundred million dollars to fund a continuing search we have not yet found shiny pointy things that i would call a weapon before we can draw from conclusions we need to let the iraq survey group complete its work. we were all wrong probably in my judgment. and that is most disturbing. sometimes the true patriots takes the unpopular caress that helps their country and wooden stakes and even if they come this way at least from tonight patriotism is the last refuge of

scoundrels and i think these are scoundrels they have no argument now they have no defense for what they did the country is in a terrible international security situation and i think it's perilous so they're attacking the patriotism of others. if. you visit to compute exudes thieu to shoot. the beam. it's.

a. bit.