VSD: There are no threatening organized groups promoting Litvinism in Lithuania

The intelligence informs politicians and public figures about this as they have recently received more e-mails with threats from groups promoting the Litvinist ideology allegedly operating in Lithuania.

“In order to identify and prevent risks and threats to national security, the VSD monitors the processes taking place in the new Belarusian diaspora in Lithuania. According to the available data, there are no organized groups promoting the ideology of Litvinism in Lithuania that could pose a threat to the country’s independence, constitutional order and territorial integrity,” the VSD Facebook account reads.

As the department points out, social networks are also trying to recruit Lithuanian residents who would write slogans of this ideology in public places for a financial reward.

“In the opinion of the VSD, such activities correspond to the features of psychological-informational operations organized by states hostile to Lithuania, which aim to create panic in the country’s society. Under the guise of Litvinism, an attempt is also being made to discredit the democratic opposition of Belarus and to oppose the citizens of Lithuania with the Belarusians living in the country,” the intelligence says.

At that time, the intelligence threat assessment report published at the beginning of March indicates that Belarusian intelligence personnel are trying to recruit the diaspora living in Lithuania. Among its representatives are also persons promoting radical political ideologies.

An example of this is the manifestation of Litvinism, a radical branch of Belarusian chauvinism. These persons deny the Baltic origin of the princes who ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and question the affiliation of Vilnius region to Lithuania.

Intelligence emphasizes that the Belarusian regime uses Litvinism in order to promote antagonism between Belarusians who have taken refuge in Lithuania and Lithuanian residents, and the wider spread of such attitudes among members of the Belarusian diaspora would harm their integration into Lithuanian society and promote the growth of ethnic tension.

Intelligence also identifies that there are supporters of right-wing extremism ideologies among the representatives of the Belarusian diaspora.