Political Quotes

“I rise to speak this morning on an issue of great importance to American foreign policy and to the future of Europe. This week, on March 11, Lithuanians and Lithuanian-Americans celebrated the seventh anniversary of the restoration of independence from Russia. Lithuania, for those who are not familiar, is a country of fewer than 4 million people. It is smaller than the State of South Carolina, and it is located between Belarus and the Baltic Sea. Historically, it has been the neighbor, sometimes friendly and sometimes not, of Russia and the Soviet Union. It is a nation that has had to struggle time and again for its freedom. Today, it is struggling to recover from the devastation of a half-century of Soviet occupation. The history of this little country is very interesting. During the middle ages, it was one of Europe's most powerful countries. In the 15th century, it was combined with Poland to create a new kingdom. In the late 18th century, when Poland was partitioned, Lithuania was divided between Russia and Prussia. The czars tried to Russify Lithuania during the 19th century, but their attempts to destroy Lithuanian culture gave rise to a Lithuanian nationalist movement supported by the Catholic Church.”