The dean of the Faculty of Philology at Vilnius University, Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, stated: “I want to announce that the employment contract with Andrey Desnitsky will be terminated in August.” This was reported by Ukrainska Pravda, citing European Pravda and LRT.
According to the publication, Desnitsky had worked as a researcher and lecturer at Vilnius University since autumn 2022. While still living in Moscow, he wrote articles denying the Soviet Union's occupation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In them, he claimed that the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin allegedly only insisted on the Baltic countries' accession to the Soviet Union. Also, according to the source, Desnitsky asserted that there was no resistance to Soviet troops and said that “formally, under the Russian army there was more freedom” than in interwar independent Lithuania.
It is noted that Desnitsky was hired as a research fellow because he met all the requirements set by the university. His work was funded by an international foundation whose name the rector of Vilnius University, Rimantas Balčiūnas, declined to disclose. The Russian professor himself refused to comment.
The publication also provides background: it was previously reported that in Lithuania, 1,164 Belarusians and Russians were recognized as a threat to national security; in addition, Russian lieutenant Ivan Korolev illegally crossed the Lithuanian border and requested asylum.
1
