Lithuanian mainstream media and think-tank analysts view the Paksas affair, and now the Prunskiene candidacy, in the context of Russian attempts to change Lithuania's -- and other ex-Soviet-ruled countries' -- western orientation by exploiting various internal economic or political vulnerabilities. In the case of Lithuania, this is almost certainly the lastchance for Moscow.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.Among the very top priorities of U.S. foreign and security policies, I doubt there are many – if any – objectives more important than a free, democratic, stable, and prosperous Russia, at peace, in the long last, with its own people, its neighbors and the...

Lithuania leads the group of ten countries aspiring to join NATO. However, a transnational issue will weigh on the decision: the fate of the Kaliningrad enclave. Giedrius Čekuolis, the Lithuanian deputy foreign minister, will address NATO enlargement and relations with Russia from the Lithuanian perspective at this luncheon discussion.

Where interpretation of history is concerned, President George W. Bush backs the views of the Baltic states: the Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe rather than liberating it. The Baltic Times published excerpts from Bush's letter to Latvian President Vajra Vike-Freiberge, where he emphasizes that the end of World War II meant liberation only for Western Europe. "In Central and Eastern Europe the war meant Soviet occupation and the annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and installation of the communist regime," Bush wrote.

A decade ago, the international community trained its eyes on Vytautas Landsbergis when he stood up to Mikhail Gorbachev and Soviet tanks. Today, the former Lithuanian president warns of a different kind of threat. If NATO excludes the Baltic states from the next round of NATO enlargement, argues Mr. Landsbergis, Moscow may interpret the decision as a sign from the West that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still belong to the Russian sphere of influence.

Book review of Lithuania Independent Again: The Autobiography of Vytautas Landsbergis, by Vytautas Landsbergis

Review of Walking Since Daybreak: A Story of Eastern Europe, World War II, and the Heart of Our Century, by Modris Eksteins.

On its surface, President Bush's trip to Europe looks like a simple visit to help his friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin, celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. In reality, though, the trip is also a carefully choreographed diplomatic mission that will demonstrate U.S. concern about a Russian retreat from democratic principles, while signaling support for U.S. allies who were once dominated by the former Soviet Union.