Euractive 9 June 2022
 |
| The decree was adopted in 1991 at a meeting of the State Council of the USSR chaired by President Mikhail Gorbachev. It announced the recognition of Lithuania as an independent state. [Shutterstock/Design_Bank] |
A draft bill submitted to the Russian State Duma calls for repealing the Decree of the State Council of the USSR “On the Recognition of the Independence of the Republic of Lithuania.”
The draft was submitted by Yevgeny Fyodorov, a member of United Russia, the governing party. In his explanatory note, Fyodorov said the decree recognising Lithuania’s independence is illegal, “since it was adopted by an unconstitutional body and in violation […] of the Constitution of the USSR.”
The decree was adopted in 1991 at a meeting of the State Council of the USSR chaired by President Mikhail Gorbachev. It announced the recognition of Lithuania as an independent state.
Lithuania declared independence in March 1990. By the time the USSR recognised Lithuania’s independence, it was already recognised by over 50 countries.
Fyodorov is questioning not only this decree but also highlights that Lithuania had “no referendum on secession from USSR and no transitional period was established for consideration of all contentious issues.”
Fyodorov previously questioned Lithuania’s independence in 2015.
