3 hours of Soviet Vilnius. The ultimate tour explaining the life in Lithuanian cities under Soviet occupation, ranging from sad absurdity to honorable resistance
Price: Only 149 Euro! (for the whole group)
The tour is personal. There would be no additional people in the group except for you and your family/friends. The tour may begin at any convenient time.
Order at tour.baltic@gmail.com
This tour will explain how an average person of Vilnius lived under the Soviet occupation.
Vilnius Soviet tour includes
• Churches, desecrated by the Soviets and converted into mundane use.
• The key buildings of Soviet Vilnius, including the former communist party local offices.
• Parts of Vilnius Old Town that was demolished by the Soviets to make “socialist squares”.
• A Soviet-destroyed cemetery, with the remains of a Soviet sculpture.
• Soviet factories, entertainment buildings, and apartment buildings. Their architecture ranging from the elaborate Stalinist grandeur to later edifices that were constructed to be as cheap as possible.
• Lithuanian parliament, where the independence was declared, triggering the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the barricades built soon afterward to repel the Soviet tanks.
• And more…
Optional:
• The regular Vilnius Soviet Tour is a walking tour in Vilnius downtown. A part of the Soviet Vilnius tour may be done using a car. In this case, you would additionally visit sights away from the downtown:
-A typical Soviet “dormitory district” where the majority of Vilnius people still live at.
-Soviet factory district where most people of Soviet Vilnius worked at.
-A memorial for people murdered by the Soviets.
-Lithuanian parliament
The price of the car tour is 139 euro (for up to 3 people).
• After your tour ends, the guide may ensure that you reach a Soviet-related museum using the most common mode of transport of Soviet Vilnius. The ticket prices are not included in the tour price but the guide would arrange a reservation where such arrangements are needed. The possible museums are:
-Museum of Genocide Victims, located in the former KGB headquarters.
-Tuskulėnai museum, where KGB has buried its victims.
-Toy Museum, with many Soviet toys.
We also offer tailor-made tours: if you want to see different sights, just tell us.
What will you learn…
• How and where did the average resident of Soviet Vilnius live? What were the maximum apartment sizes and how the low construction quality of Soviet homes influenced life?
• How advanced was the corruption in the Soviet Union?
• How few restaurants, shops and other consumer institutions there were in Soviet Vilnius, compared to today. And how long one had to queue to be able to use them?
• How many factories actually produced, and what that meant for their workers?
• How were the people forced to spy on each other?
• How the unique economic system where the relationships were more important than money actually functioned>?
• How much was each Vilnius resident forced to participate in various propaganda parades and declarations?
• How did Vilnius residents resist the Soviet occupation, sometimes sacrificing their lives for that?
• How was Vilnius settled by Russians and what were the Lithuanian-Russian relations?
• How was Vilnius de-Sovietized after independence?
• And more…
The tour starts at the City Hall square or, should you wish so, at any other convenient location in the Downtown Vilnius, such as your hotel.
The tour is available in English or Lithuanian
Order this tour at tour.baltic@gmail.com
