Tomas Venclova – the Most Famous Lithuanian Dissident

A dissident is a person who opposes the government not by violence or breaking the law, but by using their intellect – by publicly criticising the decisions and views of the government (in articles or speeches). Today, anyone in Lithuania can express criticism of the government – freedom of speech is secured by law. However, during the period of Soviet occupation, which lasted from 1944 to 1990, you could lose your job, be imprisoned, or even killed for such criticism. Therefore, dissidents were the heroes of their time. Unfortunately, most of them met sad ends: some went to prisons and died in poverty, others were forcibly treated in psychiatric hospitals. But there were also a few lucky ones who managed to emigrate beyond the Iron Curtain – to go West: residents of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which Lithuania was a part of, could not travel freely to the West, so emigration was an action that required a lot of will and courage. Tomas Venclova, who is known as the most famous Lithuanian dissident in the world today, was fairly lucky – he managed to emigrate. However, even while living in the United States, he did not stop criticising the USSR and, in doing so, fighting for Lithuania’s independence.

Venclova, a writer, translator and social critic, was born in 1937 in Klaipėda. Later, he moved with his parents to Vilnius, where he lived before emigrating in the 1980s. Venclova grew up in a family of intellectuals: his grandfather Merkelis Račkauskas was a professor of classical philology, and his father Antanas Venclova was a well-known poet and literary critic and the Chairman of the Lithuanian Writers’ Union from 1954–1959. From his early childhood, Venclova loved to read. He was so inseparable from his books that the neighbours used to call him a professor. They were not mistaken – Venclova really did become a professor.

He studied Lithuanian language at Vilnius University in 1960 and later taught there. He started to openly criticise the Soviet government in the 1970s. Venclova expressed his views in a public letter to the Central Committee of the Lithuanian Communist Party in 1975 and asked for permission to emigrate to the West. In 1976, he joined an important group of Lithuanian dissidents – the Helsinki Group. Venclova was allowed to leave for the United States in 1977, without the right to return: this meant that as long as the USSR existed, he would not be able to see those he loved or visit his homeland. After emigrating to the United States, Venclova continued to write poetry and essays, and taught at various universities. He returned to Lithuania for the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and settled permanently in his homeland in 2018.

Venclova is best known in Lithuania as a poet, essayist and publicist. The theme of memory and culture overcoming death are prevalent in his highly autobiographical poetry. His poems are  notable for their strict classical form, and many antique and biblical themes. Both poems and essays often depict Vilnius, which is called the “only city”. In his articles published in magazines and newspapers, Venclova responds to political and cultural issues. He does not shy away from discussing complex, painful topics, such as Lithuanian relations with Jews, and critically evaluates current affairs in Lithuania and Europe. Both Venclova’s poetry and prose advocate natural human freedom and dignity.