Lithuanian authorities want to interrogate Gorbachev

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Lithuania sent an appeal to Russian officials with a request to interrogate the former President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev in the case of the events of January 13, 1991 at the Vilnius TV Tower, Interfax reports. "The prosecutors of the Prosecutor General’s Office prepared and sent a request for legal assistance to the Russian Federation in order to interview the former president of the Soviet Union," the press release of the Prosecutor General’s Office says. On January 13, 1991, in Vilnius, the special forces captured the television tower, then the Soviet troops stormed the Vilnius television center, then the Radio Committee and the Telegraph. As a result, 13 people were killed.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Vilnius District Court recognized the former Soviet riot police Konstantin Mikhailov (Nikulin) guilty of participating in the attack on the Myadininka KPP in 1991 and in the murder of Lithuanian customs officers, sentencing him to life imprisonment. Mikhailov in the days of the USSR served in the Riga riot police.

Mikhailov was detained in November 2007 in Riga. In January 2008, he was transferred to Lithuania, where he was charged with the fact that in July 1991, when the independence of the republic from the USSR was not yet recognized, he participated in the murder of seven Lithuanian customs officers at the outstanding of Myadininkai, to the southeast of Vilnius. In addition, the former Riga riot police is suspected of causing a severe wound to another Lithuanian customs officer at the same outpost at the same time.

Earlier, the former riot police Mikhailov was wore the surname Nikulin. He received a new surname in Latvia, where he helped local law enforcement agencies investigate the murder case and received a new citizen’s passport under the witness protection program. Civil claims were filed by the state and the customs officer Thomas Shyarnas recognized by the victim. In addition to Mikhailov, former riot police, Andrei Laktionov, Chelov Mlynnik and Alexander Ryzhkov, who are currently located in Russia, are also suspected in this case.

In January of this year, the Minister of Defense of Lithuania RASA Yuknyavichene said that Lithuania was counting on compensation from Russia for the death of people during those events. “Just as Germany compensates to other peoples what was done decades ago, so, I think that honest leaders of honest states should always be guided by the same principles,” Yuknyavichene said. However, according to her, first it is necessary to "triumph justice." “I am surprised when there is not even a recognition from the officials of Russia that the perpetrators in those events should appear before the court. And we are waiting, and this is not easy, our prosecutor’s office is working to achieve legal assistance from Russia - to find those who did it, who killed people, and so that justice triumphs. This is the most important thing,” the Minister of Defense said.

On March 30, the famous dissident Vladimir Bukovsky demanded to arrest Mikhail Gorbachev in London. He accused the ex-president of the USSR of crimes against humanity. We are talking about the tragic episodes of late restructuring, when the Soviet army suppressed the speeches of civilians in Tbilisi, Baku and Vilnius. On March 30, Bukovsky filed a lawsuit against the Magistral Court of London. The court rejected the lawsuit, but Bukovsky is going to appeal this decision. In those days, Mikhail Gorbachev is in London, where a solemn reception was held on the occasion of his 80th anniversary.