Back in the USSR
An essential part of Lithuania’s recent history is the communist regime. Now, a Vilnius 2009 project entitled “1984. Back in the USSR” has produced mockups designed to give realistic impressions of this regime’s ideology. The venue: a bunker more than five meters underground.
In the 1980s, the Cold War was heating up and a secret backup TV station was built underground in a forest 25 kilometers north of Vilnius. In January 1991, it was from this bunker complex that Soviet special forces launched their notorious attack on the Vilnius TV tower. This action cost 13 people their lives; over a thousand were injured.This maze of bunkers—unused since then—now provides the setting for a “drama of survival” produced by famed Lithuanian film and theatre director Jonas Vaitkus. It features scenes from real life during the Soviet period, with actors in the system protagonist roles and visitors playing “citizens of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.” Upon entering the bunker complex, visitors must don a threadbare Soviet work jacket, turn in their bags, cellphones and cameras, and, by order of the commandant, cease thinking, an activity that falls within the exclusive purview of the party. Over the course of 2½ hours, the “citizens” learn to stand at attention and to march, to handle a gas mask, and to chant Soviet slogans. Brutally realistic scenes simulate KGB interrogations, beatings and confinement in a darkened cell. If public interest in this project warrants, “Back in the USSR” (a href="http://www.sovietbunker.com/en" target="_blank" class="extern">www.sovietbunker.com/en) will continue to run after the end of the Capital of Culture year.
Translation commissioned by Linz09
