On 16 January 2026, the National Martynas Mažvydas Library hosted the presentation of the book “The January 13th Case and Events: Between Law, Criminology, and History”, written by researchers of the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Science Dr Salomėja Zaksaitė, Dr Sigita Černevičiūtė, and Dr Monika Rogers.

At the event, the authors first spoke about their personal relationship with the events and the January 13th case—what inspired them to take up this topic—while at the same time emphasizing that, despite personal biographical details and the fact that the events analysed have become almost sacred in the nation’s collective consciousness, the research material was approached without pathos and strictly from a scholarly perspective. As the scholarly study is interdisciplinary, Dr Zaksaitė noted that one of the main challenges was reconciling the concepts and methodological approaches of history, political science, criminology, and law. Dr Rogers observed that the book is unique in that the events and the case are examined through three analytical lenses: public discourse, the perpetrator, and the experience of the victim. According to Professor Dr Nerijus Šepetys of Vilnius University, who participated in the discussion, the use of the victim and public discourse perspectives helped to better understand and rethink how the case unfolded and what crime was committed. Associate Professor Dr Dalia Bukelevičiūtė of Vilnius University also emphasized the value of the book as an interdisciplinary study. Typically, historical and legal assessments of events exist separately and often do not coincide, whereas this study seeks to find a compromise between these two forms of evaluation.

The book also seeks to answer the question of how justice was pursued after the events. A significant part of the scholarly study is devoted to the analysis of victims’ experiences. Dr Rogers, who collected and analysed these accounts, noted that victims and witnesses of the events acknowledged that the very fact that judicial proceedings took place and verdicts were delivered helped them feel that justice had been achieved. In their perception, Mikhail Gorbachev remains the only symbolic figure who was left unpunished. Interestingly, according to Dr Zaksaitė, the question of Gorbachev’s responsibility served as a kind of connecting link between the victims and the accused. The latter felt abandoned and betrayed by him. Why was Mikhail Gorbachev never even questioned? This and many other unanswered questions, as well as the 700 volumes of the case that may one day become accessible to the public, were seen by the event participants as an incentive to continue analysing these historical events from various disciplinary perspectives for decades to come.

The scholarly study is available here (in Lithuanian).

The project “The January 13th Case and Events: A Legal, Criminological, and Historical Research” (SAUSIO13) and the publication of the scholarly study based on it were funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL) under the State Programme for Lithuanian Studies and Dissemination 2016–2024, Contract No. S-LIP-20-71.