Storms batter Lithuania; PM proposes curriculum changes

Lithuania is assessing the extensive damage caused by a recent storm, with the Vilnius and Varėna regions bearing the brunt of the impact. Local authorities in the Vilnius district are considering declaring an emergency in the most affected areas, Avižieniai and Riešė, to secure additional legal and financial resources for recovery. Mayor Robertas Duchnevičius is gathering information on damages and awaiting confirmation of a severe weather event.

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Such a decision would allow us to seek additional legal and financial opportunities to compensate for the damage incurred and more effectively eliminate the consequences of the storm.

In Varėna district, the storm uprooted trees and tore off roofs. The village of Puodžiai in Jakėnai municipality was particularly hard-hit, with homes and businesses losing roofs and many residents experiencing power outages due to fallen trees and downed power lines. An emergency operations center meeting was held to discuss the aftermath and plan further actions. Residents whose property was uninsured can seek financial assistance from the municipality.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius has called for a review of general education school programs approved in 2022. He suggested removing texts by Mikhail Lomonosov, a writer whose work is associated with Russian imperial ideology, from the curriculum. Sinkevičius believes Lithuanian students should not learn about patriotism and citizenship from authors linked to such ideology. He also proposed including works by Ukrainian literary classic Taras Shevchenko to help young Lithuanians better understand Ukrainian identity and its literary influences. The 2022 program updates had previously faced criticism for including more Russian authors and omitting Ukrainian literature.

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Lithuanian students should not be taught patriotism and citizenship based on authors whose work is associated with Russian imperial ideology.

Separately, Seimas Speaker Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen acknowledged the Foreign Ministry's work towards normalizing relations with China, a stated objective in the government's program.

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This would help young Lithuanians better understand the identity of the Ukrainian nation and the literary texts that have shaped it.