On 14 January, H.E. Ms Raimonda Murmokaitė, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Estonia, joined Brigadier General Alvydas Šiuparis, Commandant of the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL), to inaugurate a commemorative run titled “The Road of Life and Death.”  The event honoured the fallen Lithuanian Defenders of Freedom who lost their lives during the Soviet military attack on 13 January 1991.

BALTDEFCOL faculty members, students, and their families gathered near Anne Canal in Tartu to participate in the run and pay tribute to the fallen defenders. The event began with a moment of silence to honour all Defenders of Freedom. Participants completed the traditional distances of 1.5 and 3.5 kilometres, and all runners received commemorative medals.

The “Road of Life and Death” run is a longstanding tradition in Lithuania, bringing together thousands of runners each year. Since 1992, this event has also been organized globally in locations with Lithuanian communities. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped honour the Defenders of Freedom!

On 13 January 1991, during the Soviet forces’ attack on the Vilnius TV Tower and other institutions, 14 Lithuanian Freedom Defenders were killed, and approximately 1,000 were injured. While Soviet units managed to capture a few sites, tens of thousands of primarily unarmed defenders successfully prevented further attacks, safeguarding the Parliament and other institutions, which remained operational and led the independent state of Lithuania.