Lithuania’s security service says no radical Belarusian groups pressing territorial claims

March 20, Pozirk. The Lithuanian State Security Department (VSD) said it found no organized radical Belarusian nationalist groups promoting the so-called Litvinism ideology that could pose national security threats to Lithuania.

Litvinism is a conspiracy theory that Belarusians might press territorial claims against Lithuania as successors to the ancient Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The VSD issued the statement in response to an increasing number of e-mails to Lithuanian politicians and public figures with threats from groups allegedly backing Litvinism.

A social media campaign to recruit Lithuanians to spraypaint Litvinism graffiti in public places for a monetary reward is part of an information war against Lithuania designed to spread panic, it stressed. 

Hostile forces use Litvinism to discredit Belarusian pro-democracy forces and antagonize Lithuanians and exiled Belarusians, the statement noted.

The VSD assured Lithuanians that it continues monitoring Belarusians who moved to Lithuania in recent years to identify and address risks and threats to national security.

In early 2024, Belarusians were Lithuania’s second-largest ethnic minority (62,165) after Ukrainians (86,352).