Brussels: The Lithuanian politician who tipped over the first domino in the collapse of the Soviet Union by declaring his country's independence has been denied recognition by the nation's parliament.
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"I am pretty sure Mikhail Gorbachev still wakes up in a sweat in the middle of the night hearing in his head the laughter of Vytautas Landsbergis," Lithuanian journalist Andrius Uzkalnis wrote on Thursday after the news broke.
Mr Landsbergis declared independence of this small Baltic country in 1990 after almost half a century of Soviet rule and still, this week, he was refused the title of Freedom Hero by the Lithuanian Parliament, sparkling a massive uproar across the country.
A small, plump man of 83, Mr Landsbergis wanders the streets of the capital Vilnius with his hands claspedbehind his back and a faint smile on his face.
He always sports a woollen tie woven with traditional Baltic patterns. He is a former piano teacher - Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov said that during his trial held in Vilnius, he could hear Mr Landsbergis playing in a nearby building.
In the 1980s, benefiting from Mr Gorbachev's perestroika reforms, Mr Landsbergis spearheaded the Sajudis movement, a political organisation in favour of Lithuanian independence. He became Lithuania's first head of state in almost 50 years.
But Mr Landsbergis does not only have friends. Soon after independence he started being derided as an artist and dreamer, unable to cope with the serious economic challenges of the resurrected country.
Radically opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and obsessed with Russian imperialism, his message now resonates strongly with those who fear Lithuania could be the next Crimea.
Others claim his warnings are too extreme and that he is guilty of fear-mongering. The best way to start an argument among Lithuanians is to drop his name in conversation and watch them fight over whether he is a national hero or an antiquated idealist.
The Seimas, Lithuania's Parliament, has a centre-left majority who resent Mr Landsbergis for being the spiritual father of the Conservative Party. They voted for the award to be given to liberal politician Valdas Adamkus, who is credited with successfully integrating his country into the West, joining NATO and the European Union.
But Mr Adamkus was quick to support his political rival: "I was totally surprised," he told the Lithuanian press. "I sincerely hoped [Mr Landsbergis] would get it."
This sparked further controversy, and the decision dominated Lithuania's media this week. .
Now even some of those critical of Mr Landsbergis' present-day rhetoric on Russia are shocked. They would never deny that, 25 years ago, he made possible the very existence of their country – and the end of the USSR.
