I believe that while war is an evil that must be avoided, it's important to consider the political, historical, social, and cultural contexts of the conflict. I want to share my personal account to highlight the importance of these broader dimensions.
I was born in Soviet-occupied Lithuania and grew up surrounded by Soviet propaganda until my father started reading me an underground book on Lithuanian history. Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in 1940 after the Lithuanian government accepted their ultimatum and surrendered hoping that civilian lives will be saved. Unfortunately, as a result of the Soviet Occupation 1/3 of the Lithuanian population were killed, imprisoned, deported to Siberia or forced to emigrate. This trauma led to increased levels of alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and steep increase of suicide rate (I'll show during the presentation how suicide rate increased during the Soviet occupation in Lithuania and other Baltic states). We now witness similar patterns of violence against civilians in territories occupied by Russia in Ukraine.
The fear and panic caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 had a deep impact on the people of Lithuania. The shared history of Soviet repressions was a major factor in their reactions, with some packing suitcases and others buying power generators to prepare for the worst. Psychotherapy during this time was focused on sharing experiences and providing support.
It’s important to acknowledge that the in Ukraine is not a conflict between nations – it should be seen as an expression of Russia’s Imperialism that has a long history and is well known for the neighbouring countries, such as Baltic states, Poland, Finland, Ukraine and others. This imperialism should be recognised and then defeated. Ukrainians know that if they surrender civilian lives will not be saved. They were killed, raped, tortured and deported in the past. Lithuanians know this as well – our surrender in 1940 didn’t save lives. I believe that there is lack of this understanding even in suicide research community, therefore I wanted to share my views with the conference attendees.