In 1989, preparations began in Lithuania for the elections to the Supreme Soviet of the LSSR, the first elections for the legislature in which opposition parties could participate. Three groups of citizens with different political positions became defined during the campaign. The majority of Lithuanian people passionately supported the reform movement Sajudis and its goal of an independent Lithuania. A small part of the population supported the Communist Party of Lithuania which advocated a slow step-by-step approach towards Lithuanian sovereignty. The third group consisted of ‘Russophones’ (people with cultural and linguistic ties to Russia) who considered themselves citizens of the USSR. They had passively observed the activities of Sajudis and, fearing for their future, neither dared to join the movement nor oppose it.

During the election campaign, Sajudis competed with the Communist Party for undecided voters, most importantly the Russophones. With this goal in mind, Sajudis had to declare more moderate ideas about Lithuanian independence that could unite a broad spectrum of Lithuanian people. The photograph by Zinas Kazenas featured on this poster was particularly suitable for this purpose. It was taken during a meeting organised by the Lithuanian Freedom League (LLL) on the 28th of September 1988 and shows teenage girl holding the national flag above a line of soldiers. The LLL (the Lithuanian Freedom League) had been founded back in 1978 as an underground organisation with the goal of liberating Lithuania from the Soviet occupation. The league intensified its activities during the years of ‘perestroika’ (restructuring), organising illegal meetings and making radical and public demands to the communist authorities in Lithuania and Moscow.

The 28th of September 1988 marked the anniversary of the 1939 German–Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Demarcation which secretly assigned Lithuania to the Soviet Union‘s sphere of interest. The LLL informed the leaders of the City of Vilnius of their intention to organise a meeting in order to condemn the deal on its 49th anniversary. The municipality was wary of trouble and refused permission arguing that the League had failed to submit the application correctly. However the LLL wanted confrontation with the government and went ahead regardless. The militia and the army of internal affairs were sent in advance and barricaded all entrances to the meeting place in Gediminas Square. When the protestors arrived they started throwing stones and bottles at the militia and soldiers who responded with rubber truncheons (‘bananas’). People were injured on both sides and some of the protestors arrested.
The struggle between protesters and the militia was recorded by many photographers. Zinas Kazenas captured a particularly expressive moment and his photograph travelled around the news agencies of the world. It was reproduced many times in Lithuanian publications and frequently published as a poster.

The slogan for the poster, “Lithuania – for me, you are the only one,” was suggested by Juozas Vaitkus, the director of the publishing house Vyturys who was also an active member of Sajudis. Before submitting the poster for printing, the artist drew a sketch on a separate sheet of paper where he indicated the layout of texts, the size and style of characters. Printers carried out the artist’s instructions.