In 1989, preparations began in Lithuania for 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. The latter group passively observed the activities of Sajudis and, fearing for their future, neither dared to join the movement nor oppose it.

When the Communist Party of Lithuania separated from the Communist Party of the USSR in 1989, its authority grew in the eyes of the people and the party became a serious competitor to Sajudis in the fight for votes. The Sajudis campaign therefore sought to win over Communist Party sympathisers and some of the more liberal 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. Sajudis activists Angonita Rupšyte and Andrius Kubilius, helped with the design of this poster. They selected a photograph of the Baltic Way demonstration taken by Zinas Kazenas at the Lithuanian - Latvian border showing Lithuanians, Latvians and Russians standing together with their national flags.

The Baltic Way was organised by the Popular Fronts of all three Baltic republics (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) on the 23rd of August 1989 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, an agreement between the Soviet Unions and Nazi Germany that played a decisive role in the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States. A 650 km long chain of around two million people held hands along the roads linking the three capitals Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. They demanded that the details of the pact (that were suppressed in the USSR) be published, condemned and declared invalid. The Baltic Way was a powerful shock to the foundations of the USSR.

At the bottom corner of the poster is an emblem created by the artist Giedrius Reimeris. It features a device from the 14th century coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which was also in use during the inter-war Lithuanian republic and became the main symbol of Sajudis. The logo and text 'With Sajudis for Lithuania!' were necessary to identify the poster with the Sajudis campaign since the Communist Party of Lithuania was publishing posters in a similar style This small poster was published in perhaps the largest ever edition in Lithuania: 150,000 copies. It appeared everywhere. It was created by three artists: the photograph by Zinas Kazenas, the emblem by Giedrius Reimeris and the composition by Jonas Varnas.