Vilnius University has decided to terminate the employment contract of Andrey Desnitsky, a Russian professor who contested the notion of Baltic states being occupied by the

Soviet Union.

"I wish to inform you that Andrey Desnitsky's employment contract will be concluded in August," stated Professor Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, the dean of Vilnius University's Faculty of Philology, during an interview with LRT RADIO.

Desnitsky held the position of researcher and lecturer at Vilnius University since last autumn. While residing in Moscow, he authored publications in which he argued against the idea of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania being under Soviet occupation.

Instead, he asserted that Stalin merely advocated for the three countries to become part of the Soviet Union. Desnitsky also maintained that there was no opposition to the Soviet troops, suggesting that there was "formally more freedom under the Russian Army" than during the interwar era of independent Lithuania, which functioned as a dictatorship.

Desnitsky had been employed in the research capacity, fulfilling all the prerequisites set forth by the university.

However, since Russia's extensive incursion into Ukraine last year, Lithuanian universities have severed connections with "unfriendly countries and their educational institutions," as conveyed by Solveiga Ramanauskienė, a representative of the Lithuanian Council of Sciences, in an interview with LRT RADIO.

Desnitsky's research was financially supported by an international foundation. Nevertheless, VU Chancellor Raimundas Balčiūnaitis refrained from disclosing its name.

"This professor's research is backed by a charitable family foundation, which collaborates with some of the world's leading universities and operates within a democratic nation. Professor Desnitsky has received assistance, but due to the terms of the agreement, we are unable to divulge the foundation's name," stated the chancellor in a written communication. Photo by Algirdas at the Lithuanian language Wikipedia.