Kick-off of the population census

VILNIUS - The population and housing census began in Lithuania on March 1. According to a decision by EU institutions, the census will be conducted in all EU member states this year. Some EU states, like Finland, will just look over their register papers; some states, like Germany, will question 10 percent of the population to get a picture, while Lithuania will question thoroughly each resident of the country, spending on it 30 million litas (8.7 million euros). Such spending provoked some criticism in the media. However, President Dalia Grybauskaite and the Lithuanian statistics department argue that this method of census was chosen because some significant changes are expected in Lithuania due to migration after the country joined the EU in 2004. It is difficult to say how many people left Lithuania - many of them return (according to one of the polls, 10 percent of Lithuanian residents have experience living abroad) while others migrate constantly between Lithuania and other EU states or such an EU-allied country as Norway. The last Lithuanian census was conducted in 2001. Interestingly enough, some religious leaders launched their propaganda, seeking to have more followers in the official statistics.

On March 1, Jonas Trinkunas, chief priest of Lithuania’s pagan organization Romuva, appealed to Lithuanians to register as followers of the “Baltic faith,” while answering question No. 16 of the census’ questionnaire, which asks “Which religious community you would attribute yourself to?” Trinkunas urges to choose the answer “Others” and write in “the Baltic faith.” Earlier, the Romuva unsuccessfully sought the status of traditional religion from state authorities. The status of traditional religion gives the right to receive some financial support from the state. The number of followers can be an argument in that dispute.

“The youth is leaving the country because of not feeling and not understanding the connection with the native land. It is the fruit of the rule of Christianity. However, I believe that not all Lithuanians surrendered. We, people of the Baltic faith, follow the road of our ancestors,” Trinkunas wrote in his open letter dated March 1. In pre-Christian times, Lithuania, like ancient Greeks and Romans, had many gods and goddesses. The Lithuanian empire was the last pagan state in Europe, until 1387, when its rulers introduced Catholicism as the official religion of the Lithuanian state.

The Roman Catholic Church is also active. “In the name of Lithuanian bishops, we urge all believers to take responsibility of civic duty by active participation in the census, using the opportunity of online answering and not refusing to meet with enumerators,” Sigitas Tamkevicius, archbishop of Kaunas and president of the Lithuanian Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference, wrote in his open letter. According to the census of 2001, 79 percent of Lithuanian residents describe themselves as Roman Catholics, 4 percent as followers of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2 percent as members of other Christian churches, and 0.3 percent as followers of “other faith.” The manipulation with these numbers helps the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania to have an influence on various ‘morality-related’ legislations, although in Lithuania, like in other Western countries, opinions of the majority of ordinary Catholics often can be very different from opinions of the Church’s hierarchy.

The census data about ethnicity should raise interest in the Polish Electoral Action, which is in coalition with the Russian Alliance (thanks to it, the Vilnius municipal council will have a member who worked as an engineer in the KGB headquarters in Soviet times). This Polish-Russian bloc managed to get 15 percent of votes in Vilnius during the recent municipal elections, mostly due to its nationalistic propaganda via the Polish-state financed Polonia TV, which is re-broadcast by the Lithuanian state for unknown reasons. The Polish Electoral Action is accused by its critics of promoting tribalism. Leonidas Donskis, philosopher and Lithuanian Liberal member of the European Parliament, wrote in his blog that the existence of a political party, based on ethnicity, can be somehow understood in Bosnia or Kosovo, but it looks weird in the EU. Regardless, President Dalia Grybauskaite, giving an interview for the Vilnius-based Polish-language radio Znad Wilii last week, said that she would be happy if some person of Polish origin would become Vilnius mayor. “All of them are Lithuanians,” she said. According to the census of 2001, 83.5 percent of Lithuanian residents describe themselves as ethnic Lithuanians, 6.7 percent as ethnic Poles and 6.3 percent as ethnic Russians.

All residents living more than a year in Lithuania, or Lithuanians living less than a year abroad are obliged to submit their data for the census, according to the law. The electronic census (e-Census) will last from March 1-14 via www.esurasymas.lt. Those who have not completed their forms online will be asked to do so with the help of special agents of the Lithuanian statistics department who will be visiting all homes from April 5 to May 9. Those who have questions about the census can email the Lithuanian statistics department:  [email protected].