Statesmen (conspiracy theory)
The Statesmen, or Statesmen Clan (Lithuanian: "valstybininkai", "valstybininkų" klanas, generally written with quote marks) is a conspiracy theory which claims that a deep state of unelected officials, based in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Security Department of Lithuania (VSD), seeks to influence the actions of elected officials, protect each other in power and take control of Lithuania.
[1] Though primarily connected with investigations from 2006 to 2010, the theory has experienced a revival since 2019, after opponents of the Homeland Union claimed that the "clan" remains active and is pressuring the Šimonytė Cabinet.
[3] According to Valdas Vasiliauskas, editor-in-chief of Lietuvos žinios (later a Member of the Seimas for the Way of Courage party), the Statesmen are "a clan-like group of persons connected by constant mutual relations, distribution of roles and tasks among group members", it is a highly organized and hierarchical organization (Vasiliauskas identified Albinas Januška as its leader), has control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State Security Department, the President of Lithuania, the military, police, the political sciences faculty of Vilnius University and is connected with the courts, political parties and the media.
[11] Though the pejorative term "valstybininkas" ("Statesman", meaning an official who belongs to a group of influential figures seeking personal gain) has been used in Lithuanian media since at least 2005,[12] the conspiracy theory emerged after Vytautas Pociūnas, a VSD officer stationed in Brest, Belarus, was found dead after falling out of the window of Hotel Intourist on 23 August 2006.
33 active (in December 2006) and 4 former VSD officials, Seimas members Andrius Kubilius, Jurgis Razma, Antanas Valionis, former secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Albinas Januška, former Director General of VSD, ambassador to Spain Mečys Laurinkus, consul general in Grodno Daiva Mockuvienė, television journalist Joana Lapėnienė, Vytautas Pociūnas's wife Liudvika Pociūnienė and brother Algimantas Pociūnas, and signatory of the Act of March 11 Algirdas Endriukaitis testified before the committee.
Januška resigned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claiming that he is unable to answer public criticism while keeping state secrets, but was immediately reappointed as advisor to Gediminas Kirkilas.
Refused, the politicians turned to President Valdas Adamkus hoping to convince him to temporarily suspend the then head of the VSD, Arvydas Pocius, whose decision not to provide information was assessed as a mockery of the Seimas.
[1] In the committee's opinion, Pociūnas was removed from his previous duties within the VSD and assigned to Belarus in order to stop corruption investigations he was conducting in the transport and energy sectors.
[21]This was taken by various politicians in the country to be a confirmation of the existence of the conspiracy, and Member of the Seimas Algimantas Matulevičius (Civic Democracy Party), in charge of a parliamentary investigation into VSD activity, described it as an unconstitutional act.
She was joined by Member of the Seimas Saulius Pečeliūnas (TS-LKD), who formed a nonpartisan civil society organization, Rally of Citizens (Lithuanian: Piliečių santalka), claiming to combat perceived cliques in the government and a "nomenklatura more powerful than the law".
[25] On 17 August 2007, Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas announced the formation of a special work committee which would investigate the circumstances of Pociūnas' death, led by publicist Vytautas Ališauskas and staffed by Seimas and European Parliament members from several political parties.
[30] Vygaudas Ušackas alleged that asking for Landsbergis's support to be selected as Minister of Foreign Affairs in October 2008, he was requested to "eliminate the Statesmen element administered by Albinas Januška".
[35] In the same month, Mečys Laurinkus published an open letter for Vytautas Landsbergis, requesting him to use his authority to end "the idiotic persecution of some civil servants that has been going on for almost two years now".
[40] In November 2008, VSD director Povilas Malakauskas informed the newly appointed Homeland Union prime minister Andrius Kubilius of the existence of an alleged anti-state group called "Hawks" (Lithuanian: "vanagai").
Valdas Vasiliauskas, journalist Tomas Čyvas, Darius Kuolys (later founder of the Lithuanian List), Audrius Bačiulis, Virgis Valentinavičius (advisor of Andrius Kubilius), Vladas Laučius (chief editor of news portal Alfa.lt, previously consultant for MG Baltic Media) and others were alleged as members of this counter-conspiracy.
[43] Edvardas Čiuldė claimed that "hawks" represented the interests of large media companies and were financed by the alcohol producer Stumbras, owned by MG Baltic.
In August 2009, in a controversial decree, she fired deputy director of the VSD Darius Jurgelevičius, while Mečys Laurinkus was accused of politicking in diplomatic service and recalled from the Lithuanian embassy in Georgia in late 2009.
[50] According to declassified VSD information, officials allegedly a part of the "Statesmen" group (including Albinas Januška and Raimondas Lopata) attempted to appoint Mindaugas Bastys as Minister of Agriculture in the Butkevičius Cabinet in 2012.
[2] In January 2024, Gitanas Nausėda's chief advisor Frederikas Jansonas claimed that appointments to vacant ambassador positions are delayed due to "statesmen" sabotage, and alleged that the conspiracy group is allied with the Šimonytė Cabinet.
[56] The conspiracy was also frequently referred to by politicians of the Homeland Union, such as Rasa Juknevičienė, as well as President Dalia Grybauskaitė, who connected it with Russian influence in the Lithuanian government.
[10] During Kubilius Cabinet II, the death of Vytautas Pociūnas was brought up by Conservative politicians, such as Jurgis Razma, as waving the bloody shirt to support reforms to the State Security Department and the dissolution of the national energy company LEO LT.[57] The Statesmen conspiracy theory emerged at a similar time as the Case of Drąsius Kedys, another controversial legal case which led to public protest against perceived corruption and "clans" in the state apparatus.
According to controversial journalist and TV presenter Rūta Janutienė, in both cases, "the victim is turned into the culprit of the accident, labels of alcoholics and drug addicts are attached to the deceased".
[41] Similarly, the investigation into the unexplained assassination of VSD officer Juras Abromavičius took place in 2007, and some journalists and conspiracy theorists stated that they were committed by the same "mafia clan".
