Shakalis (Shakyalis) Vladas (Shakalis Vladas)

Genus. 02/09/1942 in the village. Kokorevskoye Mokrousovsky district of the Chelyabinsk region in the family of employees evacuated at the beginning of the war. In 1944 the family returned to Lithuania, to Vilnius. In the autumn of 1958 became the initiator of the creation of the youth underground organization "Laisvoji Lietuva" ("Free Lithuania"), which included more than 20 Vilnius schoolchildren. Arrested 03/04/1961. along with other members of the organization. Sentenced on May 26, 1961. The Supreme Court of the Lithuanian SSR under Art. 7 and 9 of the Law of the USSR "On criminal liability for state crimes" dated 25.12.1958. and Art. 182 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR ("illegal acquisition and possession of weapons") to 6 years of labor camp. He served his term in Mordovian political camps. In 1966 for participation in intra-camp resistance, by a court decision, he was transferred to the Vladimir prison until the end of his term. Released in March 1967, returned to Lithuania. Together with V. Petkus, he did significant work to unite the national-democratic movements of the Baltic states, having traveled on a motorcycle many well-known dissidents in Latvia and Estonia. Arrested for the second time on 01/05/1969, charged under a criminal article; 09/03/1969 sentenced by the people's court of the Leninsky district of Vilnius to 4 years in labor camp. Arrested for the third time on 06/07/1973. on trumped-up charges of burglary. Sentenced 11/13/1974. People's Court of the Leninsky district of Kaunas to 5 years of labor camp. He returned to Lithuania in the summer of 1978. Continued propaganda work. At the same time, he was one of the founders of the Lithuanian Freedom League (LSL) and its print organ, the magazine "Vytis" ("Pursuit"). After the arrest of members of the LSL in 1979. decided to flee abroad to avoid a new (fourth) arrest. 06/26/1980 secretly left for Karelia and crossed the Soviet-Finnish border. In 23 days he reached Sweden on foot and asked for political asylum there. Later he moved to the USA. In Los Angeles, he edited the Lithuanian newspaper "Versmė" ("Spring"). He died suddenly on August 13, 1995. in Lithuania, where he arrived on a short visit. Buried in Vilnius.