Lithuania’s LRT said the “controversial rhetoric” from Algis Ramanauskas damages its public image

Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT has fired pro-Ukrainian TV host and actor Algis Ramanauskas, who suggested that Lithuanians who enjoy Russian culture should be shot. 

In a statement on Sunday, the broadcaster said Ramanauskas had been removed from the satirical show Dviracio zinios, in which he played a character. 

“The public broadcaster applies the highest ethical standards not only to its employees, but also to all show creators, presenters and actors, as their statements in the public space are often associated with LRT,” the channel said.

“The repeated controversial rhetoric of Ramanauskas in the public space is not compatible with these standards and damages the image of LRT. Therefore, his role in ‘Dviracio zinios’ has been given to a different actor,” the broadcaster said. 

Ramanauskas made his inflammatory remarks during an interview with politician Vytautas Sinica, which was posted on the journalist’s YouTube channel in September.  

“I understand that what I want is a utopia. But imagine a family where the father is watching a Russian movie with the volume turned all the way up, and the mother is listening to loud Russian music,” Ramanauskas said in a conversation with Sinica. 

“The only question arising here is this: should the children be taken away first, and then their [parents] be shot, or should they be shot in the presence of their children? Of course, the children should be taken first. We should take the children away [from such parents].”

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A staunch supporter of Ukraine, Ramanauskas uses social media to attack politicians and ordinary people whom he sees as a pro-Russian “fifth column.”

Following the backlash, he claimed that his words were “satire” and taken out of context. He reiterated in a Facebook post on September 24 that he was speaking about “Russified Lithuania” and not ethnic Russians living in the country. “Because it is normal for a Russian to consume Russian pop culture, even if it’s barbaric,” he wrote, adding that “Russian culture is not always barbaric.” 

After receiving several complaints, the prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to determine whether Ramanauskas’ tirade constitutes incitement to violence.

Ethnic Russians make up around 5% of Lithuania’s population of 2.8 million people. Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire prior to 1918 and part of the Soviet Union between 1940 and 1991. Language is a hot-button issue in the country, as some activists argue that Lithuanian laws are discriminatory against Russian-speakers. 

Ukraine has blacklisted many Russian artists and imposed restrictions of the use of Russian language in the public sphere since 2022, insisting that Moscow is weaponizing culture during the ongoing military conflict between the neighbors. Russian artists were also banned from multiple events in countries that support Ukraine, and some had their shows canceled.

Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly said that attempts to “cancel Russian culture” in Ukraine and elsewhere are doomed to fail.