The ministry noted that Lithuania and Russia had so far not signed an agreement on gravesites of military and civilian victims of repressions. Lack of such an agreement, the ministry says, "impedes actions related to location, accounting for, tending, and maintenance of gravesites of Lithuanian deportees and political prisoners in the Russian Federation."
The culture ministry says individual efforts and initiatives of Lithuanian institutions and non-governmental organizations to tend to gravesites of Lithuanian deportees and political prisoners in Russia are uncoordinated and inconsistent.
"It is necessary to appoint a special attaché of the Republic of Lithuania for issues related to maintenance of graves and burial sites of Lithuanian deportees and political prisoners at the diplomatic representation of the Republic of Lithuania to the Russian Federation," the ministry said.
The government will discuss the proposal on Tuesday.
There are over 200 cemeteries in Russia where Lithuanian deportees and political prisoners are buried. The state of over 60 percent of such sites is bad or very bad.
275,000 Lithuanian residents were deported to forced labor camps during the Soviet Occupation until 1952.
