Lithuanian President awards Stanislau Shushkevich with Order of Vytautas the Great

The first head of independent Belarus is to receive the Order on the Statehood Day.

Stanislau Shushkevich, the former chairman of the Belarusian Supreme Council and leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada, received a letter from the Chancellery of the Lithuanian President saying Dalia Grybauskaite grants him the Order of Vytautas the Great. Stanislau Shushkevich can receive the award at a ceremony at the presidential palace on July 6, the Statehood Day.

“I often visit Lithuania. Lithuanian politicians are still grateful to me for I, being the first deputy of the Supreme Council of Belarus, came to the country in its most difficult times, when the TV Tower was stormed in Vilnius, and expressed my solidarity with the people of Lithuania. Lithuania also welcomed my initiative of removing nuclear weapons from Belarus. This was a contribution to the security of our state and Lithuania. It is a great honour for me to be awarded with the Order of Vytautas the Great,” Shushkevich told in an interview to charter97.org.