Sowieckie ludobójstwo i prawo międzynarodowe. Litewskie zmagania ze zbrodniami ZSRS w świetle orzeczenia Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka w sprawie Drelingas

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyze the endeavors undertaken by the authorities of independent Lithuania to deal with the crimes committed by the Soviet Union against Lithuanian society, in particular against representatives of the anti-Soviet resistance movement, by using the notion of crime of genocide rooted in international law. The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Drelingas v. Lithuania of 12 March 2019, which approved the legality of the qualification of “ethno-national-political” genocide of “forest brethren” committed by the Soviet occupation authorities, was one of the key elements confirming the Lithuanian policy in this regard. This ruling reopens the discussion on the possibility of trying the crimes of the Soviet Union, at the same time raising certain legal and political doubts – as generally expressed by the Russian Federation.