18. The Republic of Uzupis

By Don

In 1990 Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union. All praise Mikhail Gorbachev. In Vilnius there was a run down and dangerous neighbourhood known as Uzupis which was across the river from the ‘Old Town’. Uzupis means “beyond the river”, imagine that. After the Soviets left, and before that, lots of down an out people squatted in the area, and who is more down and out that struggling artists, druggies, prostitutes, etc.

In the 90’s it appears that the place became safer and more artists, termed bohemians for this blog, began to hang out. Over beer a few of these bohemians decided they wanted to change things. They wanted to create a sense of belonging and a sense of community for the somewhat eclectic community living there. They also wanted to make it safer. So they declared their community the independent Republic of Uzupis to attract the attention of the city’s administration. They created an anthem, an army of 11 people, a stamp for passports and a constitution. Now more on the constitution will come in a bit but first think of the glorious days when the Cold War ended and mankind, for all so fleeting a time, seemed to rise up in optimism. This is the backdrop to Uzupis.

OK, why am I telling you all this. Hang in there and no cheating. I.E. no asking Dr. Google anything. For some of you older folks this will get cute. No, not cute as in puppy cute but as in absurd in a pleasing for no apparent reason way cute. Alright? Back to the story. Go get a coffee, or better yet a cappuccino, come back and continue on. Yes Don T., you can get a Scotch.

After the Russians left there were a lot plinths left around which used to support statues of such redeemed people as Lenin, Marx and Stalin. (Geez, after all they had done for Lithuania they took down their statues!) In this brief world of optimism, bohemian Saulius Paukstys decided they needed to put a statue of a certain revered man on one of these spare plinths and this gentleman would become their Patron Saint. The statue was commissioned and sits there to this day. Look at the statue, anyone recognize him? Rather impressive looking guy.

Saulius said “The spirit of (what’s-his-name) made us see that independence from Moscow was not enough and persuaded us to declare independence from the rest of Vilnius.” So maybe a little too much optimism but it was all tongue in cheek, sort of.

Now if you haven’t recognized him, you can start guessing and continue until the end of time and you would never guess who the patron saint is, although I suspect most of you, if not all, have heard of him. Alright you likely need to be over 40 and maybe 50 but this includes even the Jenkins sisters.

Alright, you already have a statue image of him. If that hasn’t told you who he is I’ll give you another clue. Suzy Creamcheese. That’s it, Suzy Creamcheese. Now don’t google this either. One of you who knows (Hal? Ron?) will have to spill the beans on this by giving another hint, or perhaps a link to show just how cute, in an absurdly pleasing for no apparent way, this is. On of his quotes? Imagine, him, the Patron Saint of Uzupis. Perfect.

The Užupis Constitution was written in 1998 by the bohemian Romas Lileikis (President of Uzhupis) and fellow bohemian Tomas Čepaitis (Minister of Foreign Affairs.) Some say beer was involved. Some say Romas came to visit Tomas to take a bath because his hot water wasn’t working and one thing led to another. The constitution is off-kilter and sometimes down right silly, but item 2 which says everyone has the right to hot water makes perfect sense. As does item 24 which says everyone has the right to understand nothing.

The constitution has been translated into 26 and counting languages and a copy of each language is on a metal plate and posted on the constitution wall in Uzupis.

So how does this all end? Well Uzupis is now very trendy and one of the most expensive areas to live in Vilnius. It is also a popular must see tourist site. Dennis and I went! So was it a success? The good news is it is still focused on art and hosts a number of appropriately quirky events each year. It also apparently has a very strong sense of community. But bohemian? Regardless, long should we remember what’s-his-name.