Murial for Ukraine in Šiauliai

After the aggressor Russia started hostilities in Ukraine, Lithuanian towns and cities started a major clean-up of the old Soviet heritage. In Šiauliai, Gubernija has taken up this mission by continuing the “Locals for Locals” movement started in 2020 and mobilising the Šiauliai community in the initiative and, after more than three decades, removed a mural glorifying the Soviet army in the city centre. In just one week, the same wall was decorated with a new mural by renowned Lithuanian street artist Linas Kaziulionis, expressing the support and solidarity of the people of Šiauliai and the whole of Lithuania with Ukraine and its people.

The initiative was highly supported in social media – several local opinion leaders, the street art community, and local communities joined in promoting the idea. The event was widely covered by the media both nationally and locally. Those who wanted to support Ukraine could (and still can) buy special T-shirts with this symbolic drawing on them – Gubernija and its partners donated all the profits from the T-shirts to the NGO “Our Hands and Hearts for Ukraine”, which provides humanitarian aid to Ukrainian war refugees in Lithuania.