13 January is known as the Defenders of Lithuania’s Freedom Day, and commemorates the killing of 13 Lithuanian civilians by Soviet soldiers between 11 and 13 January 1991.  In March 1990 Lithuania became the first Soviet occupied state to claim independence, the resulting tension between the U.S.S.R. and Lithuania reaching its peak in January 1991, when the Soviets attempted to regain control.  Thousands of unarmed Lithuanians flocked to form a human shield protecting their parliament and other significant buildings.  The Soviet campaign failed to gain momentum; in September 1991 Lithuania was recognised as an independent country and admitted to the United Nations, and in August 1993 the last units of the Soviet army left the country

On 13 January 2023 a display marking Defenders of Lithuania’s Freedom Day, which included photographs and short biographies of the 13 people killed, was mounted in Peterborough Cathedral, in Cambridgeshire.  An arrangement of yellow chrysanthemums and roses, red roses, and greenery, approximating the colours of the Lithuanian flag, was placed the base of the introductory panel to the display.