Main narratives:
- general anti-government sentiments;
- The incompetence of the current government.
Overview:
During the second week of December, Kremlin-aligned media in Lithuania further concentrated on the escalation of protests linked to leadership changes at the national broadcaster LRT. Coverage focused on renewed demonstrations by journalists and cultural figures opposing the potential removal of LRT Director General Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, framing the protests as exaggerated and theatrical.
Commentators mocked warnings that democratic norms were under threat, sarcastically commenting and questioning what “tank is already driving through their democracy.” Statements by journalists and politicians expressing fears that a new LRT leadership could “change the direction of information” or dismiss “undesirable” journalists were treated with open irony, presented as panic-driven speculation. Kremlin-aligned outlets amplified dramatic metaphors comparing government actions to violent repression, portraying their rhetoric as proof of hysteria within Lithuania’s media and specific political elite.
References to ongoing protests and declarations that “fires by Seimas will burn all next week” were circulated to reinforce a broader narrative of chaos and instability. Overall, Kremlin-aligned coverage used the LRT protests to depict democratic activism as irrational and self-dramatizing, while undermining trust in journalists and framing internal political conflict as evidence of systemic dysfunction.
