KGB-museum, Vilnius

A KGB museum is not the type of place that most people go to with an open mind, but rather a place to which one has certain expectations. In the Vilnius KGB museum, those expectations are largely met. The museum successfully conveys the message that the KGB was an awful tool of the totalitarian soviet rule. This fits with what the visitors already knew, they are not confused by any mixed emotions or conflicting thoughts, and everybody is happy.





KGB headquarters. Or part of it, anyway.

 

The day after an airplane arrives in Vilnius from Norway, I can usually hear Norwegians talk loudly in this place. Why? Because this is one of the few tourist sites in the cities that are known to them, and that they can relate to. And from the things they say one can tell that they leave the museum with very little new knowledge. I assume that the same is the case for other nationalities as well.





  Having a wide selection of pliers were apparently important when installing bugging equipment

The museum is located along the “tourist highway” through the center of Vilnius, and this is a bit of a drawback. Having to share your museum experience with others only reduces the quality of your impressions, but it does not reduce the power of the message that the museum is trying to convey. I recommend visiting such highly popular sights during the offseason, when all the tourists that are not really interested are in Spain.




Yes, it is the actual Telephone used by the head of the Lithuanian KGB
(or his secretary)

Yes, the museum is in the actual place, and yes, it has some genuine artifacts, but there is no real wow factor. A museum like this draws visitors almost effortlessly, since it is located within the small area in the city center where most tourists go, and because it has a name that visitors can relate to. The only thing here that comes close to wow factor is the holding cell, where you can really get in touch with your claustrophobia. This is a cell that it is so small that it is impossible to lie down with your legs straightened. Sadly, there is not even a sign inviting you to take place and close the door. I would make it mandatory for everyone to sit for 10 minutes in that cell with the door actually locked. Preferably with the lights off.

 

Yes, it is the actual metal detector used by the Lithuanian KGB

 

There is one story the museum does not tell – what happened to the KGB personnel after the independence. If the KGB was so much hated that one bothers to make a museum, why not tell us a bit more about how Lithuania handled fellow Lithuanians who collaborated with the soviet authorities on various levels. Western visitors are in bad need of a reality check.

Rated: Why not take a look?