(Image:
Lithuanian Geografinis Žemėlapis fragment, 1:50.000, Vilnius 2001).
Lithuanian
borderguards started organizing national border service in Vištytis from
October 1990. On 20 April 1992 a minor incident occured when three
Lithuanian men attempted to smuggle coffee and sweets from
Lithuania to Russia. A Lithuanian borderguard had to use his gun in order
to stop the men who were from the city of Kaunas. For brave behaviour the
borderguard was awarded a watch by the minister.4)
During
the Soviet period (1940-1990) Lake Vištytis remained unchanged with just
39.8 hectares, 2.2% of the lake area on Lithuanian hands. The entire
lake's area makes 1660 ha. Its length from north to south is 8 km.
Negotiations between the Republic of Lithuania and the Russian Federation
in the 1990s only consolidated the former German Reich border. The Lithuanian
negotiators tried at least at some part to increase of the Lithuanian part
of Lake Vištytis.
On
24 Oct 1997 Lithuania and Russia signed and in 2003 the Treaty on the
Lithuanian-Russian state border was finally ratified and effective.
According to the Lithuanian newspaper Lietyvos
rytas was regarded as “the
absolute joy of our young country's diplomatic victory”.
The Lithuanian side wished the border should go in the middle of the lake 4)
since Lithuanians during the
Soviet period had been responsible for environmental work in the lake,
among other fish cropping. But the post-1990 lake boundary was the
same as the 1920-40 border, and almost a copy of the old (1912-1920)
German-Russian border, only with minor adjustments in the area between the
town of Vištytis and the Lithuanian-Polish-Russian tripoint.
The
2003 Treaty resulted with a land switch of 2 ha and a lease of 525 ha (31.6%) of the lake for a minimum of 49
years 2b). Still only 39,8 ha is
Lithuanian state land, but as long as the treaty lasts Lithuania is
controlling 564,8 ha (34% of the lake).
Two
treaties between Lithuania and Russia went into force on 12 August 2003;
one about the land border and another about the Baltic Sea border and Lake
Vistytis lease. By July 2011, eight years after the boundary was
effective, it was still not demarcated.
The
first six borderpoints of the LTRU State Border (unofficial
translation) 2a)
Republic
of Lithuania and the Russian Federation state border starts from the
Republic of Lithuania, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Poland
tripoint border (the state border sign no. 1987).
From
the tripoint the Lithuanian-Russian state border line runs 0.6 km straight
north - north-westerly direction to a point number 1, coordinates are X -
6028563; Y – 4616421.
From
the point number 1 the state border line for 1.5 km goes straight
north-westerly in direction to point number. 2, whose coordinates are X -
6029669; Y – 4615418. This point is in the middle of a ditch at the
forrest.
From
the point number 2 the border follows the middle of the ditch in
north-westerly direction to a point number 3, which is on the Lake Vištytis
(Vištyneckoje) shore, where the ditch goes out to the lake shore, 0.9 km
to the east of the hill with the tag "210.7" and 0.8 km to the
north-west of the hill with the tag "230.1", which is on Russian
Federation territory.
From
the point number 3 the state border line runs straight a distance of 6.5
km in north - north-west direction through Lake Vištytis (Vištyneckoje)
to the point number 4, which is 1.3 km south of the road Vištytis-Virbalis
and the Vištytis-Marivilė (Marivil) junction and the coordinates of
X - 6036738; Y – 4612776.
From
the point number 4 the border line runs straight 2.5 km in north-westerly
direction to a point number 5, which is on the shore of Lake Vištytis (Vištyneckoje),
0.15 km to the north-east of the bridge over the River Pisa and 0.1 km
southwest from the nearest Vištytis town street juction.
From
the point number 5 the border line for 0.08 km runs straight in north-west
direction, further straight in north - north-easterly direction for 0.28
km to a trench, further in the middle of the ditch in a northerly
direction along the eastern edge of the forest, near the geodetic marks
with tags "208.2" and "143.0" to the intersection of
the ditch and River Liepona, which makes point number 6.