- Scoundrels
Lithuanian law required Sigitas Kaktys, minister of administrative reforms and municipal affairs, to declare the purchase of a plot of land, but Kaktys did not, the state tax inspection staff said.
- Knights
Business Software Alliance and Microsoft – The two companies teamed up to eradicate the Baltic states from pirated software.
- Lithuania, top 10 events in 1999
On Oct. 18, Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas announced he would not sign a deal to allow U.S. energy company Williams International to buy into the state-owned Mazeikiu Nafta oil complex.
- Big deals in 1999
Hansapank expanded to Latvia and Lithuania this year and is now the biggest bank in the Baltics.
- They said it in 1999
In October Lithuania’s parliament agreed to close the first reactor at the Ignalina nuclear plant by 2005. Democratic Party MP Saulius Peceliunas was not happy: “Lithuania takes off its trousers in front of Europe by this step.”.
- Major events in the Baltics in 1999
January. Trade disputes kick off the year. Danish dockers join their Finnish counterparts in boycotting Estonian ships until sailors’ wages are brought up to Nordic levels.
- Baltic flops of 1999
Komercbanka in the tanka and more. Call it deja vu, call it the product of a banking system in need of reform, or blame it on too large an investment in Russia’s financial problems, but another Latvian bank went bust last March.
- Big come backs
Mart Laar – Having already served as prime minister from 1992 to 1994 at age 32, the well-known Estonian historian took over as head of government once again after the March 7 elections.
- Looking ahead, people to watch in 2000
In Estonia: Juri Mois: The former interior minister and now mayor of Tallinn has been described as a wandering soul by some government leaders and someone who walks a different path. Mois is a newcomer to the political scene.
- Person of the Decade
The 1990s arguably were the most important years for the Baltic countries this century. Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler are two of the most important figures for the Baltics this century, but they brought the three countries down.