Ringaudas Bronislovas Songaila (20 April 1929 – 25 June 2019) was a communist politician and
Nomenklatura
The ''nomenklatura'' (; from , system of names) were a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in the bureaucracy, running all spheres of those countries' activity: ...
of the
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
) from 1987–1988.
Biography
Songaila was born in
Klaipėda
Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...
. He graduated from a veterinary school and within five years became a deputy of the Minister of Agriculture. In 1962, at the age of 33, he became Minister of Production of Agricultural Products and Resources. In agriculture, he worked on increasing the size of
kolkhoz
A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...
s (collective farms), increasing centralization and specialization of agricultural production, elimination of
khutor
A khutor ( ; rus, хутор, p=ˈxutər) or khutir (, ) is a type of rural locality in some countries of Eastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single- homestead settlement.Communist Party of Lithuania (1962–1981), Chairman of the
Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
(1981–1985; equivalent to Prime Minister), Chairman of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR
The Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR (; , ''Verkhovnyy Sovet Litovskoy SSR'') was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution) of the Lithuanian SSR, one of the republics constituting the Soviet Union. The Supreme Soviet was established ...
(1985–1987; ''de jure'' head of state), and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania (December 1987 – October 1988; ''de facto'' head of state).
He was described as a "bland" and indecisive but loyal communist who stayed away from political intrigues and showed interest only in agricultural matters. When Songaila ordered
KGB
The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...
and Internal Troops to forcibly disperse a rally of the radical pro-independence Lithuanian Liberty League on 28 September 1988, he was forced to resign one month later. He was replaced by
Algirdas Brazauskas
Algirdas Mykolas Brazauskas (, 1932 – 2010) was a Lithuanian politician who served as the fourth president of Lithuania from 1993 to 1998. He also served as the prime minister of Lithuania from 2001 to 2006. Brazauskas was the first democr ...
, who supported
Sąjūdis
The Sąjūdis (, ), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania (), is a political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on 3 June 1988 as the first oppositi ...
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...