Simas Kudirka (9 April 1930 – 11 February 2023) was a Lithuanian sailor. He is best known for the attempted

defection In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1970 and subsequent activism against the Soviet regime in Lithuania. An important outcome of the incident was the creation of the improved guidelines for handling defections by American officials.

Biography

Born in

Griškabūdis Griškabūdis is a small town in Marijampolė County, in southwestern Lithuania. As of 2011, the town has a population of 857 people. History The settlement started to develop towards the end of the seventeenth century. In the beginning, it was a ...

on 9 April 1930, Kudirka graduated from the in 1952. He worked as a radio operator on various ships from 1956 to 1970. He was denied promotions due to his refusal to join the Communist Party. On 23 November 1970, during a bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union regarding fishing rights, he jumped from his ship, the trawler ''Sovetskaya Litva'' ('Soviet Lithuania'), onto the American coast guard ship, the USCGC ''Vigilant'' (WMEC-617). He requested

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

, but he was detained, beaten, and forcibly returned to the Soviet ship by Soviet troops who had been let on board by the Americans. Actions by U.S. and Soviet officials were condemned by American news sources, particularly the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

. President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

was angered by the incident, because of the violation of the procedure of handling the defection cases. After that three high officers associated with the incident were relieved from the duties. A more important outcome was the creation of the new guidelines for handling defections, which made the standing procedures more specific to ensure that similar situations would not happen again. In May 1971, Kudirka was sentenced to 10 years of

correctional labour camp Correctional labour camps (), were penal labour camps in the Soviet Union. Background In the Russian Empire, by 1917, most prisons were subordinate to the Main Prison Administration of the Ministry of Justice, which worked in conjunction with th ...

s and he served his time in camps in

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

and at

Potma Potma () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities * Potma, Zubovo-Polyansky District, Republic of Mordovia, a work settlement in Zubovo-Polyansky District of the Republic of Mordovia; ;Rural localities * Potma, ...

Mordovia Mordovia ( ),; Moksha language, Moksha and officially the Republic of Mordovia,; ; is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, situated in Eastern Europe. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of S ...

. His mother, who had been born in the United States, confirmed her U.S. citizenship despite Soviet interference, and Kudirka managed to secure release from imprisonment in 1974. He moved to the United States with his family and gave lectures about the communist regime in Lithuania. He returned to Lithuania in 2000, ten years after the country's independence. Kudirka died in

Pilviškiai Pilviškiai (, ''Pilveshok'') is a town in Vilkaviškis district municipality and in Marijampolė County History In the Jewish world, it was notable for being the first rabbinic post held by Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, who married and soon ...

on 11 February 2023, at the age of 92.

Honors

*Commander of the

Order of the Cross of Vytis The Order of the Cross of Vytis () is a Lithuanian presidential award conferred for heroic defence of Lithuania's freedom and independence. November 23 is a holiday in honour of the Order of the Cross of Vytis. History Interwar period Reje ...

(2008)

Works about Kudirka

Several books and films have been produced about the life and story of Kudirka: *''Simas'' (1971) – book written by Jurgis Gliauda *''Day of Shame'' (1973) – book written by Algis Rukšėnas *''Simas Kudirka in Chicago'' (1974) – film directed by

Algimantas Kezys Algimantas Kezys (1928 – February 23, 2015) was a photographer born in Lithuania who moved to the United States in 1950. Kezys was ordained as a Jesuit priest in the 1950s; he received a master's degree in philosophy from Loyola University (Chic ...

*''

The Defection of Simas Kudirka ''The Defection of Simas Kudirka'' is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film based on actual events, featuring Alan Arkin as Simas Kudirka, a Lithuanian merchant seaman who attempts to defect from the Soviet Union to the United States b ...

'' (1978) – US television film starring starring

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

as Kudirka; the film won two Emmys *''For Those Still at Sea'' (1978) – book written by Kudirka and Lawrence E. Eichel *'' The Jump'' (2020) – Lithuanian documentary film

References

'', 21 December 1970. * ''Fidell, Eugene R.'
How to (Mis)Handle a Defection
''Proceedings'', Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2008 (with many photos).

* [http://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/i-jav-beges-ir-uz-ssrs-isdavima-kalejes-skudirka-visas-lietuvos-gyvenimas-persunktas-bolsevikine-dvasia.d?id=60709603 Į JAV bėgęs ir už SSRS išdavimą kalėjęs S.Kudirka: visas Lietuvos gyvenimas persunktas bolševikine dvasia]
Virginija Skučaitė. Šuolio į laisvę kaina. Kauno diena, 2008-11-15

Attempted Defection by Lithuanian Seaman Simas Kudirka: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on State Department Organization and Foreign Operations…, 91-2, December 3, 7-9, 14, 17, 18, 29, 1970
''

Radio Freedom Radio Freedom also called Radio Zambia was a South African radio arm of the African National Congress (ANC) and its fighting wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) (Spear of the Nation) during the anti-Apartheid struggle from the 1970s through the 199 ...

'', November 17, 2019 **A detailed description of the incident (in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kudirka, Simas 1930 births 2023 deaths Lithuanian sailors Soviet sailors Soviet defectors to the United States Lithuanian emigrants to the United States Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Vytis People from Šakiai District Municipality Lithuanian anti-communists Lithuanian prisoners and detainees

Biography

Honors

Works about Kudirka

References

Further reading