Remigijus Žemaitaitis is a Lithuanian right-wing politician and member of the legislative body of the Republic of Lithuania, known for his pro-Russian and antisemitic remarks. In September 2018, while interviewing a Russian-language newspaper, Ekspress Nedelya, Žemaitaitis said he was against “anti-Russian sanctions” and endorsed talks.
In November 2022, months after the full-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, while going for a tour to Belarus, under the invitation of Žemaitaitis, a legislator and member of the far-right party Alternative for Germany Petr Bystron visited Lithuania. Bystron was also blamed for allegedly taking money from a pro-Russian media site.
The Political Party “Dawn of Nemunas” was established in November 2023 by Remigijus Žemaitaitis after his ouster from the Freedom and Justice party due to his antisemitic assertions. In May 2023, Remigijus Žemaitaitis posted antisemitic comments on Facebook, in which he argued that “the Jews and Russians” persecuted ethnic Lithuanians during the Second World War and were accountable for the 1944 massacre of the town of Pirčiupiai. Dawn of Nemunas is considered by some experts to be pro-Russian.
According to critics, unlike other radicals, Žemaitaitis has dodged openly pro-Russian statements. However, he supports restoring trade ties with Central Asian countries (without describing how this would be feasible amidst the conflict with Russia) and preparing for the normalisation of ties with Lukashenko’s Belarus, indicating that Belarusian opposition members should be ousted from Lithuania. Lithuanian Conservatives contended that this is enough to mark Žemaitaitis as a pro-Russian radical, even more risky than overt “friends of Putin.”
