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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/08/lithuania-urges-walmart-to-drop-soviet-themed-shirts
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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Lithuania urges Walmart to drop Soviet-themed shirts | Lithuania urges Walmart to drop Soviet-themed shirts |
| (3 months later) | |
| Lithuania on Friday urged American retail giant Walmart to stop selling T-shirts and hoodies with Soviet hammer and sickle symbols, insisting the image insults victims of often deadly Soviet-era persecution. | Lithuania on Friday urged American retail giant Walmart to stop selling T-shirts and hoodies with Soviet hammer and sickle symbols, insisting the image insults victims of often deadly Soviet-era persecution. |
| “We sent a letter to Walmart requesting the withdrawal of products with Soviet symbols and we are still waiting for a reaction,” Lithuanian ambassador to the US Rolandas Krisciunas said. | “We sent a letter to Walmart requesting the withdrawal of products with Soviet symbols and we are still waiting for a reaction,” Lithuanian ambassador to the US Rolandas Krisciunas said. |
| The hammer and sickle symbol is banned in Lithuania, a European Union member of 2.9 million that was the first republic to secede from the Soviet Union as it began to crumble in 1990. | The hammer and sickle symbol is banned in Lithuania, a European Union member of 2.9 million that was the first republic to secede from the Soviet Union as it began to crumble in 1990. |
| Walmart patents tech that would allow it to eavesdrop on cashiers | |
| The Baltic state’s foreign minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted: “You wouldn’t buy Nazi-themed clothing, would you? | The Baltic state’s foreign minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted: “You wouldn’t buy Nazi-themed clothing, would you? |
| “We trust @Walmart’s moral stance & call to withdraw products with the symbols of mass murders.” | “We trust @Walmart’s moral stance & call to withdraw products with the symbols of mass murders.” |
| Vilnius estimates more than 50,000 Lithuanians died in camps, prisons and during deportations in 1944-1953, while another 20,000 partisans and supporters were killed in anti-Soviet guerilla fighting. | Vilnius estimates more than 50,000 Lithuanians died in camps, prisons and during deportations in 1944-1953, while another 20,000 partisans and supporters were killed in anti-Soviet guerilla fighting. |
| Walmart is selling red-hooded sweatshirts and T-shirts emblazoned with the yellow hammer and sickle symbol over the caption CCCP, which means USSR in the Cyrillic alphabet. | Walmart is selling red-hooded sweatshirts and T-shirts emblazoned with the yellow hammer and sickle symbol over the caption CCCP, which means USSR in the Cyrillic alphabet. |
| Hoodies described as “cool” on Walmart’s website cost $29.95 while the T-shirts go for $18. | Hoodies described as “cool” on Walmart’s website cost $29.95 while the T-shirts go for $18. |
| The Soviet-inspired style has become trendy in recent years as Russian designers make their mark. | The Soviet-inspired style has become trendy in recent years as Russian designers make their mark. |
| Walmart did not immediately respond when contacted, but guidelines posted on its website prohibit the sale of products related to “any historical or news event” that could be considered “offensive”. | Walmart did not immediately respond when contacted, but guidelines posted on its website prohibit the sale of products related to “any historical or news event” that could be considered “offensive”. |
| Politicians in neighbouring Baltic states Estonia and Latvia, where people also suffered decades of Soviet occupation, joined the call for the world’s biggest retailer to pull the Soviet-themed merchandise from its shelves. | Politicians in neighbouring Baltic states Estonia and Latvia, where people also suffered decades of Soviet occupation, joined the call for the world’s biggest retailer to pull the Soviet-themed merchandise from its shelves. |
| Walmart is present in 28 countries, but not in the Baltic states or other eastern European countries dominated by the former Soviet Union. | Walmart is present in 28 countries, but not in the Baltic states or other eastern European countries dominated by the former Soviet Union. |
| Lithuania, which joined both the EU and NATO in 2004, was a battleground between Nazi and Soviet troops during the second world war. | Lithuania, which joined both the EU and NATO in 2004, was a battleground between Nazi and Soviet troops during the second world war. |
| It was seized by Moscow in 1940 under a secret pact with Adolf Hitler, and within a decade, 300,000 Lithuanians had been deported, mostly to Siberia, or killed in insurgent fighting. | It was seized by Moscow in 1940 under a secret pact with Adolf Hitler, and within a decade, 300,000 Lithuanians had been deported, mostly to Siberia, or killed in insurgent fighting. |
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