At the welcoming ceremony at the Vilnius railway station, the participants said they covered over 2,000 kilometers, tidied eight cemeteries and put up a 2.5-meter-tall wooden cross made by folk artist Vidmantas Zakarka in one of the villages.
Organized by the Lithuanian Youth Council since 2006, Mission Siberia has facilitated the upkeep of nearly 100 Lithuanian graveyards.
The missions are held in an effort to encourage interest in young people in the country's history, promote a dialogue between generations and mutual understanding.
Over 130,000 Lithuanians were deported from their country between 1940 and 1953. The deportee lists included elderly and ill people, people with disabilities, pregnant women, children and babies. About 28,000 people were killed in deportation, in addition to another 23,000 who were shot to death or who died in Soviet camps.
