Panevėžys has lost 30,000 residents over the past 16 years
As Deutsche Welle notes, similar negative trends are observed in other Lithuanian cities – for example, in Visaginas. The population of this city decreased from 29,554 people in 2001 to about 19,000 in 2016. According to Professor Boguslavas Gruževskis, head of the Lithuanian Institute of Labour Market Research, as a result of the emigration of Lithuanian residents, the working-age population is shrinking, and the country is losing its attractiveness to potential investors.
"Emigration of young people typically brings with it a reduction in the number of taxpayers, which is painfully felt by large regions and cities. It may suddenly turn out that municipalities barely have enough financial resources to maintain urban infrastructure – for example, roads, heating, lighting," says Gruževskis. Nevertheless, according to the interviewee, despite active emigration, the country's economy still retains its attractiveness, as confirmed by economic indicators for the first half of 2017.
Boguslavas Gruževskis's words about emigration are confirmed by the mayor of Panevėžys, Rytis Račkauskas, who points out that companies operating in the city lack not only qualified specialists but also unskilled labour. Račkauskas emphasizes that the problem of emigration affects not only his city but the entire country. "To keep residents in the city, we try to create good conditions for entrepreneurs, help city vocational schools train the specialists that businesses complain are in short supply," said Rytis Račkauskas. In addition, according to the mayor, the authorities are making efforts to make the city more cozy and comfortable.
The journalist managed to contact several residents of Panevėžys who decided to leave their hometown. Aušra Nasiavičienė from Panevėžys left 20 years ago; she now lives and works in Vilnius. According to her, the first wave of residents began to leave Panevėžys after industrial enterprises closed. In 2006, one of the largest factories in the Baltic countries for producing colour television picture tubes – "Ekranas" – ceased to exist, where more than 4,000 people worked. After the factory closed, several more enterprises left the city, and there were no jobs left for people.
Nasiavičienė claims that since the end of 2010, the city has been gradually reviving, developing, and industry is returning – but it's too late, people have left. "Five of my relatives left Panevėžys for England, three of them have already started families, in which four children were born. Two of my sisters moved to Vilnius, a third to Kaunas," says Nasiavičienė.
Taidaras Drebickis, another interviewee, lived and worked in Spain, where he started a family with a woman who also emigrated from Lithuania. A few years ago, Taidaras returned to Lithuania. Drebickis says he decided to emigrate because he wanted financial independence from his parents and was interested in seeing the world.
"My wife and I decided to return for a very simple reason – our children were growing up, and we didn't like that they were starting to forget their native Lithuanian language and only communicate in Spanish," said Taidaras. Due to the shortage of workers, according to Taidaras, employees in Lithuania can now demand higher salaries – employers are more willing to compromise. "Another thing is that if you go for a walk in the city center on a Sunday, you will mostly meet pensioners," comments Drebickis. Taidaras himself, however, does not rule out that in the future, when the children grow up, he and his wife will again move to live and work in Spain.
Romas, who agreed to talk to the journalist, left Panevėžys 14 years ago – also for Spain. "I left because the city was gloomy, boring; childhood friends either left, became alcoholics, or became petty criminals. I didn't want to become like that, so I left for Spain. Now I have a home and a family here," said Romas. According to him, he rarely comes to Lithuania, once every few years. Romas does not feel the nostalgia that many other emigrants struggle with. He is sure that a person's home is where they feel good and comfortable living.