Lithuanians go to the polls on Sunday to choose their president with incumbent "Iron Lady" Dalia Grybauskaite considered a shoo-in as fears rise over a resurgent Russia. The karate black belt is poised to win a second term as many here see her as a their best hope amid Europe's worst face-off with Moscow since the Cold War.The election comes as Russia's takeover of the Crimean peninsula and saber rattling in the neighbouring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad have sparked palpable fear in Lithuania.
Elvyra Vaicaityte, a student living just outside of Kaliningrad, is spooked by military rumblings of military might in the Russian territory, sandwiched between Lithuania and fellow NATO member Poland. She said, "I can hear explosions during exercises, and windows often rattle -- I don't feel very secure."
Grybauskaite has sworn to take up arms herself in case of Russian aggression. She said, "If there's a problem, I'll never flee abroad. I'll take a gun myself to defend the country if that what's needed for national security."
Grybauskaite has backed the country's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal intended to ease the nation's total dependence for gas on Russia's Gazprom. She also sees Eurozone entry in 2015 as an economic buffer against Moscow.
In contrast to her hard line, her center-left and populist rivals insist dialogue with Russia is crucial, and have focused more on social issues. Social Democrat Zigmantas Balcytis said, "We'll have to seek dialogue with Russia. Any kind of peace is better than a war."
29-year-old Vilnius entrepreneur Augustinas Vizbaras says Grybauskaite has his vote. He has also volunteered in a paramilitary unit that was part of Lithuania's WWII-era anti-Soviet resistance. He said, "We feel a Russian threat and I felt a civic duty to join the unit so that we prevent a repeat of a Ukraine scenario here."