were empty and would do no more than anger the Soviets and Urbšys, calling from Moscow, urged not to needlessly antagonize the Soviets. Merkys and his cabinet resigned to make way for a new government led by Raštikis. The session ended at 7 am with a decision to accept all Soviet demands without expressing protest or complaint. By noon, the Lithuanians received a reply from Moscow stating that Raštikis was not a suitable candidate for Prime Minister. The selection of another candidate would be supervised by Molotov's deputy Vladimir Dekanozov. Merkys continued to act as Prime Minister. Smetona, who continued to disagree with the majority of his government, decided to leave the country in protest and appointed Merkys as acting president. By late evening on June 15, Smetona and Minister of Defense Kazys Musteikis reached Kybartai and crossed the border into Germany, where they were granted temporary asylum. The Lithuanian guards did not allow them to pass; thus, Smetona had to wade across the shallow Liepona rivulet. Smetona's departure worked to the Soviets′ advantage; its indignity opened him to ridicule and they were able to exploit the sentiments against him without fearing that he would be seen as a martyr. By fleeing, Smetona escaped the fate of Latvian President Kārlis Ulmanis and Estonian President Konstantin Päts, who were manipulated by the Soviets and later arrested. Under the Lithuanian constitution, Merkys became acting president. The Red Army was scheduled to enter Lithuanian territory from three separate directions at 3:00 pm and had orders to take control of Vilnius, Kaunas, Raseiniai, Panevėžys, and Šiauliai. The Lithuanian Army was ordered not to resist and to extend friendly greetings; its air force was ordered to remain on the ground. The Soviets came in great numbers clogging Lithuanian roads. They had an obvious intention to show power and intimidate any resistance. Writer Ignas Šeinius claimed that he observed the same squadron of Soviet planes making the same flight over and over again to create an impression of much larger Soviet Air Forces. On June 16, nearly identical ultimata were issued to Latvia and Estonia, although they were given only eight hours to respond. With Lithuania already in Soviet hands, armed resistance in Latvia or Estonia was even more futile. All three states were occupied and lost their independence until 1990. Aftermath Legitimization of the occupation One of Dekanozov's primary goals was the organization of a