Lithuanian participation in the Holocaust. The acceptance of the ultimatum remains a highly controversial topic in Lithuania. Observers criticize the Lithuanian Army, which had been consuming some 20% of the state budget, for not staging even a symbolic resistance that would have invalidated Soviet claims that the takeover was a "socialist revolution" and a legitimate change of government. Others criticize the government of inaction: there were eight months in which to create contingency plans. Barring armed resistance, diplomatic options remained — the Lithuanian government could have rejected the ultimatum, retreated abroad, and formed a recognized government-in-exile. Historian Alfonsas Eidintas points to a lack of public comprehension of the risk. Negative news about the Soviets was censored and even politicians did not believe the ultimatum would mean a complete loss of independence. Another debate centers on the lack of bloodshed. By accepting the ultimatum, the government may have avoided loss of life at the time, but its submission may also have encouraged later Soviet repressions. The Russian Federation, the successor state of the Soviet Union, continues to dispute whether the events surrounding the ultimatum and the subsequent years that Lithuania spent as a Soviet Socialist Republic constitute an occupation. References Notes Bibliography Ultimatum Ultimatum People's Government of Lithuania Occupation of the Baltic states Ultimata Diplomatic incidents Lithuania–Soviet Union relations June 1940 events 1940 documents Politics of World War II