Lietuvos metinė strateginė apžvalga

This study examines the communication of the State Security Department of the Republic of Lithuania and the Second Investigation Department under the Ministry of National Defence in 2012–2022. It identifies the aspects relevant to the strategic communication of the intelligence services, analyses specifics of the texts and tendencies in national threat assessments and activity reports, and examines how these institutions present themselves. The study applies the theory of securitisation and critical discourse analysis. It includes other research related to the topic, practices of foreign intelligence services in publishing annual reports and using the YouTube social media platform, media publications and other sources. The study concludes that strategic communication for intelligence agencies is essential for the long-term success of their operations. By focusing on strategic objectives, they inform and educate the public about themselves and national security and develop a cooperative relationship, contributing to deterrence. Both institutions examined in this study are becoming not only formally more open to the public, but also aim to build and maintain a high institutional reputation, connect with their audience and create an image of professionalism, modern accountability and openness to the public.

The Voluntary National Defense Service (VNDS) of Lithuania was established in 17 January 1991 and began to operate in a difficult political and economic situation in the presence of Russian military forces deployed in Lithuania. The VNDS was tasked with ensuring the security of important state and economic entities, assisting the police in maintaining public order and territorial defense, as well as carrying out intelligence tasks throughout Lithuania. The main aim of the paper is to analyze the creation of military intelligence by the VNDS and the tasks they conducted from 1991 to 1993. Various methods were used to analyze the VNDS: case study, historical analysis, comparative historical, document analysis, data analysis and statistical content analysis. The paper establishes that the VNDS intelligence gathering structure and its development was influenced by the intelligence tasks assigned to the VNDS. The case study also reveals that the main function of the VNDS staff consisted of intelligence information gathering. In 1991, according to the VNDS standby logs analyzed in this study, 56 percent of information registered by the VNDS staff consisted of intelligence information and this information was gathered across 82 percent of Lithuanian districts. According to the data gathered in this study, it was proven that the VNDS was conducting military intelligence from 1991 to 1993. The case study is even more relevant since the current day Lithuanian Armed Forces are returning to the national territorial defense model due to the changes in current geopolitical situation. In the future, the role of the National Defense Volunteer Force (the NDVF), equivalent to the previous VNDS, will increase significantly, as the Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces has appointed these forces to carry out intelligence tasks for military operations.