Lithuania is preparing to mark the 20th anniversary of the country's declaration of independence, a key event in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania is preparing to mark the 20th anniversary of the country's declaration of independence, a key event in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

On March 11, 1990 Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare independence from the increasingly weak communist empire. Although actual independence only materialized the following year, Lithuania's bold move galvanized other republics — Latvia, Estonia and Georgia — to follow suit and announce their intention to split from Moscow.

The drive for independence was not easy for Lithuania. Moscow threatened to intervene militarily, and in January 1991 Soviet paratroopers clashed with protesters at the television tower in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, killing 14 and wounding hundreds.

An aborted coup against the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991 eventually toppled the Soviet regime, leading Western countries to recognize the independence of Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia.

From that moment, Lithuania began the lengthy process of integration with the West, culminating in membership in the European Union and NATO in 2004.

Lithuania, a country of 3.4 million, will celebrate the anniversary Thursday with a military parade, concerts and fireworks. Presidents from several countries — Poland, Finland and Slovenia — will attend, as well as dignitaries from several dozen countries.

President Dalia Grybauskaite invited Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to attend the festivities, but both leaders declined.