Mon, Nov 14, 2011
Former President Remains Popular In Eastern Europe For Stance
On The Soviet Union
Of all the places you might think you'd find an airport named
after former President Ronald Reagan (pictured), Lithuania would
probably not be anywhere near the top of the list. But following a
recent vote in the Lithuanian parliamentary foreign affairs
committee, Siauliai International Airport near the small Lithuanian
city of Siauliai may soon bear the name of the former
U.S. President.
Reagan remains very popular in Eastern Europe because of the
hard-line stance he took against the Soviet Union during the cold
war. But according to a report in the Associated Press, even if the
name change goes through, don't look to book a ticked to Ronald
Reagan Airport in Siauliai anytime soon. While the airport does
have a modest passenger terminal, it does not appear to have any
regularly-scheduled passenger service.
The primary tenants of the former Soviet strategic airfield are
a small number of NATO jets which fly primarily in the Baltic
region, though the airport's website, which is primarily in
English, does mention several cargo operations and a couple of
government offices.
The facility is a far cry from Ronald Reagan Washington National
Airport (KCDA), which is within five miles of the center of the
U.S. Capitol. Naming the former Washington National Airport after
the then-still-living former President was controversial in 1988.
But at least some members of the Lithuanian Parliament apparently
think it is fitting that an airport on the northwestern edge of the
former Soviet Union be named for a person widely recognized as one
of the architects of the USSR's downfall.
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