Vytautas Astrauskas (born 30 September 1930) was a Lithuanian politician during the soviet occupation of Lithuania.
 Among his many public offices, he served in the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR (the Lithuanian parliament or seimas) where from December 1987 to January 1990 he was chairman of the Lithuanian Presidium.
 During 1988 and 1989 he was also a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
The People's Seimas (Lithuanian: "Liaudies Seimas" ) was a puppet legislature organized in order to give legal sanction the occupation and annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union.
 After the Soviet ultimatum in June 1940, a new pro-Soviet government was formed, known as the People's Government.
 The new government dismissed the Fourth Seimas and announced elections to the People's Seimas.
 The elections were heavily rigged, and resulted in a chamber composed entirely of Communists and Communist sympathizers.
 The new parliament unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and petitioned for admission to the Soviet Union as a constituent republic.
 The Supreme Soviet of the USSR accepted the Lithuanian petition on August 3, 1940.
 The People's Seimas adopted a new constitution, a close copy of the 1936 Soviet Constitution, on August 25 and renamed itself to the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR.
The Lithuanian legislative elections for 141 seats in the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR were held in the Lithuanian SSR on 24 February with run-off elections on 4, 7, 8 and 10 March 1990.
 In six constituencies voter turnout was below required minimum, therefore a third round was held on April 7 and 21.
 For the first time since the election to the People's Seimas in 1940, non-communist candidates were allowed to run.
 It was the first and the only free multi-party elections in Soviet Lithuania.
 Pro-independence Sąjūdis movement refused to become a political party and endorsed candidates of various other political parties based on their personal merits.
 These endorsements often meant more than official party affiliations, and Sąjūdis-backed candidates won 91 out of 135 seats.
 During its third session on 11 March 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR adopted the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania thus declaring Lithuania's independence from the Soviet Union.
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; Belarusian: Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika or Bielaruskaja SSR , Russian: Belorusskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika or Belorusskaya SSR ), also referred to as the Soviet Byelorussia was a client state of the Soviet Union (USSR).
 It existed between 1920 and 1922, and from 1922 to 1991 as one of fifteen constituent republics of the USSR, with its own legislation from 1990 to 1991.
 To the west it bordered Poland.
 Within the Soviet Union, it bordered the Lithuanian SSR and the Latvian SSR to the north, the Russian SFSR to the east and the Ukrainian SSR to the south.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Latvian SSR on 18 March 1990.
 It was the first free parliamentary election in Latvia since 1931 and saw 201 deputies elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR, 170 of them in the first round.
 Run-off elections were held on 25 March, 1 April and 29 April.
 The Popular Front of Latvia won over two-thirds of the vote.
 Unlike its Estonian and Lithuanian counterparts, the Latvian Communist Party did not separate from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
 Nonetheless, on 3 May 1990, the new Supreme Soviet re-elected the Communist Party member Anatolijs Gorbunovs as its chairman, effectively the leader of Latvia.
 He subsequently resigned from the party, and a year later the Communist Party was banned by the parliament.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (Russian: Президиум Верховного Совета or Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta ) was a Soviet governmental institution – a permanent body of the Supreme Soviets (parliaments).
 This body was of the all-Union level (Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union), as well as in all Soviet republics (e.g., Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR) and autonomous republics. Structure and functions of the presidiums in these republics were virtually identical.
 The presidiums were elected by the Supreme Soviet to act on its behalf while the soviet was not in session.
 Under the 1936 and 1977 Soviet Constitution the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet served as the collective head of state of the Soviet Union.
Sovetskaya Litva (literally: "Soviet Lithuania"; Russian: Советская Литва ) was a Russian-language daily newspaper published in the Lithuanian SSR.
 In tandem with the Lithuanian-language "Tiesa", it was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Lithuania, the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, and the Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR.
 After the restoration of Lithuania's independence in 1990, the newspaper became an independent daily under the name Echo Litvy (literally: "Echo of Lithuania"; Russian: Эхо Литвы ).
 Its circulation was 79,000 copies in 1981, 26,000 copies in 1993, and 12,000 copies in 1997.
 It discontinued publication in 2001 due to financial difficulties.
Arnold Rüütel (] ) (born 10 May 1928) served as the last Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR from April 8, 1983, to March 29, 1990, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR (from May 8, 1990: Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia) from March 29, 1990, to October 6, 1992, and was the third President of Estonia from October 8, 2001, to October 9, 2006.
 He was the second President since Estonia regained independence in 1991.
 Rüütel also served as one of fifteen Deputy Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The Supreme Soviet (Russian: Верховный Совет , "Verkhóvnyj Sovét", English: literally "Supreme Council" ) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Soviet Union.
 These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, established in 1938, and were nearly identical.
 Soviet-approved delegates to the Supreme Soviets were periodically elected in unopposed elections.
 The first free or semi-free elections took place during "perestroika" in late 1980s.
 The soviets were largely rubber-stamp institutions, approving decisions handed to them by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or of each SSR.
 The soviets met infrequently (often only twice a year for only several days) and elected the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, a permanent body, to act on their behalf while the soviet was not in session.
 Under the 1936 and 1977 Soviet Constitutions the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet served as the collective head of state of the Soviet Union.
The Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR (Lithuanian: "Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausioji Taryba" ; Russian: Верховный Совет Литовской ССР , "Verkhovnyy Sovet Litovskoy SSR") was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution) of the Lithuanian SSR, one of the republics comprising the Soviet Union.
 The Supreme Soviet was established in August 1940 when the People's Seimas declared itself the provisional Supreme Soviet.
 According to the constitution it was very similar to modern democratic parliaments: it was elected every four (later five) years and had the power to create, amend and ratify the constitution, laws, and treaties and appoint officials in the Council of Ministers (the executive branch).
 However, in reality the elections were staged, the Soviet had very little actual power and carried out orders given by the Communist Party of Lithuania (CPL).
 The situation changed in 1988, when the Lithuanians began seeking independence from the Soviet Union.
 The political power shifted from CPL to the Soviet, which adopted a number of important constitutional amendments and laws, paving the way for the independence.
 The first free elections were held in February 1990 and were won by pro-independence Sąjūdis.
 During its first session the Supreme Soviet adopted the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania and renamed itself the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania.

Question: Sovetskaya Litva found itself free at the same time as the fall of Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, what change allowed both of the actions to happen?
Answer: The political power shifted from CPL to the Soviet