In 1941, following the outbreak of war between Germany and the Soviet Union, he moved to Alma-Ata and then Moscow, joining the Union of Writers of the USSR. Returning to Lithuania in 1944, he went on to serve as chairman of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic's Writer's Union and as editor of the journal "Pergalė" (Victory). After Cvirka's death in 1947, the Soviet authorities erected a monument to his memory in Vilnius. This monument became the object of controversy after the restoration of independence in 1990 due to Cvirka's pro-communist activities. There were calls for its removal.