And Now, Divorce?

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When appeals to emotion and sentiment failed, Gorbachev tried dark warnings. On defense matters he argued, "Our security lies here," referring to Lithuania's ports and communications lines. He played the economic card, reminding his listeners that secession would mean the loss of billions of rubles in subsidies from Moscow for underpriced raw materials, oils and products. "You'll bog down in a swamp immediately," he taunted. Finally he threatened, "Don't look for conflict or you'll get real trouble."

Gorbachev did have a rabbit in his hat of tricks. He announced that he had ordered the drafting of a law to codify how a republic could withdraw from the Soviet Union; it was the first time a Soviet leader has spoken positively about secession. Gorbachev noted that while Article 72 of the 1977 constitution grants the right of secession to the country's 15 republics, a mechanism was needed to ensure an orderly withdrawal.

Gorbachev left it to one of his entourage, Politburo member Yuri Maslyukov, to hint at some of the strings attached. Maslyukov, who heads the state planning commission Gosplan, said a move to secede would require drawing up a proposal that detailed its implications and then putting it to a popular vote. Said Maslyukov: "It's difficult to imagine that the collective reason of the Lithuanian nation would decide on such a step."

But to many Lithuanians, Gorbachev's talk of a "sovereign state" was little more than a tactic to buy time. The crowds in Vilnius regard Moscow's centralized rule as a continuation of the sorry chapter of its history that began with the Stalin-era annexation of the three Baltic states, following the signing of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which carved out the spheres of influence between Hitler and Stalin. At a gathering last week in downtown Vilnius, Vytautas Landsbergis, leader of the Lithuanian popular-front movement Sajudis, demanded, "What has been stolen should be given back!" Around the plaza, flags woven of the national colors of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and other republics fluttered.

Lithuania's cocky demands reflect the confidence that has mounted over the past year as the republic's supreme soviet passed a declaration of state sovereignty, proclaimed Lithuania's economic autonomy and abolished the constitutional clause guaranteeing the Communist lock on power. In turn, the local party revamped its program and called for an independent state. By the time the party severed its ties to its Moscow parent last December, Lithuanians had achieved many of their aims -- short of independence. For the first time, Gorbachev conceded last week that he sees "no tragedy" in the creation of a multiparty system but added that it provides "no panacea" for the nation's ills.

Ironically, Gorbachev has largely himself to blame for the current crisis. By pressing his policies of perestroika and glasnost, he emboldened Lithuanians to press their nationalist course and thereby played Dr. Frankenstein to the monster that now bedevils him. Lithuanians have also pointed to the startling developments throughout the East bloc to justify their drive for local autonomy. How, they demand, can Gorbachev deny his own Soviet citizens what he has permitted elsewhere in the bloc?