Česiūnas made his way to the Soviet Embassy in Bonn—"not without incident" and returned to the Soviet Union and imprisoned with a fractured skull according to Kurt Rebmann, West Germany's chief federal public prosecutor in 1979.[3][7] Another reason the Soviets were concerned also had to do with a possible book Česiūnas had planned to publish on doping in the Soviet Union prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics.[7] The Soviets later toned down their rhetoric on the incident, stating Česiūnas had "got into dubious company" while the West Germans continued to maintain he had been kidnapped.[3]
In 2002, telephone interview with the Los Angeles Times, Česiūnas stated he returned from West Germany voluntarily but was threatened by Soviet officials with fifteen years of hard labor in a coal mine for his defection and was not imprisoned only due to the upcoming Summer Olympics in Moscow.[9] As a result, Česiūnas was demoted from his custom agent position to being a civilian coach at a children's sports school which paid only a third of the salary of his customs position.[9]
Later life
Česiūnas earned two presidential decrees from Lithuania after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. They were the Order of the Cross of Vytis ("Cross of the Knight") and the Commemorative Medal of 13 January.[10] In 2000, Česiūnas was informed that Vorkhert, whom he met in Lithuania in 1998 after the country's 1991 independence, had died at 75.[9] Česiūnas later returned to his customs position, becoming head of shifts for Lithuanian customs as of 2002.[9] He also received monthly pensions from the Soviet and Lithuanian Olympic Committee of US$30 and US$120, respectively.[9]
^ abcdefghWallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Men's Canadian Pairs 1000 Meters". In The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 483.