Government and Ambassadors

The Republic of Užupis is governed in a strangely simple way: there are no rulers and ruled. The Parliament consists of all citizens, the government is made of volunteers, and citizenship depends only on whether you consider yourself a person of Užupis. It is more the art of living together than a state apparatus - and precisely for that reason it has lasted for a quarter century.

The Parliament of the Republic of Užupis consists of all people of Užupis. It usually meets in the Užupis cafe - for several years the first and only cafe in the district - and is therefore affectionately called the Barlament. Its most important rule: decisions are made only by common agreement. Not by majority vote, not by order, but by talking until agreement is reached.

All members of the Republic's government are volunteers; they receive no payment for their work. Daily affairs are handled by the association "Užupis Community", founded in 2007 and acting as guarantor of the Republic's sovereign.

Community members elect a five-person Senate for terms of at least two years. The administrator elected by the Senate becomes chancellor of the Republic; the Senate approves the prime minister, assigns tasks to ministers, follows their work and supervises central bank emissions. Among the ministers are justice, economy, national security including cyber security, and other volunteer roles.

The old-site community archive described Užupis Community, or UžB, as the oldest continuously active community in Vilnius, effectively operating since around 1997. It unites active residents of this Vilnius Old Town suburb: artists, writers, film directors, researchers, organisers of civic initiatives, other professionals, students and school pupils. The community is distinguished by non-commercial, open events, often held in public spaces, and was an initiator and signatory of the Vilnius Communities Association.

The 2019 old-site archive listed the Senate as follows:

• Rėda Brandišauskienė - Chancellor of the Republic, Minister of Justice and delegate to the UMI council.
• Algimantas Lekevičius - Chair of the Senate, founder and chronicler of Užupis Television, guarantor of Republic Facebook content.
• Vytautas Ankudavičius - Minister of Economic Affairs.
• Vytautas Pievaitis - guarantor for the cyber area of the national security council, the Republic's Facebook and website security.
• Sakalas Gorodeckis - Prime Minister, delegated representative to the boards of Užupis Art Incubator, P. Vileišis Progymnasium, Vilnius Communities Association and other organisations, following Central Bank emissions.

On November 24, 2014, the Užupis Community Senate approved the Communal Code, a written record of Užupis customary law. The Constitution is the poetic list of the Republic's rights; the code describes more practically how Užupis tries to live together.

The key provisions:

• Communal life in Užupis is governed by customary law, inspiring examples, dreams, insights and mythologies; the code only helps make them easier to understand.
• Užupis is a part of Vilnius that belongs to everyone and to no one personally.
• People of Užupis are everyone who creates, lives, works and acts in Užupis and for Užupis.
• Shared creation and communication are based on volunteering and dedication; this does not contradict individual funded projects.
• Užupis follows a multipolar principle: the more independent activities exist, the richer everyone becomes.
• The name of Užupis is not a commodity.
• According to tradition, community decisions are made by consensus in informal gatherings and carried out through volunteering.
• The community is officially represented by the Užupis Community association. Only authorised representatives may speak on its behalf.
• Community projects are managed and financed through the association, whose financial activity and reports must be transparent and accessible.
• The Republic of Užupis is a collective creation of the community, given to everyone, which may not be appropriated.
• The Republic is connected with Užupis, but is not limited by territory, borders, nationality, citizenship or party affiliation.
• Anyone becomes a citizen after becoming familiar with the Constitution and deciding so; every citizen must visit Užupis at least once in life.
• The Republic's name, property and symbols are protected from unlawful interference by the community and by the law of the friendly neighbouring Republic of Lithuania.
• The code also applies to relationships that existed before it was written down, beginning from the moment the relevant customs emerged - lex retro agit.

The old code page also preserved a speech by Romas Lileikis, President of the Republic of Užupis, delivered in Vilnius on October 1, 2015. It says that for nineteen years the Republic learned not to be clever, rich or happy, but to be together; that flags, calendar and map became landmarks on which infinity could rest; and that Užupis was not repaired or reconstructed, but revived, because only creation can overcome death. The speech also warned about the conflict between idea and money and asked whether it is possible to destroy Užupis by building it.

According to the old site, Užupis Community is an association, legal entity code 301295599, registered office Krivių g. 33-4, Užupis LT-01209, Vilnius, Europe. By a written decision of Lithuania's State Tax Inspectorate on November 23, 2007, the community held beneficiary status in the EU tax area.

The old page also included current contact, office and bank-account information. Those details should remain in the archive, but must be verified through official sources before publication or use for donations.

The old page distinguished official and volunteer-created information channels: Republic of Užupis Facebook, Mano Užupis page and group, uzupiorespublika.com, the archive uzupis.e-gov.lt site, Užupio heroldas, the Republic of Užupis Information Centre, Užupis Art Incubator, the community information space associated with Marius Abramavičius Neboisia, ambassador and Ministry of Foreign Affairs channels, Dogs of the Republic of Užupis and the Užupis Cafe / Barlament space.

The old note explicitly said that www.uzupis.lt and www.uzupiorespublika.lt should not be identified with the Republic of Užupis. The present status of those domains should be checked before publication.

The Republic's most active institution is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led for many years by Tomas Čepaitis. It has accredited more than three hundred ambassadors - not only in other states and cities, but also in "matters": distinct fields of life or activity. In this way Užupis created its own practice of open interpersonal relations, where an ambassador can represent the country wherever they live and create.

There is no institution in Užupis that grants or removes citizenship. Each person makes that decision themselves - aloud or silently saying: "I am a citizen of the Republic of Užupis."

• Want a passport or card? You are the only one of your kind, so the document will be unique. Draw it yourself.
• The one who makes the decision issues the document.
• Every citizen must visit Užupis at least once in life.

The palms of people in Užupis are open and match the sign of the state - an open hand. It reminds everyone that Užupis can be loved, but not possessed.

Further work: create separate pages for citizenship with document examples, ambassadors with a map and list, and the government/Senate with current composition, contacts and details. The international recognition story belongs on the ambassadors page as well.