Seen as one of the major contributing factors towards the collapse of the Soviet Union, the decade-long Soviet war in Afghanistan involved military personnel from all 15 Soviet republics including some 5,000 men originating from what was at the time the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. This five-metre monument in the former territory of Vilnius' Soviet military barracks showing a mother holding her dead child was unveiled in 2006. The work of Virginija Bakšienė and Antanas Kmieliauskas, its granite base is inscribed with the names of the 96 soldiers from Lithuania who died during the war.