On December 7, 1989, the Communist Party of Lithuania under the leadership of Algirdas Brazauskas, split from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and abandoned its claim to have a constitutional "leading role" in politics. A smaller loyalist faction of the Communist Party, headed by hardliner Mykolas Burokevičius, was established and remained affiliated with the CPSU. However, Lithuania’s governing Communist Party was formally independent from Moscow's control – a first for Soviet Republics and a political earthquake that prompted Gorbachev to arrange a visit to Lithuania the following month in a futile attempt to bring the local party back under control. COUNT 5
QSN1 Who was in charge of Lithuania's Communist Party in 1989 ANS1 Algirdas Brazauskas QSN2 What party did  Lithuania's Communist Party break apart from? ANS2 Communist Party of the Soviet Union QSN3 Who was in charge of the loyalist faction? ANS3 Mykolas Burokevičius, QSN4 What place's control was the Communist Party of Lithuania out from under after the split? ANS4 Moscow's QSN5 Who visited with the hope of bringing back the Communist Party of Lithuania to the Soviet Party? ANS5 Gorbachev