Operation Osen (Russian: Операция «Осень», lit. “Operation Autumn”) was a mass deportation of Lithuanian residents that began on 2 October 1951. Before and after this operation, in September and November, there were also smaller-scale deportations. The purpose of all these deportations was to end forced collectivisation as soon as possible and weaken the ranks of people who supported the fighting partisans.

The deportations were carried out in several stages. The first deportation took place on 20–21 September, when 822 families (3,072 people in total) were deported to Irkutsk Oblast. The largest deportation took place in October. A 4 October 1951 Soviet security certificate states that 16 echelons were formed during the deportation operation: 10 to Krasnoyarsk Krai and six to Tomsk Oblast. A total of 4,143 families (16,150 people) were deported. Another deportation took place on 30 November 1951 – several dozen farming families were taken to Biysk in Altai Krai.

A total of 5,139 families – 20,357 people – were deported from Lithuania in the autumn of 1951.

These people, who were forcibly taken to foreign lands, had to rebuild their households, teach their children, and find ways to brighten up their gloomy everyday life. The virtual exhibition consists of six structural parts, which are illustrated with documents, exiles’ photos, and excerpts from exiles’ diaries.