The year 1983 was the 100th anniversary of the Lithuanian newspaper Aušra. This newspaper, edited by Jonas Basanavičius, played an important role in the Lithuanian national rebirth in the 19th century. Aušra was an illegal newspaper, published in Prussia and smuggled into the Russian Empire. A conference on Aušra was held in Soviet Lithuania, at which Vebra was not allowed to give a presentation. Nevertheless, he stood up to make a comment, and expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation in the state of research into this important issue.