History of Lithuania

Approximately 10 000 – 9 000 years B.C. when the ice melted, the first inhabitants from the neighbouring regions appeared in the present territory of Lithuania. It is thought, that Indo-Europeans pushed out the first inhabitants and settled down to the east from the Baltic Sea around 2500 years B.C. And in 1845 the German linguist Georg Nesselman named the similar ethnic groups of Indo-Europeans at the Baltic Sea “Balts”.

Lithuanian territory in different periods

For the first time Lithuanian name was mention in the written sources in 1009 in the Annales Quedlinburgenses. It is clear from the further sources that in the early times the name Lithuania was used not to name all the ethnic Lithuania, but just the part of it.

It is considered, that Mindaugas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, united all the country and established the Lithuanian state. He was ruling the country from 1236 to 1263. Trying to enforce his power and to stop the conflict with Livonian Order, he agreed to be baptized a Roman Catholic in 1251 and was crowned to be the Lithuanian king in 1253. The coronation of Mindaugas is celebrated as Lithuanian Statehood Day on the 6th of July.

With the baptism and coronation of Mindaugas Lithuania joined the circle of the catholic kingdoms, the prestige of the country raised in the international arena. Later though, after some seven years, Mindaugas renounced the crown and returned to the religion of his ancestors. Lithuania again officially became a pagan country and Mindaugas remains the only crowned king of Christian Lithuania.

There is another very important coronation in Lithuanian history – the coronation of Vytautas the Great, which in fact never happened. The intrigues prevented the Grand Duke to get his crown (it was stopped in Poland by polish nobles), but Vytautas the Great is standing on the peak of Lithuanian state’s power, he is the most successful ruler of Lithuania through all the times. When Vytautas the Great was reigning (1392-1430), the Lithuanian Grand Duchy strongly expanded the territories and reached even the Black sea in the south. In the Middle Ages Lithuania was the biggest state in Eastern Europe, prospering with handicrafts and successfully trading with other countries.

The year of 1387 is the official date when Lithuania was Christianised. The efforts of Vytautas the Great and Jogaila where fruitful and Lithuania – the last pagan country in Europe – was converted. The Pope Urban VI recognized Lithuania as a catholic country two years later. By the way, one region of Lithuania, Žemaitija, adopted Christianity only in 1413.

The other important date in Lithuanian history is 1579. In this year the Vilnius University was founded and it was one of the first high schools in Eastern and Central Europe. It was influencing the culture life not only in Lithuanian, but also the in the neighbouring countries.

The Big yard of Vilnius Universit (XIX century)

The palace of University was started to form in XVI century, but the purposes of the buildings where changing and at the moment the ensemble of the old University’s palace consists from 12 yards, 12 buildings and the church of St. Johns’ with its bell tower. Vilnius University is one from few European universities, operating in the same buildings, in which it was founded.

The growing threat from Moscow forced the nobles of Lithuania to follow the path of Jogaila and to look for the support in Poland. Formally Lithuania and Poland joined into one state on 1569 with the Union of Lublin. By the way, the constitution of Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth was carried out in 1971 and together with French constitution (carried out at the same year) are the oldest constitutions in Europe.

The internal conflicts made the Lithuanian-Polish Commonwealth weaker and weaker, until the neighbouring Russia, Prussia and Austria decided simply to divide the state. After three partitions (1772 - 1795 years) the biggest part of Lithuania fell under the power of Russian empire. At once the resistance started to grow, the national culture got stronger, the revolts where organized in the 1831 and 1863-1864. After the last rising, the tsarist authorities banned all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet within the Russian Empire. The ban and try to incorporate Cyrillic letters into the life of oppressed nation created a well-defined and organized opposition to Russian rule and culture - the opposite of its original intent. The illegal smugglers (lith. knygnešiai) would distribute the books and press printed in Latin alphabet from Lithuania Minor and Prussian printing-houses.

In 1904 the Lithuanian press ban was abolished. On December 4th and 5th of 1905 in Vilnius the meeting of Lithuanian representatives – The Great Seimas of Vilnius – declared the demand of autonomy.

When the World War I started, until the end of 1915, Germany occupied all recent territory of Lithuania and Courland (lith. Kuršą). Germany had economic and political aims: to set in the Baltic region, to strengthen the influence in Scandinavia, to cut off Russia from Baltic Sea and to use Lithuania as the producer of food.

The Council of Lithuania declared independence of the state on February 16th, 1918. The status of fully independent country Lithuania gained only after the loss of Germans in the World War I (in November of 1918). Lithuania was independent until 1940.

On the 1st of September in 1939 the World War II started. The fate of Lithuania in this historical period was defined by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (German-Soviet non-aggression pact). With this pact the independent countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania where divided into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence. Lithuania was initially assigned to the German sphere of influence, but when Lithuania refused to ally with Nazi Germany in the attack on Poland, it was transferred to the Soviets in another secret pact later that year. In 1940 the Soviet military units invaded and occupied Lithuania, the repressions and russification of the country started.

Molotov signs the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. Behind him are Ribbentrop (on the right) and Stalin

At 3 o’clock in the morning on the 14th of June 1941 the mass deportations from occupied Baltic countries started. There where about 17 thousands of Lithuanians deported to Siberia in the animal transportation wagons. After the World War II there where another eight waves of deportation, the biggest one was on May 22-23rd in 1948, when 39 766 people from 11 345 families where deported. Not only panics rose after the first deportation, but also powerful determination to resist. Suddenly in Lithuanian forests lots of small platoons of partisans (Forest Brothers) appeared. The Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF) and other patriotic organisations arranged the June uprising in 1941.

On the 22nd of June 1941 Hitler started the war with Soviets and occupied Lithuania. The same day the arranged June rise exploded, the rebellions formed Provisional Government of Lithuania (Laikinoji Vyriausybė), but Germany did not recognize it and gradually stripped the Lithuanian government of its powers. Lithuania, having no regular army, was unable to resist because of the huge disparity of strength and ultimately the Germans annexed Lithuania.

Nazi occupation lasted until 1944. During these years a very big percentage of Jews where killed, because the Germans attacked Lithuania very suddenly and there was no time for Jews to retreat. The Jewish ghettos where established in Vilnius and Kaunas. Lots of Jewish people died during the Holocaust in Vilnius suburb Paneriai (about 100,000 people) and in the IX Fortress in Kaunas (a memorial plaque at the field outside the Ninth fort states that 50,000 people, including Russians, Jews, Lithuanians and others are buried there).

The Soviet army came back to Lithuania at the end of 1944. during the deportations, which soviets organized in 1940-1941 and 1944-1953, there where at least 30,000 of families deported to the remote areas of Siberia. Historians note, that the repression where meant to destroy not single people, but families – when whole family disappears, with disappears their experience and public-cultural influence, which was gained by families during tenth of years. Only the Stalin death in 1953 ceased the further repressions.

The organized armed resistance was also suppressed in 1953, but the soviet authority could not suppress the movement for Lithuanian independence – the underground dissident groups where publishing patriotic and catholic press, literature. In 1972 after Romas Kalanta set himself on fire in protest of the occupation of Lithuania and oppression of the Lithuanian language, culture and people by the government of the Soviet Union, there where few days of student unrest in Lithuania, especially in Kaunas.

In 1985, when Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of Soviet Union, started perestrojka, the requisition of Lithuanian sovereignty and independence started to sound stronger.

In 1988 the Reform Movement of Lithuania "Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis" was established. This movement tried to achieve bigger self-dependence and from the February 16th, 1989, officially was seeking Lithuania’s independence. On the 23rd of August 1989, during the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a human chain connecting Vilnius, Ryga and Tallin focused international attention on the aspirations of the Baltic nations. The impressive Baltic Way was initiated by Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis and symbolized the Baltic peoples’ solidarity in their struggle for more autonomy and eventual independence. About 2 - 2,5 million people from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia where standing and holding each other’s hands in peaceful, impressive protest. In Vilnius Cathedral Square, in the place where the Baltic Way started, there is a Miracle (Stebuklas) stone in the pavement and everyone can make a wish standing on it.

The Baltic Way is also included in Guinness world book of records for the longest human chain ever (600 km long).

On the March 11, 1990, Vytautas Landsbergis, the chairman of Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis, was elected to be the chairman of Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, and became the leader of the country. As the chairman he led the Council’s session where the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania was declared. Lithuania again became an independent country. The council held it last session on November 11, 1992. It was succeeded by democratically elected Seimas.

Soviet Union stood up against Lithuanian aspiration to become independent, the confrontation raised it’s culmination on the 13th of January 1991, when soviet soldiers tried to take by storm Vilnius television tower. Fourteen armless defenders of Lithuanian independence died under the tanks, bout 600 where injured.

Independent Lithuania actively was seeking to come back to the family of European nations, with which is tied by common history and values. Lithuania is the member of European union (from May 1st, 2004) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (from March 29th, 2004).