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aria-controls="toc-Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_(13th_century–1569)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Grand Duchy of Lithuania (13th century–1569) subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_(13th_century–1569)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_state" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_state"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.1 13th–14th century Lithuanian state </div> </a> <ul id="toc-13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_state-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Mindaugas_and_his_kingdom" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mindaugas_and_his_kingdom"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.1.1 Mindaugas and his kingdom </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mindaugas_and_his_kingdom-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Traidenis,_Teutonic_conquests_of_Baltic_tribes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Traidenis,_Teutonic_conquests_of_Baltic_tribes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.1.2 Traidenis, Teutonic conquests of Baltic tribes </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Traidenis,_Teutonic_conquests_of_Baltic_tribes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Vytenis,_Lithuania's_great_expansion_under_Gediminas" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Vytenis,_Lithuania's_great_expansion_under_Gediminas"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.1.3 Vytenis, Lithuania's great expansion under Gediminas </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Vytenis,_Lithuania's_great_expansion_under_Gediminas-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Algirdas_and_Kęstutis" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Algirdas_and_Kęstutis"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.1.4 Algirdas and Kęstutis </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Algirdas_and_Kęstutis-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Jogaila's_conflict_with_Kęstutis,_Vytautas" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Jogaila's_conflict_with_Kęstutis,_Vytautas"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.1.5 Jogaila's conflict with Kęstutis, Vytautas </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Jogaila's_conflict_with_Kęstutis,_Vytautas-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_society" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_society"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.1.6 13th–14th century Lithuanian society </div> </a> <ul id="toc-13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_society-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dynastic_union_with_Poland,_Christianization_of_the_state" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Dynastic_union_with_Poland,_Christianization_of_the_state"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.2 Dynastic union with Poland, Christianization of the state </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Dynastic_union_with_Poland,_Christianization_of_the_state-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Jogaila's_Catholic_conversion_and_rule" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Jogaila's_Catholic_conversion_and_rule"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.2.1 Jogaila's Catholic conversion and rule </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Jogaila's_Catholic_conversion_and_rule-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lithuania_at_its_peak_under_Vytautas" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lithuania_at_its_peak_under_Vytautas"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.2.2 Lithuania at its peak under Vytautas </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Lithuania_at_its_peak_under_Vytautas-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Around_the_first_half_of_the_15th_century" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Around_the_first_half_of_the_15th_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.2.3 Around the first half of the 15th century </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Around_the_first_half_of_the_15th_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Under_Jagiellonian_rulers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Under_Jagiellonian_rulers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.2.4 Under Jagiellonian rulers </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Under_Jagiellonian_rulers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Toward_more_integrated_union" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Toward_more_integrated_union"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.2.5 Toward more integrated union </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Toward_more_integrated_union-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lithuanian_Renaissance" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lithuanian_Renaissance"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 2.2.6 Lithuanian Renaissance </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Lithuanian_Renaissance-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569–1795)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569–1795)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569–1795)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569–1795)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-New_union_with_Poland" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#New_union_with_Poland"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.1 New union with Poland </div> </a> <ul id="toc-New_union_with_Poland-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Languages" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Languages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.2 Languages </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Languages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Religion" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Religion"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.3 Religion </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Religion-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Grand_Duchy,_its_grandeur_and_decline" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Grand_Duchy,_its_grandeur_and_decline"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.4 Grand Duchy, its grandeur and decline </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Grand_Duchy,_its_grandeur_and_decline-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Under_Imperial_Russia,_World_War_I_(1795–1918)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Under_Imperial_Russia,_World_War_I_(1795–1918)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4 Under Imperial Russia, World War I (1795–1918) </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Under_Imperial_Russia,_World_War_I_(1795–1918)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Under Imperial Russia, World War I (1795–1918) subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Under_Imperial_Russia,_World_War_I_(1795–1918)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Post-Commonwealth_period_(1795–1864);_foundations_of_Lithuanian_nationalism" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Post-Commonwealth_period_(1795–1864);_foundations_of_Lithuanian_nationalism"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.1 Post-Commonwealth period (1795–1864); foundations of Lithuanian nationalism </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Post-Commonwealth_period_(1795–1864);_foundations_of_Lithuanian_nationalism-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Formation_of_modern_national_identity_and_push_for_self-rule_(1864–1918)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Formation_of_modern_national_identity_and_push_for_self-rule_(1864–1918)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.2 Formation of modern national identity and push for self-rule (1864–1918) </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Formation_of_modern_national_identity_and_push_for_self-rule_(1864–1918)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Independence_(1918–1940)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Independence_(1918–1940)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5 Independence (1918–1940) </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Independence_(1918–1940)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Independence (1918–1940) subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Independence_(1918–1940)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Declaration_of_independence" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Declaration_of_independence"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1 Declaration of independence </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Declaration_of_independence-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Democratic_period" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Democratic_period"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.2 Democratic period </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Democratic_period-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Authoritarian_period" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Authoritarian_period"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.3 Authoritarian period </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Authoritarian_period-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-World_War_II_(1939–1945)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#World_War_II_(1939–1945)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6 World War II (1939–1945) </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-World_War_II_(1939–1945)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle World War II (1939–1945) subsection </button> <ul id="toc-World_War_II_(1939–1945)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-First_Soviet_occupation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_Soviet_occupation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.1 First Soviet occupation </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_Soviet_occupation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Occupation_of_Lithuania_by_Nazi_Germany_(1941–1944)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Occupation_of_Lithuania_by_Nazi_Germany_(1941–1944)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.2 Occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany (1941–1944) </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Occupation_of_Lithuania_by_Nazi_Germany_(1941–1944)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Second_Soviet_occupation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Second_Soviet_occupation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.3 Second Soviet occupation </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Second_Soviet_occupation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Soviet_period_(1944–1990)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Soviet_period_(1944–1990)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7 Soviet period (1944–1990) </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Soviet_period_(1944–1990)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Soviet period (1944–1990) subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Soviet_period_(1944–1990)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Stalinist_terror_and_resistance_(1944–1953)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Stalinist_terror_and_resistance_(1944–1953)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1 Stalinist terror and resistance (1944–1953) </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Stalinist_terror_and_resistance_(1944–1953)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Soviet_era_(1953–1988)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Soviet_era_(1953–1988)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.2 Soviet era (1953–1988) </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Soviet_era_(1953–1988)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Rebirth_(1988–1990)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rebirth_(1988–1990)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.3 Rebirth (1988–1990) </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rebirth_(1988–1990)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Independence_restored_(1990–present)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Independence_restored_(1990–present)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 8 Independence restored (1990–present) </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Independence_restored_(1990–present)-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Independence restored (1990–present) subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Independence_restored_(1990–present)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Struggle_for_independence_(1990–1991)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Struggle_for_independence_(1990–1991)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 8.1 Struggle for independence (1990–1991) </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Struggle_for_independence_(1990–1991)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Contemporary_Republic_of_Lithuania_(1991–present)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Contemporary_Republic_of_Lithuania_(1991–present)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 8.2 Contemporary Republic of Lithuania (1991–present) </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Contemporary_Republic_of_Lithuania_(1991–present)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Historiography" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Historiography"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 9 Historiography </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Historiography-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 10 See also </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 11 Notes </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 12 References </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 13 External links </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" > Toggle the table of contents </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading">History of Lithuania</h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 52 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-52" aria-hidden="true" > 52 languages </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7" title="تاريخ ليتوانيا – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="تاريخ ليتوانيا" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target">العربية</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_Lituania" title="Historia de Lituania – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Historia de Lituania" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Asturianu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litva_tarixi" title="Litva tarixi – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Litva tarixi" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target">Azərbaycanca</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A5%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0_%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8" title="লিথুয়ানিয়ার ইতিহাস – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="লিথুয়ানিয়ার ইতিহাস" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target">বাংলা</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ba mw-list-item"><a href="https://ba.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85%D1%8B" title="Литва тарихы – Bashkir" lang="ba" hreflang="ba" data-title="Литва тарихы" data-language-autonym="Башҡортса" data-language-local-name="Bashkir" class="interlanguage-link-target">Башҡортса</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8F_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B2%D1%8B" title="Гісторыя Літвы – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Гісторыя Літвы" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Беларуская</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%8F_%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B2%D1%8B" title="Гісторыя Летувы – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Гісторыя Летувы" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target">Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0" title="История на Литва – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="История на Литва" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Български</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bs mw-list-item"><a href="https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historija_Litvanije" title="Historija Litvanije – Bosnian" lang="bs" hreflang="bs" data-title="Historija Litvanije" data-language-autonym="Bosanski" data-language-local-name="Bosnian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Bosanski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist%C3%B2ria_de_Litu%C3%A0nia" title="Història de Lituània – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Història de Lituània" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target">Català</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C4%9Bjiny_Litvy" title="Dějiny Litvy – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Dějiny Litvy" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target">Čeština</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litauens_historie" title="Litauens historie – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Litauens historie" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Dansk</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_Litauens" title="Geschichte Litauens – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Geschichte Litauens" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target">Deutsch</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leedu_ajalugu" title="Leedu ajalugu – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Leedu ajalugu" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Eesti</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%99%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%B1_%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%9B%CE%B9%CE%B8%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%82" title="Ιστορία της Λιθουανίας – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Ιστορία της Λιθουανίας" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target">Ελληνικά</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_Lituania" title="Historia de Lituania – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Historia de Lituania" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Español</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historio_de_Litovio" title="Historio de Litovio – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Historio de Litovio" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target">Esperanto</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lituaniako_historia" title="Lituaniako historia – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Lituaniako historia" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target">Euskara</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AE_%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C" title="تاریخ لیتوانی – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="تاریخ لیتوانی" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target">فارسی</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histoire_de_la_Lituanie" title="Histoire de la Lituanie – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Histoire de la Lituanie" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target">Français</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ga mw-list-item"><a href="https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stair_na_Liotu%C3%A1ine" title="Stair na Liotuáine – Irish" lang="ga" hreflang="ga" data-title="Stair na Liotuáine" data-language-autonym="Gaeilge" data-language-local-name="Irish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Gaeilge</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_de_Lituania" title="Historia de Lituania – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Historia de Lituania" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target">Galego</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%A6%AC%ED%88%AC%EC%95%84%EB%8B%88%EC%95%84%EC%9D%98_%EC%97%AD%EC%82%AC" title="리투아니아의 역사 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="리투아니아의 역사" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target">한국어</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Povijest_Litve" title="Povijest Litve – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Povijest Litve" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Hrvatski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-io mw-list-item"><a href="https://io.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historio_di_Lituania" title="Historio di Lituania – Ido" lang="io" hreflang="io" data-title="Historio di Lituania" data-language-autonym="Ido" data-language-local-name="Ido" class="interlanguage-link-target">Ido</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storia_della_Lituania" title="Storia della Lituania – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Storia della Lituania" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Italiano</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94_%D7%A9%D7%9C_%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%98%D7%90" title="היסטוריה של ליטא – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="היסטוריה של ליטא" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target">עברית</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%E1%83%94%E1%83%A2%E1%83%A3%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%A2%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%90" title="ლიეტუვის ისტორია – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="ლიეტუვის ისტორია" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target">ქართული</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_ya_Lithuania" title="Historia ya Lithuania – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Historia ya Lithuania" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target">Kiswahili</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Lituaniae" title="Historia Lituaniae – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Historia Lituaniae" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target">Latina</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lietuvas_v%C4%93sture" title="Lietuvas vēsture – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Lietuvas vēsture" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Latviešu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lietuvos_istorija" title="Lietuvos istorija – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Lietuvos istorija" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Lietuvių</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle mw-list-item" title="featured article badge"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litv%C3%A1nia_t%C3%B6rt%C3%A9nelme" title="Litvánia történelme – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Litvánia történelme" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Magyar</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0" title="Историја на Литванија – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Историја на Литванија" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Македонски</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschiedenis_van_Litouwen" title="Geschiedenis van Litouwen – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Geschiedenis van Litouwen" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target">Nederlands</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%88%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%82%A2%E3%81%AE%E6%AD%B4%E5%8F%B2" title="リトアニアの歴史 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="リトアニアの歴史" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target">日本語</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ce mw-list-item"><a href="https://ce.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8" title="Литван истори – Chechen" lang="ce" hreflang="ce" data-title="Литван истори" data-language-autonym="Нохчийн" data-language-local-name="Chechen" class="interlanguage-link-target">Нохчийн</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litauens_historie" title="Litauens historie – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Litauens historie" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target">Norsk bokmål</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-oc mw-list-item"><a href="https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ist%C3%B2ria_de_Litu%C3%A0nia" title="Istòria de Lituània – Occitan" lang="oc" hreflang="oc" data-title="Istòria de Lituània" data-language-autonym="Occitan" data-language-local-name="Occitan" class="interlanguage-link-target">Occitan</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historia_Litwy" title="Historia Litwy – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Historia Litwy" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Polski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hist%C3%B3ria_da_Litu%C3%A2nia" title="História da Lituânia – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="História da Lituânia" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target">Português</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istoria_Lituaniei" title="Istoria Lituaniei – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Istoria Lituaniei" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Română</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9B%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D1%8B" title="История Литвы – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="История Литвы" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Русский</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dejiny_Litvy" title="Dejiny Litvy – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Dejiny Litvy" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target">Slovenčina</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istorija_Litvanije" title="Istorija Litvanije – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Istorija Litvanije" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Српски / srpski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liettuan_historia" title="Liettuan historia – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Liettuan historia" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Suomi</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litauens_historia" title="Litauens historia – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Litauens historia" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Svenska</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litvanya_tarihi" title="Litvanya tarihi – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Litvanya tarihi" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Türkçe</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%86%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%96%D1%8F_%D0%9B%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B8" title="Історія Литви – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Історія Литви" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Українська</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%E1%BB%8Bch_s%E1%BB%AD_Litva" title="Lịch sử Litva – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Lịch sử Litva" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target">Tiếng Việt</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%8B%E9%99%B6%E5%AE%9B%E5%8E%86%E5%8F%B2" title="立陶宛历史 – Wu" lang="wuu" hreflang="wuu" data-title="立陶宛历史" data-language-autonym="吴语" data-language-local-name="Wu" class="interlanguage-link-target">吴语</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%8B%E9%99%B6%E5%AE%9B%E5%8E%86%E5%8F%B2" title="立陶宛历史 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="立陶宛历史" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target">中文</a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><a 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.mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile vcard plainlist"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><div class="sidebar-pretitle" style="margin: -0.2em 0; font-size:69%; font-weight:normal;">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:History_of_Lithuania" title="Category:History of Lithuania">a series</a> on the</div></th> </tr><tr> <th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style=""><a class="mw-selflink selflink">History of Lithuania</a></th> </tr><tr><td style="padding-bottom: 0.4em; border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc;"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg/80px-Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg.png" decoding="async" width="80" height="91" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg/120px-Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg/160px-Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="528" data-file-height="600" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Prehistory</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kunda_culture" title="Kunda culture">Kunda culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narva_culture" title="Narva culture">Narva culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neman_culture" title="Neman culture">Neman culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Corded_Ware_culture" title="Corded Ware culture">Corded Ware culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Baltic tribes</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Yotvingia" title="Yotvingia">Yotvingia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amber_Road" title="Amber Road">Amber Road</a> / <a href="/wiki/Aesti" title="Aesti">Aesti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuania_proper" title="Lithuania proper">Lithuania proper</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Middle ages</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Lithuania_(1219%E2%80%931295)" title="History of Lithuania (1219–1295)">Duchy of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania" title="Kingdom of Lithuania">Kingdom of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Poland_during_the_Jagiellonian_dynasty" title="History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty">Jagiellonian period</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/History_of_Poland_in_the_Early_Modern_era_(1569%E2%80%931795)" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795)">Early Modern era</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569%E2%80%931648)" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648)">Early elective monarchy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1648%E2%80%931764)" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764)">Deluge and decline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1764%E2%80%931795)" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–1795)">Three partitions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Swedish_Lithuania" title="Swedish Lithuania">Swedish Lithuania</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Modern era</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Vilna_Governorate" title="Vilna Governorate">Russian rule</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania_(1918)" title="Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)">Kingdom of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Wars_of_Independence" title="Lithuanian Wars of Independence">Wars of Independence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Lithuanian–Soviet War">Lithuanian–Soviet War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania" title="Act of Independence of Lithuania">Independence declared</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_the_Baltic_states_(1940)" title="Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)">1940 Soviet occupation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_Lithuania_during_World_War_II" title="German occupation of Lithuania during World War II">Nazi occupation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_the_Baltic_states_(1944)" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1944)">1944 Soviet re-occupation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_the_Re-Establishment_of_the_State_of_Lithuania" title="Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania">Independence restored</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Lithuania">Republic of Lithuania</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Other topics</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Name_of_Lithuania" title="Name of Lithuania">Name of Lithuania</a> <a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania" title="Coat of arms of Lithuania">Coat of arms of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_early_Lithuanian_dukes" title="List of early Lithuanian dukes">List of early Lithuanian dukes</a> <a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Lithuania">List of rulers of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Lithuanian_monarchs" title="List of Lithuanian monarchs">List of Lithuanian monarchs</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content" style="padding:0.2em; border-top:#aaa 1px solid;"> <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Chronology</a></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below" style="border-top:#aaa 1px solid; border-bottom:#aaa 1px solid;"> <img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/32px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png" decoding="async" width="32" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/48px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/64px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /> <a href="/wiki/Portal:Lithuania" title="Portal:Lithuania">Lithuania portal</a></td></tr><tr><td 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.ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Very_long plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-very_long" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/40px-Edit-clear.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/60px-Edit-clear.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/80px-Edit-clear.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article may be <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Article_size" title="Wikipedia:Article size">too long</a> to read and navigate comfortably. When this tag was added, its <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:SIZERULE" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:SIZERULE">readable prose size</a> was 17,000 words. Consider <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Splitting" title="Wikipedia:Splitting">splitting</a> content into sub-articles, <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Summary_style" title="Wikipedia:Summary style">condensing</a> it, or adding <a href="/wiki/Help:Section#Subsections" title="Help:Section">subheadings</a>. Please discuss this issue on the article's <a href="/wiki/Talk:History_of_Lithuania" title="Talk:History of Lithuania">talk page</a>. (June 2024)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded about 10,000 years ago,<a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a><a href="#cite_note-kudirka13-2">[2]</a> but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD.<a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a> <a href="/wiki/Lithuanians" title="Lithuanians">Lithuanians</a>, one of the <a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Baltic peoples</a>, later conquered neighboring lands and established the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> in the 13th century (and also a short-lived <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania" title="Kingdom of Lithuania">Kingdom of Lithuania</a>). The Grand Duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state. It remained fiercely independent and was one of the last areas of Europe to <a href="/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania" title="Christianization of Lithuania">adopt Christianity</a> (beginning in the 14th century). A formidable power, it became the largest state in <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a> in the 15th century spread from the <a href="/wiki/Baltic_Sea" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Black_Sea" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a>, through the conquest of large groups of <a href="/wiki/East_Slavs" title="East Slavs">East Slavs</a> who resided in <a href="/wiki/Ruthenia" title="Ruthenia">Ruthenia</a>.<a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a> In 1385, the Grand Duchy formed a <a href="/wiki/Dynastic_union" title="Dynastic union">dynastic union</a> with <a href="/wiki/Poland_during_the_Jagiellon_dynasty" class="mw-redirect" title="Poland during the Jagiellon dynasty">Poland</a> through the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Krewo" title="Union of Krewo">Union of Krewo</a>. Later, the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a> (1569) created the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>. During the <a href="/wiki/Second_Northern_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second Northern War">Second Northern War</a>, the Grand Duchy sought protection under the <a href="/wiki/Swedish_Empire" title="Swedish Empire">Swedish Empire</a> through the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_K%C4%97dainiai" title="Union of Kėdainiai">Union of Kėdainiai</a> in 1655. However, it soon returned to being a part of the Polish–Lithuanian state, which persisted until 1795 when the last of the <a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">Partitions of Poland</a> erased both independent Lithuania and Poland from the political map. After the <a href="/wiki/Dissolution_(politics)" title="Dissolution (politics)">dissolution</a>, Lithuanians lived under the rule of the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a> until the 20th century, although there were several major rebellions, especially in <a href="/wiki/November_Uprising" title="November Uprising">1830–1831</a> and <a href="/wiki/January_Uprising" title="January Uprising">1863</a>. On 16 February 1918, <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> was re-established as a democratic state. It remained independent until the onset of <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>, when it was occupied by the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> under the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact</a>. Following a brief occupation by <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> after the Nazis <a href="/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa" title="Operation Barbarossa">waged war on the Soviet Union</a>, Lithuania was again <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">absorbed into the Soviet Union</a> for nearly 50 years. In 1990–1991, Lithuania restored its sovereignty with the <a href="/wiki/Act_of_the_Re-Establishment_of_the_State_of_Lithuania" title="Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania">Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania</a>. Lithuania joined the <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> alliance in 2004 and the <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> as part of <a href="/wiki/2004_enlargement_of_the_European_Union" title="2004 enlargement of the European Union">its enlargement in 2004</a>. <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Before_statehood">Before statehood</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Before statehood">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_settlement">Early settlement</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Early settlement">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kernave_mounds_20200926.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Kernave_mounds_20200926.jpg/220px-Kernave_mounds_20200926.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Kernave_mounds_20200926.jpg/330px-Kernave_mounds_20200926.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Kernave_mounds_20200926.jpg/440px-Kernave_mounds_20200926.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3968" data-file-height="2976" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Kernav%C4%97_Mounds" title="Kernavė Mounds">Kernavė Mounds</a></figcaption></figure> The first humans arrived on the territory of modern Lithuania in the second half of the 10th millennium BC after the glaciers receded at the end of the <a href="/wiki/Last_glacial_period" class="mw-redirect" title="Last glacial period">last glacial period</a>.<a href="#cite_note-kudirka13-2">[2]</a> According to the historian <a href="/wiki/Marija_Gimbutas" title="Marija Gimbutas">Marija Gimbutas</a>, these people came from two directions: the <a href="/wiki/Jutland" title="Jutland">Jutland</a> Peninsula and from present-day <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a>. They brought two different cultures, as evidenced by the tools they used. They were traveling hunters and did not form stable settlements. In the 8th millennium BC, the climate became much warmer, and forests developed. The inhabitants of what is now Lithuania then traveled less and engaged in local hunting, gathering and fresh-water fishing. During the 6th–5th millennium BC, various animals were domesticated and dwellings became more sophisticated in order to shelter larger families. Agriculture did not emerge until the 3rd millennium BC due to a harsh climate and terrain and a lack of suitable tools to cultivate the land. Crafts and trade also started to form at this time. Speakers of North-Western <a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-Europeans" title="Proto-Indo-Europeans">Indo-European</a> might have arrived with the <a href="/wiki/Corded_Ware_culture" title="Corded Ware culture">Corded Ware culture</a> around 3200/3100 BC.<a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Baltic_tribes">Baltic tribes</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Baltic tribes">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:East_europe_3-4cc.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/East_europe_3-4cc.png/220px-East_europe_3-4cc.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="170" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/East_europe_3-4cc.png/330px-East_europe_3-4cc.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/East_europe_3-4cc.png/440px-East_europe_3-4cc.png 2x" data-file-width="3935" data-file-height="3033" /></a><figcaption>Map of the ancient Baltic homelands at the time of the Hunnish invasions (3rd-4th c. AD). Baltic cultural areas (identified archaeologically) are in purple. The Baltic sphere originally covered Eastern Europe from the Baltic Sea to modern Moscow.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Baltic_Tribes_c_1200.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Baltic_Tribes_c_1200.svg/220px-Baltic_Tribes_c_1200.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="242" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Baltic_Tribes_c_1200.svg/330px-Baltic_Tribes_c_1200.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Baltic_Tribes_c_1200.svg/440px-Baltic_Tribes_c_1200.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="988" data-file-height="1088" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Baltic tribes</a> around 1200, in the neighbourhood about to face the <a href="/wiki/Teutonic_Knights" class="mw-redirect" title="Teutonic Knights">Teutonic Knights</a>’ conversion and conquests; note that Baltic territory extended far inland.</figcaption></figure> The first <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian people">Lithuanian people</a> were a branch of an ancient group known as the <a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Balts</a>.<a href="#cite_note-7">[a]</a> The main tribal divisions of the Balts were the West Baltic <a href="/wiki/Old_Prussians" title="Old Prussians">Old Prussians</a> and <a href="/wiki/Yotvingians" title="Yotvingians">Yotvingians</a>, and the East Baltic Lithuanians and <a href="/wiki/Latvian_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Latvian people">Latvians</a>. The Balts spoke forms of the <a href="/wiki/Indo-European_languages" title="Indo-European languages">Indo-European languages</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> Today, the only remaining Baltic nationalities are the Lithuanians and Latvians, but there were more Baltic groups or tribes in the past. Some of these merged into Lithuanians and Latvians (<a href="/wiki/Samogitians" title="Samogitians">Samogitians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Selonians" title="Selonians">Selonians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Curonians" title="Curonians">Curonians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Semigallians" title="Semigallians">Semigallians</a>), while others no longer existed after they were conquered and assimilated by the <a href="/wiki/State_of_the_Teutonic_Order" title="State of the Teutonic Order">State of the Teutonic Order</a> (Old Prussians, Yotvingians, <a href="/wiki/Sambians" title="Sambians">Sambians</a>, <a href="/wiki/Skalvians" title="Skalvians">Skalvians</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Galindians" title="Galindians">Galindians</a>).<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_23-9">[8]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Baltic_tribes" class="mw-redirect" title="Baltic tribes">Baltic tribes</a> did not maintain close cultural or political contacts with the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>, but they did maintain trade contacts (see <a href="/wiki/Amber_Road" title="Amber Road">Amber Road</a>). <a href="/wiki/Tacitus" title="Tacitus">Tacitus</a>, in his study <a href="/wiki/Germania_(book)" title="Germania (book)">Germania</a>, described the <a href="/wiki/Aesti" title="Aesti">Aesti</a> people, inhabitants of the south-eastern <a href="/wiki/Baltic_Sea" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a> shores who were probably Balts, around the year 97 AD.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_22-10">[9]</a> The Western Balts differentiated and became known to outside chroniclers first. <a href="/wiki/Ptolemy" title="Ptolemy">Ptolemy</a> in the 2nd century AD knew of the Galindians and Yotvingians, and <a href="/wiki/Early_Middle_Ages" title="Early Middle Ages">early medieval</a> chroniclers mentioned Prussians, Curonians and Semigallians.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_26-11">[10]</a> Lithuania, located along the lower and middle <a href="/wiki/Neman_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Neman River">Neman River</a> basin, comprised mainly the culturally different regions of <a href="/wiki/Samogitia" title="Samogitia">Samogitia</a> (known for its early medieval skeletal burials), and further east <a href="/wiki/Auk%C5%A1taitija" title="Aukštaitija">Aukštaitija</a>, or Lithuania proper (known for its early medieval cremation burials).<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_37-12">[11]</a> The area was remote and unattractive to outsiders, including traders, which accounts for its separate linguistic, cultural and religious identity and delayed integration into general European patterns and trends.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lietuvos_vardas._The_first_name_of_Lithuania_in_writing_1009.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Lietuvos_vardas._The_first_name_of_Lithuania_in_writing_1009.jpg/220px-Lietuvos_vardas._The_first_name_of_Lithuania_in_writing_1009.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="116" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Lietuvos_vardas._The_first_name_of_Lithuania_in_writing_1009.jpg/330px-Lietuvos_vardas._The_first_name_of_Lithuania_in_writing_1009.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Lietuvos_vardas._The_first_name_of_Lithuania_in_writing_1009.jpg/440px-Lietuvos_vardas._The_first_name_of_Lithuania_in_writing_1009.jpg 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="316" /></a><figcaption>Lithuania's name first written in 1009, in the annals of the <a href="/wiki/Quedlinburg_Abbey" title="Quedlinburg Abbey">Quedlinburg Abbey</a>, Germany.</figcaption></figure> The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian language</a> is considered to be very <a href="/wiki/Conservative_(language)" class="mw-redirect" title="Conservative (language)">conservative</a> for its close connection to Indo-European roots. It is believed to have differentiated from the <a href="/wiki/Latvian_language" title="Latvian language">Latvian language</a>, the most closely related existing language, around the 7th century.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_13-13">[12]</a> Traditional <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_mythology" title="Lithuanian mythology">Lithuanian pagan customs and mythology</a>, with many archaic elements, were long preserved. Rulers' bodies were cremated up until the <a href="/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania" title="Christianization of Lithuania">Christianization of Lithuania</a>: the descriptions of the cremation ceremonies of the grand dukes <a href="/wiki/Algirdas" title="Algirdas">Algirdas</a> and <a href="/wiki/K%C4%99stutis" title="Kęstutis">Kęstutis</a> have survived.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_24-25-14">[13]</a> The Lithuanian tribe is thought to have developed more recognizably toward the end of the first <a href="/wiki/Millennium" title="Millennium">millennium</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_26-11">[10]</a> The first known reference to Lithuania as a nation ("Litua") comes from the <a href="/wiki/Annals_of_Quedlinburg" title="Annals of Quedlinburg">Annals of the Quedlinburg monastery</a>, dated 9 March 1009.<a href="#cite_note-15">[14]</a> In 1009, the missionary <a href="/wiki/Bruno_of_Querfurt" title="Bruno of Querfurt">Bruno of Querfurt</a> arrived in Lithuania and baptized the Lithuanian ruler "King Nethimer."<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_22,_26-28-16">[15]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Formation_of_a_Lithuanian_state">Formation of a Lithuanian state</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Formation of a Lithuanian state">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kievan-rus-1015-1113-(en).png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png/220px-Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="270" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png/330px-Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png/440px-Kievan-rus-1015-1113-%28en%29.png 2x" data-file-width="2166" data-file-height="2659" /></a><figcaption>East of the Baltic tribes: <a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a></figcaption></figure> From the 9th to the 11th centuries, coastal Balts were subjected to raids by the <a href="/wiki/Vikings" title="Vikings">Vikings</a>, and the kings of <a href="/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> collected tribute at times. During the 10–11th centuries, Lithuanian territories were among the lands paying tribute to <a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Yaroslav_the_Wise" title="Yaroslav the Wise">Yaroslav the Wise</a> was among the <a href="/wiki/Ruthenia" title="Ruthenia">Ruthenian</a> rulers who invaded Lithuania (from 1040). From the mid-12th century, it was the Lithuanians who were invading Ruthenian territories. In 1183, <a href="/wiki/Polotsk" title="Polotsk">Polotsk</a> and <a href="/wiki/Pskov" title="Pskov">Pskov</a> were ravaged, and even the distant and powerful <a href="/wiki/Novgorod_Republic" title="Novgorod Republic">Novgorod Republic</a> was repeatedly threatened by the excursions from the emerging Lithuanian war machine toward the end of the 12th century.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_39-42-17">[16]</a> In the 12th century and afterwards, mutual raids involving Lithuanian and Polish forces took place sporadically, but the two countries were separated by the lands of the <a href="/wiki/Yotvingians" title="Yotvingians">Yotvingians</a>. The late 12th century brought an eastern expansion of German settlers (the <a href="/wiki/Ostsiedlung" title="Ostsiedlung">Ostsiedlung</a>) to the mouth of the <a href="/wiki/Daugava_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Daugava River">Daugava River</a> area. Military confrontations with Lithuanians followed at that time and at the turn of the century, but for the time being the Lithuanians had the upper hand.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_43-45-18">[17]</a> From the late 12th century, an organized Lithuanian military force existed; it was used for external raids, plundering and the gathering of slaves. Such military and pecuniary activities fostered social differentiation and triggered a struggle for power in Lithuania. This initiated the formation of early statehood, from which the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> developed.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> In 1231, the <a href="/wiki/Danish_Census_Book" title="Danish Census Book">Danish Census Book</a> mentions Baltic lands paying tribute to the Danes, including Lithuania (Littonia).<a href="#cite_note-19">[18]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania_(13th_century–1569)">Grand Duchy of Lithuania (13th century–1569)</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Grand Duchy of Lithuania (13th century–1569)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_state">13th–14th century Lithuanian state</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: 13th–14th century Lithuanian state">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Mindaugas_and_his_kingdom">Mindaugas and his kingdom</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Mindaugas and his kingdom">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/History_of_Lithuania_(1219%E2%80%9395)" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Lithuania (1219–95)">History of Lithuania (1219–95)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Papal_bull_regarding_Lithuanian_ruler_Mindaugas_1251.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Papal_bull_regarding_Lithuanian_ruler_Mindaugas_1251.jpg/220px-Papal_bull_regarding_Lithuanian_ruler_Mindaugas_1251.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Papal_bull_regarding_Lithuanian_ruler_Mindaugas_1251.jpg/330px-Papal_bull_regarding_Lithuanian_ruler_Mindaugas_1251.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Papal_bull_regarding_Lithuanian_ruler_Mindaugas_1251.jpg/440px-Papal_bull_regarding_Lithuanian_ruler_Mindaugas_1251.jpg 2x" data-file-width="650" data-file-height="433" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Pope_Innocent_IV" title="Pope Innocent IV">Pope Innocent IV</a>'s bull regarding Lithuania's placement under the jurisdiction of the <a href="/wiki/Bishop_of_Rome" class="mw-redirect" title="Bishop of Rome">Bishop of Rome</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mindaugas" title="Mindaugas">Mindaugas</a>' baptism and coronation</figcaption></figure> From the early 13th century, frequent foreign military excursions became possible due to the increased cooperation and coordination among the Baltic tribes.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> Forty such expeditions took place between 1201 and 1236 against Ruthenia, Poland, Latvia and Estonia, which were then being conquered by the <a href="/wiki/Livonian_Order" title="Livonian Order">Livonian Order</a>. <a href="/wiki/Pskov_Republic" title="Pskov Republic">Pskov</a> was pillaged and burned in 1213.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_43-45-18">[17]</a> In 1219, twenty-one Lithuanian chiefs signed a peace treaty with the state of <a href="/wiki/Galicia%E2%80%93Volhynia" class="mw-redirect" title="Galicia–Volhynia">Galicia–Volhynia</a>. This event is widely accepted as the first proof that the Baltic tribes were uniting and consolidating.<a href="#cite_note-gerutis-20">[19]</a> From the early 13th century, two German crusading <a href="/wiki/Military_order_(monastic_society)" class="mw-redirect" title="Military order (monastic society)">military orders</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Livonian_Brothers_of_the_Sword" title="Livonian Brothers of the Sword">Livonian Brothers of the Sword</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Teutonic_Knights" class="mw-redirect" title="Teutonic Knights">Teutonic Knights</a>, became established at the mouth of the <a href="/wiki/Daugava_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Daugava River">Daugava River</a> and in <a href="/wiki/Che%C5%82mno_Land" title="Chełmno Land">Chełmno Land</a> respectively. Under the pretense of converting the population to Christianity, they proceeded to conquer much of the area that is now Latvia and <a href="/wiki/Estonia" title="Estonia">Estonia</a>, in addition to parts of Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> In response, a number of small Baltic tribal groups united under the rule of <a href="/wiki/Mindaugas" title="Mindaugas">Mindaugas</a>. Mindaugas, originally a kunigas or major chief, one of the five <a href="/wiki/List_of_early_Lithuanian_dukes" title="List of early Lithuanian dukes">senior dukes</a> listed in the treaty of 1219, is referred to as the ruler of all Lithuania as of 1236 in the <a href="/wiki/Livonian_Rhymed_Chronicle" title="Livonian Rhymed Chronicle">Livonian Rhymed Chronicle</a>.<a href="#cite_note-LV-Mind-21">[20]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Teutonic_Order_1260.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Teutonic_Order_1260.png/220px-Teutonic_Order_1260.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="191" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Teutonic_Order_1260.png/330px-Teutonic_Order_1260.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Teutonic_Order_1260.png/440px-Teutonic_Order_1260.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="1043" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/State_of_the_Teutonic_Order" title="State of the Teutonic Order">State of the Teutonic Order</a> in 1260</figcaption></figure> In 1236 the pope declared a crusade against the Lithuanians.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_29-30-22">[21]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Samogitians" title="Samogitians">Samogitians</a>, led by <a href="/wiki/Vykintas" title="Vykintas">Vykintas</a>, Mindaugas' rival,<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_46-47-23">[22]</a> soundly defeated the Livonian Brothers and their allies in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Saule" title="Battle of Saule">Battle of Saule</a> in 1236, which forced the Brothers to merge with the Teutonic Knights in 1237.<a href="#cite_note-kiaupa-24">[23]</a> But Lithuania was trapped between the two branches of the Order.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_29-30-22">[21]</a> Around 1240, Mindaugas ruled over all of <a href="/wiki/Auk%C5%A1taitija" title="Aukštaitija">Aukštaitija</a>. Afterwards, he conquered the <a href="/wiki/Black_Ruthenia" title="Black Ruthenia">Black Ruthenia</a> region (which consisted of <a href="/wiki/Grodno" title="Grodno">Grodno</a>, <a href="/wiki/Brest,_Belarus" title="Brest, Belarus">Brest</a>, <a href="/wiki/Navahrudak" class="mw-redirect" title="Navahrudak">Navahrudak</a> and the surrounding territories).<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> Mindaugas was in process of extending his control to other areas, killing rivals or sending relatives and members of rival clans east to Ruthenia so they could conquer and settle there. They did that, but they also rebelled. The Ruthenian duke <a href="/wiki/Daniel_of_Galicia" title="Daniel of Galicia">Daniel of Galicia</a> sensed an occasion to recover Black Ruthenia and in 1249–1250 organized a powerful anti-Mindaugas (and "anti-pagan") coalition that included Mindaugas' rivals, Yotvingians, Samogitians and the <a href="/wiki/Livonia" title="Livonia">Livonian</a> Teutonic Knights. Mindaugas, however, took advantage of the divergent interests in the coalition he faced.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_47-48-25">[24]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Seal_of_Mindaugas.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Seal_of_Mindaugas.jpg/150px-Seal_of_Mindaugas.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="210" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Seal_of_Mindaugas.jpg/225px-Seal_of_Mindaugas.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Seal_of_Mindaugas.jpg/300px-Seal_of_Mindaugas.jpg 2x" data-file-width="624" data-file-height="875" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Seal_of_Mindaugas" title="Seal of Mindaugas">Seal of Mindaugas</a></figcaption></figure> In 1250, Mindaugas entered into an agreement with the Teutonic Order; he consented to receive baptism (the act took place in 1251) and relinquish his claim over some lands in western Lithuania, for which he was to receive a royal crown in return.<a href="#cite_note-voruta-26">[25]</a> Mindaugas was then able to withstand a military assault from the remaining coalition in 1251, and, supported by the Knights, emerge as a victor to confirm his rule over Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_48-50-27">[26]</a> On 17 July 1251, <a href="/wiki/Pope_Innocent_IV" title="Pope Innocent IV">Pope Innocent IV</a> signed two <a href="/wiki/Papal_bull" title="Papal bull">papal bulls</a> that ordered the Bishop of <a href="/wiki/Che%C5%82mno" title="Chełmno">Chełmno</a> to crown Mindaugas as <a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Lithuania">King of Lithuania</a>, appoint a bishop for Lithuania, and build a cathedral.<a href="#cite_note-MGweb-28">[27]</a> In 1253, Mindaugas was crowned and a <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania" title="Kingdom of Lithuania">Kingdom of Lithuania</a> was established for the first and only time in Lithuanian history.<a href="#cite_note-29">[28]</a><a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> Mindaugas "granted" parts of Yotvingia and Samogitia that he did not control to the Knights in 1253–1259. A peace with Daniel of Galicia in 1254 was cemented by a marriage deal involving Mindaugas' daughter and Daniel's son <a href="/wiki/Shvarn" title="Shvarn">Shvarn</a>. Mindaugas' nephew <a href="/wiki/Tautvilas" title="Tautvilas">Tautvilas</a> returned to his <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Polotsk" title="Principality of Polotsk">Duchy of Polotsk</a> and Samogitia separated, soon to be ruled by another nephew, <a href="/wiki/Treniota" title="Treniota">Treniota</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_48-50-27">[26]</a> In 1260, the Samogitians, victorious over the Teutonic Knights in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Durbe" title="Battle of Durbe">Battle of Durbe</a>, agreed to submit themselves to Mindaugas' rule on the condition that he abandons the Christian religion; the king complied by terminating the emergent conversion of his country, renewed anti-Teutonic warfare (in the struggle for Samogitia)<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_33-31">[30]</a> and expanded further his Ruthenian holdings.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_50-53-32">[31]</a> It is not clear whether this was accompanied by his personal <a href="/wiki/Apostasy" title="Apostasy">apostasy</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_33-31">[30]</a> Mindaugas thus established the basic tenets of medieval Lithuanian policy: defense against the German Order expansion from the west and north and conquest of <a href="/wiki/Ruthenia" title="Ruthenia">Ruthenia</a> in the south and east.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> Mindaugas was the principal founder of the Lithuanian state. He established for a while a Christian kingdom under the pope rather than the <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>, at a time when the remaining pagan peoples of Europe were no longer being converted peacefully, but conquered.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_30-33-33">[32]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Traidenis,_Teutonic_conquests_of_Baltic_tribes">Traidenis, Teutonic conquests of Baltic tribes</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Traidenis, Teutonic conquests of Baltic tribes">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/History_of_Lithuania_(1219%E2%80%9395)" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Lithuania (1219–95)">History of Lithuania (1219–95)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Daumantas_of_Pskov.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Daumantas_of_Pskov.jpg/150px-Daumantas_of_Pskov.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="300" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Daumantas_of_Pskov.jpg/225px-Daumantas_of_Pskov.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Daumantas_of_Pskov.jpg 2x" data-file-width="240" data-file-height="480" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Daumantas_of_Pskov" title="Daumantas of Pskov">Daumantas of Pskov</a> killed Mindaugas in revenge for the king's taking of Daumantas' wife</figcaption></figure> Mindaugas was murdered in 1263 by <a href="/wiki/Daumantas_of_Pskov" title="Daumantas of Pskov">Daumantas of Pskov</a> and <a href="/wiki/Treniota" title="Treniota">Treniota</a>, an event that resulted in great unrest and civil war. Treniota, who took over the rule of the Lithuanian territories, murdered Tautvilas, but was killed himself in 1264. The rule of Mindaugas' son <a href="/wiki/Vai%C5%A1vilkas" title="Vaišvilkas">Vaišvilkas</a> followed. He was the first Lithuanian duke known to become an <a href="/wiki/Ecumenical_Patriarchate_of_Constantinople" title="Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople">Orthodox</a> Christian and settle in Ruthenia, establishing a pattern to be followed by many others.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_33-31">[30]</a> Vaišvilkas was killed in 1267. A power struggle between Shvarn and <a href="/wiki/Traidenis" title="Traidenis">Traidenis</a> resulted; it ended in a victory for the latter. Traidenis' reign (1269–1282) was the longest and most stable during the period of unrest. Tradenis reunified all Lithuanian lands, repeatedly raided Ruthenia and Poland with success, defeated the Teutonic Knights in Prussia and in Livonia at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Aizkraukle" title="Battle of Aizkraukle">Battle of Aizkraukle</a> in 1279. He also became the ruler of Yotvingia, Semigalia and eastern Prussia. Friendly relations with Poland followed, and in 1279, Tradenis' daughter <a href="/wiki/Gaudemunda_of_Lithuania" title="Gaudemunda of Lithuania">Gaudemunda of Lithuania</a> married <a href="/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_II_of_Masovia" title="Bolesław II of Masovia">Bolesław II of Masovia</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Piast_dynasty" title="Piast dynasty">Piast</a> duke.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_50-53-32">[31]</a> Pagan Lithuania was a target of <a href="/wiki/Northern_Crusades" title="Northern Crusades">northern Christian crusades</a> of the Teutonic Knights and the <a href="/wiki/Livonian_Order" title="Livonian Order">Livonian Order</a>.<a href="#cite_note-empire-34">[33]</a> In 1241, 1259 and 1275, Lithuania was also ravaged by raids from the <a href="/wiki/Golden_Horde" title="Golden Horde">Golden Horde</a>, which earlier (1237–1240) <a href="/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Rus%27" class="mw-redirect" title="Mongol invasion of Rus'">debilitated Kievan Rus'</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_50-53-32">[31]</a> After Traidenis' death, the German Knights finalized their conquests of Western Baltic tribes, and they could concentrate on Lithuania,<a href="#cite_note-cd-831-35">[34]</a> especially on Samogitia, to connect the two branches of the Order.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_50-53-32">[31]</a> A particular opportunity opened in 1274 after the conclusion of the <a href="/wiki/Prussian_uprisings" title="Prussian uprisings">Great Prussian Rebellion</a> and the conquest of the Old Prussian tribe. The Teutonic Knights then proceeded to conquer other Baltic tribes: the <a href="/wiki/Nadruvians" title="Nadruvians">Nadruvians</a> and <a href="/wiki/Skalvians" title="Skalvians">Skalvians</a> in 1274–1277 and the <a href="/wiki/Yotvingians" title="Yotvingians">Yotvingians</a> in 1283. The Livonian Order completed its conquest of Semigalia, the last Baltic ally of Lithuania, in 1291.<a href="#cite_note-kiaupa-24">[23]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Vytenis,_Lithuania's_great_expansion_under_Gediminas">Vytenis, Lithuania's great expansion under Gediminas</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Vytenis, Lithuania's great expansion under Gediminas">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Peace_agreement_between_Gediminas_and_Order.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Peace_agreement_between_Gediminas_and_Order.jpg/220px-Peace_agreement_between_Gediminas_and_Order.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="172" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Peace_agreement_between_Gediminas_and_Order.jpg/330px-Peace_agreement_between_Gediminas_and_Order.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Peace_agreement_between_Gediminas_and_Order.jpg/440px-Peace_agreement_between_Gediminas_and_Order.jpg 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="468" /></a><figcaption>Peace agreement between <a href="/wiki/Gediminas" title="Gediminas">Gediminas</a> and the Teutonic Order</figcaption></figure> The <a href="/wiki/Family_of_Gediminas" title="Family of Gediminas">family of Gediminas</a>, whose members were about to form Lithuania's <a href="/wiki/Gediminids" title="Gediminids">great native dynasty</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_34-36">[35]</a> took over the rule of the Grand Duchy in 1285 under <a href="/wiki/Butigeidis" title="Butigeidis">Butigeidis</a>. <a href="/wiki/Vytenis" title="Vytenis">Vytenis</a> (r. 1295–1315) and <a href="/wiki/Gediminas" title="Gediminas">Gediminas</a> (r. 1315–1341), after whom the <a href="/wiki/Gediminids" title="Gediminids">Gediminid dynasty</a> is named, had to deal with constant raids and incursions from the Teutonic orders that were costly to repulse. Vytenis fought them effectively around 1298 and at about the same time was able to ally Lithuania with the German burghers of <a href="/wiki/Riga" title="Riga">Riga</a>. For their part, the Prussian Knights instigated a rebellion in Samogitia against the Lithuanian ruler in 1299–1300, followed by twenty incursions there in 1300–15.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_50-53-32">[31]</a> Gediminas also fought the Teutonic Knights, and besides that made shrewd diplomatic moves by cooperating with the government of Riga in 1322–23 and taking advantage of the conflict between the Knights and Archbishop Friedrich von Pernstein of Riga.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> Gediminas expanded Lithuania's international connections by conducting correspondence with Pope <a href="/wiki/John_XXII" class="mw-redirect" title="John XXII">John XXII</a> as well as with rulers and other centers of power in Western Europe, and he invited German colonists to settle in Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_34-35-38">[37]</a> Responding to Gediminas' complaints about the aggression from the Teutonic Order, the pope forced the Knights to observe a four-year peace with Lithuania in 1324–1327.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> Opportunities for the Christianization of Lithuania were investigated by the pope's legates, but they met with no success.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> From the time of Mindaugas, the country's rulers attempted to break Lithuania's cultural isolation, join <a href="/wiki/Western_Christendom" class="mw-redirect" title="Western Christendom">Western Christendom</a> and thus be protected from the Knights, but the Knights and other interests had been able to block the process.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_37-39-39">[38]</a> In the 14th century, Gediminas' attempts to become baptized (1323–1324) and establish Catholic Christianity in his country were thwarted by the Samogitians and Gediminas' Orthodox courtiers.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_34-35-38">[37]</a> In 1325, <a href="/wiki/Casimir_III_the_Great" title="Casimir III the Great">Casimir</a>, the son of the Polish king <a href="/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_I_the_Elbow-high" class="mw-redirect" title="Władysław I the Elbow-high">Władysław I</a>, married Gediminas' daughter <a href="/wiki/Aldona_of_Lithuania" title="Aldona of Lithuania">Aldona</a>, who became queen of Poland when Casimir ascended the Polish throne in 1333. The marriage confirmed the prestige of the Lithuanian state under Gediminas, and a defensive alliance with Poland was concluded the same year. Yearly incursions of the Knights resumed in 1328–1340, to which the Lithuanians responded with raids into Prussia and Latvia.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png/225px-Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png" decoding="async" width="225" height="314" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png/338px-Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png/450px-Lithuanian_state_in_13-15th_centuries.png 2x" data-file-width="1010" data-file-height="1411" /></a><figcaption>Expansion of the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> in the 13–15th centuries</figcaption></figure> The reign of Grand Duke Gediminas constituted the first period in Lithuanian history in which the country was recognized as a great power, mainly due to the extent of its territorial expansion into Ruthenia.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Davies_392-40">[39]</a> Lithuania was unique in Europe as a pagan-ruled "kingdom" and fast-growing military power suspended between the worlds of <a href="/wiki/Byzantine_Empire" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantine</a> and <a href="/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire" title="Western Roman Empire">Latin</a> Christianity. To be able to afford the extremely costly defense against the Teutonic Knights, it had to expand to the east. Gediminas accomplished Lithuania's eastern expansion by challenging the <a href="/wiki/Mongols" title="Mongols">Mongols</a>, who from the 1230s sponsored a <a href="/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Rus%27" class="mw-redirect" title="Mongol invasion of Rus'">Mongol invasion of Rus'</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_38-39-41">[40]</a> The collapse of the political structure of <a href="/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27" title="Kievan Rus'">Kievan Rus'</a> created a partial regional power vacuum that Lithuania was able to exploit.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_37-39-39">[38]</a> Through alliances and conquest, in competition with the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow" class="mw-redirect" title="Grand Duchy of Moscow">Principality of Moscow</a>,<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> the Lithuanians eventually gained control of vast expanses of the western and southern portions of the former Kievan Rus'.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Davies_392-40">[39]</a> Gediminas' conquests included the western <a href="/wiki/Smolensk" title="Smolensk">Smolensk</a> region, southern <a href="/wiki/Polesia" title="Polesia">Polesia</a> and (temporarily) <a href="/wiki/Kyiv" title="Kyiv">Kyiv</a>, which was ruled around 1330 by Gediminas' brother <a href="/wiki/Fiodor_of_Kiev" title="Fiodor of Kiev">Fiodor</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> The Lithuanian-controlled area of Ruthenia grew to include most of modern <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> (the <a href="/wiki/Dnieper_River" class="mw-redirect" title="Dnieper River">Dnieper River</a> basin) and comprised a massive state that stretched from the <a href="/wiki/Baltic_Sea" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Black_Sea" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a> in the 14th and 15th centuries.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_37-39-39">[38]</a><a href="#cite_note-Davies_392-40">[39]</a> In the 14th century, many Lithuanian princes installed to govern the Ruthenia lands accepted <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Christianity" title="Eastern Christianity">Eastern Christianity</a> and assumed Ruthenian custom and names in order to appeal to the culture of their subjects. Through this means, integration into the Lithuanian state structure was accomplished without disturbing local ways of life.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> The Ruthenian territories acquired were vastly larger, more densely populated and more highly developed in terms of church organization and literacy than the territories of core Lithuania. Thus the Lithuanian state was able to function because of the contributions of the <a href="/wiki/Culture_of_ancient_Rus" class="mw-redirect" title="Culture of ancient Rus">Ruthenian culture</a> representatives.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_37-39-39">[38]</a> Historical territories of the former Ruthenian dukedoms were preserved under the Lithuanian rule, and the further they were from Vilnius, the more autonomous the localities tended to be.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_41-42">[41]</a> Lithuanian soldiers and Ruthenians together defended Ruthenian strongholds, at times paying tribute to the <a href="/wiki/Golden_Horde" title="Golden Horde">Golden Horde</a> for some of the outlying localities.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> Ruthenian lands may have been ruled jointly by Lithuania and the Golden Horde as <a href="/wiki/Condominium_(international_law)" title="Condominium (international law)">condominiums</a> until the time of <a href="/wiki/Vytautas" title="Vytautas">Vytautas</a>, who stopped paying tribute.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_40-43">[42]</a> Gediminas' state provided a counterbalance against the influence of Moscow and enjoyed good relations with the Ruthenian principalities of <a href="/wiki/Pskov_Republic" title="Pskov Republic">Pskov</a>, <a href="/wiki/Novgorod_Republic" title="Novgorod Republic">Veliky Novgorod</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tver" title="Tver">Tver</a>. Direct military confrontations with the Principality of Moscow under <a href="/wiki/Ivan_I_of_Moscow" title="Ivan I of Moscow">Ivan I</a> occurred around 1335.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Algirdas_and_Kęstutis">Algirdas and Kęstutis</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Algirdas and Kęstutis">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Algierd._%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B4_(A._Guagnini,_1578).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Algierd._%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B4_%28A._Guagnini%2C_1578%29.jpg/220px-Algierd._%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B4_%28A._Guagnini%2C_1578%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="220" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Algierd._%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B4_%28A._Guagnini%2C_1578%29.jpg/330px-Algierd._%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B4_%28A._Guagnini%2C_1578%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Algierd._%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B4_%28A._Guagnini%2C_1578%29.jpg/440px-Algierd._%D0%90%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B4_%28A._Guagnini%2C_1578%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2385" data-file-height="2386" /></a><figcaption>16th-century image of <a href="/wiki/Algirdas" title="Algirdas">Algirdas</a>, one of the great rulers of 14th-century Europe</figcaption></figure> Around 1318, Gediminas' elder son <a href="/wiki/Algirdas" title="Algirdas">Algirdas</a> married <a href="/wiki/Maria_of_Vitebsk" title="Maria of Vitebsk">Maria of Vitebsk</a>, the daughter of Prince Yaroslav of <a href="/wiki/Principality_of_Vitebsk" title="Principality of Vitebsk">Vitebsk</a>, and settled in <a href="/wiki/Vitebsk" title="Vitebsk">Vitebsk</a> to rule the principality.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> Of Gediminas' seven sons, four remained pagan and three converted to Orthodox Christianity.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> Upon his death, Gediminas divided his domains among the seven sons, but Lithuania's precarious military situation, especially on the Teutonic frontier, forced the brothers to keep the country together.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_55-56-44">[43]</a> From 1345, Algirdas took over as the Grand Duke of Lithuania. In practice, he ruled over Lithuanian Ruthenia only, whereas <a href="/wiki/Lithuania_proper" title="Lithuania proper">Lithuania proper</a> was the domain of his equally able brother <a href="/wiki/K%C4%99stutis" title="Kęstutis">Kęstutis</a>. Algirdas fought the Golden Horde Tatars and the Principality of Moscow; Kęstutis took upon himself the demanding struggle with the Teutonic Order.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> The warfare with the Teutonic Order continued from 1345, and in 1348, the Knights defeated the Lithuanians at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Str%C4%97va" title="Battle of Strėva">Battle of Strėva</a>. Kęstutis requested King <a href="/wiki/Casimir_III_the_Great" title="Casimir III the Great">Casimir</a> of Poland to mediate with the pope in hopes of converting Lithuania to Christianity, but the result was negative, and Poland took from Lithuania in 1349 the <a href="/wiki/Halych" title="Halych">Halych</a> area and some Ruthenian lands further north. Lithuania's situation improved from 1350, when Algirdas formed an alliance with the <a href="/wiki/Tver#Grand_princedom" title="Tver">Principality of Tver</a>. Halych was ceded by Lithuania, which brought peace with Poland in 1352. Secured by those alliances, Algirdas and Kęstutis embarked on the implementation of policies to expand Lithuania's territories further.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_55-56-44">[43]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Authentic_Seal_of_K%C4%99stutis.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Authentic_Seal_of_K%C4%99stutis.jpg/220px-Authentic_Seal_of_K%C4%99stutis.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="229" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Authentic_Seal_of_K%C4%99stutis.jpg/330px-Authentic_Seal_of_K%C4%99stutis.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Authentic_Seal_of_K%C4%99stutis.jpg/440px-Authentic_Seal_of_K%C4%99stutis.jpg 2x" data-file-width="816" data-file-height="848" /></a><figcaption>Seal of <a href="/wiki/K%C4%99stutis" title="Kęstutis">Kęstutis</a></figcaption></figure> <a href="/wiki/Bryansk" title="Bryansk">Bryansk</a> was taken in 1359, and in 1362, Algirdas captured Kyiv after defeating the Mongols at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Blue_Waters" title="Battle of Blue Waters">Battle of Blue Waters</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Davies_392-40">[39]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_38-39-41">[40]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_55-56-44">[43]</a> <a href="/wiki/Volhynia" title="Volhynia">Volhynia</a>, <a href="/wiki/Podolia" title="Podolia">Podolia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Left-bank_Ukraine" title="Left-bank Ukraine">left-bank Ukraine</a> were also incorporated. Kęstutis heroically fought for the survival of ethnic Lithuanians by attempting to repel about thirty incursions by the Teutonic Knights and their European guest fighters.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> Kęstutis also attacked the Teutonic possessions in Prussia on numerous occasions, but the Knights took <a href="/wiki/Kaunas" title="Kaunas">Kaunas</a> in 1362.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_56-58-45">[44]</a> The dispute with Poland renewed itself and was settled by the peace of 1366, when Lithuania gave up a part of Volhynia including <a href="/wiki/Volodymyr-Volynskyi" class="mw-redirect" title="Volodymyr-Volynskyi">Volodymyr</a>. A peace with the Livonian Knights was also accomplished in 1367. In 1368, 1370 and 1372, Algirdas invaded the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow" class="mw-redirect" title="Grand Duchy of Moscow">Grand Duchy of Moscow</a> and each time approached <a href="/wiki/Moscow" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> itself. An "eternal" peace (the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Lyubutsk" title="Treaty of Lyubutsk">Treaty of Lyubutsk</a>) was concluded after the last attempt, and it was much needed by Lithuania due to its involvement in heavy fighting with the Knights again in 1373–1377.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_56-58-45">[44]</a> The two brothers and Gediminas' other offspring left many ambitious sons with inherited territory. Their rivalry weakened the country in the face of the Teutonic expansion and the newly assertive Grand Duchy of Moscow, buoyed by the 1380 victory over the Golden Horde at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Kulikovo" title="Battle of Kulikovo">Battle of Kulikovo</a> and intent on the unification of all Rus' lands under its rule.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Jogaila's_conflict_with_Kęstutis,_Vytautas">Jogaila's conflict with Kęstutis, Vytautas</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Jogaila's conflict with Kęstutis, Vytautas">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s_between_Jogaila_and_Order.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s_between_Jogaila_and_Order.png/220px-Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s_between_Jogaila_and_Order.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="190" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s_between_Jogaila_and_Order.png/330px-Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s_between_Jogaila_and_Order.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s_between_Jogaila_and_Order.png/440px-Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s_between_Jogaila_and_Order.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="519" /></a><figcaption>Jogaila's <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s" title="Treaty of Dovydiškės">treaty with the Teutonic Knights</a> precipitated the fall of Kęstutis.</figcaption></figure> Algirdas died in 1377, and his son <a href="/wiki/Jogaila" class="mw-redirect" title="Jogaila">Jogaila</a> became grand duke while Kęstutis was still alive. The Teutonic pressure was at its peak, and Jogaila was inclined to cease defending Samogitia in order to concentrate on preserving the Ruthenian empire of Lithuania. The Knights exploited the differences between Jogaila and Kęstutis and procured a separate armistice with the older duke in 1379. Jogaila then made overtures to the Teutonic Order and concluded the secret <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Dovydi%C5%A1k%C4%97s" title="Treaty of Dovydiškės">Treaty of Dovydiškės</a> with them in 1380, contrary to Kęstutis' principles and interests. Kęstutis felt he could no longer support his nephew and in 1381, when Jogaila's forces were preoccupied with quenching a rebellion in <a href="/wiki/Polotsk" title="Polotsk">Polotsk</a>, he entered Vilnius in order to remove Jogaila from the throne. A <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Civil_War_(1381%E2%80%9384)" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Civil War (1381–84)">Lithuanian civil war</a> ensued. Kęstutis' two raids against Teutonic possessions in 1382 brought back the tradition of his past exploits, but Jogaila retook Vilnius during his uncle's absence. Kęstutis was captured and died in Jogaila's custody. Kęstutis' son <a href="/wiki/Vytautas" title="Vytautas">Vytautas</a> escaped.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_38-39-41">[40]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_58-60-46">[45]</a> Jogaila agreed to the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Dubysa" title="Treaty of Dubysa">Treaty of Dubysa</a> with the Order in 1382, an indication of his weakness. A four-year truce stipulated Jogaila's conversion to Catholicism and the cession of half of Samogitia to the Teutonic Knights. Vytautas went to Prussia in seek of the support of the Knights for his claims, including the <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Trakai" title="Duchy of Trakai">Duchy of Trakai</a>, which he considered inherited from his father. Jogaila's refusal to submit to the demands of his cousin and the Knights resulted in their joint invasion of Lithuania in 1383. Vytautas, however, having failed to gain the entire duchy, established contacts with the grand duke. Upon receiving from him the areas of <a href="/wiki/Grodno" title="Grodno">Grodno</a>, <a href="/wiki/Podlasie" class="mw-redirect" title="Podlasie">Podlasie</a> and <a href="/wiki/Brest,_Belarus" title="Brest, Belarus">Brest</a>, Vytautas switched sides in 1384 and destroyed the border strongholds entrusted to him by the Order. In 1384, the two Lithuanian dukes, acting together, waged a successful expedition against the lands ruled by the Order.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> By that time, for the sake of its long-term survival, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had initiated the processes leading to its imminent acceptance of European <a href="/wiki/Christendom" title="Christendom">Christendom</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> The Teutonic Knights aimed at a territorial unification of their Prussian and Livonian branches by conquering Samogitia and all of Lithuania proper, following the earlier subordination of the Prussian and Latvian tribes. To dominate the neighboring Baltic and Slavic people and expand into a great Baltic power, the Knights used German and other volunteer fighters. They unleashed 96 onslaughts in Lithuania during the period 1345–1382, against which the Lithuanians were able to respond with only 42 retributive raids of their own. Lithuania's Ruthenian empire in the east was also threatened by both the unification of Rus' ambitions of Moscow and the centrifugal activities pursued by the rulers of some of the more distant provinces.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_70-74-47">[46]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="13th–14th_century_Lithuanian_society">13th–14th century Lithuanian society</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: 13th–14th century Lithuanian society">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:VILLINUS_OLD_TOWN_LITHUANIA_SEP_2013_(9851576794).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/VILLINUS_OLD_TOWN_LITHUANIA_SEP_2013_%289851576794%29.jpg/220px-VILLINUS_OLD_TOWN_LITHUANIA_SEP_2013_%289851576794%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="135" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/VILLINUS_OLD_TOWN_LITHUANIA_SEP_2013_%289851576794%29.jpg/330px-VILLINUS_OLD_TOWN_LITHUANIA_SEP_2013_%289851576794%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/VILLINUS_OLD_TOWN_LITHUANIA_SEP_2013_%289851576794%29.jpg/440px-VILLINUS_OLD_TOWN_LITHUANIA_SEP_2013_%289851576794%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4990" data-file-height="3067" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Gediminas%27_Tower" title="Gediminas' Tower">Gediminas' Tower</a> in <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a>, built under <a href="/wiki/Vytautas" title="Vytautas">Vytautas</a></figcaption></figure> The Lithuanian state of the later 14th century was primarily binational, Lithuanian and Ruthenian (in territories that correspond to the modern Belarus and Ukraine). Of its 800,000 square kilometers total area, 10% comprised ethnic Lithuania, probably populated by no more than 300,000 inhabitants. Lithuania was dependent for its survival on the human and material resources of the Ruthenian lands.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_60-48">[47]</a> The increasingly differentiated Lithuanian society was led by princes of the <a href="/wiki/Gediminids" title="Gediminids">Gediminid</a> and <a href="/wiki/Rurik_Dynasty" class="mw-redirect" title="Rurik Dynasty">Rurik</a> dynasties and the descendants of former kunigas chiefs from families such as the <a href="/wiki/Giedraitis_family" class="mw-redirect" title="Giedraitis family">Giedraitis</a>, <a href="/wiki/Olshanski" class="mw-redirect" title="Olshanski">Olshanski</a> and Svirski. Below them in rank was the regular <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_nobility" title="Lithuanian nobility">Lithuanian nobility</a> (or <a href="/wiki/Boyar" title="Boyar">boyars</a>), in Lithuania proper strictly subjected to the princes and generally living on modest family farms, each tended by a few feudal subjects or, more often, slave workers if the boyar could afford them. For their military and administrative services, Lithuanian boyars were compensated by exemptions from public contributions, payments, and Ruthenian land grants. The majority of the ordinary rural workers were free. They were obligated to provide crafts and numerous contributions and services; for not paying these types of debts (or for other offences), one could be forced into slavery.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_60–62-49">[48]</a> The Ruthenian princes were Orthodox, and many Lithuanian princes also converted to <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Orthodoxy" title="Eastern Orthodoxy">Eastern Orthodoxy</a>, even some who resided in Lithuania proper, or at least their wives. The masonry Ruthenian churches and monasteries housed learned monks, their writings (including <a href="/wiki/Gospel" title="Gospel">Gospel</a> translations such as the <a href="/wiki/Ostromir_Gospels" title="Ostromir Gospels">Ostromir Gospels</a>) and collections of religious art. A Ruthenian quarter populated by Lithuania's Orthodox subjects, and containing their church, existed in Vilnius from the 14th century. The grand dukes' chancery in Vilnius was staffed by Orthodox churchmen, who, trained in the <a href="/wiki/Church_Slavonic_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Church Slavonic language">Church Slavonic language</a>, developed <a href="/wiki/Chancery_Slavonic" class="mw-redirect" title="Chancery Slavonic">Chancery Slavonic</a>, a Ruthenian written language useful for official record keeping. The most important of the Grand Duchy's documents, the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Metrica" title="Lithuanian Metrica">Lithuanian Metrica</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Chronicles" title="Lithuanian Chronicles">Lithuanian Chronicles</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Statutes_of_Lithuania" title="Statutes of Lithuania">Statutes of Lithuania</a>, were all written in that language.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_41-44-50">[49]</a> German, <a href="/wiki/Jew" class="mw-redirect" title="Jew">Jewish</a> and <a href="/wiki/Armenia" title="Armenia">Armenian</a> settlers were invited to live in Lithuania; the last two groups established their own denominational communities directly under the ruling dukes. The Tatars and <a href="/wiki/Crimean_Karaites" title="Crimean Karaites">Crimean Karaites</a> were entrusted as soldiers for the dukes' personal guard.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_41-44-50">[49]</a> Towns developed to a much lesser degree than in nearby Prussia or <a href="/wiki/Livonia" title="Livonia">Livonia</a>. Outside of Ruthenia, the only cities were <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a> (Gediminas' capital from 1323), the old capital of <a href="/wiki/Trakai" title="Trakai">Trakai</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kaunas" title="Kaunas">Kaunas</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_22-10">[9]</a><a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> <a href="/wiki/Kernav%C4%97" title="Kernavė">Kernavė</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kreva" title="Kreva">Kreva</a> were the other old political centers.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_53-55-37">[36]</a> Vilnius in the 14th century was a major social, cultural and trading center. It linked economically central and eastern Europe with the <a href="/wiki/Baltic_states" title="Baltic states">Baltic area</a>. Vilnius merchants enjoyed privileges that allowed them to trade over most of the territories of the Lithuanian state. Of the passing Ruthenian, Polish and German merchants (many from Riga), many settled in Vilnius and some built masonry residencies. The city was ruled by a governor named by the grand duke and its system of fortifications included three castles. Foreign currencies and Lithuanian currency (from the 13th century) were widely used.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_62–63-51">[50]</a> The Lithuanian state maintained a <a href="/wiki/Patrimonialism" title="Patrimonialism">patrimonial</a> power structure. Gediminid rule was hereditary, but the ruler would choose the son he considered most able to be his successor. Councils existed, but could only advise the duke. The huge state was divided into a hierarchy of territorial units administered by designated officials who were also empowered in judicial and military matters.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> The Lithuanians spoke in a number of Aukštaitian and Samogitian (West-Baltic) dialects. But the tribal peculiarities were disappearing and the increasing use of the name Lietuva was a testimony to the developing Lithuanian sense of separate identity. The forming Lithuanian <a href="/wiki/Feudalism" title="Feudalism">feudal system</a> preserved many aspects of the earlier societal organization, such as the family clan structure, free peasantry and some slavery. The land belonged now to the ruler and the nobility. Patterns imported primarily from Ruthenia were used for the organization of the state and its structure of power.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_68-69-52">[51]</a> Following the establishment of <a href="/wiki/Western_Christianity" title="Western Christianity">Western Christianity</a> at the end of the 14th century, the occurrence of pagan <a href="/wiki/Cremation" title="Cremation">cremation</a> burial ceremonies markedly decreased.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_44-47-53">[52]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Dynastic_union_with_Poland,_Christianization_of_the_state">Dynastic union with Poland, Christianization of the state</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Dynastic union with Poland, Christianization of the state">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania" title="Christianization of Lithuania">Christianization of Lithuania</a> and <a href="/wiki/History_of_Poland_during_the_Jagiellonian_dynasty" title="History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty">History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Jogaila's_Catholic_conversion_and_rule">Jogaila's Catholic conversion and rule</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Jogaila's Catholic conversion and rule">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:%C5%A0v._Mikalojaus_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_%C5%A1onas_2.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/%C5%A0v._Mikalojaus_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_%C5%A1onas_2.jpg/220px-%C5%A0v._Mikalojaus_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_%C5%A1onas_2.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/%C5%A0v._Mikalojaus_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_%C5%A1onas_2.jpg/330px-%C5%A0v._Mikalojaus_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_%C5%A1onas_2.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/%C5%A0v._Mikalojaus_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_%C5%A1onas_2.jpg/440px-%C5%A0v._Mikalojaus_ba%C5%BEny%C4%8Dios_%C5%A1onas_2.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5120" data-file-height="3840" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/St._Nicholas_Church,_Vilnius" class="mw-redirect" title="St. Nicholas Church, Vilnius">St. Nicholas</a> in Vilnius, the oldest church in Lithuania</figcaption></figure> As the power of the Lithuanian warlord dukes expanded to the south and east, the cultivated <a href="/wiki/East_Slavs" title="East Slavs">East Slavic</a> Ruthenians exerted influence on the Lithuanian ruling class.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_17-18-54">[53]</a> They brought with them the <a href="/wiki/Church_Slavonic_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Church Slavonic language">Church Slavonic</a> <a href="/wiki/Christian_liturgy" title="Christian liturgy">liturgy</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church" title="Eastern Orthodox Church">Eastern Orthodox</a> Christian religion, a written language (Chancery Slavonic) that was developed to serve the Lithuanian court's document-producing needs for a few centuries, and a system of laws. By these means, Ruthenians transformed <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a> into a major center of Kievan Rus' civilization.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_17-18-54">[53]</a> By the time of Jogaila's acceptance of Catholicism at the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Krewo" title="Union of Krewo">Union of Krewo</a> in 1385, many institutions in his realm and members of his family had been to a large extent assimilated already into the Orthodox Christianity and became Russified (in part a result of the deliberate policy of the Gediminid ruling house).<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_17-18-54">[53]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_38-40-55">[54]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Master_Andrey_Ladislaus_II_Jagiello_kneeling_before_the_Virgin_Mary.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Master_Andrey_Ladislaus_II_Jagiello_kneeling_before_the_Virgin_Mary.jpg/220px-Master_Andrey_Ladislaus_II_Jagiello_kneeling_before_the_Virgin_Mary.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="221" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Master_Andrey_Ladislaus_II_Jagiello_kneeling_before_the_Virgin_Mary.jpg/330px-Master_Andrey_Ladislaus_II_Jagiello_kneeling_before_the_Virgin_Mary.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Master_Andrey_Ladislaus_II_Jagiello_kneeling_before_the_Virgin_Mary.jpg/440px-Master_Andrey_Ladislaus_II_Jagiello_kneeling_before_the_Virgin_Mary.jpg 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="503" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Ruthenia" title="Ruthenia">Ruthenian</a> depiction of Christian <a href="/wiki/Jogaila" class="mw-redirect" title="Jogaila">Jogaila</a></figcaption></figure> Catholic influence and contacts, including those derived from German settlers, traders and missionaries from Riga,<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_67-56">[55]</a> had been increasing for some time around the northwest region of the empire, known as Lithuania proper. The <a href="/wiki/Franciscan" class="mw-redirect" title="Franciscan">Franciscan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Dominican_Order" title="Dominican Order">Dominican</a> friar orders existed in Vilnius from the time of <a href="/wiki/Gediminas" title="Gediminas">Gediminas</a>. <a href="/wiki/K%C4%99stutis" title="Kęstutis">Kęstutis</a> in 1349 and <a href="/wiki/Algirdas" title="Algirdas">Algirdas</a> in 1358 negotiated Christianization with the pope, the <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> and the Polish king. The <a href="/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania" title="Christianization of Lithuania">Christianization of Lithuania</a> thus involved both Catholic and Orthodox aspects. Conversion by force as practiced by the <a href="/wiki/Teutonic_Knights" class="mw-redirect" title="Teutonic Knights">Teutonic Knights</a> had actually been an impediment that delayed the progress of Western Christianity in the grand duchy.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a> <a href="/wiki/Jogaila" class="mw-redirect" title="Jogaila">Jogaila</a>, a grand duke since 1377, was himself still a pagan at the start of his reign. In 1386, agreed to the offer of the Polish crown by leading Polish nobles, who were eager to take advantage of Lithuania's expansion, if he become a Catholic and married the 13-year-old crowned king (not queen) <a href="/wiki/Jadwiga_of_Poland" title="Jadwiga of Poland">Jadwiga</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_37-57">[56]</a> For the near future, Poland gave Lithuania a valuable ally against increasing threats from the Teutonic Knights and the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow" class="mw-redirect" title="Grand Duchy of Moscow">Grand Duchy of Moscow</a>. Lithuania, in which Ruthenians outnumbered ethnic Lithuanians by several times, could ally with either the Grand Duchy of Moscow or Poland. A Russian deal was also negotiated with <a href="/wiki/Dmitry_Donskoy" title="Dmitry Donskoy">Dmitry Donskoy</a> in 1383–1384, but Moscow was too distant to be able to assist with the problems posed by the Teutonic orders and presented a difficulty as a center competing for the loyalty of the Orthodox Lithuanian Ruthenians.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_38-40-55">[54]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Union_of_Krewo.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Union_of_Krewo.jpg/220px-Union_of_Krewo.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="134" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Union_of_Krewo.jpg/330px-Union_of_Krewo.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Union_of_Krewo.jpg/440px-Union_of_Krewo.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2000" data-file-height="1221" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Union_of_Krewo" title="Union of Krewo">Act of Kreva</a> signed on 14 August 1385</figcaption></figure> Jogaila was baptized, given the baptismal name Władysław, married Queen Jadwiga, and was crowned <a href="/wiki/List_of_Polish_monarchs" title="List of Polish monarchs">King of Poland</a> in February 1386.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_74-76-58">[57]</a><a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_61-68-59">[58]</a> Jogaila's baptism and crowning were followed by the final and official <a href="/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania" title="Christianization of Lithuania">Christianization of Lithuania</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_38-42-60">[59]</a> In the fall of 1386, the king returned to Lithuania and the next spring and summer participated in mass conversion and baptism ceremonies for the general population.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_76-78-61">[60]</a> The establishment of a bishopric in Vilnius in 1387 was accompanied by Jogaila's extraordinarily generous endowment of land and peasants to the Church and exemption from state obligations and control. This instantly transformed the Lithuanian Church into the most powerful institution in the country (and future grand dukes lavished even more wealth on it). Lithuanian boyars who accepted baptism were rewarded with a more limited privilege improving their legal rights.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_78-79-62">[61]</a><a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_68-74-63">[62]</a> Vilnius' townspeople were granted self-government. The Church proceeded with its civilizing mission of literacy and education, and the <a href="/wiki/Estates_of_the_realm" title="Estates of the realm">estates of the realm</a> started to emerge with their own separate identities.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_44-47-53">[52]</a> Jogaila's orders for his court and followers to convert to Catholicism were meant to deprive the Teutonic Knights of the justification for their practice of forced conversion through military onslaughts. In 1403 the pope prohibited the Order from conducting warfare against Lithuania, and its threat to Lithuania's existence (which had endured for two centuries) was indeed neutralized. In the short term, Jogaila needed Polish support in his struggle with his cousin Vytautas.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_44-47-53">[52]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_38-40-55">[54]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Lithuania_at_its_peak_under_Vytautas">Lithuania at its peak under Vytautas</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Lithuania at its peak under Vytautas">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Witold_Duke_of_Lithuania_seal.PNG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Witold_Duke_of_Lithuania_seal.PNG/220px-Witold_Duke_of_Lithuania_seal.PNG" decoding="async" width="220" height="187" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Witold_Duke_of_Lithuania_seal.PNG/330px-Witold_Duke_of_Lithuania_seal.PNG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Witold_Duke_of_Lithuania_seal.PNG/440px-Witold_Duke_of_Lithuania_seal.PNG 2x" data-file-width="1429" data-file-height="1213" /></a><figcaption>Grand Duke <a href="/wiki/Vytautas" title="Vytautas">Vytautas</a>, a Lithuanian hero, was <a href="/wiki/Jogaila" class="mw-redirect" title="Jogaila">Jogaila</a>'s first cousin and rival</figcaption></figure> The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Civil_War_(1389%E2%80%9392)" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Civil War (1389–92)">Lithuanian Civil War of 1389–1392</a> involved the Teutonic Knights, the Poles, and the competing factions loyal to Jogaila and <a href="/wiki/Vytautas" title="Vytautas">Vytautas</a> in Lithuania. Amid ruthless warfare, the grand duchy was ravaged and threatened with collapse. Jogaila decided that the way out was to make amends and recognize the rights of Vytautas, whose original goal, now largely accomplished, was to recover the lands he considered his inheritance. After negotiations, Vytautas ended up gaining far more than that; from 1392 he became practically the ruler of Lithuania, a self-styled "Duke of Lithuania," under a compromise with Jogaila known as the <a href="/wiki/Ostr%C3%B3w_Agreement" title="Ostrów Agreement">Ostrów Agreement</a>. Technically, he was merely Jogaila's regent with extended authority. Jogaila realized that cooperating with his able cousin was preferable to attempting to govern (and defend) Lithuania directly from Kraków.<a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_68-74-63">[62]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_79-80-64">[63]</a> Vytautas had been frustrated by Jogaila's Polish arrangements and rejected the prospect of Lithuania's subordination to Poland.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_40-41-65">[64]</a> Under Vytautas, a considerable centralization of the state took place, and the Catholicized <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_nobility" title="Lithuanian nobility">Lithuanian nobility</a> became increasingly prominent in state politics.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_55-56-66">[65]</a> The centralization efforts began in 1393–1395, when Vytautas appropriated their provinces from several powerful regional dukes in Ruthenia.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_48-50-67">[66]</a> Several invasions of Lithuania by the Teutonic Knights occurred between 1392 and 1394, but they were repelled with the help of Polish forces. Afterwards, the Knights abandoned their goal of conquest of Lithuania proper and concentrated on subjugating and keeping Samogitia. In 1395, <a href="/wiki/Wenceslaus_IV_of_Bohemia" title="Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia">Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia</a>, the Order's formal superior, prohibited the Knights from raiding Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_80-82-68">[67]</a> In 1395, Vytautas conquered <a href="/wiki/Smolensk" title="Smolensk">Smolensk</a>, and in 1397, he conducted a victorious expedition against a branch of the Golden Horde. Now he felt he could afford independence from Poland and in 1398 refused to pay the tribute due to Queen Jadwiga. Seeking freedom to pursue his internal and Ruthenian goals, Vytautas had to grant the Teutonic Order a large portion of Samogitia in the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Salynas" title="Treaty of Salynas">Treaty of Salynas</a> of 1398. The conquest of Samogitia by the Teutonic Order greatly improved its military position as well as that of the associated <a href="/wiki/Livonian_Brothers_of_the_Sword" title="Livonian Brothers of the Sword">Livonian Brothers of the Sword</a>. Vytautas soon pursued attempts to retake the territory, an undertaking for which needed the help of the Polish king.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_80-82-68">[67]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_44-45-69">[68]</a> During Vytautas' reign, Lithuania reached the peak of its territorial expansion, but his ambitious plans to subjugate all of Ruthenia were thwarted by his disastrous defeat in 1399 at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_the_Vorskla_River" title="Battle of the Vorskla River">Battle of the Vorskla River</a>, inflicted by the Golden Horde. Vytautas survived by fleeing the battlefield with a small unit and realized the necessity of a permanent alliance with Poland.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_80-82-68">[67]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_44-45-69">[68]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Oldest_surviving_writing_in_Lithuanian_language.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Oldest_surviving_writing_in_Lithuanian_language.jpg/220px-Oldest_surviving_writing_in_Lithuanian_language.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="275" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Oldest_surviving_writing_in_Lithuanian_language.jpg/330px-Oldest_surviving_writing_in_Lithuanian_language.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Oldest_surviving_writing_in_Lithuanian_language.jpg/440px-Oldest_surviving_writing_in_Lithuanian_language.jpg 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="750" /></a><figcaption>Oldest surviving <a href="/wiki/Manuscript" title="Manuscript">manuscript</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian language</a> (beginning of the 16th century), rewritten from a 15th-century original text</figcaption></figure> The original Union of Krewo of 1385 was renewed and redefined on several occasions, but each time with little clarity due to the competing Polish and Lithuanian interests. Fresh arrangements were agreed to in the "<a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_union" title="Polish–Lithuanian union">unions</a>" of <a href="/wiki/Pact_of_Vilnius_and_Radom" title="Pact of Vilnius and Radom">Vilnius (1401)</a>, <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Horod%C5%82o" title="Union of Horodło">Horodło (1413)</a>, <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Grodno_(1432)" title="Union of Grodno (1432)">Grodno (1432)</a> and <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Krak%C3%B3w_and_Vilna" title="Union of Kraków and Vilna">Vilnius (1499)</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_41-42-70">[69]</a> In the Union of Vilnius, Jogaila granted Vytautas a lifetime rule over the grand duchy. In return, Jogaila preserved his formal supremacy, and Vytautas promised to "stand faithfully with the Crown and the King." Warfare with the Order resumed. In 1403, <a href="/wiki/Pope_Boniface_IX" title="Pope Boniface IX">Pope Boniface IX</a> banned the Knights from attacking Lithuania, but in the same year Lithuania had to agree to the <a href="/wiki/Peace_of_Raci%C4%85%C5%BC" class="mw-redirect" title="Peace of Raciąż">Peace of Raciąż</a>, which mandated the same conditions as in the Treaty of Salynas.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_82-83-71">[70]</a> Secure in the west, Vytautas turned his attention to the east once again. The campaigns fought between 1401 and 1408 involved Smolensk, <a href="/wiki/Pskov" title="Pskov">Pskov</a>, Moscow and <a href="/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod" title="Veliky Novgorod">Veliky Novgorod</a>. Smolensk was retained, Pskov and Veliki Novgorod ended up as Lithuanian dependencies, and a lasting territorial division between the Grand Duchy and Moscow was agreed in 1408 in the treaty of <a href="/wiki/Ugra_River_(Oka)" class="mw-redirect" title="Ugra River (Oka)">Ugra</a>, where a great battle failed to materialize.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_82-83-71">[70]</a><a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_89-90-72">[71]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Jan_Matejko,_Bitwa_pod_Grunwaldem.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Jan_Matejko%2C_Bitwa_pod_Grunwaldem.jpg/220px-Jan_Matejko%2C_Bitwa_pod_Grunwaldem.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="98" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Jan_Matejko%2C_Bitwa_pod_Grunwaldem.jpg/330px-Jan_Matejko%2C_Bitwa_pod_Grunwaldem.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Jan_Matejko%2C_Bitwa_pod_Grunwaldem.jpg/440px-Jan_Matejko%2C_Bitwa_pod_Grunwaldem.jpg 2x" data-file-width="11788" data-file-height="5235" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Grunwald" title="Battle of Grunwald">Battle of Grunwald</a> was one of the largest battles in <a href="/wiki/Medieval_Europe" class="mw-redirect" title="Medieval Europe">Medieval Europe</a> and is regarded as one of the most important victories in the history of Lithuania</figcaption></figure> The decisive war with the Teutonic Knights (the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian%E2%80%93Teutonic_War" title="Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War">Great War</a>) was preceded in 1409 with a <a href="/wiki/Samogitian_uprisings" title="Samogitian uprisings">Samogitian uprising</a> supported by Vytautas. Ultimately the Lithuanian–Polish alliance was able to defeat the Knights at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Grunwald" title="Battle of Grunwald">Battle of Grunwald</a> on 15 July 1410, but the allied armies failed to take <a href="/wiki/Malbork_Castle" title="Malbork Castle">Marienburg</a>, the Knights' fortress-capital. Nevertheless, the unprecedented total battlefield victory against the Knights permanently removed the threat that they had posed to Lithuania's existence for centuries. The <a href="/wiki/Peace_of_Thorn_(1411)" title="Peace of Thorn (1411)">Peace of Thorn (1411)</a> allowed Lithuania to recover Samogotia, but only until the deaths of Jogaila and Vytautas, and the Knights had to pay a large monetary reparation.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_83-84-73">[72]</a><a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_90-100-74">[73]</a><a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_50–53-75">[74]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Horod%C5%82o" title="Union of Horodło">Union of Horodło</a> (1413) incorporated Lithuania into Poland again, but only as a formality. In practical terms, Lithuania became an equal partner with Poland, because each country was obliged to choose its future ruler only with the consent of the other, and the Union was declared to continue even under a new dynasty. Catholic Lithuanian boyars were to enjoy the same privileges as Polish nobles (<a href="/wiki/Szlachta" title="Szlachta">szlachta</a>). 47 top Lithuanian clans were colligated with 47 Polish noble families to initiate a future brotherhood and facilitate the expected full unity. Two administrative divisions (Vilnius and Trakai) were established in Lithuania, patterned after the existing Polish models.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_84-85-76">[75]</a><a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_103-108-77">[76]</a> Vytautas practiced religious toleration and his grandiose plans also included attempts to influence the Eastern Orthodox Church, which he wanted to use as a tool to control Moscow and other parts of Ruthenia. In 1416, he elevated <a href="/wiki/Gregory_Tsamblak" title="Gregory Tsamblak">Gregory Tsamblak</a> as his chosen Orthodox patriarch for all of Ruthenia (the established Orthodox <a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_bishop" title="Metropolitan bishop">Metropolitan bishop</a> remained in Vilnius to the end of the 18th century).<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_48-50-67">[66]</a><a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_85-86-78">[77]</a> These efforts were also intended to serve the goal of global unification of the Eastern and Western churches. Tsamblak led an Orthodox delegation to the <a href="/wiki/Council_of_Constance" title="Council of Constance">Council of Constance</a> in 1418.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_53–57-79">[78]</a> The Orthodox synod, however, would not recognize Tsamblak.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_85-86-78">[77]</a> The grand duke also established new Catholic bishoprics in Samogitia (1417)<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_53–57-79">[78]</a> and in Lithuanian Ruthenia (<a href="/wiki/Lutsk" title="Lutsk">Lutsk</a> and Kyiv).<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_85-86-78">[77]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Gollub_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Gollub War">Gollub War</a> with the Teutonic Knights followed and in 1422, in the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Melno" title="Treaty of Melno">Treaty of Melno</a>, the grand duchy permanently recovered Samogitia, which terminated its involvement in the wars with the Order.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_85-87-80">[79]</a> Vytautas' shifting policies and reluctance to pursue the Order made the survival of German <a href="/wiki/East_Prussia" title="East Prussia">East Prussia</a> possible for centuries to come.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_87-89-81">[80]</a> Samogitia was the last region of Europe to be Christianized (from 1413).<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_53–57-79">[78]</a><a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_17-82">[81]</a> Later, different foreign policies were prosecuted by Lithuania and Poland, accompanied by conflicts over <a href="/wiki/Podolia" title="Podolia">Podolia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Volhynia" title="Volhynia">Volhynia</a>, the grand duchy's territories in the southeast.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_44-48-83">[82]</a> Vytautas' greatest successes and recognition occurred at the end of his life, when the <a href="/wiki/Crimean_Khanate" title="Crimean Khanate">Crimean Khanate</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Volga_Tatars" title="Volga Tatars">Volga Tatars</a> came under his influence. Prince <a href="/wiki/Vasily_I_of_Moscow" title="Vasily I of Moscow">Vasily I of Moscow</a> died in 1425, and Vytautas then administered the Grand Duchy of Moscow together with his daughter, Vasily's widow <a href="/wiki/Sophia_of_Lithuania" title="Sophia of Lithuania">Sophia of Lithuania</a>. In 1426–1428 Vytautas triumphantly toured the eastern reaches of his empire and collected huge tributes from the local princes.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_87-89-81">[80]</a> Pskov and Veliki Novgorod were incorporated to the grand duchy in 1426 and 1428.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_53–57-79">[78]</a> At the <a href="/wiki/Congress_of_Lutsk" title="Congress of Lutsk">Congress of Lutsk</a> in 1429, Vytautas negotiated the issue of his crowning as the King of Lithuania with Holy Roman Emperor <a href="/wiki/Sigismund,_Holy_Roman_Emperor" title="Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor">Sigismund</a> and Jogaila. That ambition was close to being fulfilled, but in the end was thwarted by last-minute intrigues and Vytautas' death. Vytautas' cult and legend originated during his later years and have continued until today.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_87-89-81">[80]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Around_the_first_half_of_the_15th_century">Around the first half of the 15th century</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Around the first half of the 15th century">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania_2019_3.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania_2019_3.jpg/220px-Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania_2019_3.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania_2019_3.jpg/330px-Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania_2019_3.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania_2019_3.jpg/440px-Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania_2019_3.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4032" data-file-height="3024" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Palace_of_the_Grand_Dukes_of_Lithuania" title="Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania">Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania</a> in <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a>, Lithuania</figcaption></figure> The <a href="/wiki/Personal_union" title="Personal union">dynastic link</a> to Poland resulted in <a href="/wiki/Catholic_Church" title="Catholic Church">religious</a>, political and cultural ties and increase of <a href="/wiki/Western_culture" title="Western culture">Western influence</a> among the native Lithuanian nobility, and to a lesser extent among the <a href="/wiki/Ruthenians" title="Ruthenians">Ruthenian</a> <a href="/wiki/Boyar" title="Boyar">boyars</a> from <a href="/wiki/Culture_of_ancient_Rus" class="mw-redirect" title="Culture of ancient Rus">the East</a>, Lithuanian subjects.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_40-41-65">[64]</a> Catholics were granted preferential treatment and access to offices because of the policies of Vytautas, officially pronounced in 1413 at the Union of Horodło, and even more so of his successors, aimed at asserting the rule of the Catholic Lithuanian elite over the Ruthenian territories.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_55-56-66">[65]</a> Such policies increased the pressure on the nobility to convert to Catholicism. Ethnic Lithuania proper made up 10% of the area and 20% of the population of the Grand Duchy. Of the Ruthenian provinces, <a href="/wiki/Volhynia" title="Volhynia">Volhynia</a> was most closely integrated with Lithuania proper. Branches of the <a href="/wiki/Gediminids" title="Gediminids">Gediminid</a> family as well as other Lithuanian and Ruthenian <a href="/wiki/Magnates_of_Poland_and_Lithuania" title="Magnates of Poland and Lithuania">magnate</a> clans eventually became established there.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_48-50-67">[66]</a> During the period, a stratum of wealthy landowners, important also as a military force, was coming into being,<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_47-48-84">[83]</a> accompanied by the emerging class of <a href="/wiki/Serfdom" title="Serfdom">feudal serfs</a> assigned to them.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_48-50-67">[66]</a> The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was for the time being largely preserved as a separate state with separate institutions, but efforts, originating mainly in Poland, were made to bring the Polish and Lithuanian elites and systems closer together.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_84-85-76">[75]</a><a href="#cite_note-Baczkowski_103-108-77">[76]</a> Vilnius and other cities were granted the German system of laws (<a href="/wiki/Magdeburg_rights" title="Magdeburg rights">Magdeburg rights</a>). Crafts and trade were developing quickly. Under Vytautas a network of chanceries functioned, first schools were established and <a href="/wiki/Annals" title="Annals">annals</a> written. Taking advantage of the historic opportunities, the great ruler opened Lithuania for the influence of the <a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Europe" title="Culture of Europe">European culture</a> and integrated his country with European <a href="/wiki/Western_Christianity" title="Western Christianity">Western Christianity</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_53–57-79">[78]</a><a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_47-48-84">[83]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Under_Jagiellonian_rulers">Under Jagiellonian rulers</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Under Jagiellonian rulers">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuanian_Statute_I.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Lithuanian_Statute_I.jpg/150px-Lithuanian_Statute_I.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="202" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Lithuanian_Statute_I.jpg/225px-Lithuanian_Statute_I.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Lithuanian_Statute_I.jpg/300px-Lithuanian_Statute_I.jpg 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="551" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Statutes_of_Lithuania" title="Statutes of Lithuania">First Lithuanian legal statute</a>, implemented in 1522–1529</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Royal_insignias_of_the_rulers_of_Lithuania_in_the_Vilnius_Cathedral,_1931.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Royal_insignias_of_the_rulers_of_Lithuania_in_the_Vilnius_Cathedral%2C_1931.jpg/220px-Royal_insignias_of_the_rulers_of_Lithuania_in_the_Vilnius_Cathedral%2C_1931.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="110" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Royal_insignias_of_the_rulers_of_Lithuania_in_the_Vilnius_Cathedral%2C_1931.jpg/330px-Royal_insignias_of_the_rulers_of_Lithuania_in_the_Vilnius_Cathedral%2C_1931.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Royal_insignias_of_the_rulers_of_Lithuania_in_the_Vilnius_Cathedral%2C_1931.jpg/440px-Royal_insignias_of_the_rulers_of_Lithuania_in_the_Vilnius_Cathedral%2C_1931.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1432" data-file-height="717" /></a><figcaption>Royal insignias of the <a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Lithuania">rulers of Lithuania</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_Cathedral" title="Vilnius Cathedral">Vilnius Cathedral</a>, 1931</figcaption></figure> The Jagiellonian dynasty founded by Jogaila (a member of one of the branches of the Gediminids) ruled Poland and Lithuania continuously between 1386 and 1572. Following the deaths of Vytautas in 1430, <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Civil_War_(1432%E2%80%931438)" title="Lithuanian Civil War (1432–1438)">another civil war</a> ensued, and Lithuania was ruled by rival successors. Afterwards, the Lithuanian nobility on two occasions technically broke the union between Poland and Lithuania by selecting grand dukes unilaterally from the <a href="/wiki/Jagiellonian_dynasty" title="Jagiellonian dynasty">Jagiellonian dynasty</a>. In 1440, the Lithuanian great lords elevated <a href="/wiki/Casimir_IV_Jagiellon" title="Casimir IV Jagiellon">Casimir</a>, Jogaila's second son, to the rule of the grand duchy. This issue was resolved by Casimir's election as king by the Poles in 1446. In 1492, Jogaila's grandson <a href="/wiki/John_I_Albert" title="John I Albert">John Albert</a> became the king of Poland, whereas his grandson <a href="/wiki/Alexander_Jagiellon" title="Alexander Jagiellon">Alexander</a> became the grand duke of Lithuania. In 1501 Alexander succeeded John as king of Poland, which resolved the difficulty in the same manner as before.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_44-45-69">[68]</a> A lasting connection between the two states was beneficial to Poles, Lithuanians, and Ruthenians, Catholic and Orthodox, as well as the Jagiellonian rulers themselves, whose hereditary succession rights in Lithuania practically guaranteed their election as kings in accordance with the customs surrounding the <a href="/wiki/Royal_elections_in_Poland" title="Royal elections in Poland">royal elections in Poland</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_41-42-70">[69]</a> On the Teutonic front, Poland continued its struggle, which in 1466 led to the <a href="/wiki/Second_Peace_of_Thorn_(1466)" title="Second Peace of Thorn (1466)">Peace of Thorn</a> and the recovery of much of the <a href="/wiki/Piast_dynasty" title="Piast dynasty">Piast dynasty</a> territorial losses. A secular <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Prussia" title="Duchy of Prussia">Duchy of Prussia</a> was established in 1525. Its presence would greatly impact the futures of both Lithuania and Poland.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_45-50-85">[84]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Tatars" title="Tatars">Tatar</a> <a href="/wiki/Crimean_Khanate" title="Crimean Khanate">Crimean Khanate</a> recognized the suzerainty of the <a href="/wiki/Ottoman_Empire" title="Ottoman Empire">Ottoman Empire</a> from 1475. Seeking slaves and booty, the Tatars raided vast portions of the grand duchy of Lithuania, burning <a href="/wiki/Kyiv" title="Kyiv">Kyiv</a> in 1482 and approaching Vilnius in 1505. Their activity resulted in Lithuania's loss of its distant territories on the <a href="/wiki/Black_Sea" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a> shores in the 1480s and 1490s. The last two Jagiellon kings were <a href="/wiki/Sigismund_I_the_Old" title="Sigismund I the Old">Sigismund I</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sigismund_II_Augustus" title="Sigismund II Augustus">Sigismund II Augustus</a>, during whose reign the intensity of Tatar raids diminished due to the appearance of the military caste of <a href="/wiki/Cossacks" title="Cossacks">Cossacks</a> at the southeastern territories and the growing power of the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Moscow" class="mw-redirect" title="Grand Duchy of Moscow">Grand Duchy of Moscow</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_52-55-86">[85]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CATECHISMVSA_PRAsty_Szadei_(in_Lithuanian_language)_by_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas,_published_in_K%C3%B6nigsberg,_1547_(cropped).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/CATECHISMVSA_PRAsty_Szadei_%28in_Lithuanian_language%29_by_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas%2C_published_in_K%C3%B6nigsberg%2C_1547_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-CATECHISMVSA_PRAsty_Szadei_%28in_Lithuanian_language%29_by_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas%2C_published_in_K%C3%B6nigsberg%2C_1547_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="303" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/CATECHISMVSA_PRAsty_Szadei_%28in_Lithuanian_language%29_by_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas%2C_published_in_K%C3%B6nigsberg%2C_1547_%28cropped%29.jpg/330px-CATECHISMVSA_PRAsty_Szadei_%28in_Lithuanian_language%29_by_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas%2C_published_in_K%C3%B6nigsberg%2C_1547_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/CATECHISMVSA_PRAsty_Szadei_%28in_Lithuanian_language%29_by_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas%2C_published_in_K%C3%B6nigsberg%2C_1547_%28cropped%29.jpg/440px-CATECHISMVSA_PRAsty_Szadei_%28in_Lithuanian_language%29_by_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas%2C_published_in_K%C3%B6nigsberg%2C_1547_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="457" data-file-height="629" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas" title="Martynas Mažvydas">Martynas Mažvydas</a>' <a href="/wiki/Catechism_of_Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas" title="Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas">Catechism</a> was published in Lithuanian in <a href="/wiki/K%C3%B6nigsberg" title="Königsberg">Königsberg</a> (1547)</figcaption></figure> Lithuania needed a close alliance with Poland when, at the end of the 15th century, the increasingly assertive Grand Duchy of Moscow threatened some of Lithuania's Rus' principalities with the goal of "recovering" the formerly Orthodox-ruled lands. In 1492, <a href="/wiki/Ivan_III_of_Russia" title="Ivan III of Russia">Ivan III of Russia</a> unleashed what turned out to be a series of <a href="/wiki/Muscovite%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Wars" title="Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars">Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars</a> and <a href="/wiki/Livonian_War" title="Livonian War">Livonian Wars</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_56-58-87">[86]</a> In 1492, the border of Lithuania's loosely controlled eastern Ruthenian territory ran less than one hundred <a href="/wiki/Miles" class="mw-redirect" title="Miles">miles</a> from <a href="/wiki/Moscow" title="Moscow">Moscow</a>. But as a result of the warfare, a third of the grand duchy's land area was ceded to the Russian state in 1503. Then the loss of <a href="/wiki/Smolensk" title="Smolensk">Smolensk</a> in July 1514 was particularly disastrous, even though it was followed by the successful <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Orsha" title="Battle of Orsha">Battle of Orsha</a> in September, as the Polish interests were reluctantly recognizing the necessity of their own involvement in Lithuania's defense. The peace of 1537 left <a href="/wiki/Gomel" title="Gomel">Gomel</a> as the grand duchy's eastern edge.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_56-58-87">[86]</a> In the north, the Livonian War took place over the strategically and economically crucial region of Livonia, the traditional territory of the Livonian Order. The <a href="/wiki/Livonian_Confederation" class="mw-redirect" title="Livonian Confederation">Livonian Confederation</a> formed an alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian side in 1557 with the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Pozvol" title="Treaty of Pozvol">Treaty of Pozvol</a>. Desired by both Lithuania and Poland, Livonia was then incorporated into the Polish Crown by Sigismund II. These developments caused <a href="/wiki/Ivan_the_Terrible" title="Ivan the Terrible">Ivan the Terrible</a> of Russia to launch attacks in Livonia beginning in 1558, and later on Lithuania. The grand duchy's fortress of <a href="/wiki/Polotsk" title="Polotsk">Polotsk</a> fell in 1563. This was followed by a Lithuanian victory at the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Ula" title="Battle of Ula">Battle of Ula</a> in 1564, but not a recovery of Polotsk. Russian, Swedish and Polish-Lithuanian occupations subdivided Livonia.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_58-60-88">[87]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Toward_more_integrated_union">Toward more integrated union</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Toward more integrated union">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Statut_Vialikaha_Kniastva_Lito%C5%ADskaha._%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%9E%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_(1588)_(2).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Statut_Vialikaha_Kniastva_Lito%C5%ADskaha._%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%9E%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%281588%29_%282%29.jpg/150px-Statut_Vialikaha_Kniastva_Lito%C5%ADskaha._%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%9E%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%281588%29_%282%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="236" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Statut_Vialikaha_Kniastva_Lito%C5%ADskaha._%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%9E%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%281588%29_%282%29.jpg/225px-Statut_Vialikaha_Kniastva_Lito%C5%ADskaha._%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%9E%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%281588%29_%282%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Statut_Vialikaha_Kniastva_Lito%C5%ADskaha._%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%9E%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%281588%29_%282%29.jpg/300px-Statut_Vialikaha_Kniastva_Lito%C5%ADskaha._%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9A%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D1%96%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%9E%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0_%281588%29_%282%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="605" data-file-height="950" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Statutes_of_Lithuania" title="Statutes of Lithuania">Third Grand Duchy's Statute</a> (1588 legal code) was still written in the <a href="/wiki/Ruthenian_language" title="Ruthenian language">Ruthenian language</a>. <a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania" title="Coat of arms of Lithuania">Lithuanian coat of arms</a>, "the Chase", is shown on the title page</figcaption></figure> The Polish ruling establishment had been aiming at the incorporation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into Poland since before the Union of Krewo.<a href="#cite_note-Wyrozumski-89">[88]</a> The Lithuanians were able to fend off this threat in the 14th and 15th centuries, but the dynamics of power changed in the 16th century. In 1508, the Polish <a href="/wiki/General_sejm" class="mw-redirect" title="General sejm">Sejm</a> voted funding for Lithuania's defense against Muscovy for the first time, and an army was fielded. The Polish nobility's <a href="/wiki/Executionist_movement" title="Executionist movement">executionist movement</a> called for full incorporation of the Grand Duchy because of its increasing reliance on the support of the Polish Crown against Moscow's encroachments. This problem only grew more acute during the reign of <a href="/wiki/Sigismund_II_Augustus" title="Sigismund II Augustus">Sigismund II Augustus</a>, the last Jagiellonian king and grand duke of Lithuania, who had no heir who would inherit and continue the <a href="/wiki/Personal_union" title="Personal union">personal union</a> between Poland and Lithuania. The preservation of the Polish-Lithuanian power arrangement appeared to require the monarch to force a decisive solution during his lifetime. The resistance to a closer and more permanent union was coming from Lithuania's ruling families, increasingly <a href="/wiki/Polonization" title="Polonization">Polonized</a> in cultural terms, but attached to the Lithuanian heritage and their patrimonial rule.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_74-82-90">[89]</a><a href="#cite_note-Grzybowski_142-146-91">[90]</a> Legal evolution had lately been taking place in Lithuania nevertheless. In the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Privilege_of_Vilnius&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Privilege of Vilnius (page does not exist)">Privilege of Vilnius</a> of 1563, Sigismund restored full political rights to the Grand Duchy's Orthodox <a href="/wiki/Boyar" title="Boyar">boyars</a>, which had been restricted up to that time by <a href="/wiki/Vytautas" title="Vytautas">Vytautas</a> and his successors; all members of the nobility were from then officially equal. Elective courts were established in 1565–66, and the Second <a href="/wiki/Statutes_of_Lithuania" title="Statutes of Lithuania">Lithuanian Statute</a> of 1566 created a hierarchy of local offices patterned on the Polish system. The Lithuanian legislative assembly assumed the same formal powers as the Polish Sejm.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_74-82-90">[89]</a><a href="#cite_note-Grzybowski_142-146-91">[90]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Cranach_the_Younger_Sigismund_II_Augustus.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Cranach_the_Younger_Sigismund_II_Augustus.jpg/150px-Cranach_the_Younger_Sigismund_II_Augustus.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="178" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Cranach_the_Younger_Sigismund_II_Augustus.jpg/225px-Cranach_the_Younger_Sigismund_II_Augustus.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Cranach_the_Younger_Sigismund_II_Augustus.jpg/300px-Cranach_the_Younger_Sigismund_II_Augustus.jpg 2x" data-file-width="890" data-file-height="1058" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Sigismund_II_Augustus" title="Sigismund II Augustus">Sigismund II Augustus</a> took decisive steps to ensure preservation of the union after his death</figcaption></figure> The Polish Sejm of January 1569, deliberating in <a href="/wiki/Lublin" title="Lublin">Lublin</a>, was attended by the Lithuanian lords at Sigismund's insistence. Most left town on 1 March, unhappy with the proposals of the Poles to establish rights to acquire property in Lithuania and other issues. Sigismund reacted by announcing the incorporation of the Grand Duchy's <a href="/wiki/Volhynia" title="Volhynia">Volhynia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Podlasie" class="mw-redirect" title="Podlasie">Podlasie</a> <a href="/wiki/Voivodeship" title="Voivodeship">voivodeships</a> into the Polish Crown. Soon the large <a href="/wiki/Kiev_Voivodeship" title="Kiev Voivodeship">Kiev Voivodeship</a> and <a href="/wiki/Bratslav_Voivodeship" class="mw-redirect" title="Bratslav Voivodeship">Bratslav Voivodeship</a> were also annexed. Ruthenian boyars in the formerly southeastern Grand Duchy mostly approved the territorial transfers, since it meant that they would become members of the privileged Polish nobility. But the king also pressured many obstinate deputies to agree on compromises important to the Lithuanian side. The arm twisting, combined with reciprocal guarantees for Lithuanian nobles' rights, resulted in the "voluntary" passage of the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a> on July 1. The combined polity would be ruled by a common Sejm, but the separate hierarchies of major state offices were to be retained. Many in the Lithuanian establishment found this objectionable, but in the end they were prudent to comply. For the time being, Sigismund managed to preserve the Polish-Lithuanian state as great power. Reforms necessary to protect its long-term success and survival were not undertaken.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_74-82-90">[89]</a><a href="#cite_note-Grzybowski_142-146-91">[90]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Lithuanian_Renaissance">Lithuanian Renaissance</h4>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Lithuanian Renaissance">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1526.PNG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1526.PNG/220px-Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1526.PNG" decoding="async" width="220" height="172" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1526.PNG/330px-Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1526.PNG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1526.PNG/440px-Poland_and_Lithuania_in_1526.PNG 2x" data-file-width="2000" data-file-height="1568" /></a><figcaption>Poland and Lithuania in 1526, before the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a></figcaption></figure> From the 16th to the mid-17th century, culture, arts, and education flourished in Lithuania, fueled by the <a href="/wiki/Renaissance" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Protestant_Reformation" class="mw-redirect" title="Protestant Reformation">Protestant Reformation</a>. The Lutheran ideas of the Reformation entered the <a href="/wiki/Livonian_Confederation" class="mw-redirect" title="Livonian Confederation">Livonian Confederation</a> by the 1520s, and Lutheranism soon became the prevailing religion in the urban areas of the region, while Lithuania remained Catholic.<a href="#cite_note-92">[91]</a><a href="#cite_note-93">[92]</a> An influential book dealer was the humanist and bibliophile <a href="/wiki/Francysk_Skaryna" title="Francysk Skaryna">Francysk Skaryna</a> (c. 1485—1540), who was the founding father of <a href="/wiki/Belarusians" title="Belarusians">Belarusian</a> letters. He wrote in his native <a href="/wiki/Ruthenian_language" title="Ruthenian language">Ruthenian</a> (Chancery Slavonic) language,<a href="#cite_note-94">[93]</a> as was typical for <a href="/wiki/Intellectual" title="Intellectual">literati</a> in the earlier phase of the Renaissance in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After the middle of the 16th century, <a href="/wiki/Polish_language" title="Polish language">Polish</a> predominated in literary productions.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_21-95">[94]</a> Many educated Lithuanians came back from studies abroad to help build the active cultural life that distinguished 16th-century Lithuania, sometimes referred to as Lithuanian Renaissance (not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_National_Revival" title="Lithuanian National Revival">Lithuanian National Revival</a> in the 19th century). At this time, Italian architecture was introduced in Lithuanian cities, and <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_literature" title="Lithuanian literature">Lithuanian literature</a> written in Latin flourished. Also at this time, the first printed texts in the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian language</a> emerged, and the formation of written Lithuanian language began. The process was led by Lithuanian scholars <a href="/wiki/Abraomas_Kulvietis" title="Abraomas Kulvietis">Abraomas Kulvietis</a>, <a href="/wiki/Stanislovas_Rapalionis" class="mw-redirect" title="Stanislovas Rapalionis">Stanislovas Rapalionis</a>, <a href="/wiki/Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas" title="Martynas Mažvydas">Martynas Mažvydas</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mikalojus_Dauk%C5%A1a" title="Mikalojus Daukša">Mikalojus Daukša</a>. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Polish–Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569–1795)">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>, <a href="/wiki/History_of_Poland_(1569%E2%80%931795)" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Poland (1569–1795)">History of Poland (1569–1795)</a>, <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569%E2%80%931648)" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648)">History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648)</a>, <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1648%E2%80%931764)" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764)">History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764)</a>, and <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1764%E2%80%9395)" class="mw-redirect" title="History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–95)">History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–95)</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="New_union_with_Poland">New union with Poland</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: New union with Poland">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Irp1569.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Irp1569.jpg/220px-Irp1569.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="172" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Irp1569.jpg/330px-Irp1569.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Irp1569.jpg/440px-Irp1569.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2000" data-file-height="1568" /></a><figcaption>Poland and Lithuania after the Union of Lublin (1569)</figcaption></figure> With the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a> of 1569, Poland and Lithuania formed a new state referred to as the Republic of Both Nations, but commonly known as Poland-Lithuania or the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>. The Commonwealth, which officially consisted of the <a href="/wiki/Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland" title="Crown of the Kingdom of Poland">Crown of the Kingdom of Poland</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>, was ruled by Polish and Lithuanian nobility, together with <a href="/wiki/Royal_elections_in_Poland" title="Royal elections in Poland">nobility-elected</a> kings. The Union was designed to have a common foreign policy, customs and currency. Separate Polish and Lithuanian armies were retained, but parallel ministerial and central offices were established according to a practice developed by the Crown.<a href="#cite_note-Grzybowski_142-146-91">[90]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Tribunal" title="Lithuanian Tribunal">Lithuanian Tribunal</a>, a high court for the affairs of the nobility, was created in 1581.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_85-96">[95]</a> Following the death of Sigismund II Augustus in 1572, a joint Polish–Lithuanian monarch was to be elected as agreed in the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a>. According to the treaty, the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" would be received by a jointly elected monarch in the <a href="/wiki/Election_sejm" title="Election sejm">Election sejm</a> on his accession to the throne, thus losing its former institutional significance. However, the treaty guaranteed that the institution and the title "Grand Duke of Lithuania" will be preserved.<a href="#cite_note-97">[96]</a><a href="#cite_note-98">[97]</a> On 20 April 1576 the congress of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's nobles was held in <a href="/wiki/Grodno" title="Grodno">Grodno</a> which adopted an <a href="/wiki/Universal_(act)" title="Universal (act)">Universal</a>. It was signed by the participating Lithuanian nobles who announced that if the delegates of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania will feel pressure from the Poles in the <a href="/wiki/Election_sejm" title="Election sejm">Election sejm</a>, the Lithuanians will not be obliged by an oath of the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a> and will have the right to select a separate monarch.<a href="#cite_note-99">[98]</a> On 29 May 1580 a ceremony was held in the <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_Cathedral" title="Vilnius Cathedral">Vilnius Cathedral</a> during which bishop <a href="/wiki/Merkelis_Giedraitis" title="Merkelis Giedraitis">Merkelis Giedraitis</a> presented <a href="/wiki/Stephen_B%C3%A1thory" title="Stephen Báthory">Stephen Báthory</a> (King of Poland since 1 May 1576) a luxuriously decorated sword and a cap adorned with <a href="/wiki/Pearl" title="Pearl">pearls</a> (both were sanctified by <a href="/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XIII" title="Pope Gregory XIII">Pope Gregory XIII</a> himself). Such ceremony manifested the sovereignty of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and had the meaning of <a href="/wiki/Gediminas%27_Cap#Inaugurations_of_Lithuanian_monarchs" title="Gediminas' Cap">elevation of the new Grand Duke of Lithuania</a>, thus ignoring the stipulations of the Union of Lublin.<a href="#cite_note-100">[99]</a><a href="#cite_note-101">[100]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Languages">Languages</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Languages">edit</a>]</div> The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian language</a> fell into disuse in the circles of the grand ducal court in the second half of the 15th century in favor of Polish.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_18-19-102">[101]</a> A century later, Polish was commonly used even by the ordinary Lithuanian nobility.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_18-19-102">[101]</a> Following the Union of Lublin, <a href="/wiki/Polonization" title="Polonization">Polonization</a> increasingly affected all aspects of Lithuanian public life, but it took well over a century for the process to be completed. The 1588 <a href="/wiki/Statutes_of_Lithuania" title="Statutes of Lithuania">Statutes of Lithuania</a> were still written in the Ruthenian Chancery Slavonic language, just as earlier legal codifications were.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_44-103">[102]</a> From about 1700, Polish was used in the Grand Duchy's official documents as a replacement for Ruthenian and <a href="/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> use.<a href="#cite_note-104">[103]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_86-105">[104]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_nobility" title="Lithuanian nobility">Lithuanian nobility</a> became linguistically and culturally Polonized, while retaining a sense of Lithuanian identity.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_81,_86-106">[105]</a> The integrating process of the Commonwealth nobility was not regarded as Polonization in the sense of modern nationality, but rather as participation in the <a href="/wiki/Sarmatism" title="Sarmatism">Sarmatism</a> cultural-ideological current, erroneously understood to imply also a common (<a href="/wiki/Sarmatians" title="Sarmatians">Sarmatian</a>) ancestry of all members of the noble class.<a href="#cite_note-Lukowski_86-105">[104]</a> The Lithuanian language survived, however, in spite of encroachments by the Ruthenian, Polish, <a href="/wiki/Russian_language" title="Russian language">Russian</a>, <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_language" title="Belarusian language">Belarusian</a> and <a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a> languages, as a peasant vernacular, and from 1547 in written religious use.<a href="#cite_note-107">[106]</a> Western Lithuania had an important role in the preservation of the Lithuanian language and its culture. In Samogitia, many nobles never ceased to speak Lithuanian natively. Northeastern East Prussia, sometimes referred to as <a href="/wiki/Lithuania_Minor" title="Lithuania Minor">Lithuania Minor</a>, was populated mainly by Lithuanians<a href="#cite_note-108">[107]</a> and predominantly <a href="/wiki/Lutheran" class="mw-redirect" title="Lutheran">Lutheran</a>. The Lutherans promoted publishing of religious books in local languages, which is why the Catechism of <a href="/wiki/Martynas_Ma%C5%BEvydas" title="Martynas Mažvydas">Martynas Mažvydas</a> was printed in 1547 in East Prussian <a href="/wiki/K%C3%B6nigsberg" title="Königsberg">Königsberg</a>.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Religion">Religion</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Religion">edit</a>]</div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kry%C5%A1tap_Radzivi%C5%82._%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BB_(W._Delff,_1639)_(2).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Kry%C5%A1tap_Radzivi%C5%82._%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BB_%28W._Delff%2C_1639%29_%282%29.jpg/195px-Kry%C5%A1tap_Radzivi%C5%82._%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BB_%28W._Delff%2C_1639%29_%282%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="195" height="269" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Kry%C5%A1tap_Radzivi%C5%82._%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BB_%28W._Delff%2C_1639%29_%282%29.jpg/293px-Kry%C5%A1tap_Radzivi%C5%82._%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BB_%28W._Delff%2C_1639%29_%282%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Kry%C5%A1tap_Radzivi%C5%82._%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BB_%28W._Delff%2C_1639%29_%282%29.jpg/390px-Kry%C5%A1tap_Radzivi%C5%82._%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BF_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%BB_%28W._Delff%2C_1639%29_%282%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5016" data-file-height="6924" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Hetman" title="Hetman">Hetman</a> Kristupas Radvila or <a href="/wiki/Krzysztof_Radziwi%C5%82%C5%82" title="Krzysztof Radziwiłł">Krzysztof Radziwiłł</a> (1585–1640), a Lithuanian <a href="/wiki/Calvinism" class="mw-redirect" title="Calvinism">Calvinist</a> and an accomplished military commander</figcaption></figure> The predominantly <a href="/wiki/East_Slavs" title="East Slavs">East Slavic</a> population of the Grand Duchy was mostly <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church" title="Eastern Orthodox Church">Eastern Orthodox</a>, and much of the Lithuanian state's nobility also remained Orthodox. Unlike the common people of the Lithuanian realm, at about the time of the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lublin" title="Union of Lublin">Union of Lublin</a> in 1569 large portions of the nobility converted to <a href="/wiki/Western_Christianity" title="Western Christianity">Western Christianity</a>. Following the <a href="/wiki/Protestant_Reformation" class="mw-redirect" title="Protestant Reformation">Protestant Reformation</a> movement, many noble families converted to <a href="/wiki/Calvinism" class="mw-redirect" title="Calvinism">Calvinism</a> in the 1550s and 1560s, and typically a generation later, conforming to the <a href="/wiki/Counter-Reformation" title="Counter-Reformation">Counter-Reformation</a> trends in the Commonwealth, to <a href="/wiki/Roman_Catholicism" class="mw-redirect" title="Roman Catholicism">Roman Catholicism</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_22-110">[109]</a> The Protestant and Orthodox presence must have been very strong, because according to an undoubtedly exaggerated early 17th-century source, "merely one in a thousand remained a Catholic" in Lithuania at that time.<a href="#cite_note-Urban_30-111">[110]</a><a href="#cite_note-112">[b]</a> In the early Commonwealth, <a href="/wiki/Toleration" title="Toleration">religious toleration</a> was the norm and was officially enacted by the <a href="/wiki/Warsaw_Confederation" title="Warsaw Confederation">Warsaw Confederation</a> in 1573.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_23-113">[111]</a> By 1750, nominal Catholics comprised about 80% of the Commonwealth's population, the vast majority of the noble citizenry, and the entire legislature. In the east, there were also the Eastern Orthodox Church adherents. However, Catholics in the Grand Duchy itself were split. Under half were <a href="/wiki/Latin_Church" title="Latin Church">Latin Church</a> with strong allegiance to Rome, worshiping according to the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Rite" title="Roman Rite">Roman Rite</a>. The others (mostly non-noble Ruthenians) followed the <a href="/wiki/Byzantine_Rite" title="Byzantine Rite">Byzantine Rite</a>. They were the so-called <a href="/wiki/Ruthenian_Uniate_Church" title="Ruthenian Uniate Church">Uniates</a>, whose church was established at the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Brest" title="Union of Brest">Union of Brest</a> in 1596, and they acknowledged only nominal obedience to Rome. At first the advantage went to the advancing Catholic Church pushing back a retreating Eastern Orthodox Church. However, after the first partition of the Commonwealth in 1772, the Orthodox had the support of the government and gained the upper hand. The <a href="/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church" title="Russian Orthodox Church">Russian Orthodox Church</a> paid special attention to the Uniates (who had once been Orthodox), and tried to bring them back. The contest was political and spiritual, utilizing missionaries, schools, and pressure exerted by powerful nobles and landlords. By 1800, over 2 million of the Uniates had become Orthodox, and another 1.6 million by 1839.<a href="#cite_note-114">[112]</a><a href="#cite_note-115">[113]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Grand_Duchy,_its_grandeur_and_decline">Grand Duchy, its grandeur and decline</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Grand Duchy, its grandeur and decline">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuania_in_the_17th_century.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Lithuania_in_the_17th_century.png/200px-Lithuania_in_the_17th_century.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="217" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Lithuania_in_the_17th_century.png/300px-Lithuania_in_the_17th_century.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Lithuania_in_the_17th_century.png/400px-Lithuania_in_the_17th_century.png 2x" data-file-width="1138" data-file-height="1235" /></a><figcaption>Administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 17th century</figcaption></figure> The Union of Lublin and the integration of the two countries notwithstanding, Lithuania continued to exist as a grand duchy within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for over two centuries. It retained separate laws as well as an army and a treasury.<a href="#cite_note-116">[114]</a> At the time of Union of Lublin, King <a href="/wiki/Sigismund_II_Augustus" title="Sigismund II Augustus">Sigismund II Augustus</a> removed Ukraine and other territories from Lithuania and incorporated them directly into the Polish Crown. The grand duchy was left with today's <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> and parts of <a href="/wiki/European_Russia" title="European Russia">European Russia</a>, in addition to the core ethnic Lithuanian lands.<a href="#cite_note-Gierowski-117">[115]</a> From 1573, the kings of Poland and the grand dukes of Lithuania were always the same person and were elected by the nobility, who were granted ever increasing privileges in a unique aristocratic political system known as the <a href="/wiki/Golden_Liberty" title="Golden Liberty">Golden Liberty</a>. These privileges, especially the <a href="/wiki/Liberum_veto" title="Liberum veto">liberum veto</a>, led to political anarchy and the eventual dissolution of the state. Within the Commonwealth, the grand duchy made important contributions to European economic, political and cultural life: Western Europe was supplied with grain, along the <a href="/wiki/Danzig" class="mw-redirect" title="Danzig">Danzig</a> to <a href="/wiki/Amsterdam" title="Amsterdam">Amsterdam</a> sea route; the early Commonwealth's religious tolerance and democracy among the ruling noble class were unique in Europe; Vilnius was the only European capital located on the border of the worlds of the Western and Eastern Christianity and many religious faiths were practiced there; to the <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Lithuania" title="History of the Jews in Lithuania">Jews</a>,<a href="#cite_note-119">[c]</a> it was the "<a href="/wiki/Jerusalem" title="Jerusalem">Jerusalem</a> of the North" and the town of the <a href="/wiki/Vilna_Gaon" title="Vilna Gaon">Vilna Gaon</a>, their great religious leader; <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_University" title="Vilnius University">Vilnius University</a> produced numerous illustrious alumni and was one of the most influential centers of learning in its part of Europe; the Vilnius school made significant contributions to European architecture in <a href="/wiki/Vilnian_Baroque" title="Vilnian Baroque">Baroque style</a>; the Lithuanian legal tradition gave rise to the advanced legal codes known as the <a href="/wiki/Statutes_of_Lithuania" title="Statutes of Lithuania">Statutes of Lithuania</a>; at the end of the Commonwealth's existence, the <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_3_May_1791" title="Constitution of 3 May 1791">Constitution of 3 May 1791</a> was the first comprehensive written constitution produced in Europe. After the <a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">Partitions of Poland</a>, the Vilnius school of <a href="/wiki/Romanticism" title="Romanticism">Romanticism</a> produced the two great poets: <a href="/wiki/Adam_Mickiewicz" title="Adam Mickiewicz">Adam Mickiewicz</a> and <a href="/wiki/Juliusz_S%C5%82owacki" title="Juliusz Słowacki">Juliusz Słowacki</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_18-120">[117]</a> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Etnoregionai.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Etnoregionai.png/225px-Etnoregionai.png" decoding="async" width="225" height="176" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Etnoregionai.png/338px-Etnoregionai.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Etnoregionai.png/450px-Etnoregionai.png 2x" data-file-width="678" data-file-height="529" /></a><figcaption>Traditional ethnographic regions of Lithuania proper</figcaption></figure> The Commonwealth was greatly weakened by a series of wars, beginning with the <a href="/wiki/Khmelnytsky_Uprising" title="Khmelnytsky Uprising">Khmelnytsky Uprising</a> in Ukraine in 1648.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_24-121">[118]</a> During the <a href="/wiki/Second_Northern_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second Northern War">Northern Wars</a> of 1655–1661, the Lithuanian territory and economy were devastated by the Swedish army in an invasion known as the <a href="/wiki/Deluge_(history)" title="Deluge (history)">Deluge</a>, and Vilnius was burned and looted by the Russian forces.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> Before it could fully recover, Lithuania was again ravaged during the <a href="/wiki/Great_Northern_War" title="Great Northern War">Great Northern War</a> of 1700–1721. Besides war, the Commonwealth suffered the <a href="/wiki/Great_Northern_War_plague_outbreak" title="Great Northern War plague outbreak">Great Northern War plague outbreak</a> and famine (the worst caused by the <a href="/wiki/Great_Frost_of_1709" title="Great Frost of 1709">Great Frost of 1709</a>). These calamities resulted in the loss of approximately 40% of the country's inhabitants. Foreign powers, especially Russia, became dominant players in the domestic politics of the Commonwealth. Numerous factions among the nobility, controlled and manipulated by the powerful <a href="/wiki/Magnates_of_Poland_and_Lithuania" title="Magnates of Poland and Lithuania">Magnates of Poland and Lithuania</a>, themselves often in conflict, used their "Golden Liberty" to prevent reforms. Some Lithuanian clans, such as the <a href="/wiki/Radziwi%C5%82%C5%82" class="mw-redirect" title="Radziwiłł">Radziwiłłs</a>, counted among the most powerful of Commonwealth nobles. The <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_3_May_1791" title="Constitution of 3 May 1791">Constitution of 3 May 1791</a> was a culmination of the belated reform process of the Commonwealth. It attempted to integrate Lithuania and Poland more closely, although the separation was preserved by the added <a href="/wiki/Reciprocal_Guarantee_of_Two_Nations" title="Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations">Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations</a>. <a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> in 1772, 1793 and 1795 terminated its existence and saw the Grand Duchy of Lithuania divided between the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a>, which took over 90% of the Duchy's territory, and the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Third_Partition_of_Poland" title="Third Partition of Poland">Third Partition</a> of 1795 took place after the failure of the <a href="/wiki/Ko%C5%9Bciuszko_Uprising" title="Kościuszko Uprising">Kościuszko Uprising</a>, the last war waged by Poles and Lithuanians to preserve their statehood. Lithuania ceased to exist as a distinct entity for more than a century.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Under_Imperial_Russia,_World_War_I_(1795–1918)">Under Imperial Russia, World War I (1795–1918)</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Under Imperial Russia, World War I (1795–1918)">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Post-Commonwealth_period_(1795–1864);_foundations_of_Lithuanian_nationalism">Post-Commonwealth period (1795–1864); foundations of Lithuanian nationalism</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Post-Commonwealth period (1795–1864); foundations of Lithuanian nationalism">edit</a>]</div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Adam_Mickiewicz_1827_(53794389)_(cropped).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Adam_Mickiewicz_1827_%2853794389%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/175px-Adam_Mickiewicz_1827_%2853794389%29_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="175" height="181" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Adam_Mickiewicz_1827_%2853794389%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/263px-Adam_Mickiewicz_1827_%2853794389%29_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Adam_Mickiewicz_1827_%2853794389%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/350px-Adam_Mickiewicz_1827_%2853794389%29_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3216" data-file-height="3335" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Adam_Mickiewicz" title="Adam Mickiewicz">Adam Mickiewicz</a> was a <a href="/wiki/Polish-Lithuanian_(adjective)" class="mw-redirect" title="Polish-Lithuanian (adjective)">Polish–Lithuanian</a> poet when the Polish–Lithuanian state no longer existed</figcaption></figure> Following the <a href="/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland" title="Partitions of Poland">partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a> controlled the majority of Lithuania, including <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a>, which was a part of the <a href="/wiki/Vilna_Governorate" title="Vilna Governorate">Vilna Governorate</a>. In 1803, Tsar <a href="/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Russia" title="Alexander I of Russia">Alexander I</a> revived and upgraded the old <a href="/wiki/Society_of_Jesus" class="mw-redirect" title="Society of Jesus">Jesuit</a> academy as the imperial <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_University" title="Vilnius University">Vilnius University</a>, the largest in the Russian Empire. The university and the regional educational system was directed on behalf of the tsar by Prince <a href="/wiki/Adam_Jerzy_Czartoryski" title="Adam Jerzy Czartoryski">Adam Czartoryski</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_26-27-122">[119]</a> In the early years of the 19th century, there were signs that Lithuania might be allowed some separate recognition by the Empire, however this never happened. <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Simonas_Daukantas.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Simonas_Daukantas.png/175px-Simonas_Daukantas.png" decoding="async" width="175" height="208" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Simonas_Daukantas.png/263px-Simonas_Daukantas.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Simonas_Daukantas.png/350px-Simonas_Daukantas.png 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="714" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Simonas_Daukantas" title="Simonas Daukantas">Simonas Daukantas</a></figcaption></figure> In 1812, the Lithuanians eagerly welcomed <a href="/wiki/Napoleon_I_of_France" class="mw-redirect" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon Bonaparte</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Grande_Arm%C3%A9e" title="Grande Armée">Grande Armée</a> as liberators, with many joining the <a href="/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia" title="French invasion of Russia">French invasion of Russia</a>. After the French army's defeat and withdrawal, Tsar Alexander I decided to keep the University of Vilnius open and the Polish-language poet <a href="/wiki/Adam_Mickiewicz" title="Adam Mickiewicz">Adam Mickiewicz</a>, a resident of Vilnius in 1815–1824, was able to receive his education there.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_27-123">[120]</a> The southwestern part of Lithuania that was taken over by Prussia in 1795, then incorporated into the <a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Warsaw" title="Duchy of Warsaw">Duchy of Warsaw</a> (a French puppet state that existed between 1807 and 1815), became a part of the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland ("<a href="/wiki/Congress_Poland" title="Congress Poland">Congress Poland</a>") in 1815. The rest of Lithuania continued to be administered as a Russian province. The Poles and Lithuanians revolted against Russian rule twice, in 1830-31 (the <a href="/wiki/November_Uprising" title="November Uprising">November Uprising</a>) and 1863–64 (the <a href="/wiki/January_Uprising" title="January Uprising">January Uprising</a>), but both attempts failed and resulted in increased repression by the Russian authorities. After the November Uprising, Tsar <a href="/wiki/Nicholas_I_of_Russia" title="Nicholas I of Russia">Nicholas I</a> began an intensive program of <a href="/wiki/Russification" title="Russification">Russification</a> and the University of Vilnius was closed.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_28-124">[121]</a> Lithuania became part of a new administrative region called the <a href="/wiki/Northwestern_Krai" title="Northwestern Krai">Northwestern Krai</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_16-125">[122]</a> In spite of the repression, Polish language schooling and cultural life were largely able to continue in the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania until the failure of the <a href="/wiki/January_Uprising" title="January Uprising">January Uprising</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_44-103">[102]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Statutes_of_Lithuania" title="Statutes of Lithuania">Statutes of Lithuania</a> were annulled by the Russian Empire only in 1840, and serfdom was abolished as part of the general <a href="/wiki/Emancipation_reform_of_1861" title="Emancipation reform of 1861">Emancipation reform of 1861</a> that applied to the entire Russian Empire.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_44-45-126">[123]</a> The Uniate Church, important in the <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarusian</a> part of the former Grand Duchy, was incorporated into the Orthodox Church in 1839.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_45-127">[124]</a> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kostu%C5%9B_Kalinowski.PNG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Kostu%C5%9B_Kalinowski.PNG/165px-Kostu%C5%9B_Kalinowski.PNG" decoding="async" width="165" height="256" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Kostu%C5%9B_Kalinowski.PNG/248px-Kostu%C5%9B_Kalinowski.PNG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Kostu%C5%9B_Kalinowski.PNG/330px-Kostu%C5%9B_Kalinowski.PNG 2x" data-file-width="1036" data-file-height="1610" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Konstanty_Kalinowski" title="Konstanty Kalinowski">Konstanty Kalinowski</a></figcaption></figure> The Polish poetry of Adam Mickiewicz, who was emotionally attached to the Lithuanian countryside and associated medieval legends, influenced ideological foundations of the emerging Lithuanian national movement. <a href="/wiki/Simonas_Daukantas" title="Simonas Daukantas">Simonas Daukantas</a>, who studied with Mickiewicz at Vilnius University, promoted a return to Lithuania's pre-<a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Commonwealth</a> traditions and a renewal of the local culture, based on the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian language</a>. With those ideas in mind, he wrote already in 1822 a history of Lithuania in Lithuanian (though still not yet published at that time). <a href="/wiki/Teodor_Narbutt" title="Teodor Narbutt">Teodor Narbutt</a> wrote in Polish a voluminous Ancient History of the Lithuanian Nation (1835–1841), where he likewise expounded and expanded further on the concept of historic Lithuania, whose days of glory had ended with the Union of Lublin in 1569. Narbutt, invoking the German scholarship, pointed out the relationship between the Lithuanian and <a href="/wiki/Sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</a> languages. It indicated the closeness of Lithuanian to its ancient <a href="/wiki/Indo-European_languages" title="Indo-European languages">Indo-European</a> roots and would later provide the "antiquity" argument for activists associated with the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_National_Revival" title="Lithuanian National Revival">Lithuanian National Revival</a>. By the middle of the 19th century, the basic ideology of the future Lithuanian nationalist movement was defined with linguistic identity in mind; in order to establish a modern Lithuanian identity, it required a break with the traditional dependence on Polish culture and language.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_31-35,_37-38-128">[125]</a> Around the time of the January Uprising, there was a generation of Lithuanian leaders of the transitional period between a political movement bound with Poland and the modern Lithuanian nationalist movement based on language. <a href="/wiki/Jak%C3%B3b_Gieysztor" title="Jakób Gieysztor">Jakób Gieysztor</a>, <a href="/wiki/Konstanty_Kalinowski" title="Konstanty Kalinowski">Konstanty Kalinowski</a> and <a href="/wiki/Antanas_Mackevi%C4%8Dius" title="Antanas Mackevičius">Antanas Mackevičius</a> wanted to form alliances with the local peasants, who, empowered and given land, would presumably help defeat the Russian Empire, acting in their own self-interest. This created new dilemmas that had to do with languages used for such inter-class communication and later led to the concept of a nation as the "sum of speakers of a vernacular tongue."<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_26,_30-129">[126]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Formation_of_modern_national_identity_and_push_for_self-rule_(1864–1918)">Formation of modern national identity and push for self-rule (1864–1918)</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Formation of modern national identity and push for self-rule (1864–1918)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_press_ban" title="Lithuanian press ban">Lithuanian press ban</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_National_Revival" title="Lithuanian National Revival">Lithuanian National Revival</a></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg/300px-Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="217" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg/450px-Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg/600px-Lithuania-1867-1914-EN.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="940" data-file-height="680" /></a><figcaption>Modern Lithuania with the former <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a>'s administrative divisions (<a href="/wiki/Governorate" title="Governorate">governorates</a>) shown (1867–1914).</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuanians_XIX_final.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Lithuanians_XIX_final.png/220px-Lithuanians_XIX_final.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="216" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Lithuanians_XIX_final.png/330px-Lithuanians_XIX_final.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Lithuanians_XIX_final.png/440px-Lithuanians_XIX_final.png 2x" data-file-width="8068" data-file-height="7939" /></a><figcaption>Distribution of ethnic Lithuanian population during the 19th century <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r981673959">.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}</style><div class="legend">  over 50% Lithuanian</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend">  30% – 50% Lithuanian</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend">  20% – 30% Lithuanian</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend">  10% – 20% Lithuanian</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend">  5% – 10% Lithuanian</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend">  3% – 5% Lithuanian</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r981673959"><div class="legend">  1% – 3% Lithuanian</div></figcaption></figure> The failure of the <a href="/wiki/January_Uprising" title="January Uprising">January Uprising</a> in 1864 made the connection with Poland seem outdated to many Lithuanians and at the same time led to the creation of a class of emancipated and often prosperous peasants who, unlike often <a href="/wiki/Polonized" class="mw-redirect" title="Polonized">Polonized</a> urban residents, were effectively custodians of the Lithuanian language. Educational opportunities, now more widely available to young people of such common origins, were one of the crucial factors responsible for the Lithuanian national revival. As schools were being de-Polonized and Lithuanian university students sent to <a href="/wiki/Saint_Petersburg" title="Saint Petersburg">Saint Petersburg</a> or <a href="/wiki/Moscow" title="Moscow">Moscow</a> rather than <a href="/wiki/Warsaw" title="Warsaw">Warsaw</a>, a cultural void resulted, and it was not being successfully filled by the attempted <a href="/wiki/Russification" title="Russification">Russification</a> policies.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_31-33-130">[127]</a> <a href="/wiki/Russian_nationalism" title="Russian nationalism">Russian nationalists</a> regarded the territories of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania as an <a href="/wiki/East_Slavs" title="East Slavs">East Slavic</a> realm that ought to be (and was being) "reunited" with Russia.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_49-51-131">[128]</a> In the following decades however, a Lithuanian national movement emerged, composed of activists of different social backgrounds and persuasions, often primarily Polish-speaking, but united by their willingness to promote the Lithuanian culture and language as a strategy for building a modern nation.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_31-33-130">[127]</a> The restoration of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania was no longer the objective of this movement, and the territorial ambitions of its leaders were limited to the lands they considered historically Lithuanian.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Auksa_altorius_latin.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Auksa_altorius_latin.jpg/180px-Auksa_altorius_latin.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="284" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Auksa_altorius_latin.jpg/270px-Auksa_altorius_latin.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/Auksa_altorius_latin.jpg/360px-Auksa_altorius_latin.jpg 2x" data-file-width="519" data-file-height="819" /></a><figcaption>1864 Lithuanian prayer book, printed in the Latin characters and therefore prohibited.</figcaption></figure> In 1864, the Lithuanian language and the <a href="/wiki/Latin_alphabet" title="Latin alphabet">Latin alphabet</a> were banned in junior schools. The prohibition on printing in the Lithuanian language reflected the Russian nationalist policy of "restoration" of the supposedly Russian beginnings of Lithuania. The tsarist authorities implemented a number of Russification policies, including a <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_press_ban" title="Lithuanian press ban">Lithuanian press ban</a> and the closing of cultural and educational institutions. Those were resisted by Lithuanians, led by Bishop <a href="/wiki/Motiejus_Valan%C4%8Dius" title="Motiejus Valančius">Motiejus Valančius</a>, among others.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> Lithuanians resisted by arranging printing abroad and smuggling of the books in from neighboring <a href="/wiki/East_Prussia" title="East Prussia">East Prussia</a>. Lithuanian was not considered a prestigious language. There were even expectations that the language would become extinct, as more and more territories in the east were slavicized, and more people used Polish or Russian in daily life. The only place where Lithuanian was considered more prestigious and worthy of books and studying was in East Prussia, sometimes referred to by Lithuanian nationalists as "Lithuania Minor." At the time, northeastern East Prussia was home to numerous ethnic Lithuanians, but even there <a href="/wiki/Germanization" class="mw-redirect" title="Germanization">Germanization</a> pressure threatened their cultural identity. The language revival spread into more affluent strata, beginning with the release of the Lithuanian newspapers <a href="/wiki/Au%C5%A1ra" title="Aušra">Aušra</a> and <a href="/wiki/Varpas" title="Varpas">Varpas</a>, then with the writing of poems and books in Lithuanian many of which glorified the historic Grand Duchy of Lithuania. <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Ausra_newspaper.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Ausra_newspaper.jpg/180px-Ausra_newspaper.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="268" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Ausra_newspaper.jpg/270px-Ausra_newspaper.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Ausra_newspaper.jpg 2x" data-file-width="302" data-file-height="450" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Au%C5%A1ra" title="Aušra">Aušra</a>, originally spelled Auszra, formulated the ideas of Lithuanian nationalism</figcaption></figure> The two most prominent figures in the revival movement, <a href="/wiki/Jonas_Basanavi%C4%8Dius" title="Jonas Basanavičius">Jonas Basanavičius</a> and <a href="/wiki/Vincas_Kudirka" title="Vincas Kudirka">Vincas Kudirka</a>, both originated from affluent Lithuanian peasantry and attended the <a href="/wiki/Marijampol%C4%97_Gymnasium" title="Marijampolė Gymnasium">Mariampol Gymnasium</a> (secondary school) in the <a href="/wiki/Suwa%C5%82ki_Governorate" title="Suwałki Governorate">Suwałki Governorate</a>. The school was a Polish educational center, Russified after the January Uprising, with Lithuanian language classes introduced at that time.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_33-34-132">[129]</a> Basanavičius studied medicine at the <a href="/wiki/Moscow_State_University" title="Moscow State University">Moscow State University</a>, where he developed international connections, published (in Polish) on Lithuanian history and graduated in 1879. From there he went to <a href="/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a>, and in 1882 moved to <a href="/wiki/Prague" title="Prague">Prague</a>. In Prague he met and became influenced by the <a href="/wiki/Czech_National_Revival" title="Czech National Revival">Czech National Revival</a> movement. In 1883, Basanavičius began working on a Lithuanian language review, which assumed the form of a newspaper named <a href="/wiki/Au%C5%A1ra" title="Aušra">Aušra</a> (The Dawn), published in <a href="/wiki/Ragnit" class="mw-redirect" title="Ragnit">Ragnit</a>, Prussia, <a href="/wiki/German_empire" class="mw-redirect" title="German empire">Germany</a> (now <a href="/wiki/Neman,_Russia" title="Neman, Russia">Neman, Russia</a>). Aušra was printed in Latin characters banned under Russian law, which mandated the <a href="/wiki/Cyrillic" class="mw-redirect" title="Cyrillic">Cyrillic</a> alphabet for printing Lithuanian. It was smuggled to Lithuania, together with other Lithuanian publications and books printed in East Prussia. The paper (forty issues in total), building on the work of the earlier writers, sought to demonstrate continuities with the medieval Grand Duchy and lionize the Lithuanian people.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder34-35-133">[130]</a> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Jonas_Basanavicius_(1851-1927).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Jonas_Basanavicius_%281851-1927%29.jpg/175px-Jonas_Basanavicius_%281851-1927%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="175" height="230" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Jonas_Basanavicius_%281851-1927%29.jpg/263px-Jonas_Basanavicius_%281851-1927%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Jonas_Basanavicius_%281851-1927%29.jpg/350px-Jonas_Basanavicius_%281851-1927%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="1317" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Jonas_Basanavi%C4%8Dius" title="Jonas Basanavičius">Jonas Basanavičius</a>, a preeminent figure in the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_National_Revival" title="Lithuanian National Revival">Lithuanian National Revival</a> movement</figcaption></figure> Russian restrictions at Marijampolė secondary school were eased in 1872 and Kudirka learned Polish there. He went on to study at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Warsaw" title="University of Warsaw">University of Warsaw</a>, where he was influenced by Polish <a href="/wiki/Socialism" title="Socialism">socialists</a>. In 1889, Kudirka returned to Lithuania and worked on incorporating the Lithuanian peasantry into mainstream politics as the main building block of a modern nation. In 1898, he wrote a poem inspired by the opening strophe of Mickiewicz's epic poem <a href="/wiki/Pan_Tadeusz" title="Pan Tadeusz">Pan Tadeusz</a>: "Lithuania, my fatherland! You are like health." The poem became the <a href="/wiki/National_anthem" title="National anthem">national anthem</a> of Lithuania, <a href="/wiki/Tauti%C5%A1ka_giesm%C4%97" title="Tautiška giesmė">Tautiška giesmė</a>: ("Lithuania, Our Homeland").<a href="#cite_note-Snyder38-40-134">[131]</a> As the revival grew, Russian policy became harsher. Attacks took place against Catholic churches while the ban forbidding the Lithuanian press continued. However, in the late 19th century, the language ban was lifted.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> and some 2,500 books were published in the Lithuanian Latin alphabet. The majority of these were published in <a href="/wiki/Tilsit" class="mw-redirect" title="Tilsit">Tilsit</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Prussia" title="Kingdom of Prussia">Kingdom of Prussia</a> (now Russian <a href="/wiki/Sovetsk,_Kaliningrad_Oblast" title="Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast">Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast</a>), although some publications reached Lithuania from the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>. A largely standardized written language was achieved by 1900, based on historical and <a href="/wiki/Auk%C5%A1taitija" title="Aukštaitija">Aukštaitijan</a> (highland) usages.<a href="#cite_note-135">[132]</a> The letters -č-, -š- and -v- were taken from the modern (redesigned) <a href="/wiki/Czech_language" title="Czech language">Czech</a> orthography, to avoid the Polish usage for corresponding sounds.<a href="#cite_note-gied-136">[133]</a><a href="#cite_note-Snyder36-37-137">[134]</a> The widely accepted Lithuanian Grammar, by <a href="/wiki/Jonas_Jablonskis" title="Jonas Jablonskis">Jonas Jablonskis</a>, appeared in 1901.<a href="#cite_note-gied-136">[133]</a> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Kudirka_ret.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Kudirka_ret.png/155px-Kudirka_ret.png" decoding="async" width="155" height="157" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Kudirka_ret.png/233px-Kudirka_ret.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Kudirka_ret.png 2x" data-file-width="289" data-file-height="292" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Vincas_Kudirka" title="Vincas Kudirka">Vincas Kudirka</a></figcaption></figure> Large numbers of <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Americans" title="Lithuanian Americans">Lithuanians had emigrated to the United States</a> in 1867–1868 after a <a href="/wiki/Famine" title="Famine">famine</a> in Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-138">[135]</a> Between 1868 and 1914, approximately 635,000 people, almost 20 percent of the population, left Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-139">[136]</a> Lithuanian cities and towns were growing under the Russian rule, but the country remained underdeveloped by the European standards and job opportunities were limited; many Lithuanians left also for the industrial centers of the Russian Empire, such as Riga and Saint Petersburg. Many of Lithuania's cities were dominated by non-Lithuanian-speaking Jews and Poles.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Great_Seimas_agenda.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Great_Seimas_agenda.jpg/200px-Great_Seimas_agenda.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="209" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Great_Seimas_agenda.jpg/300px-Great_Seimas_agenda.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Great_Seimas_agenda.jpg 2x" data-file-width="366" data-file-height="383" /></a><figcaption>A flyer with a proposed agenda for the <a href="/wiki/Great_Seimas_of_Vilnius" title="Great Seimas of Vilnius">Great Seimas of Vilnius</a>; it was rejected by the delegates and a more politically activist schedule was adopted</figcaption></figure> Lithuania's nationalist movement continued to grow. During the <a href="/wiki/1905_Russian_Revolution" class="mw-redirect" title="1905 Russian Revolution">1905 Russian Revolution</a>, a large congress of Lithuanian representatives in Vilnius known as the <a href="/wiki/Great_Seimas_of_Vilnius" title="Great Seimas of Vilnius">Great Seimas of Vilnius</a> demanded provincial autonomy for Lithuania (by which they meant the northwestern portion of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania)<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_53-140">[137]</a> on 5 December of that year. The tsarist regime made a number of concessions as the result of the 1905 uprising. The <a href="/wiki/Baltic_states" title="Baltic states">Baltic states</a> once again were permitted to use their native languages in schooling and public discourse, and Catholic churches were built in Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> Latin characters replaced the Cyrillic alphabet that had been forced upon Lithuanians for four decades. But not even Russian liberals were prepared to concede autonomy similar to that that had already existed in Estonia and Latvia, albeit under <a href="/wiki/Baltic_German" class="mw-redirect" title="Baltic German">Baltic German</a> hegemony. Many Baltic Germans looked toward aligning the Baltics (Lithuania and <a href="/wiki/Courland" title="Courland">Courland</a> in particular) with Germany.<a href="#cite_note-TBNAE-141">[138]</a> After the <a href="/wiki/Russian_entry_into_World_War_I" title="Russian entry into World War I">Russian entry into World War I</a>, the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> occupied Lithuania and Courland in 1915. Vilnius fell to the <a href="/wiki/Imperial_German_Army" title="Imperial German Army">Imperial German Army</a> on 19 September 1915. An alliance with Germany in opposition to both tsarist Russia and Lithuanian nationalism became for the Baltic Germans a real possibility.<a href="#cite_note-TBNAE-141">[138]</a> Lithuania was incorporated into <a href="/wiki/Ober_Ost" title="Ober Ost">Ober Ost</a> under a German government of occupation.<a href="#cite_note-maks-142">[139]</a> As open annexation could result in a public-relations backlash, the Germans planned to form a network of formally independent states that would in fact be dependent on Germany.<a href="#cite_note-eidintas-143">[140]</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Great_Seimas_of_Vilnius" title="Great Seimas of Vilnius">Great Seimas of Vilnius</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Independence_(1918–1940)">Independence (1918–1940)</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Independence (1918–1940)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Wars_of_Independence" title="Lithuanian Wars of Independence">Lithuanian Wars of Independence</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1918%E2%80%931919)" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–1919)">Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–1919)</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian%E2%80%93Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Diplomatic_history_of_World_War_I#Three_Baltic_states" title="Diplomatic history of World War I">Diplomatic history of World War I § Three Baltic states</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Declaration_of_independence">Declaration of independence</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Declaration of independence">edit</a>]</div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Vilnius_Conference_1917.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Vilnius_Conference_1917.jpg/235px-Vilnius_Conference_1917.jpg" decoding="async" width="235" height="158" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Vilnius_Conference_1917.jpg/353px-Vilnius_Conference_1917.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Vilnius_Conference_1917.jpg/470px-Vilnius_Conference_1917.jpg 2x" data-file-width="857" data-file-height="576" /></a><figcaption>Presidium and secretariat of the <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_Conference" title="Vilnius Conference">Vilnius Conference</a></figcaption></figure> The German occupation government permitted a <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_Conference" title="Vilnius Conference">Vilnius Conference</a> to convene between 18 and 22 September 1917, with the demand that Lithuanians declare loyalty to Germany and agree to an annexation. The intent of the conferees was to begin the process of establishing a Lithuanian state based on ethnic identity and language that would be independent of the Russian Empire, Poland, and the German Empire. The mechanism for this process was to be decided by a constituent assembly, but the German government would not permit elections. Furthermore, the publication of the conference's resolution calling for the creation of a Lithuanian state and elections for a constituent assembly was not allowed.<a href="#cite_note-144">[141]</a> The Conference nonetheless elected a 20-member <a href="/wiki/Council_of_Lithuania" title="Council of Lithuania">Council of Lithuania</a> (Taryba) and empowered it to act as the executive authority of the Lithuanian people.<a href="#cite_note-eidintas-143">[140]</a> The Council, led by Jonas Basanavičius, declared Lithuanian independence as a German <a href="/wiki/Protectorate" title="Protectorate">protectorate</a> on 11 December 1917, and then adopted the outright <a href="/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania" title="Act of Independence of Lithuania">Act of Independence of Lithuania</a> on 16 February 1918.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_22-10">[9]</a> It proclaimed Lithuania as an independent republic, organized according to democratic principles.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_61-145">[142]</a> The Germans, weakened by the losses on the <a href="/wiki/Western_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Western Front (World War I)">Western Front</a>, but still present in the country,<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> did not support such a declaration and hindered attempts to establish actual independence. To prevent being incorporated into the <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a>, Lithuanians elected <a href="/wiki/Monaco" title="Monaco">Monaco</a>-born King <a href="/wiki/Mindaugas_II_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Mindaugas II of Lithuania">Mindaugas II</a> as the titular monarch of the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania_(1918)" title="Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)">Kingdom of Lithuania</a> in July 1918. Mindaugas II never assumed the throne, however. <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Signatarai.Signatories_of_Lithuania.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Signatarai.Signatories_of_Lithuania.jpg/235px-Signatarai.Signatories_of_Lithuania.jpg" decoding="async" width="235" height="163" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Signatarai.Signatories_of_Lithuania.jpg/353px-Signatarai.Signatories_of_Lithuania.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Signatarai.Signatories_of_Lithuania.jpg/470px-Signatarai.Signatories_of_Lithuania.jpg 2x" data-file-width="945" data-file-height="655" /></a><figcaption>The original twenty members of the <a href="/wiki/Council_of_Lithuania" title="Council of Lithuania">Council of Lithuania</a></figcaption></figure> In the meantime, an attempt to revive the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a socialist multi-national federal republic was also taking place under the German occupation. In March 1918, <a href="/wiki/Anton_Luckievich" title="Anton Luckievich">Anton Luckievich</a> and his <a href="/wiki/Rada_of_the_Belarusian_Democratic_Republic" title="Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic">Belarusian National Council</a> proclaimed a <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_People%27s_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Belarusian People's Republic">Belarusian People's Republic</a> that was to include Vilnius. Luckievich and the Council fled the <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> approaching from Russia and left <a href="/wiki/Minsk" title="Minsk">Minsk</a> before it was taken over by the <a href="/wiki/Bolshevik" class="mw-redirect" title="Bolshevik">Bolsheviks</a> in December 1918. Upon their arrival in Vilnius, they proposed a Belarusian-Lithuanian federation, which however generated no interest on the part of the Lithuanian leaders, who were in advanced stages of promoting national plans of their own. The Lithuanians were mostly interested only in a state "within ethnographic frontiers," as they perceived it.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_60-61-146">[143]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Grodno_Military_Command,_decorated_with_three_flags_of_Lithuania,_Belarus,_and_with_Vytis_(Pogonia),_1919.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Grodno_Military_Command%2C_decorated_with_three_flags_of_Lithuania%2C_Belarus%2C_and_with_Vytis_%28Pogonia%29%2C_1919.jpg/220px-Grodno_Military_Command%2C_decorated_with_three_flags_of_Lithuania%2C_Belarus%2C_and_with_Vytis_%28Pogonia%29%2C_1919.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="151" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Grodno_Military_Command%2C_decorated_with_three_flags_of_Lithuania%2C_Belarus%2C_and_with_Vytis_%28Pogonia%29%2C_1919.jpg/330px-Grodno_Military_Command%2C_decorated_with_three_flags_of_Lithuania%2C_Belarus%2C_and_with_Vytis_%28Pogonia%29%2C_1919.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/Grodno_Military_Command%2C_decorated_with_three_flags_of_Lithuania%2C_Belarus%2C_and_with_Vytis_%28Pogonia%29%2C_1919.jpg/440px-Grodno_Military_Command%2C_decorated_with_three_flags_of_Lithuania%2C_Belarus%2C_and_with_Vytis_%28Pogonia%29%2C_1919.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1241" data-file-height="852" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Grodno" title="Grodno">Grodno</a> Military Command, loyal to Lithuania, decorated with three flags of Lithuania, Belarus, and with the Coat of arms of Lithuania, January 1919</figcaption></figure> Nevertheless, a Belarusian unit named <a href="/wiki/1st_Belarusian_Regiment" title="1st Belarusian Regiment">1st Belarusian Regiment</a> (Pirmasis baltgudžių pėstininkų pulkas), commanded by Alaksandar Ružancoŭ, was formed mainly from <a href="/wiki/Grodno" title="Grodno">Grodno</a>'s inhabitants in 1919 within the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Armed_Forces" title="Lithuanian Armed Forces">Lithuanian Armed Forces</a>, which later also participated in supporting the Independence of Lithuania during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence, therefore many members of this unit were awarded with the highest state award of Lithuania – <a href="/wiki/Order_of_the_Cross_of_Vytis" title="Order of the Cross of Vytis">Order of the Cross of Vytis</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Surgailis1374-147">[144]</a><a href="#cite_note-Lukosevicius-148">[145]</a> Moreover, a <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Ministry_for_Belarusian_Affairs" title="Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs">Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs</a> ([Gudų reikalų ministerija] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |links= (<a href="/wiki/Category:Lang_and_lang-xx_template_errors" title="Category:Lang and lang-xx template errors">help</a>)) was established within the Government of Lithuania, which functioned in 1918–1924, and was led by the ethnic Belarusian <a href="/wiki/Minister_(government)" title="Minister (government)">ministers</a> such as <a href="/wiki/Jazep_Varonka" title="Jazep Varonka">Jazep Varonka</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dominik_Semashko" title="Dominik Semashko">Dominik Semashko</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Surgailis1374-147">[144]</a> The ethnic Belarusians were also included into the Council of Lithuania,<a href="#cite_note-Skirius-149">[146]</a> and the Belarusian political leaders initially requested for a political <a href="/wiki/Autonomy" title="Autonomy">autonomy</a> of the Belarusian lands with the <a href="/wiki/Belarusian_language" title="Belarusian language">Belarusian language</a> as the official language in them within the restored Lithuania before losing all control over the <a href="/wiki/Regions_of_Belarus" title="Regions of Belarus">Belarusian territories</a> to the Poles and Soviets.<a href="#cite_note-Blaszczak121-150">[147]</a> In spite of its success in knocking Russia out of World War I by the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Brest-Litovsk_(Russia%E2%80%93Central_Powers)" class="mw-redirect" title="Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Russia–Central Powers)">Treaty of Brest-Litovsk</a> early in 1918, Germany lost the war and signed the <a href="/wiki/Armistice_with_Germany_(Compi%C3%A8gne)" class="mw-redirect" title="Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)">Armistice of Compiègne</a> on 11 November 1918. Lithuanians quickly formed their first government, adopted a provisional constitution, and started organizing basic administrative structures. The prime minister of the new government was <a href="/wiki/Augustinas_Voldemaras" title="Augustinas Voldemaras">Augustinas Voldemaras</a>. As the German army was withdrawing from the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_I)" title="Eastern Front (World War I)">Eastern Front</a> of World War I, it was followed by <a href="/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic" title="Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic">Soviet forces</a> whose intention was to spread the global <a href="/wiki/Proletarian_revolution" title="Proletarian revolution">proletarian revolution</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_61-145">[142]</a> They created a number of <a href="/wiki/Puppet_state" title="Puppet state">puppet states</a>, including the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic_(1918%E2%80%931919)" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (1918–1919)">Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic</a> on 16 December 1918. By the end of December, the Red Army reached Lithuanian borders and started the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Lithuanian–Soviet War">Lithuanian–Soviet War</a>. <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Augustinas_Voldemaras.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Augustinas_Voldemaras.jpg/175px-Augustinas_Voldemaras.jpg" decoding="async" width="175" height="223" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Augustinas_Voldemaras.jpg/263px-Augustinas_Voldemaras.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Augustinas_Voldemaras.jpg/350px-Augustinas_Voldemaras.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2262" data-file-height="2883" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Augustinas_Voldemaras" title="Augustinas Voldemaras">Augustinas Voldemaras</a>, Lithuania's first prime minister</figcaption></figure> On 1 January 1919, the German occupying army withdrew from Vilnius and turned the city over to local Polish self-defense forces. The Lithuanian government evacuated Vilnius and moved west to <a href="/wiki/Kaunas" title="Kaunas">Kaunas</a>, which became the <a href="/wiki/Temporary_capital_of_Lithuania" title="Temporary capital of Lithuania">temporary capital of Lithuania</a>. Vilnius was captured by the Soviet Red Army on 5 January 1919. As the Lithuanian army was in its infant stages, the Soviet forces moved largely unopposed and by mid-January 1919 controlled about two-thirds of Lithuanian territory. Vilnius was now the capital of the Lithuanian Soviet Republic, and soon of the combined <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian%E2%80%93Byelorussian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian–Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_61-62-151">[148]</a> From April 1919, the Lithuanian–Soviet War dragged on parallel with the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Polish–Soviet War">Polish–Soviet War</a>. Polish troops captured Vilnius from the Soviets on 21 April 1919.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_62-152">[149]</a> Poland had territorial claims over Lithuania, especially the <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_Region" title="Vilnius Region">Vilnius Region</a>, and these tensions spilled over into the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_War" title="Polish–Lithuanian War">Polish–Lithuanian War</a>. <a href="/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Pi%C5%82sudski" title="Józef Piłsudski">Józef Piłsudski</a> of Poland,<a href="#cite_note-154">[d]</a> seeking a Polish-Lithuanian federation, but unable to find common ground with Lithuanian politicians, in August 1919 made an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Lithuanian government in Kaunas.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_62-65-155">[151]</a> According to a 1924 publication of Lithuanian President <a href="/wiki/Antanas_Smetona" title="Antanas Smetona">Antanas Smetona</a>, following a successful recapture of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius from Poland, the Lithuanians planned to expand further into the Belarusian territories (the former lands of the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>) and considered granting an autonomy to the Belarusian territories, as requested by the Belarusian side, therefore had kept the Lithuanian Ministry for Belarusian Affairs in force, moreover, Smetona noted that there were a lot of pro-Lithuanian sympathies among the Belarusians.<a href="#cite_note-Blaszczak11-156">[152]</a><a href="#cite_note-157">[153]</a> The Belarusian unit of the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Armed_Forces" title="Lithuanian Armed Forces">Lithuanian Armed Forces</a> in Grodno was disbanded by the Poles following the annexation of it by the <a href="/wiki/Polish_Armed_Forces" title="Polish Armed Forces">Polish Armed Forces</a> in April 1919, while the soldiers of this unit were disarmed, looted, and publicly humiliated by the Polish soldiers, who even ripped off the Belarusian <a href="/wiki/Officer_(armed_forces)" title="Officer (armed forces)">officers</a> insignias from their uniforms and trampled these symbols with their feet in public, as documented in the historical documents sent by the Belarusians to the temporary Lithuanian capital Kaunas because this unit refused to carry out the Polish orders and stayed loyal to Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Surgailis657071-158">[154]</a><a href="#cite_note-159">[155]</a> Following the annexation of Grodno, the <a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Lithuania" title="Flag of Lithuania">Lithuanian yellow–green–red</a>, <a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Belarus#Historical_flags" title="Flag of Belarus">Belarusian white–red–white</a> flags, and signs with the <a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania" title="Coat of arms of Lithuania">Coat of arms of Lithuania</a> were torn off and the Polish <a href="/wiki/Gendarmerie" title="Gendarmerie">gendarmes</a> dragged them on the dusty streets for ridicule; instead of them, the Polish signs and <a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Poland" title="Flag of Poland">flags</a> were raised in their place everywhere in the city.<a href="#cite_note-Surgailis657071-158">[154]</a><a href="#cite_note-160">[156]</a> Soldiers and <a href="/wiki/Roman_Catholic_(term)" title="Roman Catholic (term)">Catholic</a> officers of the Belarusian regiment in Grodno were offered to join the Polish Army, while those who refused were offered to leave or were arrested, put into the concentration camps or deported from the native land by the Poles, part of the Belarusian soldiers and officers of this regiment evacuated to Kaunas and continued serving for Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Surgailis657071-158">[154]</a><a href="#cite_note-161">[157]</a><a href="#cite_note-162">[158]</a> The Lithuanian Army, commanded by General <a href="/wiki/Silvestras_%C5%BDukauskas" title="Silvestras Žukauskas">Silvestras Žukauskas</a>, withstood Red Army advance near <a href="/wiki/K%C4%97dainiai" title="Kėdainiai">Kėdainiai</a> and in the spring of 1919 the Lithuanians recaptured <a href="/wiki/%C5%A0iauliai" title="Šiauliai">Šiauliai</a>, <a href="/wiki/Radvili%C5%A1kis" title="Radviliškis">Radviliškis</a>, <a href="/wiki/Panev%C4%97%C5%BEys" title="Panevėžys">Panevėžys</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ukmerg%C4%97" title="Ukmergė">Ukmergė</a>.<a href="#cite_note-LK18-40-163">[159]</a> By the end of August 1919, the Soviets were pushed out of Lithuanian territory and the Lithuanian units reached <a href="/wiki/Daugava" title="Daugava">Daugava</a>.<a href="#cite_note-LK18-40-163">[159]</a> The Lithuanian Army was then deployed against the paramilitary <a href="/wiki/West_Russian_Volunteer_Army" title="West Russian Volunteer Army">West Russian Volunteer Army</a> (Bermontians), who invaded northern Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-LK18-40-163">[159]</a> There were around 50,000 of Bermontians and they were well armed by Germany and supported German and Russian soldiers who sought to retain German control over the former Ober Ost.<a href="#cite_note-LK18-40-163">[159]</a> West Russian Volunteers were defeated and pushed out by the end of 1919.<a href="#cite_note-LK18-40-163">[159]</a> Thus the first phase of the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Wars_of_Independence" title="Lithuanian Wars of Independence">Lithuanian Wars of Independence</a> was over and Lithuanians could direct attention to internal affairs.<a href="#cite_note-LK18-40-163">[159]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Democratic_period">Democratic period</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Democratic period">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg/250px-Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="264" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg/375px-Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg/500px-Border-Lithuania-Poland-1919-1939.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1476" data-file-height="1558" /></a><figcaption>Demarcation lines between Poland and Lithuania 1919–1939</figcaption></figure> The <a href="/wiki/Constituent_Assembly_of_Lithuania" title="Constituent Assembly of Lithuania">Constituent Assembly of Lithuania</a> was elected in April 1920 and first met the following May. In June it adopted the third provisional constitution and on 12 July 1920, signed the <a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Peace_Treaty" title="Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty">Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty</a>. In the treaty the Soviet Union recognized fully independent Lithuania and its claims to the disputed <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_Region" title="Vilnius Region">Vilnius Region</a>; Lithuania secretly allowed the Soviet forces passage through its territory as they moved against Poland.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_63-164">[160]</a> On 14 July 1920, the advancing Soviet army captured Vilnius for a second time from Polish forces. The city was handed back to Lithuanians on 26 August 1920, following the defeat of the Soviet offensive. The victorious Polish army returned and the Soviet–Lithuanian Treaty increased hostilities between Poland and Lithuania. To prevent further fighting, the <a href="/wiki/Suwa%C5%82ki_Agreement" title="Suwałki Agreement">Suwałki Agreement</a> was signed with Poland on 7 October 1920; it left Vilnius on the Lithuanian side of the armistice line.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_63-65-165">[161]</a> It never went into effect, however, because Polish General <a href="/wiki/Lucjan_%C5%BBeligowski" title="Lucjan Żeligowski">Lucjan Żeligowski</a>, acting on <a href="/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Pi%C5%82sudski" title="Józef Piłsudski">Józef Piłsudski</a>'s orders, staged the <a href="/wiki/%C5%BBeligowski%27s_Mutiny" title="Żeligowski's Mutiny">Żeligowski's Mutiny</a>, a military action presented as a mutiny.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_63-65-165">[161]</a> He invaded Lithuania on 8 October 1920, captured Vilnius the following day, and established a short-lived <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Central_Lithuania" title="Republic of Central Lithuania">Republic of Central Lithuania</a> in eastern Lithuania on 12 October 1920. The republic was a part of Piłsudski's federalist scheme, which never materialized due to opposition from both Polish and Lithuanian nationalists.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_63-65-165">[161]</a> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Rzeczpospolita_Lithuania_claims.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Rzeczpospolita_Lithuania_claims.png/275px-Rzeczpospolita_Lithuania_claims.png" decoding="async" width="275" height="205" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Rzeczpospolita_Lithuania_claims.png/413px-Rzeczpospolita_Lithuania_claims.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Rzeczpospolita_Lithuania_claims.png/550px-Rzeczpospolita_Lithuania_claims.png 2x" data-file-width="782" data-file-height="584" /></a><figcaption>Lithuanian–Polish territorial disputes in the early 1920s, including the <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Central_Lithuania" title="Republic of Central Lithuania">Republic of Central Lithuania</a>.</figcaption></figure> For 19 years, Kaunas was the <a href="/wiki/Temporary_capital_of_Lithuania" title="Temporary capital of Lithuania">temporary capital of Lithuania</a> while the Vilnius region remained under Polish administration. The <a href="/wiki/League_of_Nations" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a> attempted to mediate the dispute, and <a href="/wiki/Paul_Hymans" title="Paul Hymans">Paul Hymans</a> proposed plans for a Polish–Lithuanian union, but negotiations broke down as neither side could agree to a compromise. Central Lithuania held a <a href="/wiki/1922_Republic_of_Central_Lithuania_general_election" title="1922 Republic of Central Lithuania general election">general election in 1922</a> that was boycotted by the Jews, Lithuanians and Belarusians, then was annexed into Poland on 24 March 1922.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_68-69-166">[162]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Conference_of_Ambassadors" title="Conference of Ambassadors">Conference of Ambassadors</a> awarded Vilnius to Poland in March 1923.<a href="#cite_note-167">[163]</a> Lithuania did not accept this decision and broke all relations with Poland. The two countries were officially at war over Vilnius, the historical capital of Lithuania, inhabited at that time largely by Polish-speaking and Jewish populations between 1920 and 1938.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_15-168">[164]</a><a href="#cite_note-Snyder_78-79-169">[165]</a> The dispute continued to dominate Lithuanian domestic politics and foreign policy and doomed the relations with Poland for the entire interwar period.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_78-79-169">[165]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png/330px-LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png" decoding="async" width="330" height="263" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png/495px-LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1d/LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png/660px-LithuaniaCounties1918-1940.png 2x" data-file-width="1600" data-file-height="1277" /></a><figcaption>Counties of Lithuania 1920–1939</figcaption></figure> For administrative purposes, the de facto territory of the country was divided into 23 counties (lt:apskritis). A further 11 counties (including Vilnius) were allocated for the territory occupied by Poland (see also <a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Lithuania" title="Administrative divisions of Lithuania">Administrative divisions of Lithuania</a>). <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Klaipeda_Revolt_1923_-_Lithuanian_rebels.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Klaipeda_Revolt_1923_-_Lithuanian_rebels.jpg/275px-Klaipeda_Revolt_1923_-_Lithuanian_rebels.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="172" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Klaipeda_Revolt_1923_-_Lithuanian_rebels.jpg/413px-Klaipeda_Revolt_1923_-_Lithuanian_rebels.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Klaipeda_Revolt_1923_-_Lithuanian_rebels.jpg/550px-Klaipeda_Revolt_1923_-_Lithuanian_rebels.jpg 2x" data-file-width="673" data-file-height="420" /></a><figcaption>Lithuanian rebels during the <a href="/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Revolt" title="Klaipėda Revolt">Klaipėda Revolt</a></figcaption></figure> The Constituent Assembly, which adjourned in October 1920 due to threats from Poland, gathered again and initiated many reforms needed in the new state. Lithuania obtained international recognition and membership in the <a href="/wiki/League_of_Nations" title="League of Nations">League of Nations</a>,<a href="#cite_note-170">[e]</a> passed a law for land reform, introduced a national currency (the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_litas" title="Lithuanian litas">litas</a>), and adopted a final constitution in August 1922. Lithuania became a democratic state, with <a href="/wiki/Seimas" title="Seimas">Seimas</a> (parliament) elected by men and women for a three-year term. The Seimas elected the president. The <a href="/wiki/First_Seimas_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="First Seimas of Lithuania">First Seimas of Lithuania</a> was elected in October 1922, but could not form a government as the votes split equally 38–38, and it was forced to dissolve. Its only lasting achievement was the <a href="/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Revolt" title="Klaipėda Revolt">Klaipėda Revolt</a> from 10 January to 15 January 1923. The revolt involved Lithuania Minor, a region traditionally sought by Lithuanian nationalists<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_16-125">[122]</a> that remained under German rule after World War I, except for the <a href="/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Region" title="Klaipėda Region">Klaipėda Region</a> with its large Lithuanian minority.<a href="#cite_note-mes-171">[166]</a> (Various sources give the region's interwar ethnic composition as 41.9 percent German, 27.1 percent Memelländisch, and 26.6 percent Lithuanian.)<a href="#cite_note-172">[167]</a><a href="#cite_note-173">[168]</a> Lithuania took advantage of the <a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Ruhr" title="Occupation of the Ruhr">Ruhr Crisis</a> in western Europe and captured the Klaipėda Region, a territory detached from <a href="/wiki/East_Prussia" title="East Prussia">East Prussia</a> by the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles" title="Treaty of Versailles">Treaty of Versailles</a> and placed under a French administration sponsored by the League of Nations. The region was incorporated as an autonomous district of Lithuania in May 1924. For Lithuania, it provided the country's only access to the <a href="/wiki/Baltic_Sea" title="Baltic Sea">Baltic Sea</a>, and it was an important industrial center, but the region's numerous German inhabitants resisted Lithuanian rule during the 1930s. The Klaipėda Revolt was the last armed conflict in Lithuania before World War II.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Second_Seimas_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Second Seimas of Lithuania">Second Seimas of Lithuania</a>, elected in May 1923, was the only Seimas in independent Lithuania that served its full term. The Seimas continued the land reform, introduced social support systems, and started repaying foreign debt. The first <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_census_of_1923" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian census of 1923">Lithuanian national census</a> took place in 1923. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Authoritarian_period">Authoritarian period</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Authoritarian period">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Antanas_Smetona_2.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Antanas_Smetona_2.jpg/150px-Antanas_Smetona_2.jpg" decoding="async" width="150" height="230" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Antanas_Smetona_2.jpg/225px-Antanas_Smetona_2.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Antanas_Smetona_2.jpg/300px-Antanas_Smetona_2.jpg 2x" data-file-width="971" data-file-height="1487" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Antanas_Smetona" title="Antanas Smetona">Antanas Smetona</a>, the first and last president of independent Lithuania during the <a href="/wiki/Interbellum" class="mw-redirect" title="Interbellum">interbellum</a> years. The 1918–1939 period is often known as "Smetona's time".</figcaption></figure> The <a href="/wiki/Third_Seimas_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Third Seimas of Lithuania">Third Seimas of Lithuania</a> was elected in May 1926. For the first time, the bloc led by the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Christian_Democratic_Party" title="Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party">Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party</a> lost their majority and went into opposition. It was sharply criticized for signing the <a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Non-Aggression_Pact" title="Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact">Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact</a> (even though it affirmed Soviet recognition of Lithuanian claims to Poland-held Vilnius)<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_78-79-169">[165]</a> and was accused of "Bolshevizing" Lithuania. As a result of growing tensions, the government was deposed during the <a href="/wiki/1926_Lithuanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" title="1926 Lithuanian coup d'état">1926 Lithuanian coup d'état</a> in December. The coup, organized by the military, was supported by the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Nationalists_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Nationalists Union">Lithuanian Nationalists Union</a> (tautininkai) and Lithuanian Christian Democrats. They installed <a href="/wiki/Antanas_Smetona" title="Antanas Smetona">Antanas Smetona</a> as the president and <a href="/wiki/Augustinas_Voldemaras" title="Augustinas Voldemaras">Augustinas Voldemaras</a> as the prime minister.<a href="#cite_note-vardys-174">[169]</a> Smetona suppressed the opposition and remained as an authoritarian leader until June 1940. The Seimas thought that the coup was just a temporary measure and that new elections would be called to return Lithuania to democracy. Instead, the legislative body was dissolved in May 1927. Later that year members of the Social Democrats and other leftist parties tried to organize an uprising against Smetona, but were quickly subdued. Voldemaras grew increasingly independent of Smetona and was forced to resign in 1929. Three times in 1930 and once in 1934, he unsuccessfully attempted to return to power. In May 1928, Smetona announced the fifth provisional constitution without consulting the Seimas. The constitution continued to claim that Lithuania was a democratic state while the powers of the president were vastly increased. Smetona's party, the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Nationalist_Union" title="Lithuanian Nationalist Union">Lithuanian Nationalist Union</a>, steadily grew in size and importance. He adopted the title "tautos vadas" (leader of the nation) and slowly started building a <a href="/wiki/Cult_of_personality" title="Cult of personality">cult of personality</a>. Many prominent political figures married into Smetona's family (for example, <a href="/wiki/Juozas_T%C5%ABbelis" title="Juozas Tūbelis">Juozas Tūbelis</a> and <a href="/wiki/Stasys_Ra%C5%A1tikis" title="Stasys Raštikis">Stasys Raštikis</a>). When the <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Party" title="Nazi Party">Nazi Party</a> came into power in Germany, German–Lithuanian relations worsened considerably as the Nazis did not want to accept the loss of the <a href="/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Region" title="Klaipėda Region">Klaipėda Region</a> (German: <a href="/wiki/Memelland" class="mw-redirect" title="Memelland">Memelland</a>). The Nazis sponsored anti-Lithuanian organizations in the region. In 1934, Lithuania <a href="/wiki/Trial_of_Neumann_and_Sass" title="Trial of Neumann and Sass">put the activists on trial</a> and sentenced about 100 people, including their leaders Ernst Neumann and <a href="/wiki/Theodor_von_Sass" title="Theodor von Sass">Theodor von Sass</a>, to prison terms. That prompted Germany, one of the main trade partners of Lithuania, to declare an <a href="/wiki/Embargo" class="mw-redirect" title="Embargo">embargo</a> of Lithuanian products. In response, Lithuania shifted its exports to the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. That measure did not go far enough to satisfy many groups, and <a href="/wiki/1935_Suvalkija_farmers%27_strike" title="1935 Suvalkija farmers' strike">peasants in Suvalkija organized strikes</a>, which were violently suppressed. Smetona's prestige was damaged, and in September 1936, he agreed to call the first elections for the Seimas since the coup of 1926. Before the elections, all political parties were eliminated except for the National Union. Thus 42 of the 49 members of the <a href="/wiki/Fourth_Seimas_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Fourth Seimas of Lithuania">Fourth Seimas of Lithuania</a> were from the National Union. This assembly functioned as an advisory board to the president, and in February 1938, it adopted a new constitution that granted the president even greater powers. <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuania_territory_1939-1940.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Lithuania_territory_1939-1940.svg/275px-Lithuania_territory_1939-1940.svg.png" decoding="async" width="275" height="217" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Lithuania_territory_1939-1940.svg/413px-Lithuania_territory_1939-1940.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Lithuania_territory_1939-1940.svg/550px-Lithuania_territory_1939-1940.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2479" data-file-height="1954" /></a><figcaption>Lithuanian territorial issues 1939–1940</figcaption></figure> As tensions were rising in Europe following the annexation of the <a href="/wiki/Federal_State_of_Austria" title="Federal State of Austria">Federal State of Austria</a> by <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> (the <a href="/wiki/Anschluss" title="Anschluss">Anschluss</a>), Poland presented the <a href="/wiki/1938_Polish_ultimatum_to_Lithuania" title="1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania">1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania</a> in March of that year. Poland demanded the re-establishment of the normal diplomatic relations that were broken after the Żeligowski Mutiny in 1920 and threatened military actions in case of refusal. Lithuania, having a weaker military and unable to enlist international support for its cause, accepted the ultimatum.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_78-79-169">[165]</a> In the event of Polish military action, <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> ordered a German military takeover of southwest Lithuania up to the <a href="/wiki/Dubysa" title="Dubysa">Dubysa</a> River, and his armed forces were being fully mobilized until the news of the Lithuanian acceptance. Relations between Poland and Lithuania became somewhat normalized after the acceptance of the ultimatum, and the parties concluded treaties regarding <a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Lithuania" title="Rail transport in Lithuania">railway transport</a>, postal exchange, and other means of communication.<a href="#cite_note-Zgórniak_391-393-175">[170]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Parade_of_the_Lithuanian_Army_in_Vilnius_(1939).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Parade_of_the_Lithuanian_Army_in_Vilnius_%281939%29.jpg/220px-Parade_of_the_Lithuanian_Army_in_Vilnius_%281939%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="137" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Parade_of_the_Lithuanian_Army_in_Vilnius_%281939%29.jpg/330px-Parade_of_the_Lithuanian_Army_in_Vilnius_%281939%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Parade_of_the_Lithuanian_Army_in_Vilnius_%281939%29.jpg/440px-Parade_of_the_Lithuanian_Army_in_Vilnius_%281939%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4118" data-file-height="2569" /></a><figcaption>Parade of the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Army">Lithuanian Army</a> in Vilnius (1939)</figcaption></figure> Lithuania offered diplomatic support to Germany and the Soviet Union in opposition to powers such as <a href="/wiki/French_Third_Republic" title="French Third Republic">France</a> and <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Estonia_(1918-1940)" class="mw-redirect" title="Republic of Estonia (1918-1940)">Estonia</a> that backed Poland in the conflict over Vilnius, but both Germany and the Soviet Union saw fit to encroach on Lithuania's territory and independence anyway. Following the Nazi electoral success in Klaipėda in December 1938, Germany decided to take action to secure control of the entire region. On 20 March 1939, just a few days after the <a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_Czechoslovakia_(1938%E2%80%931945)" title="Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)">German occupation of Czechoslovakia</a> of 15 March, Lithuania received the <a href="/wiki/1939_German_ultimatum_to_Lithuania" title="1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania">1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania</a> from foreign minister <a href="/wiki/Joachim_von_Ribbentrop" title="Joachim von Ribbentrop">Joachim von Ribbentrop</a>. It demanded the immediate cession of the Klaipėda Region to Germany. The Lithuanian government accepted the ultimatum to avoid an armed intervention. The Klaipėda Region was directly incorporated into the <a href="/wiki/Gau_East_Prussia" title="Gau East Prussia">Gau East Prussia</a> of the <a href="/wiki/German_Reich" title="German Reich">German Reich</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Zgórniak_421-422-176">[171]</a> This triggered a political crisis in Lithuania and forced Smetona to form a new government that included members of the opposition for the first time since 1926. The loss of Klaipėda was a major blow to the <a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Lithuania" title="Economy of Lithuania">Lithuanian economy</a> and the country shifted into the sphere of German influence. <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a> initially planned to transform Lithuania into a <a href="/wiki/Satellite_state" title="Satellite state">satellite state</a> which would participate in its planned military conquests in exchange for territorial enlargements.<a href="#cite_note-:0-177">[172]</a> When Germany and the Soviet Union concluded the <a href="/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact</a> in August 1939 and divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence, Lithuania was assigned to Germany at first, but that changed after Smetona's refusal to participate in the German invasion of Poland.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a><a href="#cite_note-in_JSTOR-178">[173]</a> <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a> agreed to cede <a href="/wiki/Territories_of_Poland_annexed_by_the_Soviet_Union" title="Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union">Polish areas initially annexed by the Soviet Union</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Greater_Germanic_Reich" title="Greater Germanic Reich">Greater Germanic Reich</a> in exchange for Lithuania entering the Soviet sphere of influence.<a href="#cite_note-:0-177">[172]</a> The interwar period of independence gave birth to the development of Lithuanian press, literature, music, arts, and theater as well as a comprehensive system of education with Lithuanian as the language of instruction. The network of primary and secondary schools was expanded and institutions of higher learning were established in Kaunas.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> Lithuanian society remained heavily agricultural with only 20% of the people living in cities. The influence of the Catholic Church was strong and birth rates high: the population increased by 22% to over three million during 1923–1939, despite emigration to South America and elsewhere.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> In almost all cities and towns, traditionally dominated by Jews, Poles, Russians and Germans, ethnic Lithuanians became the majority. Lithuanians, for example, constituted 59% of the residents of Kaunas in 1923, as opposed to 7% in 1897.<a href="#cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">[174]</a> The right-wing dictatorship of 1926–1940 had strangely stabilizing social effects, as it prevented the worst of antisemitic excesses as well as the rise of leftist and rightist political extremism.<a href="#cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">[174]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="World_War_II_(1939–1945)">World War II (1939–1945)</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: World War II (1939–1945)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Baltic_states" title="Occupation of the Baltic states">Occupation of the Baltic states</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="First_Soviet_occupation">First Soviet occupation</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: First Soviet occupation">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Occupation_and_annexation_of_the_Baltic_states_by_the_Soviet_Union_(1940)" class="mw-redirect" title="Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1940)">Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1940)</a> and <a href="/wiki/June_Uprising_in_Lithuania" title="June Uprising in Lithuania">June Uprising in Lithuania</a></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27343,_Dtsch.-Sowjet._Grenz-_u._Freundschaftsvertrag.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27343%2C_Dtsch.-Sowjet._Grenz-_u._Freundschaftsvertrag.jpg/225px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27343%2C_Dtsch.-Sowjet._Grenz-_u._Freundschaftsvertrag.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="154" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27343%2C_Dtsch.-Sowjet._Grenz-_u._Freundschaftsvertrag.jpg/338px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27343%2C_Dtsch.-Sowjet._Grenz-_u._Freundschaftsvertrag.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27343%2C_Dtsch.-Sowjet._Grenz-_u._Freundschaftsvertrag.jpg/450px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27343%2C_Dtsch.-Sowjet._Grenz-_u._Freundschaftsvertrag.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="548" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Joachim_von_Ribbentrop" title="Joachim von Ribbentrop">Joachim von Ribbentrop</a> and others at the signing of the <a href="/wiki/German%E2%80%93Soviet_Boundary_and_Friendship_Treaty" title="German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty">German–Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty</a></figcaption></figure> Secret protocols of the <a href="/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact</a>, adjusted by the <a href="/wiki/German-Soviet_Frontier_Treaty" class="mw-redirect" title="German-Soviet Frontier Treaty">German-Soviet Frontier Treaty</a>, divided Eastern Europe into Soviet and Nazi <a href="/wiki/Spheres_of_influence" class="mw-redirect" title="Spheres of influence">spheres of influence</a>. The three Baltic states fell to the Soviet sphere.<a href="#cite_note-in_JSTOR-178">[173]</a> During the subsequent <a href="/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland" title="Invasion of Poland">invasion of Poland</a>, the Red Army captured Vilnius, regarded by Lithuanians as their capital. According to the <a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Mutual_Assistance_Pact" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Pact">Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Pact</a> of 10 October 1939, Soviet Union transferred Vilnius and surrounding territory to Lithuania in exchange for the stationing of 20,000 Soviet troops within the country.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_82-83-180">[175]</a> It was a virtual sacrifice of independence, as reflected in a known slogan "Vilnius – mūsų, Lietuva – rusų" (Vilnius is ours, but Lithuania is Russia's). Similar Mutual Assistance Pacts were signed with <a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Latvian_Mutual_Assistance_Treaty" title="Soviet–Latvian Mutual Assistance Treaty">Latvia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Estonian_Mutual_Assistance_Treaty" title="Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty">Estonia</a>. When Finland refused to sign its pact, the <a href="/wiki/Winter_War" title="Winter War">Winter War</a> broke out. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuanian_rebels_(Lithuanian_Activist_Front)_lead_the_disarmed_soldiers_of_the_Red_Army_during_the_June_Uprising,_1941.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Lithuanian_rebels_%28Lithuanian_Activist_Front%29_lead_the_disarmed_soldiers_of_the_Red_Army_during_the_June_Uprising%2C_1941.jpg/220px-Lithuanian_rebels_%28Lithuanian_Activist_Front%29_lead_the_disarmed_soldiers_of_the_Red_Army_during_the_June_Uprising%2C_1941.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="164" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Lithuanian_rebels_%28Lithuanian_Activist_Front%29_lead_the_disarmed_soldiers_of_the_Red_Army_during_the_June_Uprising%2C_1941.jpg/330px-Lithuanian_rebels_%28Lithuanian_Activist_Front%29_lead_the_disarmed_soldiers_of_the_Red_Army_during_the_June_Uprising%2C_1941.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Lithuanian_rebels_%28Lithuanian_Activist_Front%29_lead_the_disarmed_soldiers_of_the_Red_Army_during_the_June_Uprising%2C_1941.jpg/440px-Lithuanian_rebels_%28Lithuanian_Activist_Front%29_lead_the_disarmed_soldiers_of_the_Red_Army_during_the_June_Uprising%2C_1941.jpg 2x" data-file-width="850" data-file-height="634" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Activist_Front" title="Lithuanian Activist Front">Lithuanian resistance fighters</a>, commanded by the <a href="/wiki/Provisional_Government_of_Lithuania" title="Provisional Government of Lithuania">Provisional Government</a>, lead the disarmed soldiers of the <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> in Kaunas during the <a href="/wiki/June_Uprising_in_Lithuania" title="June Uprising in Lithuania">June Uprising in 1941</a></figcaption></figure> In spring 1940, once the Winter War in Finland was over, the Soviets heightened their diplomatic pressure on Lithuania and issued the <a href="/wiki/1940_Soviet_ultimatum_to_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="1940 Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania">1940 Soviet ultimatum to Lithuania</a> on June 14.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_82-83-180">[175]</a> The ultimatum demanded the formation of a new pro-Soviet government and admission of an unspecified number of <a href="/wiki/Red_Army" title="Red Army">Red Army</a> troops. With Soviet troops already stationed within the country, Lithuania could not resist and accepted the ultimatum. President <a href="/wiki/Antanas_Smetona" title="Antanas Smetona">Antanas Smetona</a> fled Lithuania as 150,000 Soviet troops crossed the Lithuanian border.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_82-83-180">[175]</a><a href="#cite_note-Snyder_72-181">[176]</a> Soviet representative <a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Dekanozov" title="Vladimir Dekanozov">Vladimir Dekanozov</a> formed the new pro-Soviet puppet government, known as the <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Government_of_Lithuania" title="People's Government of Lithuania">People's Government</a>, headed by <a href="/wiki/Justas_Paleckis" title="Justas Paleckis">Justas Paleckis</a>, and organized <a href="/wiki/Show_election" class="mw-redirect" title="Show election">show elections</a> for the so-called <a href="/wiki/People%27s_Seimas" title="People's Seimas">People's Seimas</a>. During its first session on July 21, the People's Seimas unanimously voted to convert Lithuania into the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic</a> and petitioned to join the Soviet Union. The application was approved by the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union">Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union</a> on 3 August 1940, which completed the formalization of the annexation.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_82-83-180">[175]</a> Immediately following the occupation, Soviet authorities began rapid <a href="/wiki/Sovietization_of_the_Baltic_states" title="Sovietization of the Baltic states">Sovietization of Lithuania</a>. All land was <a href="/wiki/Nationalization" title="Nationalization">nationalized</a>. To gain support for the new regime among the poorer peasants, large farms were distributed to small landowners. However, in preparation for eventual <a href="/wiki/Collectivization_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Collectivization in the Soviet Union">collectivization</a>, agricultural taxes were dramatically increased in an attempt to bankrupt all farmers. Nationalization of banks, larger enterprises, and real estate resulted in disruptions in production that caused massive shortages of goods. The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_litas" title="Lithuanian litas">Lithuanian litas</a> was artificially undervalued and withdrawn by spring 1941. Standards of living plummeted. All religious, cultural, and political organizations were banned, leaving only the <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Lithuania" title="Communist Party of Lithuania">Communist Party of Lithuania</a> and its youth branch. An estimated 12,000 "<a href="/wiki/Enemy_of_the_people" title="Enemy of the people">enemies of the people</a>" were arrested. During the <a href="/wiki/June_deportation" title="June deportation">June deportation</a> campaign of 1941, some 12,600 people (mostly former military officers, policemen, political figures, intelligentsia and their families) were deported<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_83-84-182">[177]</a> to <a href="/wiki/Gulags" class="mw-redirect" title="Gulags">Gulags</a> in Siberia under the policy of elimination of national elites. Many deportees perished due to inhumane conditions; 3,600 were imprisoned and over 1,000 were killed.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Occupation_of_Lithuania_by_Nazi_Germany_(1941–1944)">Occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany (1941–1944)</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany (1941–1944)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_Lithuania_by_Nazi_Germany" class="mw-redirect" title="Occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany">Occupation of Lithuania by Nazi Germany</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L19427,_Litauen,_brennende_Synagoge.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L19427%2C_Litauen%2C_brennende_Synagoge.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L19427%2C_Litauen%2C_brennende_Synagoge.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="324" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L19427%2C_Litauen%2C_brennende_Synagoge.jpg/330px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L19427%2C_Litauen%2C_brennende_Synagoge.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L19427%2C_Litauen%2C_brennende_Synagoge.jpg/440px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L19427%2C_Litauen%2C_brennende_Synagoge.jpg 2x" data-file-width="544" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption>German soldiers and locals watch a Lithuanian synagogue burn in 1941.</figcaption></figure> On 22 June 1941, <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> invaded the Soviet Union in <a href="/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa" title="Operation Barbarossa">Operation Barbarossa</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_72-181">[176]</a> In <a href="/wiki/Franz_Walter_Stahlecker" title="Franz Walter Stahlecker">Franz Walter Stahlecker</a>'s report of October 15 to <a href="/wiki/Heinrich_Himmler" title="Heinrich Himmler">Heinrich Himmler</a>, Stahlecker wrote that he had succeeded in covering up actions of the <a href="/wiki/Einsatzkommando#Vorkommando_Moskau" title="Einsatzkommando">Vorkommando</a> (German vanguard unit) and made it look like an initiative of the local population to carry out the <a href="/wiki/Kaunas_pogrom" title="Kaunas pogrom">Kaunas pogrom</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Bubnys-183">[178]</a> The German forces moved rapidly and encountered only sporadic Soviet resistance. Vilnius was captured on 24 June 1941,<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_84-184">[179]</a> and Germany controlled all of Lithuania within a week. The retreating Soviet forces murdered between 1,000 and 1,500 people, mostly ethnic Lithuanians<a href="#cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">[174]</a> (see <a href="/wiki/Rainiai_massacre" title="Rainiai massacre">Rainiai massacre</a>). The Lithuanians generally greeted the Germans as liberators from the oppressive Soviet regime and hoped that Germany would restore some autonomy to their country.<a href="#cite_note-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews-185">[180]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Activist_Front" title="Lithuanian Activist Front">Lithuanian Activist Front</a> organized an anti-Soviet revolt known as the <a href="/wiki/June_Uprising_in_Lithuania" title="June Uprising in Lithuania">June Uprising in Lithuania</a>, declared independence, and formed a <a href="/wiki/Provisional_Government_of_Lithuania" title="Provisional Government of Lithuania">Provisional Government of Lithuania</a> with <a href="/wiki/Juozas_Ambrazevi%C4%8Dius" title="Juozas Ambrazevičius">Juozas Ambrazevičius</a> as prime minister. The Provisional Government was not forcibly dissolved; stripped by the Germans of any actual power, it resigned on 5 August 1941.<a href="#cite_note-The_Burden_of_1941-186">[181]</a> Germany established the civil administration known as the <a href="/wiki/Reichskommissariat_Ostland" title="Reichskommissariat Ostland">Reichskommissariat Ostland</a>.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> Initially, there was substantial cooperation and collaboration between the German forces and some Lithuanians. Lithuanians joined the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_TDA_Battalions" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian TDA Battalions">TDA Battalions</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Auxiliary_Police_Battalions" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalions">Auxiliary police battalions</a> in hopes that these police units would be later transformed into the regular army of independent Lithuania. Instead, some units were employed by the Germans as auxiliaries in perpetrating <a href="/wiki/The_Holocaust" title="The Holocaust">the Holocaust</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews-185">[180]</a> However, soon Lithuanians became disillusioned with harsh German policies of collecting large war provisions, gathering people for <a href="/wiki/Forced_labour_under_German_rule_during_World_War_II" title="Forced labour under German rule during World War II">forced labor in Germany</a>, conscripting men into the <a href="/wiki/Wehrmacht" title="Wehrmacht">Wehrmacht</a>, and the lack of true autonomy. These feelings naturally led to the creation of a resistance movement.<a href="#cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">[174]</a> The most notable resistance organization, the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Committee_for_the_Liberation_of_Lithuania" title="Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania">Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania</a>, was formed in 1943. Due to passive resistance, a <a href="/wiki/Waffen-SS" title="Waffen-SS">Waffen-SS</a> division was not established in Lithuania. As a compromise, the Lithuanian general <a href="/wiki/Povilas_Plechavi%C4%8Dius" title="Povilas Plechavičius">Povilas Plechavičius</a> formed the short-lived <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Territorial_Defense_Force" title="Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force">Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force</a> (LTDF). Lithuanians did not organize armed resistance, still considering the Soviet Union their primary enemy. Armed resistance was conducted by pro-<a href="/wiki/Soviet_partisans" title="Soviet partisans">Soviet partisans</a> (mainly Russians, Belarusians and Jews)<a href="#cite_note-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews-185">[180]</a> and Polish <a href="/wiki/Armia_Krajowa" class="mw-redirect" title="Armia Krajowa">Armia Krajowa</a> (AK) in eastern Lithuania. Before <a href="/wiki/The_Holocaust" title="The Holocaust">the Holocaust</a>, Lithuania was home to a disputed number of Jews: 210,000 according to one estimate,<a href="#cite_note-MacQueen_context-187">[182]</a> 250,000 according to another.<a href="#cite_note-188">[183]</a> About 90% or more of the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Jews" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Jews">Lithuanian Jews</a> were murdered,<a href="#cite_note-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews-185">[180]</a> one of the highest rates in Europe. <a href="/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Lithuania" title="The Holocaust in Lithuania">The Holocaust in Lithuania</a> can be divided into three stages: mass executions (June–December 1941), a <a href="/wiki/Ghettos_in_Nazi-occupied_Europe" class="mw-redirect" title="Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe">ghetto</a> period (1942 – March 1943), and a final liquidation (April 1943 – July 1944). Unlike in other Nazi-occupied countries where the Holocaust was introduced gradually, <a href="/wiki/Einsatzkommando" title="Einsatzkommando">Einsatzgruppe A</a> started executions in Lithuania on the first days of the German occupation.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_84-184">[179]</a> The executions were carried out by the Nazis and their Lithuanian collaborators<a href="#cite_note-Sak_Ard-189">[184]</a> in three main areas: Kaunas (marked by the <a href="/wiki/Ninth_Fort" title="Ninth Fort">Ninth Fort</a>), in Vilnius (marked by the <a href="/wiki/Ponary_massacre" title="Ponary massacre">Ponary massacre</a>), and in the countryside (sponsored by the <a href="/wiki/Rollkommando_Hamann" title="Rollkommando Hamann">Rollkommando Hamann</a>). An estimated 80% of Lithuanian Jews were killed before 1942.<a href="#cite_note-Porat161-190">[185]</a> The surviving 43,000 Jews were concentrated in the <a href="/wiki/Vilna_Ghetto" title="Vilna Ghetto">Vilnius Ghetto</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kaunas_Ghetto" class="mw-redirect" title="Kaunas Ghetto">Kaunas Ghetto</a>, <a href="/wiki/%C5%A0iauliai_Ghetto" title="Šiauliai Ghetto">Šiauliai Ghetto</a>, and <a href="/wiki/%C5%A0ven%C4%8Dionys_Ghetto" title="Švenčionys Ghetto">Švenčionys Ghetto</a> and forced to work for the benefit of German military industry.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_86-191">[186]</a> In 1943, the ghettos were either liquidated or turned into <a href="/wiki/Concentration_camp" title="Concentration camp">concentration camps</a>. Only about 2,000–3,000 Lithuanian Jews were liberated from these camps.<a href="#cite_note-van216-192">[187]</a> More survived by withdrawing into the interior of Russia before the war broke out or by escaping the ghettos and joining the <a href="/wiki/Jewish_partisans" title="Jewish partisans">Jewish partisans</a>. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Second_Soviet_occupation">Second Soviet occupation</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Second Soviet occupation">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Occupation_and_annexation_of_the_Baltic_states_by_the_Soviet_Union_(1944)" class="mw-redirect" title="Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1944)">Occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union (1944)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Members_of_the_Lithuanian_partisans_(Zalgiris_Territorial_Defense_Force)_in_1946.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Members_of_the_Lithuanian_partisans_%28Zalgiris_Territorial_Defense_Force%29_in_1946.jpg/220px-Members_of_the_Lithuanian_partisans_%28Zalgiris_Territorial_Defense_Force%29_in_1946.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="135" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Members_of_the_Lithuanian_partisans_%28Zalgiris_Territorial_Defense_Force%29_in_1946.jpg/330px-Members_of_the_Lithuanian_partisans_%28Zalgiris_Territorial_Defense_Force%29_in_1946.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Members_of_the_Lithuanian_partisans_%28Zalgiris_Territorial_Defense_Force%29_in_1946.jpg/440px-Members_of_the_Lithuanian_partisans_%28Zalgiris_Territorial_Defense_Force%29_in_1946.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1574" data-file-height="967" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_partisans" title="Lithuanian partisans">Lithuanian armed resistance</a> against Soviet occupation lasted until 1953.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Priboi_planas.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Priboi_planas.jpg/220px-Priboi_planas.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="201" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Priboi_planas.jpg/330px-Priboi_planas.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Priboi_planas.jpg/440px-Priboi_planas.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2689" data-file-height="2456" /></a><figcaption>The plan of deportations of the civilian population in Lithuania during the <a href="/wiki/Operation_Priboi" title="Operation Priboi">Operation Priboi</a> (1949) created by the Soviet <a href="/wiki/Ministry_of_State_Security_(Soviet_Union)" title="Ministry of State Security (Soviet Union)">MGB</a>.</figcaption></figure> In the summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army reached eastern Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_72-181">[176]</a> By July 1944, the area around Vilnius came under control of the <a href="/wiki/Polish_resistance_movement_in_World_War_II" title="Polish resistance movement in World War II">Polish Resistance</a> fighters of the <a href="/wiki/Armia_Krajowa" class="mw-redirect" title="Armia Krajowa">Armia Krajowa</a>, who also attempted a takeover of the German-held city during the ill-fated <a href="/wiki/Operation_Ostra_Brama" title="Operation Ostra Brama">Operation Ostra Brama</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_88-193">[188]</a> The Red Army captured Vilnius with Polish help on 13 July.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_88-193">[188]</a> The Soviet Union re-occupied Lithuania and <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a> re-established the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic</a> in 1944 with its capital in Vilnius.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_88-193">[188]</a> The Soviets secured the passive agreement of the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> and <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">Great Britain</a> (see <a href="/wiki/Yalta_Conference" title="Yalta Conference">Yalta Conference</a> and <a href="/wiki/Potsdam_Agreement" title="Potsdam Agreement">Potsdam Agreement</a>) to this annexation. By January 1945, the Soviet forces captured <a href="/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da" title="Klaipėda">Klaipėda</a> on the Baltic coast. The heaviest physical losses in Lithuania during World War II were suffered in 1944–1945, when the Red Army pushed out the Nazi invaders.<a href="#cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">[174]</a> It is estimated that Lithuania lost 780,000 people between 1940 and 1954 under the Nazi and Soviet occupations.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Soviet_period_(1944–1990)">Soviet period (1944–1990)</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Soviet period (1944–1990)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_SSR" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian SSR">Lithuanian SSR</a> and <a href="/wiki/Baltic_states_under_Soviet_rule_(1944%E2%80%9391)" class="mw-redirect" title="Baltic states under Soviet rule (1944–91)">Baltic states under Soviet rule (1944–91)</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Stalinist_terror_and_resistance_(1944–1953)">Stalinist terror and resistance (1944–1953)</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: Stalinist terror and resistance (1944–1953)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Soviet_deportations_from_Lithuania" title="Soviet deportations from Lithuania">Soviet deportations from Lithuania</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_partisans" title="Lithuanian partisans">Lithuanian partisans</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lithuanian_deportee_house_in_Kolyma.jpeg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Lithuanian_deportee_house_in_Kolyma.jpeg/220px-Lithuanian_deportee_house_in_Kolyma.jpeg" decoding="async" width="220" height="160" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Lithuanian_deportee_house_in_Kolyma.jpeg/330px-Lithuanian_deportee_house_in_Kolyma.jpeg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Lithuanian_deportee_house_in_Kolyma.jpeg/440px-Lithuanian_deportee_house_in_Kolyma.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="582" /></a><figcaption>Lithuanian deportee house in <a href="/wiki/Kolyma" title="Kolyma">Kolyma</a> (1958).</figcaption></figure> The <a href="/wiki/Soviet_deportations_from_Lithuania" title="Soviet deportations from Lithuania">Soviet deportations from Lithuania</a> between 1941 and 1952 resulted in the exile of thousands of families to <a href="/wiki/Forced_settlements_in_the_Soviet_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Forced settlements in the Soviet Union">forced settlements in the Soviet Union</a>, especially in <a href="/wiki/Siberia" title="Siberia">Siberia</a> and other remote parts of the country. Between 1944 and 1953, nearly 120,000 people (5% of the population) were deported,<a href="#cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">[174]</a> and thousands more became political prisoners. Many leading intellectual figures and most Catholic priests were among the deported; many returned to Lithuania after 1953. Approximately 20,000 <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_partisans" title="Lithuanian partisans">Lithuanian partisans</a> participated in unsuccessful warfare against the Soviet regime in the 1940s and early 1950s. Most were killed or deported to Siberian <a href="/wiki/Gulag" title="Gulag">gulags</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_95-194">[189]</a><a href="#cite_note-196">[f]</a> During the years following the German surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, between 40 and 60 thousand civilians and combatants perished in the context of the anti-Soviet insurgency. Considerably more ethnic Lithuanians died after World War II than during it.<a href="#cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">[174]</a><a href="#cite_note-197">[191]</a> Lithuanian armed resistance lasted until 1953. <a href="/wiki/Adolfas_Ramanauskas" title="Adolfas Ramanauskas">Adolfas Ramanauskas</a> (code name 'Vanagas', translated to English: the <a href="/wiki/Hawk" title="Hawk">hawk</a>), the last official commander of the <a href="/wiki/Union_of_Lithuanian_Freedom_Fighters" title="Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters">Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters</a>, was arrested in October 1956 and executed in November 1957. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Soviet_era_(1953–1988)">Soviet era (1953–1988)</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: Soviet era (1953–1988)">edit</a>]</div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights_in_Vilnius,_Lithuania,_2021.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights_in_Vilnius%2C_Lithuania%2C_2021.jpg/225px-Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights_in_Vilnius%2C_Lithuania%2C_2021.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="169" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights_in_Vilnius%2C_Lithuania%2C_2021.jpg/338px-Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights_in_Vilnius%2C_Lithuania%2C_2021.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights_in_Vilnius%2C_Lithuania%2C_2021.jpg/450px-Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights_in_Vilnius%2C_Lithuania%2C_2021.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4032" data-file-height="3024" /></a><figcaption>Former <a href="/wiki/KGB" title="KGB">KGB</a> headquarters in Vilnius, containing the <a href="/wiki/Museum_of_Occupations_and_Freedom_Fights" title="Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights">Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights</a>.</figcaption></figure> Soviet authorities encouraged the immigration of non-Lithuanian workers, especially Russians, as a way of integrating Lithuania into the Soviet Union and encouraging industrial development,<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> but in Lithuania this process did not assume the massive scale experienced by other European <a href="/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Republics of the Soviet Union">Soviet republics</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_94-198">[192]</a> To a great extent, <a href="/wiki/Lithuanization" title="Lithuanization">Lithuanization</a> rather than <a href="/wiki/Russification" title="Russification">Russification</a> took place in postwar Vilnius and elements of a national revival characterize the period of Lithuania's existence as a Soviet republic.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_72-181">[176]</a><a href="#cite_note-200">[g]</a> Lithuania's boundaries and political integrity were determined by Joseph Stalin's decision to grant Vilnius to the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">Lithuanian SSR</a> again in 1944. Subsequently, most Poles were resettled from Vilnius (but only a minority from the countryside and other parts of the Lithuanian SSR)<a href="#cite_note-202">[h]</a> by the implementation of Soviet and Lithuanian communist policies that mandated their partial replacement by <a href="/wiki/Russian_diaspora_in_the_Baltic_states" class="mw-redirect" title="Russian diaspora in the Baltic states">Russian immigrants</a>. Vilnius was then increasingly settled by Lithuanians and assimilated by Lithuanian culture, which fulfilled, albeit under the oppressive and limiting conditions of the Soviet rule, the long-held dream of Lithuanian nationalists.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_91-93-203">[195]</a> The economy of Lithuania did well in comparison with other regions of the Soviet Union.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> The national developments in Lithuania followed tacit compromise agreements worked out by the Soviet communists, Lithuanian communists and the Lithuanian <a href="/wiki/Intelligentsia" title="Intelligentsia">intelligentsia</a>. <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_University" title="Vilnius University">Vilnius University</a> was reopened after the war, operating in the Lithuanian language and with a largely Lithuanian student body. It became a center for Baltic studies. General schools in the Lithuanian SSR provided more instruction in Lithuanian than at any previous time in the country's history. The literary Lithuanian language was standardized and refined further as a language of scholarship and <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_literature" title="Lithuanian literature">Lithuanian literature</a>. The price the Lithuanian intelligentsia ended up paying for the national privileges was their much increased <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Lithuania" title="Communist Party of Lithuania">Communist Party</a> membership after <a href="/wiki/De-Stalinization" title="De-Stalinization">de-Stalinization</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_93-95-204">[196]</a> Between the death of Stalin in 1953 and the <a href="/wiki/Glasnost" title="Glasnost">glasnost</a> and <a href="/wiki/Perestroika" title="Perestroika">perestroika</a> reforms of <a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev" title="Mikhail Gorbachev">Mikhail Gorbachev</a> in the mid-1980s, Lithuania functioned as a Soviet society, with all its repressions and peculiarities. Agriculture remained collectivized, property nationalized, and criticism of the Soviet system was severely punished. The country remained largely isolated from the non-Soviet world because of travel restrictions, the <a href="/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Soviet_Union" title="Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union">persecution of the Catholic Church</a> continued and the nominally <a href="/wiki/Egalitarianism" title="Egalitarianism">egalitarian</a> society was extensively corrupted by the practice of connections and privileges for those who served the system.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> The communist era is represented in the museum of <a href="/wiki/Gr%C5%ABtas_Park" title="Grūtas Park">Grūtas Park</a>. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Rebirth_(1988–1990)">Rebirth (1988–1990)</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: Rebirth (1988–1990)">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Singing_Revolution#Lithuania" title="Singing Revolution">Singing Revolution § Lithuania</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:A_rally_in_Lithuania_commemorate_and_condemn_the_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact,_August_23,_1988,_Vilnius,_Vingis_Park.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/A_rally_in_Lithuania_commemorate_and_condemn_the_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact%2C_August_23%2C_1988%2C_Vilnius%2C_Vingis_Park.jpg/220px-A_rally_in_Lithuania_commemorate_and_condemn_the_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact%2C_August_23%2C_1988%2C_Vilnius%2C_Vingis_Park.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="152" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/A_rally_in_Lithuania_commemorate_and_condemn_the_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact%2C_August_23%2C_1988%2C_Vilnius%2C_Vingis_Park.jpg/330px-A_rally_in_Lithuania_commemorate_and_condemn_the_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact%2C_August_23%2C_1988%2C_Vilnius%2C_Vingis_Park.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/A_rally_in_Lithuania_commemorate_and_condemn_the_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact%2C_August_23%2C_1988%2C_Vilnius%2C_Vingis_Park.jpg/440px-A_rally_in_Lithuania_commemorate_and_condemn_the_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact%2C_August_23%2C_1988%2C_Vilnius%2C_Vingis_Park.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4928" data-file-height="3412" /></a><figcaption>An <a href="/wiki/Anti-Soviet" class="mw-redirect" title="Anti-Soviet">Anti-Soviet</a> rally in <a href="/wiki/Vingis_Park" title="Vingis Park">Vingis Park</a> of about 250,000 people. <a href="/wiki/S%C4%85j%C5%ABdis" title="Sąjūdis">Sąjūdis</a> was a movement which led to the restoration of an Independent State of Lithuania.</figcaption></figure> Until mid-1988, all political, economic, and cultural life was controlled by the <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Lithuania" title="Communist Party of Lithuania">Communist Party of Lithuania</a> (CPL). Lithuanians as well as people in the other two <a href="/wiki/Baltic_states" title="Baltic states">Baltic republics</a> distrusted the Soviet regime even more than people in other regions of the Soviet state, and they gave their own specific and active support to <a href="/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev" title="Mikhail Gorbachev">Mikhail Gorbachev</a>'s program of social and political reforms known as <a href="/wiki/Perestroika" title="Perestroika">perestroika</a> and <a href="/wiki/Glasnost" title="Glasnost">glasnost</a>. Under the leadership of intellectuals, the Reform Movement of Lithuania <a href="/wiki/S%C4%85j%C5%ABdis" title="Sąjūdis">Sąjūdis</a> was formed in mid-1988, and it declared a program of democratic and national rights, winning nationwide popularity. Inspired by Sąjūdis, the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Lithuanian_SSR" class="mw-redirect" title="Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR">Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR</a> passed constitutional amendments on the supremacy of Lithuanian laws over Soviet legislation, annulled the 1940 decisions on proclaiming Lithuania a part of the Soviet Union, legalized a multi-party system, and adopted a number of other important decisions, including the return of the national state symbols — the <a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Lithuania" title="Flag of Lithuania">flag of Lithuania</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Tauti%C5%A1ka_giesm%C4%97" title="Tautiška giesmė">national anthem</a>. A large number of CPL members also supported the ideas of Sąjūdis, and with Sąjūdis support, <a href="/wiki/Algirdas_Brazauskas" title="Algirdas Brazauskas">Algirdas Brazauskas</a> was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPL in 1988. On 23 August 1989, 50 years after the <a href="/wiki/Molotov%E2%80%93Ribbentrop_Pact" title="Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact">Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact</a>, Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians joined hands in a human chain that stretched 600 kilometres from <a href="/wiki/Tallinn" title="Tallinn">Tallinn</a> to Vilnius in order to draw the world's attention to the fate of the Baltic nations. The human chain was called the <a href="/wiki/Baltic_Way" title="Baltic Way">Baltic Way</a>. In December 1989, the Brazauskas-led CPL declared its independence from the <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a> and became a separate <a href="/wiki/Social_democracy" title="Social democracy">social democratic</a> party, renaming itself the <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Labour_Party_of_Lithuania" title="Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania">Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania</a> in 1990. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Independence_restored_(1990–present)">Independence restored (1990–present)</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=40" title="Edit section: Independence restored (1990–present)">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Struggle_for_independence_(1990–1991)">Struggle for independence (1990–1991)</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=41" title="Edit section: Struggle for independence (1990–1991)">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Unarmed_Lithuanian_citizen_standing_against_Soviet_tank,_Vilnius,_January_13,_1991.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Unarmed_Lithuanian_citizen_standing_against_Soviet_tank%2C_Vilnius%2C_January_13%2C_1991.jpg/220px-Unarmed_Lithuanian_citizen_standing_against_Soviet_tank%2C_Vilnius%2C_January_13%2C_1991.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="151" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Unarmed_Lithuanian_citizen_standing_against_Soviet_tank%2C_Vilnius%2C_January_13%2C_1991.jpg/330px-Unarmed_Lithuanian_citizen_standing_against_Soviet_tank%2C_Vilnius%2C_January_13%2C_1991.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Unarmed_Lithuanian_citizen_standing_against_Soviet_tank%2C_Vilnius%2C_January_13%2C_1991.jpg/440px-Unarmed_Lithuanian_citizen_standing_against_Soviet_tank%2C_Vilnius%2C_January_13%2C_1991.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4011" data-file-height="2762" /></a><figcaption>Unarmed Lithuanian citizen standing against a Soviet tank during the <a href="/wiki/January_Events" title="January Events">January Events</a>.</figcaption></figure> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Leaders_of_the_Supreme_Council_of_Lithuania_on_11_March_1990.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Leaders_of_the_Supreme_Council_of_Lithuania_on_11_March_1990.jpg/300px-Leaders_of_the_Supreme_Council_of_Lithuania_on_11_March_1990.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="201" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Leaders_of_the_Supreme_Council_of_Lithuania_on_11_March_1990.jpg/450px-Leaders_of_the_Supreme_Council_of_Lithuania_on_11_March_1990.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c4/Leaders_of_the_Supreme_Council_of_Lithuania_on_11_March_1990.jpg/600px-Leaders_of_the_Supreme_Council_of_Lithuania_on_11_March_1990.jpg 2x" data-file-width="6766" data-file-height="4528" /></a><figcaption>Leaders of the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">Supreme Council of Lithuania</a> on 11 March 1990, after promulgation of the <a href="/wiki/Act_of_the_Re-Establishment_of_the_State_of_Lithuania" title="Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania">Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania</a> in <a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a></figcaption></figure> In early 1990, candidates backed by <a href="/wiki/S%C4%85j%C5%ABdis" title="Sąjūdis">Sąjūdis</a> won the <a href="/wiki/1990_Lithuanian_parliamentary_election" class="mw-redirect" title="1990 Lithuanian parliamentary election">Lithuanian parliamentary elections</a>.<a href="#cite_note-205">[197]</a> On 11 March 1990, the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Soviet_of_the_Lithuanian_SSR" class="mw-redirect" title="Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR">Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR</a> proclaimed the <a href="/wiki/Act_of_the_Re-Establishment_of_the_State_of_Lithuania" title="Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania">Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania</a>. The Baltic republics were in the forefront of the struggle for independence, and Lithuania was the first of the Soviet republics to declare independence. <a href="/wiki/Vytautas_Landsbergis" title="Vytautas Landsbergis">Vytautas Landsbergis</a>, a leader of the Sąjūdis national movement,<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_98-102-206">[198]</a> became the head of state and <a href="/wiki/Kazimira_Prunskien%C4%97" title="Kazimira Prunskienė">Kazimira Prunskienė</a> led the Cabinet of Ministers. Provisional fundamental laws of the state were passed.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> On 15 March, the Soviet Union demanded revocation of the independence and began employing political and economic sanctions against Lithuania. On 18 April, Soviets imposed <a href="/wiki/Soviet_economic_blockade_of_Lithuania" title="Soviet economic blockade of Lithuania">economic blockade of Lithuania</a> which lasted until the end of June. The Soviet military was used to seize a few public buildings, but violence was largely contained until January 1991. During the <a href="/wiki/January_Events" title="January Events">January Events</a> in Lithuania, the Soviet authorities attempted to overthrow the elected government by sponsoring the so-called National Salvation Committee. The Soviets forcibly took over the <a href="/wiki/Vilnius_TV_Tower" title="Vilnius TV Tower">Vilnius TV Tower</a>, killing 14 unarmed civilians and injuring 140.<a href="#cite_note-bbc-onthisday-207">[199]</a> During this assault, the only means of contact to the outside world available was an amateur radio station set up in the Lithuanian Parliament building by Tadas Vyšniauskas whose call sign was LY2BAW.<a href="#cite_note-208">[200]</a> The initial cries for help were received by an American amateur radio operators with the call sign N9RD in <a href="/wiki/Indiana" title="Indiana">Indiana</a> and WB9Z in <a href="/wiki/Illinois" title="Illinois">Illinois</a>.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] N9RD, WB9Z and other radio operators from around the world were able to relay situational updates to relevant authorities until official <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_State" title="United States Department of State">United States Department of State</a> personnel were able to go on-air. Moscow failed to act further to crush the Lithuanian independence movement, and the Lithuanian government continued to function. During the national referendum on 9 February 1991, more than 90% of those who took part in the voting (84.73% of all eligible voters) voted in favor of an independent, democratic Lithuania. During the <a href="/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt" class="mw-redirect" title="1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt">1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt</a> in August, <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Armed_Forces" title="Soviet Armed Forces">Soviet Armed Forces</a> troops took over several communications and other government facilities in Vilnius and other cities, but returned to their barracks when the coup failed. The Lithuanian government banned the <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Communist Party of the Soviet Union">Communist Party of the Soviet Union</a> and ordered confiscation of its property. Following the failed coup, Lithuania received widespread international recognition on 6 September 1991 and was admitted to the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> on 17 September.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Contemporary_Republic_of_Lithuania_(1991–present)">Contemporary Republic of Lithuania (1991–present)</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=42" title="Edit section: Contemporary Republic of Lithuania (1991–present)">edit</a>]</div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Lithuania.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/200px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png" decoding="async" width="200" height="120" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/300px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Flag_of_Lithuania.svg/400px-Flag_of_Lithuania.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Lithuania" title="Flag of Lithuania">Flag of Lithuania</a></figcaption></figure> As in many countries of the former Soviet Union, the popularity of the independence movement (<a href="/wiki/S%C4%85j%C5%ABdis" title="Sąjūdis">Sąjūdis</a> in the case of Lithuania) diminished due to worsening economic situation (rising unemployment, inflation, etc.). The Communist Party of Lithuania renamed itself as the <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Labour_Party_of_Lithuania" title="Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania">Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania</a> (LDDP) and gained a majority of seats against Sąjūdis in the <a href="/wiki/1992_Lithuanian_parliamentary_election" title="1992 Lithuanian parliamentary election">Lithuanian parliamentary elections of 1992</a>.<a href="#cite_note-209">[201]</a> LDDP continued building the independent democratic state and transitioning from a centrally <a href="/wiki/Planned_economy" title="Planned economy">planned economy</a> to a <a href="/wiki/Market_economy" title="Market economy">free market economy</a>. In the <a href="/wiki/1996_Lithuanian_parliamentary_election" title="1996 Lithuanian parliamentary election">Lithuanian parliamentary elections of 1996</a>, the voters swung back to the rightist <a href="/wiki/Homeland_Union" title="Homeland Union">Homeland Union</a>, led by the former Sąjūdis leader <a href="/wiki/Vytautas_Landsbergis" title="Vytautas Landsbergis">Vytautas Landsbergis</a>.<a href="#cite_note-210">[202]</a> As part of the economic transition to <a href="/wiki/Capitalism" title="Capitalism">capitalism</a>, Lithuania organized a <a href="/wiki/Privatization" title="Privatization">privatization</a> campaign to sell government-owned residential real estate and commercial enterprises. The government issued investment vouchers to be used in privatization instead of actual currency. People cooperated in groups to collect larger amounts of vouchers for the public auctions and the privatization campaign. Lithuania, unlike Russia, did not create a small group of very wealthy and powerful people. The privatization started with small organizations, and large enterprises (such as telecommunication companies or airlines) were sold several years later for hard currency in a bid to attract foreign investors. Lithuania's monetary system was to be based on the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_litas" title="Lithuanian litas">Lithuanian litas</a>, the currency used during the interwar period. Due to high inflation and other delays, a temporary currency, the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_talonas" title="Lithuanian talonas">Lithuanian talonas</a>, was introduced (it was commonly referred to as the Vagnorėlis or Vagnorkė after Prime Minister <a href="/wiki/Gediminas_Vagnorius" title="Gediminas Vagnorius">Gediminas Vagnorius</a>). Eventually the litas was issued in June 1993, and the decision was made to set it up with a <a href="/wiki/Fixed_exchange_rate" class="mw-redirect" title="Fixed exchange rate">fixed exchange rate</a> to the <a href="/wiki/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar">United States dollar</a> in 1994 and to the <a href="/wiki/Euro" title="Euro">Euro</a> in 2002. <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Vilnius_Modern_Skyline_At_Dusk,_Lithuania_-_Diliff.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Vilnius_Modern_Skyline_At_Dusk%2C_Lithuania_-_Diliff.jpg/265px-Vilnius_Modern_Skyline_At_Dusk%2C_Lithuania_-_Diliff.jpg" decoding="async" width="265" height="138" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Vilnius_Modern_Skyline_At_Dusk%2C_Lithuania_-_Diliff.jpg/398px-Vilnius_Modern_Skyline_At_Dusk%2C_Lithuania_-_Diliff.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Vilnius_Modern_Skyline_At_Dusk%2C_Lithuania_-_Diliff.jpg/530px-Vilnius_Modern_Skyline_At_Dusk%2C_Lithuania_-_Diliff.jpg 2x" data-file-width="12000" data-file-height="6258" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">Vilnius</a>, the capital of Lithuania</figcaption></figure> Despite Lithuania's achievement of complete independence, sizable numbers of <a href="/wiki/Russian_Armed_Forces" title="Russian Armed Forces">Russian Armed Forces</a> troops remained in its territory. Withdrawal of those forces was one of Lithuania's top foreign policy priorities. Russian troop withdrawal was completed by 31 August 1993.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> The first military of the reborn country were the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_National_Defence_Volunteer_Forces" title="Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces">Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces</a>, who first took an oath at the Supreme Council of Lithuania soon after the declaration of independence. The <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_military" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian military">Lithuanian military</a> built itself to the common standard with the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Air_Force" title="Lithuanian Air Force">Lithuanian Air Force</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Naval_Force" title="Lithuanian Naval Force">Lithuanian Naval Force</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Land_Force" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Land Force">Lithuanian Land Force</a>. Interwar paramilitary organisations such as the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Riflemen%27s_Union" title="Lithuanian Riflemen's Union">Lithuanian Riflemen's Union</a>, <a href="/wiki/Young_Riflemen" class="mw-redirect" title="Young Riflemen">Young Riflemen</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Lietuvos_Skautija" title="Lietuvos Skautija">Lithuanian Scouts</a> were re-established. <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:100th_anniversary_of_the_restoration_of_statehood_07.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/100th_anniversary_of_the_restoration_of_statehood_07.jpg/220px-100th_anniversary_of_the_restoration_of_statehood_07.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/100th_anniversary_of_the_restoration_of_statehood_07.jpg/330px-100th_anniversary_of_the_restoration_of_statehood_07.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/100th_anniversary_of_the_restoration_of_statehood_07.jpg/440px-100th_anniversary_of_the_restoration_of_statehood_07.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1042" data-file-height="695" /></a><figcaption>Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the <a href="/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania" title="Act of Independence of Lithuania">restoration of statehood of Lithuania</a> with foreign leaders (Vilnius, 2018)</figcaption></figure> On 27 April 1993, a <a href="/wiki/Pennsylvania%E2%80%93Lithuania_National_Guard_Partnership" title="Pennsylvania–Lithuania National Guard Partnership">partnership with the Pennsylvania National Guard</a> was established as part of the State Partnership Program.<a href="#cite_note-211">[203]</a> Seeking closer ties with the West, Lithuania applied for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (<a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a>) membership in 1994. The country had to go through a difficult transition from planned to free market economy in order to satisfy the requirements for <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> (EU) membership. In May 2001, Lithuania became the 141st member of the World Trade Organization. In October 2002, Lithuania was invited to join the European Union and one month later to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; it became a member of both in 2004.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> As a result of the broader <a href="/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008" class="mw-redirect" title="Financial crisis of 2007–2008">global financial crisis</a> and <a href="/wiki/Great_Recession" title="Great Recession">Great Recession</a>, the Lithuanian economy in 2009 experienced its worst recession since the <a href="/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union" title="Dissolution of the Soviet Union">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a> in 1991. After a boom in growth sparked by <a href="/wiki/Accession_of_Lithuania_to_the_European_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Accession of Lithuania to the European Union">Lithuania's 2004 accession to the European Union</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Gross_domestic_product" title="Gross domestic product">Gross domestic product</a> contracted by 15% in 2009.<a href="#cite_note-Department_of_State_Lithuania-30">[29]</a> Especially since Lithuania's admission into the <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a>, large numbers of Lithuanians (up to 20% of the population) have moved abroad in search of better economic opportunities to create a significant demographic problem for the small country.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> On 1 January 2015, Lithuania joined the <a href="/wiki/Eurozone" title="Eurozone">eurozone</a> and adopted the European Union's single currency as the last of the Baltic states.<a href="#cite_note-212">[204]</a> On 4 July 2018, Lithuania officially joined <a href="/wiki/OECD" title="OECD">OECD</a>.<a href="#cite_note-213">[205]</a> <a href="/wiki/Dalia_Grybauskait%C4%97" title="Dalia Grybauskaitė">Dalia Grybauskaitė</a> (2009–2019) was the first female <a href="/wiki/President_of_Lithuania" title="President of Lithuania">President of Lithuania</a> and the first president to be <a href="/wiki/2014_Lithuanian_presidential_election" title="2014 Lithuanian presidential election">re-elected</a> for a second consecutive term.<a href="#cite_note-214">[206]</a> She was succeeded by <a href="/wiki/Gitanas_Naus%C4%97da" title="Gitanas Nausėda">Gitanas Nausėda</a> in 2019.<a href="#cite_note-215">[207]</a> On 11–12 July 2023, the <a href="/wiki/2023_Vilnius_summit" title="2023 Vilnius summit">NATO summit</a> was held in Vilnius, which was attended by heads of state or government members of NATO countries and its allies.<a href="#cite_note-216">[208]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Historiography">Historiography</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=43" title="Edit section: Historiography">edit</a>]</div> Krapauskas (2010) identifies three main tendencies in the recent historiography. The "postmodern school" is heavily influenced by the French <a href="/wiki/Annales_School" class="mw-redirect" title="Annales School">Annales School</a> and presents an entirely new agenda of topics and interdisciplinary research methodologies. Their approach is methodologically controversial and focuses on social and cultural history. It is largely free from the traditional political debates and does not look back to the interwar Šapoka era. Secondly, the "critical-realists" are political revisionists. They focus on controversial political topics in the twentieth century, and reverse 180° the Soviet era interpretations of what was good and bad for Lithuania. They use traditional historical methodologies, with a strong focus on political history. They are often opposed by the third school, the "romantic-traditionalists." After severe constraints in the communist era, the romantic-traditionalists now are eager to emphasize the most positive version of the Lithuanian past and its cultural heritage. They pay less attention to the niceties of documentation and historiography, but they are not the puppets of political conservatives. Indeed, they include many of Lithuania's most respected historians.<a href="#cite_note-217">[209]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=44" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a>]</div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Vilnius" title="History of Vilnius">History of Vilnius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_hillforts_in_Lithuania" title="List of hillforts in Lithuania">List of hillforts in Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Lithuania">List of rulers of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Crusades" title="Northern Crusades">Northern Crusades</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Lithuania" title="Prime Minister of Lithuania">Prime Minister of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Lithuania" title="Politics of Lithuania">Politics of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Black_ceramics_in_Lithuania" title="Black ceramics in Lithuania">Black ceramics in Lithuania</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=45" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-lower-alpha" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-7"><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a> Historically, there has been a scholarly dispute concerning the origin of the <a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Balts</a>. According to one major point of view, the Baltic peoples descend directly from the original <a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-Europeans" title="Proto-Indo-Europeans">Indo-European</a> arrivals, who might have settled this part of Europe possibly as far back as about 3000 BC as the archeological <a href="/wiki/Corded_Ware_culture" title="Corded Ware culture">Corded Ware culture</a>. The linguistic argument has been the most "archaic" status of the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Lithuanian language</a> among the existing <a href="/wiki/Indo-European_languages" title="Indo-European languages">Indo-European languages</a> of Europe. The competing idea takes into account the many words common to both the <a href="/wiki/Baltic_languages" title="Baltic languages">Baltic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Slavic_languages" title="Slavic languages">Slavic languages</a> and postulates a shared, more recent Balto-Slavic ancestry. There has been no agreement regarding which archeological formation such hypothetical Proto-Balto-Slavic community would correspond to.<a href="#cite_note-Ochmański_24-29-6">[6]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-112"><a href="#cite_ref-112">^</a> This tiny fraction of Catholics in the early 17th century Grand Duchy is given by <a href="/wiki/Kasper_Cichocki" title="Kasper Cichocki">Kasper Cichocki</a> (1545–1616), a Catholic parish priest near <a href="/wiki/Sandomierz" title="Sandomierz">Sandomierz</a>, who wrote on the subject of the extent of the heresies in the Commonwealth. According to Wacław Urban, Calvinism and Eastern Orthodoxy predominated, and were followed by Catholicism and the <a href="/wiki/Polish_Brethren" title="Polish Brethren">Polish Brethren</a>, with <a href="/wiki/Lutheranism" title="Lutheranism">Lutheranism</a> being numerically the least significant of the Christian denominations in Lithuania.<a href="#cite_note-Urban_30-111">[110]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-119"><a href="#cite_ref-119">^</a> The widely used term "<a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Russia" title="History of the Jews in Russia">Russian Jews</a>" is somewhat misleading, because the Jews within the <a href="/wiki/Russian_Empire" title="Russian Empire">Russian Empire</a> were allowed to live only within the <a href="/wiki/Pale_of_Settlement" title="Pale of Settlement">Pale of Settlement</a>, as determined by <a href="/wiki/Catherine_the_Great" title="Catherine the Great">Catherine the Great</a>. The Pale coincided largely with the territory of the former <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>, under Russia the western part of the Empire.<a href="#cite_note-Bumblauskas_19-20-118">[116]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-154"><a href="#cite_ref-154">^</a> Piłsudski's family roots in the <a href="/wiki/Polonization" title="Polonization">Polonized</a> gentry of the <a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> and the resulting point of view (seeing himself and people like him as legitimate Lithuanians) put him in conflict with the <a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_National_Revival" title="Lithuanian National Revival">modern Lithuanian</a> nationalists (who in Piłsudski's lifetime redefined the scope of the "Lithuanian" connotation), by extension with other nationalists, and also with the <a href="/wiki/National_Democracy_(Poland)" title="National Democracy (Poland)">Polish modern nationalist movement</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_40-41,_64-65,_68-69-153">[150]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-170"><a href="#cite_ref-170">^</a> The main western powers recognized Lithuania only in 1922, when, after the <a href="/wiki/Peace_of_Riga" class="mw-redirect" title="Peace of Riga">Treaty of Riga</a>, it had become clear that the <a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> was not going to be reestablished.<a href="#cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">[108]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-196"><a href="#cite_ref-196">^</a> It was a sizable force in comparison with the similar number (20,000) of underground anti-communist fighters operating at that time in Poland. Poland was a country with an over eight times the population of Lithuania, but legal opposition (the <a href="/wiki/Polish_People%27s_Party_(1945%E2%80%931949)" title="Polish People's Party (1945–1949)">Polish People's Party</a>) was primarily active there in the 1940s.<a href="#cite_note-Dzień_Żołnierzy_Wyklętych._Cywilny_opór_czy_III_wojna?_Rozmowa_z_dr_hab._Rafałem_Wnukiem-195">[190]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-200"><a href="#cite_ref-200">^</a> About 90% of Vilnius Jews had been exterminated by the Nazis in 1941–1944 and about 80% of Vilnius Poles were deported under the Soviet rule in 1944–1946, which left the city open to settlement by Lithuanians, or possibly Russians.<a href="#cite_note-Snyder_72,_91-199">[193]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-202"><a href="#cite_ref-202">^</a> The preservation of the rural Polish-speaking minority in the Vilnius Region (the <a href="/wiki/Intelligentsia" title="Intelligentsia">intelligentsia</a> element was mostly expelled after the war) turned out to be a source of lasting friction. After 1950 Stalin, playing on the Lithuanian against the Polish insecurities, allowed the formation of a network of Polish, communist ideology-preaching schools. This Soviet policy continued also after 1956, despite Lithuanian objections. The Polish community reacted with fear to the rebirth of assertive Lithuanian nationalism after 1988 and attempted to established a Polish autonomy in the Vilnius region in 1990–91. After some Polish activists supported the attempted <a href="/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt" class="mw-redirect" title="1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt">communist coup in Moscow</a> the Lithuanian authorities eliminated the Polish self-rule. The presently existing <a href="/wiki/Electoral_Action_of_Poles_in_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania">Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania</a> is seen by many Lithuanians as a communist rule residue with a nationalistic tint and conflicts over the language of education and naming rights continue, with an uneasy involvement of the government of Poland. The rural Polish-speaking areas are among the economically most depressed regions of Lithuania and high unemployment there has caused significant permanent emigration. The Lithuanian relations with the Russian minority, the actual left-over of the Soviet-imposed settlement, have not been a source of comparable tensions.<a href="#cite_note-Polskość_zapeklowana-201">[194]</a> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=46" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 23em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFSipavičienė,_Audra.1997" class="citation book cs1">Sipavičienė, Audra. (1997). International migration in Lithuania : causes, consequences, strategy. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. p. 55. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9986523397" title="Special:BookSources/9986523397"><bdi>9986523397</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/39615701">39615701</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=International+migration+in+Lithuania+%3A+causes%2C+consequences%2C+strategy&rft.pages=55&rft.pub=United+Nations+Economic+Commission+for+Europe&rft.date=1997&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F39615701&rft.isbn=9986523397&rft.au=Sipavi%C4%8Dien%C4%97%2C+Audra.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-kudirka13-2">^ <a href="#cite_ref-kudirka13_2-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-kudirka13_2-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKudirka1991" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Juozas_Kudirka" title="Juozas Kudirka">Kudirka, Juozas</a> (1991). The Lithuanians: An Ethnic Portrait. Lithuanian Folk Culture Centre. p. 13.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Lithuanians%3A+An+Ethnic+Portrait&rft.pages=13&rft.pub=Lithuanian+Folk+Culture+Centre&rft.date=1991&rft.aulast=Kudirka&rft.aufirst=Juozas&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a> Gudavičius, Edvardas (1999) Lietuvos Istorija: Nuo Seniausių Laikų iki 1569 Metų (Lithuanian History: From Ancient Times to the Year 1569) Vilnius, page 28, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/5-420-00723-1" title="Special:BookSources/5-420-00723-1">5-420-00723-1</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a> R. Bideleux. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. Routledge, 1998. p.122 </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a> CARPELAN, C.& PARPOLA, ASKO: Emergence, contacts and dispersal of Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Uralic and Proto-Aryan in archaeological perspective. In: Carpelan, Christian; Parpola, Asko; Koskikallio, Petteri (eds.), EARLY CONTACTS BETWEEN URALIC AND INDO-EUROPEAN: LINGUISTIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seura, Helsinki, Finland, 2001. </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_24-29-6"><a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_24-29_6-0">^</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 24–29 </li> <li id="cite_note-Baczkowski_55-61-8">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-3">d</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-4">e</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-5">f</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-6">g</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-7">h</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-8">i</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-9">j</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-10">k</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-11">l</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-12">m</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-13">n</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-14">o</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-15">p</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-16">q</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-17">r</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-18">s</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-19">t</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-20">u</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-21">v</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-22">w</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-23">x</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-24">y</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_55-61_8-25">z</a> <a href="/w/index.php?title=Krzysztof_Baczkowski&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Krzysztof Baczkowski (page does not exist)">Krzysztof Baczkowski</a> – Dzieje Polski późnośredniowiecznej (1370–1506) [History of Late Medieval Poland (1370–1506)], pp. 55–61; Fogra, Kraków 1999, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-85719-40-7" title="Special:BookSources/83-85719-40-7">83-85719-40-7</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_23-9"><a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_23_9-0">^</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), p. 23 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_22-10">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_22_10-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_22_10-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_22_10-2">c</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), p. 22 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_26-11">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_26_11-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_26_11-1">b</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), p. 26 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_37-12"><a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_37_12-0">^</a> Ochmański (1982), p. 37 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_13-13"><a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_13_13-0">^</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), p. 13 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_24-25-14"><a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_24-25_14-0">^</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), pp. 24–25 </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBaranauskas2009" class="citation journal cs1">Baranauskas, Tomas (Fall 2009). "On the Origin of the Name of Lithuania". Lithuanian Quarterly Journal of Arts and Sciences. 55 (3). <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0024-5089">0024-5089</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Lithuanian+Quarterly+Journal+of+Arts+and+Sciences&rft.atitle=On+the+Origin+of+the+Name+of+Lithuania&rft.ssn=fall&rft.volume=55&rft.issue=3&rft.date=2009&rft.issn=0024-5089&rft.aulast=Baranauskas&rft.aufirst=Tomas&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_22,_26-28-16"><a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_22,_26-28_16-0">^</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), pp. 22, 26–28 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_39-42-17"><a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_39-42_17-0">^</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 39–42 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_43-45-18">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_43-45_18-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_43-45_18-1">b</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 43–45 </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a> Puzinas, Jonas. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://archyvas.punskas.pl/terra/Pdf/terra(1).pdf">Terra Jatwezenorum [The Land of Yotvingians].</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230812113552/http://archyvas.punskas.pl/terra/Pdf/terra(1).pdf">Archived</a> 12 August 2023 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> Punsko „Aušros“ leidykla. 2009, p. 8. ISSN 2080-7589. </li> <li id="cite_note-gerutis-20"><a href="#cite_ref-gerutis_20-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJakštas1984" class="citation book cs1">Jakštas, Juozas (1984). "Beginning of the State". In Albertas Gerutis (ed.). Lithuania: 700 Years. translated by Algirdas Budreckis (6th ed.). New York: Manyland Books. pp. 45–50. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87141-028-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-87141-028-1"><bdi>0-87141-028-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Beginning+of+the+State&rft.btitle=Lithuania%3A+700+Years&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=45-50&rft.edition=6th&rft.pub=Manyland+Books&rft.date=1984&rft.isbn=0-87141-028-1&rft.aulast=Jak%C5%A1tas&rft.aufirst=Juozas&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-LV-Mind-21"><a href="#cite_ref-LV-Mind_21-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGudavičiusRimantas_Jasas2004" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a href="/wiki/Edvardas_Gudavi%C4%8Dius" title="Edvardas Gudavičius">Gudavičius, Edvardas</a>; Rimantas Jasas (2004). "Mindaugas". In Vytautas Spečiūnas (ed.). Lietuvos valdovai (XIII-XVIII a.): enciklopedinis žinynas (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. pp. 15–18. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/5-420-01535-8" title="Special:BookSources/5-420-01535-8"><bdi>5-420-01535-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Mindaugas&rft.btitle=Lietuvos+valdovai+%28XIII-XVIII+a.%29%3A+enciklopedinis+%C5%BEinynas&rft.place=Vilnius&rft.pages=15-18&rft.pub=Mokslo+ir+enciklopedij%C5%B3+leidybos+institutas&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=5-420-01535-8&rft.aulast=Gudavi%C4%8Dius&rft.aufirst=Edvardas&rft.au=Rimantas+Jasas&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_29-30-22">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_29-30_22-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_29-30_22-1">b</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), pp. 29–30 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_46-47-23"><a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_46-47_23-0">^</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 46–47 </li> <li id="cite_note-kiaupa-24">^ <a href="#cite_ref-kiaupa_24-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-kiaupa_24-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKiaupaJūratė_KiaupienėAlbinas_Kuncevičius2000" class="citation book cs1">Kiaupa, Zigmantas; Jūratė Kiaupienė; Albinas Kuncevičius (2000) [1995]. "Establishment of the State". The History of Lithuania Before 1795 (English ed.). 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Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.voruta.lt/article.php?article=87">the original</a> on 26 October 2005. 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(2013), pp. 50–53 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_84-85-76">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_84-85_76-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_84-85_76-1">b</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 84–85 </li> <li id="cite_note-Baczkowski_103-108-77">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_103-108_77-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baczkowski_103-108_77-1">b</a> Krzysztof Baczkowski – Dzieje Polski późnośredniowiecznej (1370–1506) (History of Late Medieval Poland (1370–1506)), pp. 103–108 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_85-86-78">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_85-86_78-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_85-86_78-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_85-86_78-2">c</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 85–86 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_53–57-79">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_53–57_79-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_53–57_79-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_53–57_79-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_53–57_79-3">d</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_53–57_79-4">e</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), pp. 53–57 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_85-87-80"><a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_85-87_80-0">^</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 85–87 </li> <li id="cite_note-Ochmański_87-89-81">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_87-89_81-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_87-89_81-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Ochmański_87-89_81-2">c</a> Ochmański (1982), pp. 87–89 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_17-82"><a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_17_82-0">^</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), p. 17 </li> <li id="cite_note-Lukowski_44-48-83"><a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_44-48_83-0">^</a> Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 44–48 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bumblauskas_47-48-84">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_47-48_84-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bumblauskas_47-48_84-1">b</a> Eidintas et al. (2013), pp. 47–48 </li> <li id="cite_note-Lukowski_45-50-85"><a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_45-50_85-0">^</a> Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 45–50 </li> <li id="cite_note-Lukowski_52-55-86"><a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_52-55_86-0">^</a> Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 52–55 </li> <li id="cite_note-Lukowski_56-58-87">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_56-58_87-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_56-58_87-1">b</a> Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 56–58 </li> <li id="cite_note-Lukowski_58-60-88"><a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_58-60_88-0">^</a> Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 58–60 </li> <li id="cite_note-Wyrozumski-89"><a href="#cite_ref-Wyrozumski_89-0">^</a> <a href="/w/index.php?title=Jerzy_Wyrozumski&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jerzy Wyrozumski (page does not exist)">Jerzy Wyrozumski</a>, Historia Polski do roku 1505 (History of Poland until 1505), pp. 178-180; Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe (<a href="/wiki/Polish_Scientific_Publishers_PWN" title="Polish Scientific Publishers PWN">Polish Scientific Publishers PWN</a>), Warszawa 1986, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-01-03732-6" title="Special:BookSources/83-01-03732-6">83-01-03732-6</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-Lukowski_74-82-90">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_74-82_90-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_74-82_90-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_74-82_90-2">c</a> Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), pp. 74–82 </li> <li id="cite_note-Grzybowski_142-146-91">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Grzybowski_142-146_91-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Grzybowski_142-146_91-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Grzybowski_142-146_91-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Grzybowski_142-146_91-3">d</a> <a href="/w/index.php?title=Stanis%C5%82aw_Grzybowski&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Stanisław Grzybowski (page does not exist)">Stanisław Grzybowski</a> – Dzieje Polski i Litwy (1506-1648) (History of Poland and Lithuania (1506-1648)), pp. 142–146; Fogra, Kraków 2000, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-85719-48-2" title="Special:BookSources/83-85719-48-2">83-85719-48-2</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-92"><a href="#cite_ref-92">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKevin_O&Connor2003" class="citation book cs1">Kevin O&Connor (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=b3b5nU4bnw4C&pg=PA25">"The" History of the Baltic States</a>. Greenwood. p. 25. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780313323553" title="Special:BookSources/9780313323553"><bdi>9780313323553</bdi></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201008184103/https://books.google.com/books?id=b3b5nU4bnw4C&pg=PA25">Archived</a> from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2015.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=%22The%22+History+of+the+Baltic+States&rft.pages=25&rft.pub=Greenwood&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=9780313323553&rft.au=Kevin+O%26Connor&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3Db3b5nU4bnw4C%26pg%3DPA25&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-93"><a href="#cite_ref-93">^</a> <a href="/wiki/Ing%C4%97_Luk%C5%A1ait%C4%97" title="Ingė Lukšaitė">Ingė Lukšaitė</a>, "The Reformation in Lithuania: A New Look," Lituanus (2011) 57#3 pp 9-31 </li> <li id="cite_note-94"><a href="#cite_ref-94">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFNorman_Davies2013" class="citation book cs1">Norman Davies (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=6yPA0MerzqIC&pg=PT56">Litva: The Rise and Fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>. Penguin Group US. p. 56. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781101630822" title="Special:BookSources/9781101630822"><bdi>9781101630822</bdi></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200919013509/https://books.google.com/books?id=6yPA0MerzqIC&pg=PT56">Archived</a> from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2015.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Litva%3A+The+Rise+and+Fall+of+the+Grand+Duchy+of+Lithuania&rft.pages=56&rft.pub=Penguin+Group+US&rft.date=2013&rft.isbn=9781101630822&rft.au=Norman+Davies&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D6yPA0MerzqIC%26pg%3DPT56&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_21-95"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_21_95-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), p. 21 </li> <li id="cite_note-Lukowski_85-96"><a href="#cite_ref-Lukowski_85_96-0">^</a> Lukowski & Zawadzki (2001), p. 85 </li> <li id="cite_note-97"><a href="#cite_ref-97">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGudavičius" class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Gudavičius, Edvardas. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/didysis-kunigaikstis/">"Didysis kunigaikštis"</a>. Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231104163247/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/didysis-kunigaikstis/">Archived</a> from the original on 4 November 2023. 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Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230323183800/https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/gedimino-kepure/">Archived</a> from the original on 23 March 2023. 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Lithuanian Institute of History: 31–32. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20211028215341/https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/download/725/720/1097">Archived</a> from the original on 28 October 2021. 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Retrieved 4 November 2023.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=15min.lt&rft.atitle=Vavelio+pilies+lobyne+%E2%80%93+ir+Lietuvos+istorija%3A+vertingiausi%C4%85+kolekcij%C4%85+buvo+sukaup%C4%99s+%C5%BDygimantas+Augustas&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.15min.lt%2Fgyvenimas%2Fnaujiena%2Fkeliones%2Fvavelio-pilies-lobyne-ir-lietuvos-istorija-vertingiausia-kolekcija-buvo-sukaupes-zygimantas-augustas-1630-1905900&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-101"><a href="#cite_ref-101">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/12/1744000/iki-zygimanto-augusto-karunaciniu-bateliu-siuo-metu-mus-skiria-tik-700-kilometru">"Unikali proga Krokuvoje: nuo Žygimanto Augusto karūnacinių batelių skiria tik 700 kilometrų"</a>. Lithuanian National Radio and Television (in Lithuanian). 21 July 2022. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231104154314/https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/kultura/12/1744000/iki-zygimanto-augusto-karunaciniu-bateliu-siuo-metu-mus-skiria-tik-700-kilometru">Archived</a> from the original on 4 November 2023. 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Cradle of Lithuanian Culture"</a>. DRAUGAS NEWS. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170217143433/http://www.draugas.org/news/lithuanian-minor-cradle-of-lithuanian-culture/">Archived</a> from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=DRAUGAS+NEWS&rft.atitle=Lithuanian+Minor.+Cradle+of+Lithuanian+Culture&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.draugas.org%2Fnews%2Flithuanian-minor-cradle-of-lithuanian-culture%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-True_Lithuania-109">^ <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-3">d</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-4">e</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-5">f</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-6">g</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-7">h</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-8">i</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-9">j</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-10">k</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-11">l</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-12">m</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-13">n</a> <a href="#cite_ref-True_Lithuania_109-14">o</a> True Lithuania www.truelithuania.com, accessed 14 June 2012 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_22-110"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_22_110-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), p. 22 </li> <li id="cite_note-Urban_30-111">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Urban_30_111-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Urban_30_111-1">b</a> (in Polish) <a href="/w/index.php?title=Wac%C5%82aw_Urban&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Wacław Urban (page does not exist)">Wacław Urban</a>, Epizod reformacyjny (The Reformation episode), p.30. 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Vilnius: Justitia. pp. 35–36. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9955-616-09-1" title="Special:BookSources/9955-616-09-1"><bdi>9955-616-09-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Lietuvos+valstyb%C4%97s+konstitucij%C5%B3+istorija+%28XX+a.+pirmoji+pus%C4%97%29&rft.place=Vilnius&rft.pages=35-36&rft.pub=Justitia&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=9955-616-09-1&rft.aulast=Maksimaitis&rft.aufirst=Mindaugas&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-eidintas-143">^ <a href="#cite_ref-eidintas_143-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-eidintas_143-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFEidintasVytautas_ŽalysAlfred_Erich_Senn1999" class="citation book cs1">Eidintas, Alfonsas; Vytautas Žalys; Alfred Erich Senn (September 1999). 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Alkas.lt (in Lithuanian). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210516122527/https://alkas.lt/2016/03/25/e-lukosevicius-baltarusiu-karzygiai-lietuvos-laisves-ir-nepriklausomybes-kariai-nuotraukos/">Archived</a> from the original on 16 May 2021. 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Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės</a> (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Elektroninės leidybos namai. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9986-9216-9-4" title="Special:BookSources/9986-9216-9-4"><bdi>9986-9216-9-4</bdi></a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mkp.emokykla.lt/gimtoji/?id=1015">the original</a> on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2007.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Vokietija+ir+Lietuvos+nepriklausomyb%C4%97&rft.btitle=Gimtoji+istorija.+Nuo+7+iki+12+klas%C4%97s&rft.place=Vilnius&rft.pub=Elektronin%C4%97s+leidybos+namai&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=9986-9216-9-4&rft.aulast=Skirius&rft.aufirst=Juozas&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmkp.emokykla.lt%2Fgimtoji%2F%3Fid%3D1015&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Blaszczak121-150"><a href="#cite_ref-Blaszczak121_150-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBłaszczak2013" class="citation journal cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Błaszczak, Tomasz (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199">"Baltarusiai Lietuvos valstybės taryboje 1918–1920 metais"</a>. Parliamentary Studies (in Lithuanian) (15). <a href="/wiki/Kaunas" title="Kaunas">Kaunas</a>: <a href="/wiki/Vytautas_Magnus_University" title="Vytautas Magnus University">Vytautas Magnus University</a> Czesław Miłosz Centre: 98–118–98–118. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.51740%2Fps.vi15.236">10.51740/ps.vi15.236</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210516145205/https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199">Archived</a> from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Parliamentary+Studies&rft.atitle=Baltarusiai+Lietuvos+valstyb%C4%97s+taryboje+1918%E2%80%931920+metais&rft.issue=15&rft.pages=98-118-98-118&rft.date=2013&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.51740%2Fps.vi15.236&rft.aulast=B%C5%82aszczak&rft.aufirst=Tomasz&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.lnb.lt%2Fparliamentary-studies%2Farticle%2Fview%2F236%2F199&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_61-62-151"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_61-62_151-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 61–62 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_62-152"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_62_152-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), p. 62 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_40-41,_64-65,_68-69-153"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_40-41,_64-65,_68-69_153-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 40–41, 64–65, 68–69 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_62-65-155"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_62-65_155-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 62–65 </li> <li id="cite_note-Blaszczak11-156"><a href="#cite_ref-Blaszczak11_156-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBłaszczak2013" class="citation journal cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Błaszczak, Tomasz (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199">"Baltarusiai Lietuvos valstybės taryboje 1918–1920 metais"</a>. Parliamentary Studies (in Lithuanian) (15). <a href="/wiki/Kaunas" title="Kaunas">Kaunas</a>: <a href="/wiki/Vytautas_Magnus_University" title="Vytautas Magnus University">Vytautas Magnus University</a> Czesław Miłosz Centre: 98–118–98–118. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.51740%2Fps.vi15.236">10.51740/ps.vi15.236</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210516145205/https://journals.lnb.lt/parliamentary-studies/article/view/236/199">Archived</a> from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Parliamentary+Studies&rft.atitle=Baltarusiai+Lietuvos+valstyb%C4%97s+taryboje+1918%E2%80%931920+metais&rft.issue=15&rft.pages=98-118-98-118&rft.date=2013&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.51740%2Fps.vi15.236&rft.aulast=B%C5%82aszczak&rft.aufirst=Tomasz&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.lnb.lt%2Fparliamentary-studies%2Farticle%2Fview%2F236%2F199&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-157"><a href="#cite_ref-157">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSmetona1924" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a href="/wiki/Antanas_Smetona" title="Antanas Smetona">Smetona, Antanas</a> (1924). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.epaveldas.lt/object/recordDescription/LNB/LNB00AD1C8E">Vairas (Be rytojaus)</a> (in Lithuanian). Vol. 6th. <a href="/wiki/Kaunas" title="Kaunas">Kaunas</a>. pp. 1–3. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210514173307/https://www.epaveldas.lt/object/recordDescription/LNB/LNB00AD1C8E">Archived</a> from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Vairas+%28Be+rytojaus%29&rft.place=Kaunas&rft.pages=1-3&rft.date=1924&rft.aulast=Smetona&rft.aufirst=Antanas&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.epaveldas.lt%2Fobject%2FrecordDescription%2FLNB%2FLNB00AD1C8E&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_location_missing_publisher" title="Category:CS1 maint: location missing publisher">link</a>) </li> <li id="cite_note-Surgailis657071-158">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Surgailis657071_158-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Surgailis657071_158-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Surgailis657071_158-2">c</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSurgailis2020" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Surgailis, Gintautas (2020). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://kam.lt/download/70372/gudai_sp2.pdf">Lietuvos kariuomenės gudų kariniai daliniai 1918–1923 m.</a> (PDF) (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: <a href="/wiki/General_Jonas_%C5%BDemaitis_Military_Academy_of_Lithuania" title="General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania">General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania</a>. pp. 65, 70–71. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-609-8277-00-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-609-8277-00-5"><bdi>978-609-8277-00-5</bdi></a>. 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Sharpe</a>. p. 40. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7656-0665-5" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-7656-0665-5"><bdi>978-0-7656-0665-5</bdi></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210510022737/https://books.google.com/books?id=jLfX1q3kJzgC&q=lithuania+census+1923+language&pg=RA1-PA40">Archived</a> from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Ethnic+groups+and+population+changes+in+twentieth-century+Central-Eastern+Europe%3A+history%2C+data%2C+and+analysis&rft.pages=40&rft.pub=M.E.+Sharpe&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=978-0-7656-0665-5&rft.au=Piotr+Eberhardt%2C+Jan+Owsinski&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DjLfX1q3kJzgC%26q%3Dlithuania%2Bcensus%2B1923%2Blanguage%26pg%3DRA1-PA40&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-172"><a href="#cite_ref-172">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Memelgebiet/index.htm">"Das Memelgebiet im Überblick"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170103105500/http://www.gonschior.de/weimar/Memelgebiet/index.htm">Archived</a> from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2015.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Das+Memelgebiet+im+%C3%9Cberblick&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gonschior.de%2Fweimar%2FMemelgebiet%2Findex.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-173"><a href="#cite_ref-173">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Lithuania.htm#Memel%20Territory">"Lithuania"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161015181808/http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Lithuania.htm#Memel%20Territory">Archived</a> from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2015.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Lithuania&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldstatesmen.org%2FLithuania.htm%23Memel%2520Territory&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-vardys-174"><a href="#cite_ref-vardys_174-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVardysJudith_B._Sedaitis1997" class="citation book cs1">Vardys, Vytas Stanley; Judith B. Sedaitis (1997). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/lithuaniarebelna00vard/page/34">Lithuania: The Rebel Nation</a>. Westview Series on the Post-Soviet Republics. WestviewPress. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/lithuaniarebelna00vard/page/34">34–36</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8133-1839-4" title="Special:BookSources/0-8133-1839-4"><bdi>0-8133-1839-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Lithuania%3A+The+Rebel+Nation&rft.series=Westview+Series+on+the+Post-Soviet+Republics&rft.pages=34-36&rft.pub=WestviewPress&rft.date=1997&rft.isbn=0-8133-1839-4&rft.aulast=Vardys&rft.aufirst=Vytas+Stanley&rft.au=Judith+B.+Sedaitis&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Flithuaniarebelna00vard%2Fpage%2F34&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Zgórniak_391-393-175"><a href="#cite_ref-Zgórniak_391-393_175-0">^</a> <a href="/w/index.php?title=Marian_Zg%C3%B3rniak&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Marian Zgórniak (page does not exist)">Marian Zgórniak</a>, Józef Łaptos, Jacek Solarz, – Wielkie wojny XX wieku (1914-1945) [Great Wars of the 20th Century (1914-1945)], pp. 391-393; Fogra, Kraków 2006, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-60657-00-9" title="Special:BookSources/83-60657-00-9">83-60657-00-9</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-Zgórniak_421-422-176"><a href="#cite_ref-Zgórniak_421-422_176-0">^</a> Marian Zgórniak, Józef Łaptos, Jacek Solarz, – Wielkie wojny XX wieku (1914-1945) [Great Wars of the 20th Century (1914-1945)], pp. 421–422 </li> <li id="cite_note-:0-177">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:0_177-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_177-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWeinberg2005" class="citation book cs1">Weinberg, Gerhard L. (28 March 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/world-at-arms/122A2C377C4528D26382982044F8E9DC">A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II</a> (2 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 60–61. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-61826-7" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-521-61826-7"><bdi>978-0-521-61826-7</bdi></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220821232510/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/world-at-arms/122A2C377C4528D26382982044F8E9DC">Archived</a> from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+World+at+Arms%3A+A+Global+History+of+World+War+II&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pages=60-61&rft.edition=2&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2005-03-28&rft.isbn=978-0-521-61826-7&rft.aulast=Weinberg&rft.aufirst=Gerhard+L.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2Fcore%2Fbooks%2Fworld-at-arms%2F122A2C377C4528D26382982044F8E9DC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-in_JSTOR-178">^ <a href="#cite_ref-in_JSTOR_178-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-in_JSTOR_178-1">b</a> Alfred Erich Senn, "Perestroika in Lithuanian Historiography: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact," Russian Review (1990) 49#1 pp. 43–56 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/130082">in JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210429212451/https://www.jstor.org/stable/130082">Archived</a> 29 April 2021 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów-179">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów_179-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów_179-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów_179-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów_179-3">d</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów_179-4">e</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów_179-5">f</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Zagłada_Żydów,_piekło_Litwinów_179-6">g</a> Saulius Sužiedelis, Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów [Extermination of the Jews, hell for the Lithuanians]. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/1,134731,15042881,Zaglada_Zydow__pieklo_Litwinow.html">Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170729061123/http://wyborcza.pl/magazyn/1,124059,15042881,Zaglada_Zydow__pieklo_Litwinow.html">Archived</a> 29 July 2017 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> <a href="/wiki/Gazeta_Wyborcza" title="Gazeta Wyborcza">Gazeta Wyborcza</a> wyborcza.pl 28.11.2013 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_82-83-180">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_82-83_180-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_82-83_180-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_82-83_180-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_82-83_180-3">d</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 80–83 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_72-181">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_72_181-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_72_181-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_72_181-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_72_181-3">d</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 72, 82–83 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_83-84-182"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_83-84_182-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 83–84 </li> <li id="cite_note-Bubnys-183"><a href="#cite_ref-Bubnys_183-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBubnys2003" class="citation journal cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a href="/wiki/Ar%C5%ABnas_Bubnys" title="Arūnas Bubnys">Bubnys, Arūnas</a> (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.genocid.lt/Leidyba/13/bubnys.htm">"Lietuvių saugumo policija ir holokaustas (1941–1944)"</a>. Genocidas Ir Rezistencija (in Lithuanian). 13. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1392-3463">1392-3463</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.webcitation.org/67aomFMB5?url=http://www.genocid.lt/Leidyba/13/bubnys.htm">Archived</a> from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2018.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Genocidas+Ir+Rezistencija&rft.atitle=Lietuvi%C5%B3+saugumo+policija+ir+holokaustas+%281941%E2%80%931944%29&rft.volume=13&rft.date=2003&rft.issn=1392-3463&rft.aulast=Bubnys&rft.aufirst=Ar%C5%ABnas&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.genocid.lt%2FLeidyba%2F13%2Fbubnys.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> English translation of excerpts from Stahlecker's report available here* <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Einsatz_Baltic.html">"The Einsatzgruppen: Report by Einsatzgruppe A in the Baltic Countries (October 15, 1941)"</a>. Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160829003134/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Einsatz_Baltic.html">Archived</a> from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2015.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Jewish+Virtual+Library&rft.atitle=The+Einsatzgruppen%3A+Report+by+Einsatzgruppe+A+in+the+Baltic+Countries+%28October+15%2C+1941%29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jewishvirtuallibrary.org%2Fjsource%2FHolocaust%2FEinsatz_Baltic.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_84-184">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_84_184-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_84_184-1">b</a> Snyder (2003), p. 84 </li> <li id="cite_note-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews-185">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews_185-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews_185-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews_185-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Krapauskas_Book_Reviews_185-3">d</a> Virgil Krapauskas' Book Reviews in Fall 2010 <a href="/wiki/Lituanus" title="Lituanus">Lituanus</a>, Volume 56, No.3 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lituanus.org/2010/10_3_08%20BR%20Dickman%20plus.html">Book Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131203031958/http://www.lituanus.org/2010/10_3_08%20BR%20Dickman%20plus.html">Archived</a> 2013-12-03 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-The_Burden_of_1941-186"><a href="#cite_ref-The_Burden_of_1941_186-0">^</a> Saulius Sužiedėlis, The Burden of 1941, Lituanus, Volume 47, No.4 - Winter 2001 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lituanus.org/2001/01_4_04.htm">The Burden of 1941</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20120915/http://www.lituanus.org/2001/01_4_04.htm">Archived</a> 15 September 2012(Timestamp length) at <a href="/wiki/Archive.today" title="Archive.today">archive.today</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-MacQueen_context-187"><a href="#cite_ref-MacQueen_context_187-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMacQueen1998" class="citation journal cs1">MacQueen, Michael (1998). "The Context of Mass Destruction: Agents and Prerequisites of the Holocaust in Lithuania". Holocaust and Genocide Studies. 12 (1): 27–48. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fhgs%2F12.1.27">10.1093/hgs/12.1.27</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Holocaust+and+Genocide+Studies&rft.atitle=The+Context+of+Mass+Destruction%3A+Agents+and+Prerequisites+of+the+Holocaust+in+Lithuania&rft.volume=12&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=27-48&rft.date=1998&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fhgs%2F12.1.27&rft.aulast=MacQueen&rft.aufirst=Michael&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-188"><a href="#cite_ref-188">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBaumel2001" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Baumel, Judith Tydor (2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=nPbr0XzlTzcC&pg=PA260">"Baltic Countries"</a>. The Holocaust Encyclopedia. Yale University Press. pp. 51–52. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-08432-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-300-08432-3"><bdi>0-300-08432-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Baltic+Countries&rft.btitle=The+Holocaust+Encyclopedia&rft.pages=51-52&rft.pub=Yale+University+Press&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=0-300-08432-3&rft.aulast=Baumel&rft.aufirst=Judith+Tydor&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DnPbr0XzlTzcC%26pg%3DPA260&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sak_Ard-189"><a href="#cite_ref-Sak_Ard_189-0">^</a> <a href="/wiki/Kazimierz_Sakowicz" title="Kazimierz Sakowicz">Kazimierz Sakowicz</a>, <a href="/wiki/Yitzhak_Arad" title="Yitzhak Arad">Yitzhak Arad</a>, Ponary Diary, 1941–1943: A Bystander's Account of a Mass Murder, Yale University Press, 2005, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-10853-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-300-10853-2">0-300-10853-2</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNI79jJnsOoC&pg=PP4">Google Print</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200826202909/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNI79jJnsOoC&pg=PP4">Archived</a> 26 August 2020 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. </li> <li id="cite_note-Porat161-190"><a href="#cite_ref-Porat161_190-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPorat2002" class="citation book cs1">Porat, Dina (2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=3N9Xxc8wdu0C&pg=PA161">"The Holocaust in Lithuania: Some Unique Aspects"</a>. In David Cesarani (ed.). The Final Solution: Origins and Implementation. Routledge. p. 161. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-15232-1" title="Special:BookSources/0-415-15232-1"><bdi>0-415-15232-1</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=The+Holocaust+in+Lithuania%3A+Some+Unique+Aspects&rft.btitle=The+Final+Solution%3A+Origins+and+Implementation&rft.pages=161&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=0-415-15232-1&rft.aulast=Porat&rft.aufirst=Dina&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D3N9Xxc8wdu0C%26pg%3DPA161&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_86-191"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_86_191-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), p. 86 </li> <li id="cite_note-van216-192"><a href="#cite_ref-van216_192-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBubnys2004" class="citation book cs1">Bubnys, Arūnas (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=mdXRKbcyi5oC&pg=PA205">"The Holocaust in Lithuania: An Outline of Major Statges and Their Results"</a>. The Vanished World of Lithuanian Jews. Rodopi. pp. 216–218. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/90-420-0850-4" title="Special:BookSources/90-420-0850-4"><bdi>90-420-0850-4</bdi></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200807004030/https://books.google.com/books?id=mdXRKbcyi5oC&pg=PA205">Archived</a> from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2015.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=The+Holocaust+in+Lithuania%3A+An+Outline+of+Major+Statges+and+Their+Results&rft.btitle=The+Vanished+World+of+Lithuanian+Jews&rft.pages=216-218&rft.pub=Rodopi&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=90-420-0850-4&rft.aulast=Bubnys&rft.aufirst=Ar%C5%ABnas&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DmdXRKbcyi5oC%26pg%3DPA205&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_88-193">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_88_193-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_88_193-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_88_193-2">c</a> Snyder (2003), p. 88 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_95-194"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_95_194-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), p. 95 </li> <li id="cite_note-Dzień_Żołnierzy_Wyklętych._Cywilny_opór_czy_III_wojna?_Rozmowa_z_dr_hab._Rafałem_Wnukiem-195"><a href="#cite_ref-Dzień_Żołnierzy_Wyklętych._Cywilny_opór_czy_III_wojna?_Rozmowa_z_dr_hab._Rafałem_Wnukiem_195-0">^</a> Paweł Wroński, Dzień Żołnierzy Wyklętych. 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Gazeta Wyborcza wyborcza.pl 16.03.2012 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_91-93-203"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_91-93_203-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 91–93 </li> <li id="cite_note-Snyder_93-95-204"><a href="#cite_ref-Snyder_93-95_204-0">^</a> Snyder (2003), pp. 93–95 </li> <li id="cite_note-205"><a href="#cite_ref-205">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=281&p_d=3248&p_k=2">"Supreme Council (Reconstituent Seimas) 1990-1992"</a>. Seimas. 7 December 1999. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201008185641/https://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=281&p_d=3248&p_k=2">Archived</a> from the original on 8 October 2020. 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Retrieved 13 September 2011.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=BBC+News&rft.atitle=On+This+Day+13+January+1991%3A+Bloodshed+at+Lithuanian+TV+station&rft.date=1991-01-13&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fonthisday%2Fhi%2Fdates%2Fstories%2Fjanuary%2F13%2Fnewsid_4059000%2F4059959.stm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-208"><a href="#cite_ref-208">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZtBsUQ9nkA">"Amateur radio station in Lithuanian Parliament during Soviet military rampage in Jan 1991"</a>. 11 April 2011. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/NZtBsUQ9nkA">Archived</a> from the original on 14 November 2021 – via YouTube.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Amateur+radio+station+in+Lithuanian+Parliament+during+Soviet+military+rampage+in+Jan+1991&rft.date=2011-04-11&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNZtBsUQ9nkA&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-209"><a href="#cite_ref-209">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKrupavicius1997" class="citation journal cs1">Krupavicius, A. 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Retrieved 31 March 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=voanews.com&rft.atitle=Lithuania+President+Re-elected+on+Anti-Russian+Platform&rft.date=2014-05-26&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.voanews.com%2Feurope%2Flithuania-president-re-elected-anti-russian-platform&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-215"><a href="#cite_ref-215">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://emerging-europe.com/news/gitanas-nauseda-sworn-in-as-lithuanias-new-president/">"Gitanas Nausėda sworn in as Lithuania's new president"</a>. 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Retrieved 18 September 2023.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=NATO&rft.atitle=2023+NATO+Summit&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nato.int%2Fcps%2Fen%2Fnatohq%2F216570.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AHistory+of+Lithuania" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-217"><a href="#cite_ref-217">^</a> Virgil Krapauskas, "Recent Trends in Lithuanian Historiography" Lituanus (2010) 56#4 pp. 5–28. </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=History_of_Lithuania&action=edit&section=47" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:History_of_Lithuania" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:History of Lithuania">History of Lithuania</a>.</div></div> </div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Lithuania/_Topics/history/_Texts/CHASOL/home.html">Thomas G. 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autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Lithuania_topics" title="Template:Lithuania topics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Lithuania_topics" title="Template talk:Lithuania topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Lithuania_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Lithuania topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Lithuania_articles" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> <a href="/wiki/Index_of_Lithuania-related_articles" title="Index of Lithuania-related articles">articles</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">History</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">Early</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Balts" title="Balts">Balts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuania_proper" title="Lithuania proper">Lithuania proper</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuania_Minor" title="Lithuania Minor">Lithuania Minor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Grand Duchy of Lithuania">Grand Duchy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Lithuania_(1219%E2%80%931295)" title="History of Lithuania (1219–1295)">1219–1295</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Duchy_of_Lithuania" title="Duchy of Lithuania">Duchy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Lithuania" title="Kingdom of Lithuania">Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania" title="Christianization of Lithuania">Christianization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Crusade" title="Lithuanian Crusade">Lithuanian Crusade</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">Revival and independence</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_press_ban" title="Lithuanian press ban">Press ban</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_National_Revival" title="Lithuanian National Revival">National Revival</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Great_Seimas_of_Vilnius" title="Great Seimas of Vilnius">Great Seimas of Vilnius</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amber_Declaration" title="Amber Declaration">Amber Declaration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania" title="Act of Independence of Lithuania">Act of Independence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Wars_of_Independence" title="Lithuanian Wars of Independence">Wars of Independence</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian%E2%80%93Soviet_War" title="Lithuanian–Soviet War">Lithuanian–Soviet War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_War" title="Polish–Lithuanian War">Polish–Lithuanian War</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1919_Polish_coup_attempt_in_Lithuania" title="1919 Polish coup attempt in Lithuania">1919 Polish coup d'état attempt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1926_Lithuanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" title="1926 Lithuanian coup d'état">1926 coup d'état</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">WWII and occupations</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Baltic_states" title="Occupation of the Baltic states">Occupation of the Baltic states</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_the_Baltic_states_(1940)" title="Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1940)">by the Soviet Union (1940)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/German_occupation_of_Lithuania_during_World_War_II" title="German occupation of Lithuania during World War II">by Nazi Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_occupation_of_the_Baltic_states_(1944)" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1944)">by the Soviet Union (1944)</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Lithuania" title="The Holocaust in Lithuania">Holocaust</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Resistance_in_Lithuania_during_World_War_II" title="Resistance in Lithuania during World War II">Resistance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic">Second Soviet republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guerrilla_war_in_the_Baltic_states" title="Guerrilla war in the Baltic states">Guerrilla war</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_partisans" title="Lithuanian partisans">Lithuanian partisans</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baltic_states_under_Soviet_rule_(1944%E2%80%931991)" title="Baltic states under Soviet rule (1944–1991)">Baltic states under Soviet rule (1944–1991)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Diplomatic_Service" title="Lithuanian Diplomatic Service">Government-in-exile</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">Restoration</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/S%C4%85j%C5%ABdis" title="Sąjūdis">Reform Movement (Sąjūdis)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Singing_Revolution#Lithuania" title="Singing Revolution">Singing Revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baltic_Way" title="Baltic Way">Baltic Way</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_the_Re-Establishment_of_the_State_of_Lithuania" title="Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania">Act of Re-Establishment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soviet_economic_blockade_of_Lithuania" title="Soviet economic blockade of Lithuania">Soviet economic blockade of Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/January_Events_(Lithuania)" class="mw-redirect" title="January Events (Lithuania)">January Events</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2003_Lithuanian_European_Union_membership_referendum" title="2003 Lithuanian European Union membership referendum">2003 Lithuanian European Union membership referendum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_enlargement_of_the_European_Union" title="2004 enlargement of the European Union">EU accession</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="5" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania"><img alt="Lithuania" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg/80px-Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg.png" decoding="async" width="80" height="91" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg/120px-Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg/160px-Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="528" data-file-height="600" /></a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_Lithuania" title="Geography of Lithuania">Geography</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Lithuania" title="List of cities in Lithuania">Cities</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Vilnius" title="Vilnius">capital</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_Lithuania#Climate" title="Geography of Lithuania">Climate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_extreme_points_of_Lithuania" title="List of extreme points of Lithuania">Extreme points</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flora_of_Lithuania" title="Flora of Lithuania">Flora</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Forests_in_Lithuania" title="Forests in Lithuania">Forests</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_lakes_of_Lithuania" title="List of lakes of Lithuania">Lakes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_regional_parks_of_Lithuania" title="List of regional parks of Lithuania">Regional parks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Lithuania" title="List of rivers of Lithuania">Rivers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suwa%C5%82ki_Gap" title="Suwałki Gap">Suwałki Gap</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_towns_in_Lithuania" title="List of towns in Lithuania">Towns</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Lithuania" title="Politics of Lithuania">Politics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Lithuania" title="Administrative divisions of Lithuania">Administrative divisions</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Counties_of_Lithuania" title="Counties of Lithuania">counties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Municipalities_of_Lithuania" title="Municipalities of Lithuania">municipalities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elderships_of_Lithuania" title="Elderships of Lithuania">elderships</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_Lithuania" title="Constitution of Lithuania">Constitution</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Constitutional_Court_of_Lithuania" title="Constitutional Court of Lithuania">Constitutional Court</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_Lithuania" title="Elections in Lithuania">Elections</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Lithuania" title="Foreign relations of Lithuania">Foreign relations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government_of_Lithuania" title="Government of Lithuania">Government</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Lithuania" title="Prime Minister of Lithuania">Prime Minister</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_Lithuania" title="Law of Lithuania">Law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Law enforcement in Lithuania">Law enforcement</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights_in_Lithuania" title="Human rights in Lithuania">Human rights</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="LGBT rights in Lithuania">LGBT</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Lithuania" title="List of political parties in Lithuania">Political parties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Lithuania#Republic_of_Lithuania_(1918–1940)" class="mw-redirect" title="List of rulers of Lithuania">President</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Seimas" title="Seimas">Seimas parliament</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_speakers_of_the_Seimas" title="List of speakers of the Seimas">Speaker</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Military_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Military of Lithuania">Military</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Land_Force" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian Land Force">Land Force</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Naval_Force" title="Lithuanian Naval Force">Naval Force</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Air_Force" title="Lithuanian Air Force">Air Force</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Special_Operations_Force" title="Lithuanian Special Operations Force">Special Operations Force</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Lithuania" title="Economy of Lithuania">Economy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Agriculture_in_Lithuania" title="Agriculture in Lithuania">Agriculture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_banks_in_Lithuania" title="List of banks in Lithuania">Banks</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bank_of_Lithuania" title="Bank of Lithuania">Central bank</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/E-Residency_of_Lithuania" title="E-Residency of Lithuania">e-Residency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Energy_in_Lithuania" title="Energy in Lithuania">Energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_euro_coins" class="mw-redirect" title="Lithuanian euro coins">Euro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Lithuania" title="Telecommunications in Lithuania">Telecommunications</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_in_Lithuania" title="Transport in Lithuania">Transport</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_airports_in_Lithuania" title="List of airports in Lithuania">airports</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_Railways" title="Lithuanian Railways">rail</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transport_in_Lithuania#Lithuanian_road_system" title="Transport in Lithuania">roads</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Port_of_Klaip%C4%97da" title="Port of Klaipėda">seaport</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tourism_in_Lithuania" title="Tourism in Lithuania">Tourism</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Society_of_Lithuania" title="Category:Society of Lithuania">Society</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_Lithuania" title="Demographics of Lithuania">Demographics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_Lithuania" title="Education in Lithuania">Education</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_universities_and_colleges_in_Lithuania" title="List of universities and colleges in Lithuania">universities</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethnic_minorities_in_Lithuania" title="Ethnic minorities in Lithuania">Ethnic minorities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Regions_of_Lithuania" class="mw-redirect" title="Regions of Lithuania">Ethnographic regions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Health_in_Lithuania" title="Health in Lithuania">Health</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_language" title="Lithuanian language">Language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanians" title="Lithuanians">Lithuanians</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Lithuania" title="Religion in Lithuania">Religion</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Lithuania" title="Culture of Lithuania">Culture</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_calendar" title="Lithuanian calendar">Calendar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cinema_of_Lithuania" title="Cinema of Lithuania">Cinema</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_cuisine" title="Lithuanian cuisine">Cuisine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Lithuanian_culture" title="History of Lithuanian culture">Cultural history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cultural_regions_of_Lithuania" title="Cultural regions of Lithuania">Cultural regions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_design" title="Lithuanian design">Design</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethnographic_Lithuania" title="Ethnographic Lithuania">Ethnographic Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_literature" title="Lithuanian literature">Literature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Music_of_Lithuania" title="Music of Lithuania">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Registry_of_Cultural_Property_(Lithuania)" title="Registry of Cultural Property (Lithuania)">Monuments of Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lithuanian_mythology" title="Lithuanian mythology">Mythology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Name_of_Lithuania" title="Name of Lithuania">Name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Lithuania" title="Public holidays in Lithuania">Public holidays</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sport_in_Lithuania" title="Sport in Lithuania">Sport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_symbols_of_Lithuania" title="National symbols of Lithuania">Symbols</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tauti%C5%A1ka_giesm%C4%97" title="Tautiška giesmė">anthem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Lithuania" title="Coat of arms of Lithuania">coat of arms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flag_of_Lithuania" title="Flag of Lithuania">flag</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="3" style="font-weight:bold;"><div><div style="margin-bottom:-0.4em;"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_Lithuania" title="Outline of Lithuania">Outline</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Index_of_Lithuania-related_articles" title="Index of Lithuania-related articles">Index</a></li></ul></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Lithuania" title="Category:Lithuania">Category</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portal:Lithuania" title="Portal:Lithuania">Portal</a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="History_of_current_European_countries" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:European_history_by_country" title="Template:European history by country"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:European_history_by_country" title="Template talk:European history by country"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:European_history_by_country" title="Special:EditPage/Template:European history by country"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="History_of_current_European_countries" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/History_of_Europe" title="History of Europe">History of current European countries</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Sovereign states</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Albania" title="History of Albania">Albania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Andorra" title="History of Andorra">Andorra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Armenia" title="History of Armenia">Armenia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Austria" title="History of Austria">Austria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Azerbaijan" title="History of Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Belarus" title="History of Belarus">Belarus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Belgium" title="History of Belgium">Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="History of Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Bulgaria" title="History of Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Croatia" title="History of Croatia">Croatia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Cyprus" title="History of Cyprus">Cyprus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Czech_Republic" class="mw-redirect" title="History of the Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Denmark" title="History of Denmark">Denmark</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Estonia" title="History of Estonia">Estonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Finland" title="History of Finland">Finland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_France" title="History of France">France</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Georgia_(country)" title="History of Georgia (country)">Georgia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Germany" title="History of Germany">Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Greece" title="History of Greece">Greece</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Hungary" title="History of Hungary">Hungary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Iceland" title="History of Iceland">Iceland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Republic_of_Ireland" title="History of the Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a></li> <li class="mw-empty-elt"></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Italy" title="History of Italy">Italy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Kazakhstan" title="History of Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Latvia" title="History of Latvia">Latvia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Liechtenstein" title="History of Liechtenstein">Liechtenstein</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Luxembourg" title="History of Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Malta" title="History of Malta">Malta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Moldova" title="History of Moldova">Moldova</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Monaco" title="History of Monaco">Monaco</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Montenegro" title="History of Montenegro">Montenegro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Netherlands" title="History of the Netherlands">Netherlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_North_Macedonia" title="History of North Macedonia">North Macedonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Norway" title="History of Norway">Norway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Poland" title="History of Poland">Poland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Portugal" title="History of Portugal">Portugal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Romania" title="History of Romania">Romania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Russia" title="History of Russia">Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_San_Marino" title="History of San Marino">San Marino</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Serbia" title="History of Serbia">Serbia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Slovakia" title="History of Slovakia">Slovakia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Slovenia" title="History of Slovenia">Slovenia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Spain" title="History of Spain">Spain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Sweden" title="History of Sweden">Sweden</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Switzerland" title="History of Switzerland">Switzerland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Turkey" title="History of Turkey">Turkey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Ukraine" title="History of Ukraine">Ukraine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of the United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Vatican_City" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Vatican City">Vatican City</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">States with limited recognition</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Abkhazia" title="History of Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Kosovo" title="History of Kosovo">Kosovo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Northern_Cyprus" class="mw-redirect" title="History of Northern Cyprus">Northern Cyprus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_South_Ossetia" class="mw-redirect" title="History of South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Transnistria" title="History of Transnistria">Transnistria</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Dependencies and other entities</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_%C3%85land" title="History of Åland">Åland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Faroe_Islands" title="History of the Faroe Islands">Faroe Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Gibraltar" title="History of Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Guernsey" title="History of Guernsey">Guernsey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Isle_of_Man" title="History of the Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Jersey" title="History of Jersey">Jersey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Svalbard" title="History of Svalbard">Svalbard</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other entities</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_European_Union" title="History of the European Union">European Union</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img 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