Lithuania History

Lithuanians have inhabited the eastern littoral of the Baltic Sea for more than 2,000 years. The Baltic peoples that now inhabit the region arrived the sixth and seventh centuries, pushed westward by the Slavs from their original home farther east. In the thirteenth century, the Teutonic Knights conquered the neighboring areas which later became Estonia and Latvia and forced Christianity on the inhabitants. But the Lithuanians formed a unified state to protect themselves against the Knights, successfully resisting annexation, and remained pagan until 1253, when Mindaugas became its first Christian ruler. In 1385, in response to a continued German threat in the west, Lithuania formed a political alliance with Poland. Grand Duke Jagiello became king of Poland in 1386 as Ladislaus II by his marriage with Jadwiga, daughter of Louis I of Poland and Hungary. Jagiello accepted Christianity as a condition of the union and Lithuania officially became a Christian nation in 1387, adopting Roman Catholicism. The state’s fortunes declined in the sixteenth century and, to counter an increasing threat with the rise of Muscovy, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania merged with Poland in 1569, creating a commonwealth.

In the last half of the eighteenth century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth became so weakened politically, militarily, and economically that it was unable to resist three partitions of its territories by Russia, Austria, and Prussia in 1772, 1793, and 1795. Russia annexed most of what had been Lithuania. Prussia temporarily occupied a small corner in the southwest that was later incorporated into the Prussian province of East Prussia, and Russian-administered Polish province of Suwaki. In all the areas controlled by Russia, the administrative system of guberniya (province), uyezd (district), and volost/stan (township) was established. In 1801 the major portions of Lithuania were included in the Russian provinces of Vilnius and Grodno. In 1843, Kovno province was formed from the western and northern districts of Vilnius. Under Russian domination the Lithuanians strove to maintain their identity, their desire for independence being manifest by large-scale insurrections in 1812, 1831, 1863, and 1905. Oriented toward the West, they maintained their Roman Catholic faith, their language, and their cultural heritage.

The demise of the Russian Empire in World War I allowed Lithuania to proclaim its independence in 1918. It contended for territorial integrity against the Soviet Union, which attempted to create a Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Republic, and Polish efforts to reincorporate Lithuania into Poland. At the end of 1920, Polish forces took Vilnius and the surrounding area and the region was annexed into Poland. Kaunas became the capital of the rest of Lithuania and twenty counties [apskritis] were set up in the newly independent nation. In 1923, the territory of Klaipda (Memel), formerly part of East Prussia along the Baltic littoral, was annexed by Lithuania to form three more counties. During this period of independence, Lithuania made great progress.

In March 1939, Nazi Germany seized the Lithuanian territory of Memel-Klaipda, a region with an ethnic German majority and part of Lithuania. Then, as a result of a non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, the Soviets were permitted to take control of the rest of Lithuania in June of 1940. Lithuania was forced to agree to the stationing of Soviet troops on its territory. In return, the Soviet Union granted the city of Vilnius back to Lithuania after taking it from Poland. Lithuania became a Soviet republic in August of 1940. The Germans occupied Lithuania in June of 1941, and remained through most of World War II. During the Nazi German occupation, Lithuania was incorporated into the Ostland Reichs-Commissariat, a German civilian administration covering the Baltic states and western Belorussia. Soviet forces re-occupied the country in the summer of 1944 and its status as a Soviet republic was reaffirmed. In 1949, the Russian government closed down most churches, deported many priests, and prosecuted people possessing religious images. Lithuanians continued their armed resistance until 1953. The Soviets replaced the 26 counties with a system of oblasts (regions) and raions (districts).

In March 1990, the Lithuanian parliament declared independence from the Soviet Union. Lithuania’s independence was recognized by the Soviet Union on Sept. 6, 1991. It is now organized into 10 counties [apskritis], The counties are divided into smaller administrative units - districts [rajonas]. Lithuania later applied for admission to NATO and the EU and plans to join the EU in the next enlargement. In November of 2002 Lithuania was formally invited to join NATO.