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136-533: Lithuania's diplomacy has extensive roots going back to the era of King Mindaugas , yet modern-day diplomacy of the Republic of Lithuania is believed to have been born on 7 November 1918. On this day, Augustinas Voldemaras , then Prime Minister of Lithuania , assumed the office of the Foreign Minister, thus heralding the formation of the country's Foreign Ministry . Today, 7 November is celebrated as

272-825: A Government in exile that was a critical piece to ensuring the recognition of the continuity of Lithuanian legal statehood until independence after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union . During the period of occupation, operations of the Lithuanian diplomatic service were heavily burdened as the Soviet Union had taken over some of the mission buildings and parts of Lithuania's gold reserves. Despite protests from Lithuania's diplomats, some states (such as Italy, Germany, Sweden, France) complied with Soviet demands to turn over Lithuanian diplomatic property. On 23 July 1940, US Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles , declared that

408-530: A Lithuania–USSR agreement on mutual assistance was signed in Moscow on 10 October 1939, allowing a Soviet military presence in Lithuania. A total of 18,786 Red Army troops were deployed at strategically important locations within the country: Alytus , Prienai , Gaižiūnai , and Naujoji Vilnia . This move effectively ended Lithuanian neutrality and brought it directly under Soviet influence. While Germany

544-725: A General Department and an Information Department were set up. The organisational structure of the FM has changed several times, with the following three departments established on a standing basis in the long run: the Policy Department, the Legal and Administration Department, and the Economics Department. In early 1940, the FM had 218 employees with 123 of them working at the head office and 95 at foreign missions and consulates. Contemporary diplomatic practice demanded that

680-560: A Partnership Charter. The Charter endorsed a common goal of working together to create conditions for the integration of the so-called Vilnius Group into European and trans-Atlantic political, economic, and security structures, including NATO. Another achievement was Lithuania entering the European Union on 1 May 2004 and the Schengen Area on 21 December 2007. In 2011, Lithuania was the first Baltic state to preside over

816-700: A U.S. ambassador since its territory was controlled by the Soviet Union. Therefore, the Lithuanian legation remained in the form of a legation until the end of the Cold War. By 1990, the three Baltic legations were the only legations remaining on the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic List. One of the persistent difficulties of the diplomatic service was to obtain funds for its activities. The first few months were financed by funds held on hand, personal loans, and other improvised means. All legations and consulates cut salaries and other expenses, reducing their budgets 3–4 times. In August 1940, diplomats envisioned creation of

952-923: A bag, at the doorway raped a seventy-year-old woman. On 10 December, two soldiers shot a passing elderly woman. In Klaipėda Lithuanian men aged 17 to 48 were arrested and deported. In December 1944, Chief of the Priekulė KGB Kazakov wrote to the LSSR Minister of the Interior Josifas Bertašiūnas that due to the soldiers' violence most of the houses in Priekulė were unsuitable for living in: windows were knocked out, fireplaces disassembled, furniture and agricultural inventory broken up and exported as scrap. Many Red Army soldiers engaged in robbery, rape, and murder, and Lithuanians who saw soldiers at night would often run from their homes and hide. "On

1088-570: A bid to integrate the country into the economic system of the USSR. The output of major factories would be exported from the republic as there was a lack of local demand. This process of industrialisation was followed by urbanisation, as villages for the workers had to be established or expanded in the vicinity of the new factories, resulting in new towns such as Baltoji Vokė , Naujoji Akmenė , Elektrėnai and Sniečkus or expansion of old ones such as Jonava . Residents would be relocated from elsewhere in

1224-708: A coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, but their plans were unsuccessful. Treniota emerged as the leader of the Samogitian resistance; he led an army to Cēsis (now in Latvia), reaching the Estonian coast, and battled Masovia (now in Poland). His goal was to encourage all the conquered Baltic tribes to rise up against the Christian orders and unite under Lithuanian leadership. His personal influence grew while Mindaugas

1360-573: A cooperation agreement establishing the so-called Baltic Entente . Lithuania's occupation by the Soviet Union on 15 June 1940 did not bring the operations of the diplomatic service to a halt, but made the coordination of its activities from Lithuanian soil impossible. National diplomats residing abroad ended their relations with the occupation government of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and launched

1496-589: A diplomatic campaign for the liberation of Lithuania. In his telegram dated 31 May 1940, the last Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys provisioned that, in the event of occupation, Stasys Lozoraitis , minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Rome , be appointed the head of the Lithuanian diplomatic service. Furthermore, he named Petras Klimas , the minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary to France as Lozoraitis' first assistant and Jurgis Šaulys , minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Switzerland , as his second assistant. The Lithuanian diplomatic service became

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1632-529: A diplomatic service were initiated. Silver long coins, an index of statehood, were issued. He sponsored the construction of a cathedral in Vilnius, possibly on the site of today's Vilnius Cathedral . Immediately after his coronation, Mindaugas transferred some lands to the Livonian Order – portions of Samogitia , Nadruva , and Dainava  – although his control over these western lands

1768-638: A major center of commerce in the Daugava River basin, and in Pinsk . He also negotiated a peace with Galicia–Volhynia, and married his daughter to Svarn , the son of Daniel of Galicia, who would later become Grand Duke of Lithuania. Lithuanian relationships with western Europe and the Holy See were reinforced. In 1255, Mindaugas received permission from Pope Alexander IV to crown his son as King of Lithuania. A noble court , an administrative system, and

1904-593: A national holiday. The 750th anniversary of his coronation was marked in 2003 by the dedication of the Mindaugas Bridge in Vilnius, numerous festivals and concerts, and visits from other heads of state. In Belarus, there is the legendary Mindaugas's Hill  [ be ] in Navahrudak , mentioned by Adam Mickiewicz in his 1828 poem Konrad Wallenrod . A memorial stone on the Mindaugas's hill

2040-456: A national radio broadcast that he had deposed Smetona, and was now president in his own right. On 17 June, the cabinet resolved that Smetona had effectively abandoned his post by leaving the country and confirmed Merkys as president without any qualifiers. Later that day, under pressure from Moscow, on 17 June 1940, Merkys appointed Justas Paleckis prime minister and resigned soon after. Paleckis then assumed presidential duties, and Vincas Krėvė

2176-452: A provisional basis, in the manner prescribed by the Law on Delegating Persons to European Union Institutions or Foreign Institutions of the Republic of Lithuania. The Republic of Lithuania has its diplomatic missions to foreign states and international organisations to maintain official relations with international organisations, enforce the foreign policy of the Republic of Lithuania, and protect

2312-649: A rebellion by the Semigalians , and the defeat at Durbe spurred the Prussians into the Great Prussian Rebellion , which lasted for 14 years. Encouraged by these developments and by his nephew Treniota , Mindaugas broke peace with the Order. The gains he had expected from Christianization had proven to be minor. Mindaugas may have reverted to paganism afterwards. His motivation for conversion

2448-527: A reconciliation in 1255; the Black Ruthenian lands were transferred to Roman , Daniel's son. Afterwards Mindaugas's son Vaišvilkas received baptism as a member of the Orthodox faith, becoming a monk and later founding a convent and monastery. Tautvilas's antagonism was temporarily resolved when he recognized Mindaugas's superiority and received Polatsk as a fiefdom . A direct confrontation with

2584-532: A series of acts granting lands to the Livonian Order , but their authenticity is disputed. Due to lack of sources, some important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered. Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas's origins and family tree have not been conclusively established. The Bychowiec Chronicles , dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, have been discredited in this regard, since they assert an ancestry from

2720-603: A significant amount of the Soviet Union's industrial and agricultural output: 22 percent of its electric welding apparatus, 11.1 percent of its metal-cutting lathes, 2.3 percent of its mineral fertilizers, 4.8 percent of its alternating current electric motors, 2.0 percent of its paper, 2.4 percent of its furniture, 5.2 percent of its socks, 3.5 percent of underwear and knitwear, 1.4 percent of leather footwear, 5.3 percent of household refrigerators, 6.5 percent of television sets, 3.7 percent of meat, 4.7 percent of butter, 1.8 percent of canned products, and 1.9 percent of sugar. Lithuania

2856-525: A smaller scale. The last deportations took place in 1953, when people were deported to the district of Tomsk and the regions of Altai and Krasnoyarsk. Even after the guerrilla resistance had been quelled, Soviet authorities failed to suppress the movement for Lithuania's independence. Underground dissident groups had been active from the 1950s, publishing periodicals and Catholic literature. They fostered national culture, celebrated historical events, instigated patriotism and encouraged hopes for independence. In

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2992-630: A special fund, supported by donations of Lithuanian diaspora, particularly Lithuanian Americans . However, the solution was not ideal as the diplomatic service would have become dependent on various political groups of Lithuanian Americans. Therefore, the idea was abandoned when the United States Department of State agreed to allow the diplomats to draw on Lithuanian reserves held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York . Before June 1940, Lithuania had gold reserves in

3128-544: A special report on the situation in the Klaipėda Region , the head of the local NKGB operational group wrote that: A beautiful city, Šilutė , left by the Germans without a battle, currently looks repulsive: there is not one remaining store, almost no flats that are suitable for living. ... Metal scrap collection teams are blowing up working agricultural machinery, engines of various kinds, stealing valuable equipment from

3264-410: Is limited and historians continue to discuss their number. He may have had two other sons whose names were later conflated by scribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis. In the 13th century Lithuania had little contact with foreign lands. Lithuanian names sounded obscure and unfamiliar to various chroniclers, who altered them to sound more like names in their native language. Mindaugas's name in historic texts

3400-527: Is not specified, and this has led to considerable speculation, along with archeological research, concerning the seat of his court. At least fourteen locations have been proposed, including Kernavė and Vilnius. The ongoing formal archeological digs at Kernavė began in 1979 after a portion of the site named "Mindaugas Throne hill-fort" collapsed. The town now hosts a major celebration on Statehood Day . The Livonian Order used their alliance with Mindaugas to gain control over Samogitian lands. In 1252 he approved

3536-505: Is often described by modern historians as merely strategic. The case for his apostasy rests largely on two near-contemporary sources: a 1324 assertion by Pope John XXII that Mindaugas had returned to error, and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle . The chronicler writes that Mindaugas continued to practice paganism, making sacrifices to his gods, burning corpses, and conducting pagan rites in public. Historians have pointed to

3672-680: Is thought to have had two sisters, one married to Vykintas and another to Daniel of Halych . Vykintas and his son Treniota played major roles in later power struggles. Mindaugas had at least two wives, Morta and Morta's sister, whose name is unknown, and possibly an earlier wife; her existence is presumed because two children – a son named Vaišvilkas and an unnamed daughter married to Svarn in 1255 – were already leading independent lives when Morta's children were still young. In addition to Vaišvilkas and his sister, two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, are mentioned in written sources. The latter two were assassinated along with Mindaugas. Information on his sons

3808-655: The Department of the Treasury . With limited exceptions, the funds were made available only for the use of American embassies and consulates. Therefore, embassies elsewhere, such as the Holy See, had to be subsidized by the Lithuanian embassy in Washington. Initially, the diplomats drew only on the currency reserve, which sustained the diplomatic service until 1950. The gold reserve, valued at approximately $ 2.8 million,

3944-665: The Neris river ; on 19 August a fifteen-minute firefight took place between the garrison soldiers and prison guards; on 22 August drunk officers shot at each other. On 1 October 1944, Chief of the Kaunas NKVD G. Svečnikov reported that on the night of 19 October two aviation unit soldiers killed the Mavraušaitis family during a burglary. On 17 January 1945, Chairman of the Alytus Executive Committee requested

4080-863: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe . The presidency helped Lithuania boost its influence in international affairs. In the second half of 2013, the country presided over the Council of the European Union . On 17 October 2013, Lithuania was elected, by majority vote, non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2014–2015 term and presided over the Council in February 2014 and May 2015. The diplomatic service of

4216-693: The Palemonids , a noble family said to have originated within the Roman Empire . His year of birth, sometimes given as c. 1200, is at other times left as a question mark. His father is mentioned in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle as a powerful duke ( ein kunic grôß ), but is not named; later chronicles give his name as Ryngold . Dausprungas , mentioned in the text of a 1219 treaty, is presumed to have been his brother, and Dausprungas' sons Tautvilas and Gedvydas his nephews. He

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4352-641: The Russian SFSR 's declaration of sovereignty on 12 June meant that the Soviet Union could not enforce Lithuania's retention. While other republics held the union-wide referendum in March to restructure the Soviet Union in a loose form , Lithuania, along with Estonia , Latvia , Armenia , Georgia , and Moldova did not take part. Lithuania held an independence referendum earlier that month, with 93.2% voting for it. Iceland immediately recognised Lithuania's independence. Other countries followed suit after

4488-531: The Samogitians of western Lithuania, the Livonian Order, Daniel of Galicia (Tautvilas and Edivydas' brother-in-law), and Vasilko of Volhynia . The princes of Galicia and Volhynia managed to gain control over Black Ruthenia, disrupting Vaišvilkas' supremacy. Tautvilas strengthened his position by traveling to Riga and accepting baptism by the Archbishop. In 1250, the Order organized a major raid through

4624-599: The Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , which contained agreements to divide Europe into spheres of influence , with Lithuania falling into Germany's sphere of influence. On 28 September 1939, the USSR and Germany signed the Frontier Treaty and its secret protocol, by which Lithuania was placed in the USSR's sphere of influence in exchange for Germany gaining an increased share of Polish territory, which had already been occupied. The next day,

4760-634: The Soviet occupation and annexation illegal and, like the other two Baltic States, claimed state continuity . This legal continuity has been recognised by most Western powers . The Soviet authorities considered the independence declaration illegal, but after the January Events in Lithuania and failed 1991 Soviet coup attempt in Moscow, the Soviet Union itself recognized Lithuanian independence on 6 September 1991. On 23 August 1939, Nazi Germany and

4896-753: The failed coup in August , with the State Council of the Soviet Union recognising Lithuania's independence on 6 September 1991. The Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on 26 December 1991. It was agreed that the Soviet Army (later the Russian Army) must leave Lithuania because it was stationed without any legal reason. Its troops withdrew in 1993. The first secretaries of the Communist Party of Lithuania were: Collectivization in

5032-528: The 1230s and 1240s. In 1250 or 1251, during the course of internal power struggles, he was baptised as a Roman Catholic ; this action enabled him to establish an alliance with the Livonian Order , a long-standing antagonist of the Lithuanians. By 1245, Mindaugas was already being referred to as "the highest king" in certain documents. During the summer of 1253, he was crowned king, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects, and got nicknamed as Mindaugas

5168-759: The 1970s, dissidents established the Lithuanian Liberty League under Antanas Terleckas. Founded in Vilnius in the wake of an international conference in Helsinki , Finland, which recognised the borders established after the Second World War, the Lithuanian Helsinki Group demanded that Lithuania's occupation be recognised as illegal and the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact be condemned. The dissidents ensured that

5304-401: The 1980s, the USSR sank into a deep economic crisis. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected head of the USSR's Communist party and undertook internal reforms which had the effect of liberalising society (whilst actually increasing the economic chaos) and a new approach to foreign policy that effectively ended the Cold War. This encouraged the activity of anti-communist movements within the USSR,

5440-545: The 1990s the historian Edvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date – 6 July 1253. This day is now an official national holiday in Lithuania, Statehood Day . Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce. Much of what is known about his reign is obtained from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Hypatian Codex . Both of these chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus have anti-Lithuanian bias, particularly

5576-763: The Bull, 1975), and Juozas Kralikauskas ' Mindaugas (1995). Coronation of Mindaugas and creation of the Grand Duchy is the main topic of the 2002 Belarusian novel Alhierd's Lance by Volha Ipatava  [ be ] dedicated to the 750th anniversary of the coronation. Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic ( Lithuanian SSR ; Lithuanian : Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika ; Russian : Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика , romanized :  Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania ,

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5712-568: The Communist Party and communist organisations. Science and art based on communist ideology and their expression controlled by censorship mechanisms. People were encouraged into atheism in an attempt to secularise Lithuania, with monasteries closed, religion classes prohibited and church-goers persecuted. The second Soviet occupation was followed by armed resistance in 1944–1953, aiming to restore an independent Lithuania, re-establish capitalism and eradicate communism, and bring back national identity and freedom of faith. Partisans were labelled bandits by

5848-556: The Communist Party, a post held by Antanas Sniečkus until 1974. Upon recapturing Lithuania from the retreating Germans in 1944, the Red Army immediately began committing war crimes . The situation was so extreme that even Sniečkus complained to Lavrentiy Beria on 23 July that "If such robbery and violence continues in Kaunas , this will burst our last sympathy for the Red Army". Beria passed this complaint on to Joseph Stalin . In

5984-601: The Day of the Diplomat. In 1918, Lithuanian diplomacy's goal number one was to achieve de jure recognition of the restored state of Lithuania, and to demarcate its borders. On 23 November 1918, Jurgis Šaulys was appointed Lithuania's first minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary in Germany. On 11 January 1919, Lithuania signed the first international agreement on communication by post was signed with Germany. The second agreement

6120-910: The Hypatian Codex. They are also incomplete: both of them lack dates and locations even for the most important events. For example, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle devoted 125 poetry lines to Mindaugas's coronation, but failed to mention either the date or the location. Kronika polska, litewska, żmódzka i wszystkiej Rusi, published by Maciej Stryjkowski in 1582, asserts that in 1240 Mindaugas, also known as Mindow, Mendolph, Mendog, and Mindak, ascended to his father's throne in Navahrudak Rus', Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Samogitia . While ruling in Navahrudak and other Rus' castles, he began to eliminate his friends, seduced by

6256-675: The LSSR People's Commissars Council to withdraw the border guards unit, which was sent to fight the Lithuanian partisans , because it was burning not only the enemy's homes and farms, but also those of innocent people. They were also robbing local inhabitants cattle and other property. The Sovietisation of Lithuania began with the strengthening of the supervision of the Communist Party. Officials were sent from Moscow to set up bodies of local governance. They were exclusively Lithuanian, with trustworthy Russian specialists for assistants – it

6392-539: The LSSR included. On 23 August 1987, the Lithuanian Liberty League initiated an unsanctioned meeting in front of the monument to Adomas Mickevičius in Vilnius. At the meeting, the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact was condemned for the first time in public. The meeting and the speeches made at it were widely reported by western radio stations. Also meeting was reported by Central Television and even TV Vilnius . In May 1987,

6528-412: The LSSR, and from other USSR republics. By 1979, more than half of population lived in urban areas. All symbols of the former Republic of Lithuania were removed from public view by 1950, and the country had its history rewritten and its achievements belittled. The veneration of Stalin was spread and the role of Russia and the USSR in the history of Lithuania was highlighted. People were encouraged to join

6664-451: The Lithuanian Cultural Fund was established to engage in environmental activity and the protection of Lithuanian cultural assets. On 3 June 1988, the Lithuanian Reformation Movement (LRM) was founded; its mission was to restore the statehood of Lithuania; LRM supporters formed groups across Lithuania. On 23 August 1988, a meeting took place at Vingis Park in Vilnius, with a turnout of about 250,000 people. On 23 August 1989, marking 50 years of

6800-477: The Lithuanian SSR took place between 1947 and 1952. The 1990 per capita GDP of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was $ 8,591, which was above the average for the rest of the Soviet Union of $ 6,871. This was half or less of the per capita GDPs of adjacent countries Norway ($ 18,470), Sweden ($ 17,680) and Finland ($ 16,868). Overall, in the Eastern Bloc , systems without competition or market-clearing prices became costly and unsustainable, especially with

6936-446: The Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian people to part ways with the USSR. The LSSR de facto ceased to exist on 11 March 1990, with the Reconstituent Seimas declaring Lithuania's independence restored. It took the line that since Lithuania's membership in the USSR was a violation of international law, it was reasserting an independence that still legally existed. Therefore, the Reconstituent Seimas argued that Lithuania did not need to follow

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7072-423: The Lithuanians had been sown".) A 20th-century historian charged him with the "destruction of the organization of the Lithuanian state". The first academic study of his life by a Lithuanian scholar, Jonas Totoraitis ( Die Litauer unter dem König Mindowe bis zum Jahre 1263 ) was not published until 1905. In the 1990s historian Edvardas Gudavičius published his findings pinpointing a coronation date, which became

7208-442: The Lithuanians. The last such loan, increased to $ 148,000, was received in mid 1991. In total, Latvians loaned $ 1.523 million. The principal of the loan, unindexed and without interest, was repaided by independent Lithuania in 2005. After Lithuania declared independence on 11 March 1990, steps had to be taken to consolidate the previously exiled diplomatic service into the new national government. A great contribution in this respect

7344-456: The Livonian Order's crossbow -men in Voruta Castle. The attack failed, and Tautvilas' forces retreated to defend themselves in Tviremet Castle (presumed to be Tverai in Samogitia). Vykintas died in 1251 or 1252, and Tautvilas was forced to rejoin Daniel of Galicia . Mindaugas and his wife Morta were crowned during the summer of 1253. Bishop Henry Heidenreich of Kulm presided over the ecclesiastical ceremonies and Andreas Stirland conferred

7480-406: The Molotov–Ribbentrop pact and aiming to draw the world's attention to the occupation of the Baltic states, the Baltic Way event was staged. Organised by the Lithuanian Reformation Movement, the Baltic Way was a chain of people holding hands that stretched for nearly 600 kilometres (370 mi) to connect the three Baltic capitals of Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn. It was a display of the aspiration of

7616-515: The Mongols occurred in 1258 or 1259, when Berke Khan sent his general Burundai to challenge Lithuanian rule, ordering Daniel and other regional princes to participate. The Novgorod Chronicle describes the following action as a defeat of the Lithuanians, but it has also been seen as a net gain for Mindaugas. A single sentence in the Hypatian Chronicle mentions Mindaugas defending himself in Voruta against his nephews and Duke Vykintas; two other sources mention "his castle". The location of Voruta

7752-437: The Order's construction of Klaipeda Castle . Their governance, however, was seen as oppressive. Local merchants could only conduct transactions via Order-approved intermediaries; inheritance laws were changed; and the choices among marriage partners and residencies were restricted. Several pitched battles ensued. In 1259 the Order lost the Battle of Skuodas , and in 1260 it lost the Battle of Durbe . The first defeat encouraged

7888-407: The Parliament, the Office of the Government, ministries, other governmental institutions or bodies as well as diplomats transferred to international organisations or institutions, European Union institutions or bodies, joint European Commission or Council institutions, joint European Commission and European Union organisations, civil international operations or missions, or foreign institutions on

8024-452: The Republic of Lithuania and Poland signed an agreement on friendly relations and good neighboring cooperation, laying down a foundation for the strategic partnership between the two countries. Lithuania's accession to NATO on 29 March 2004 was an important factor that consolidated the country's independence; the foundations for the accession were laid in Washington on 1 February 1998, when the US , Lithuania , Latvia , and Estonia signed

8160-408: The Republic of Lithuania consists of diplomats working at the Foreign Ministry and foreign diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania under the Foreign Ministry including embassies of the Republic of Lithuania to international organisations, consular establishments, special missions, and negotiation groups; diplomats working at the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania, the Office of

8296-413: The Sapient by the Livonians. While Mindaugas's ten-year reign as king was marked by many state-building accomplishments, his conflicts with relatives and other dukes continued. The western part of Lithuania – Samogitia – strongly resisted the alliance's rule. His gains in the southeast were challenged by the Tatars . He broke peace with the Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity, and

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8432-407: The Soviets. The clergy published chronicles of the Catholic Church of Lithuania, secretly distributed in Lithuania and abroad. The faithful would gather in small groups to teach their children religion, celebrate religious holidays, and use national and religious symbols. The most active repressed figures of the movement were Vincentas Sladkevičius , Sigitas Tamkevičius , and Nijolė Sadūnaitė . In

8568-433: The Soviets. They were forced into the woods and into armed resistance by the Soviet rule. Armed skirmishes with the Red Army were common between 1944 and 1946. From the summer of 1946 a partisan organisational structure was established, with units of 5–15 partisans living in bunkers. Guerrilla warfare with surprise attacks was the preferred tactic. In 1949 the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters under Jonas Žemaitis–Vytautas

8704-429: The US would not recognize the Baltics ' incorporation into the Soviet Union on the basis of the Stimson Doctrine . The US thus allowed Lithuanian diplomats to continue to work on its territory in Washington, D.C. , New York , and Chicago and refused to surrender Lithuania's gold reserves to the Soviets, however it billed from it for the embassies. France and Switzerland never complied with Soviet requests to transfer

8840-408: The USSR and LSSR Ministers of the Interior that due to the violence and mass arrests by the counterintelligence units of SMERSH , many Kaunas inhabitants were forced into crime . Eleven SMERSH subdivisions did not obey any orders, not even those from the NKGB. Chief of the Vilnius Garrison, P. Vetrov, in his order described discipline violations: on 18 August a soldier went fishing with explosives in

8976-491: The USSR and of international law governing the relations of sovereign states . The last session of the government of the Republic of Lithuania was called to discuss the ultimatum, with most members in favour of accepting it. On 15 June, President Antanas Smetona left for the West, expecting to return when the geopolitical situation changed, leaving Prime Minister Antanas Merkys in Lithuania. Before his departure, Smetona transferred most presidential duties to Merkys. Under

9112-433: The USSR offered Lithuania an agreement on the establishment of Soviet military bases in its territory. During the negotiations, the Lithuanian delegation was told of the division of the spheres of influence. The Soviets threatened that if Lithuania refused to host the bases, Vilnius could be annexed to Belarus (at that time the majority of population in Vilnius and Vilnius region were Polish people ). In these circumstances

9248-405: The United States (Federal Reserve), United Kingdom ( Bank of England ), France ( Banque de France ), Sweden ( Sveriges Riksbank ), and Switzerland ( Bank for International Settlements ). Sweden transferred the funds to the Soviet Union. Initially, England froze the reserves and refused to transfer it to either Lithuanian diplomats or the Soviet Union; however, in 1967, the First Wilson ministry used

9384-419: The advantage to Christianity in attracting foreign merchants and military support from the Teutonic Order. As a result, in 1251, he was baptised Catholic. The conversion was purely for political gain with Catholic Europe; Mindaugas was known to continue to sacrifice to his old gods after his "conversion." In order to consolidate his power, Mindaugas married into rival families, defeated some in battle, and exiled

9520-462: The ambassador's title only be bestowed on representatives from major states, the highest diplomatic ranks in Lithuania prior to its occupation were envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary. Before Lithuania lost its independence, it had active missions to Berlin , Buenos Aires , Brussels , London , Moscow , Paris , the Holy See , Rome , Stockholm , Tallinn , Washington , Warsaw , Geneva , Prague . The most important achievements during

9656-410: The authorities put 28,981 persons into livestock cars and dispatched them deep into the USSR. Some people went into hiding and managed to escape the deportations, but then a manhunt began in April. As a result, another two echelons left for the remote regions of the USSR. During March–April 1949, a total of some 32,000 people were deported from Lithuania. By 1952, 10 more operations had been staged, but of

9792-762: The city of Riga , Latvia in 1201. Their efforts in Lithuania were temporarily halted by defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, but armed Christian orders continued to pose a threat. The country had also undergone incursions by the Mongol Empire . A treaty with Galicia–Volhynia , signed in 1219, is usually considered the first conclusive evidence that the Baltic tribes in the area were uniting in response to these threats. The treaty's signatories include twenty Lithuanian dukes and one dowager duchess; it specifies that five of these were elder and thus took precedence over

9928-585: The companies. There is no electricity in Šilutė because an internal combustion engine was blown up. In the same report, the mass rape of Lithuanian women in the Klaipėda and Šilutė regions was reported: Seventy year old women and fourteen-year-old girls are being raped, even in the presence of parents. For example, in November 1944 eleven soldiers raped a Priekulė County resident in the presence of her husband. In Šilutė district, two soldiers, covering her head with

10064-446: The constitution, the prime minister became acting president whenever the president was unable to carry out his duties. Meanwhile, the 8th and 11th armies of the USSR, comprising a total of 15 divisions, crossed the border. Flying squads took over the airports of Kaunas, Radviliškis, and Šiauliai. Regiments of the Red Army disarmed the Lithuanian military, took over its assets, and supported local communists. On 16 June, Merkys announced in

10200-507: The crown. 6 July is now celebrated as Statehood Day (Lithuanian: Valstybės diena ); it is an official holiday in modern Lithuania. The exact date of the coronation is not known; the scholarship of historian Edvardas Gudavičius , who promulgated this precise date, is sometimes challenged. The coronotion ceremony supposedly took place in Navahrudak in the presense of many dignitaries, such as Bishop of Chełmno Heidenreich, Livonian Master Andreas von Stierland and his brothers Andreas, Johannes

10336-730: The cupbearer, Sittherus the steward, and Theoderic of Hassendorp; from the Preaching Brothers (Dominicans), Brother Sinderamus; from the Minor Brothers (Franciscans), Brother Adolfus and his companions, and many others. Relative peace and stability prevailed for about eight years. Mindaugas used this opportunity to concentrate on the expansion to the east, and to establish and organize state institutions. He strengthened his influence in Black Ruthenia , in Polatsk ,

10472-731: The destruction battalions, or istrebitels . On 18–21 February 1946, deportations began in four counties: Alytus, Marijampolė, Lazdijai, and Tauragė. On 12 December 1947 the Central Committee of the Lithuanian Communist Party resolved that actions against supporters of resistance were too weak and that additional measures were in order. A new series of deportations began and 2,782 people were deported in December. In January–February 1948, another 1,134 persons were exiled from every county in Lithuania. By May 1948,

10608-596: The embassy building in Washington, direct financing by the U.S. (Representative Charles F. Dougherty introduced HR 5407 to that effect), loan from the U.S., etc. Eventually, a solution was found when State Department brokered a deal with the Latvian diplomatic service , which was much better off financially. Based on a verbal agreement, made on 30 January 1980 between Anatols Dinbergs and Stasys Antanas Bačkis , Latvians agreed to provide interest-free annual loan of $ 120,000 from investment returns generated on their reserves to

10744-548: The fall of 1944, lists of 'bandits' and 'bandit family' members to be deported appeared. Deportees were marshaled and put on a USSR-bound trains in Kaunas in early May 1945, reaching their destination in Tajikistan in summer. Once there, they employed as forced labour at cotton plantations. In May 1945, a new wave of deportations from every county took place, enforced by battlegroups made of NKVD and NKGB staff and NKVD troops –

10880-839: The first days of the Holocaust in Lithuania ). Škirpa was named prime minister in the Provisional Government of Lithuania ; however, the Germans placed him under house arrest and dissolved the LAF on 5 August 1941. During the German occupation, Lithuania was made part of the Reichskommissariat Ostland . Between July and October 1944, the Red Army entered Lithuania once again, and the second Soviet government began. The first post-war elections took place in

11016-504: The formal procedure of secession from the USSR. Lithuania declared the sovereignty of its territory on 18 May 1989 and declared independence from the Soviet Union on 11 March 1990 under its pre-1940 name, the Republic of Lithuania . Lithuania was the first Baltic state to assert state continuity , and the first Soviet Republic to declare full independence from the Union (though Estonia

11152-496: The gold, and in 1991 returned the original bars with Smetona's stamp to the Re-Established State of Lithuania . The United Kingdom, despite having closed Lithuania's mission to London, allowed envoy Bronius Kazys Balutis to continue to work in the country as well. The Lithuanian diplomatic service managed to preserve representation in key Western states until 1990. After the death of Stasys Lozoraitis in 1983,

11288-409: The government, and allow an unlimited number of Red Army troops to enter the country. The acceptance of the ultimatum would have meant the loss of sovereignty, but Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov declared to diplomat Juozas Urbšys that, whatever the reply may be, "troops will enter Lithuania tomorrow nonetheless". The ultimatum was a violation of every prior agreement between Lithuania and

11424-462: The greed for power. Boguchwala i Godyslawa Paska Chronicle describes Mindaugas (Latin: Mendolphus) as a ruthless king of Prussia, who, in 1260, withdrew from the Christian faith and obliterated Mazovian city Płock and Prussia committing a great slaughter among the Christian people. Other important sources are the papal bulls regarding baptism and coronation of Mindaugas. The Lithuanians did not produce any surviving records themselves, except for

11560-406: The increasing complexity of world economics. Such systems, which required party-state planning at all levels, collapsed under the weight of accumulated economic inefficiencies, with various attempts at reform merely contributing to the acceleration of crisis-generating tendencies. Lithuania accounted for 0.3 percent of the Soviet Union's territory and 1.3 percent of its population, but it generated

11696-578: The lands of Nalšia into the domains of Mindaugas in Lithuania proper , and a raid into those parts of Samogitia that still supported him. Attacked from the north and south and facing the possibility of unrest elsewhere, Mindaugas was placed in an extremely difficult position, but managed to use the conflicts between the Livonian Order and the Archbishop of Riga to further his own interests. He succeeded in bribing Order Master Andreas von Stierland, who

11832-580: The legations appointed by the pre-1940 Baltic states, which functioned in various places through the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service . On 18 May 1989, the Lithuanian SSR declared itself to be a sovereign state , though still part of the USSR. On 11 March 1990, the Republic of Lithuania was re-established as an independent state , the first Soviet Republic to leave Moscow and leading other states to do so. Lithuania considered

11968-423: The next seven years. Stability did not return until the reign of Traidenis , designated Grand Duke c. 1270. Mindaugas held a dubious position in Lithuanian historiography until the Lithuanian national revival of the 19th century. While pagan sympathizers held him in disregard for betraying his religion, Christians saw his support as lukewarm. He received only passing references from Grand Duke Gediminas and

12104-492: The night of 20 October, aviation unit senior M. Kapylov, by taking revenge against 14-year-old Marija Drulaitė who refused to have sexual intercourse, killed her, her mother, uncle Juozas and severely injured a 12-year-old." — Georgiy Vladimirovich Svechnikov, Chief of the Kaunas NKVD . Other regions of the LSSR also suffered heavily. For example, on 26 December 1944, Kaunas' NKGB representative Rodionov wrote to

12240-495: The nobility remained pagan; his subjects were not required to convert. The cathedral he had built in Vilnius was superseded by a pagan temple, and all the diplomatic achievements made after his coronation were lost, although the practice of Christianity and intermarriage were well tolerated. Regional conflicts with the Order escalated. Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod , Tautvilas , and Tautvilas's son Constantine agreed to form

12376-612: The northern front, but the Christian orders continued to make gains along the Baltic coast, founding the city of Klaipėda (Memel). Mindaugas established his residence in Navahrudak and succeededed in becoming master of the so-called Black Ruthenia on the upper Neman and its affluents with the cities of Hrodna , Vawkavysk , and Slonim , and also of the Principality of Polotsk . In about 1239 he appointed his son Vaišvilkas to govern these areas, then known as Black Ruthenia. In 1248, he sent his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas ,

12512-455: The ongoing Lithuanian conflicts with the Christian orders. On 17 July 1251, the pope signed two crucial papal bulls . One ordered the Bishop of Chełmno to crown Mindaugas as King of Lithuania, appoint a bishop for Lithuania, and build a cathedral. The other bull specified that the new bishop was to be directly subordinate to the Holy See , rather than to the Archbishop of Riga. This autonomy

12648-424: The peasants from the surrounding areas would be herded to their properties. Since kolkhozes had to donate a large portion of their produce to the state, the people working there lived in poorer conditions than the rest of the nation. Their pay would often be delayed and made in kind and their movement to cities was restricted. This collectivisation ended in 1953. Lithuania became home to factories and power plants, in

12784-522: The people and the territory of Lithuania in good will and for all time". One year later, on 14 May 1921 a Lithuania–Latvia agreement was signed in Riga . Under the agreement, Lithuania received Palanga while Latvia received Aknīste and agreed to conclude all territorial disputes. On 22 September 1921, Lithuania was accepted to the League of Nations . Other significant diplomatic achievements were as follows:

12920-513: The period of independence for Lithuania were the de jure recognition of Lithuania's statehood. On 12 July 1920, Lithuania signed a Peace Agreement with the Soviet Russia , whereby "Russia recognizes the autonomy and independence of the State of Lithuania with all the legal implication of such recognition with no reservations, and waives all of Russia's rights of sovereignty it has had towards

13056-412: The possibility of bias in this account, since Mindaugas had been at war with Volhynia. Pope Clement IV , on the other hand, wrote in 1268 of "Mindaugas of happy memory" ( clare memorie Mindota ), expressing regret at his murder. In any event, the Lithuanians were not prepared to accept Christianity , and Mindaugas's baptism had little impact on further developments. The majority of the population and

13192-421: The post of the head of the diplomatic service was assumed by Stasys Antanas Bačkis , minister plenipotentiary to Washington, D.C. On 15 November 1987, he surrendered his position of the chief of the mission to Washington to Stasys Lozoraitis Jr. , and returned to Paris. After World War II, the legation was replaced by the embassy as the standard form of diplomatic mission. However, Lithuania could not receive

13328-567: The process of secession because the entire process by which Lithuania joined the Soviet Union violated both Lithuanian and international law. Specifically, it contended that Smetona never resigned, making Merkys' takeover of the presidency illegal and unconstitutional. Therefore, Lithuania argued that all acts leading up to the Soviet takeover were ipso facto null and void, and it was simply reasserting an independence that still existed under international law. The Soviet Union threatened to invade, but

13464-675: The relationship between Lithuanians residing in the host country and Lithuania. Diplomatic missions of the Republic of Lithuania are directly subordinate to the Foreign Ministry. Lithuania has 29 foreign missions, 41 embassies, 8 consulates general, 3 consulates, 1 embassy office, 7 missions to international organisations, and 1 special mission. Mindaugas Mindaugas ( German : Myndowen , Latin : Mindowe , Old East Slavic : Мендог , romanized:  Mendog , Belarusian : Міндоўг , romanized :  Mindowh , Polish : Mendog ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263)

13600-590: The remaining sixteen. Mindaugas, despite his youth, as well as his brother Dausprungas are listed among the elder dukes, implying that they had inherited their titles. The Livonian Rhymed Chronicle describes him as the ruler of all Lithuania in 1236. His path to this title is not clear. Ruthenian chronicles mention that he murdered or expelled several dukes, including his relatives. Historian S.C. Rowell has described his rise to power as taking place through "the familiar processes of marriage, murder and military conquest." In Rowell's interpretation, Mindaugas recognized

13736-602: The reserve in settling mutual claims with the Soviet Union. Swiss bank secrecy laws prevented the transfer of the gold to Lithuanian diplomats. Reserves in France were similarly not available. Thus only the funds held by the Federal Reserve were available: 2,493.61 kilograms (80,171 ozt) of gold reserve and a currency reserve. The funds were made available, but were supervised by the State Department and

13872-568: The rest of his rivals. During the 1230s and 1240s, Mindaugas strengthened and established his power in various Baltic and Slavic lands. Warfare in the region intensified; he battled German forces in Kurland , while the Mongols destroyed Kiev in 1240 and entered Poland in 1241, defeating two Polish armies and burning Kraków . The Lithuanian victory in the Battle of Saule temporarily stabilized

14008-521: The results of the elections were likely falsified. At its first meeting on 21 July, the new People's Seimas declared that the Lithuanian people desired to join the Soviet Union. Accordingly, it unanimously changed Lithuania's official name to the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) and formally petitioned to join the Soviet Union as a constituent republic. Resolutions to start the country's Sovietisation were passed

14144-420: The rights and legitimate interests of the Republic of Lithuania, its citizens, companies, and other legal entities. Diplomats abroad also negotiate with the government of the host country, protect the rights and interests of citizens and companies, legally obtain, collect, and transmit to the FM information, promote friendly cross-border relations, disseminate information about Lithuania, and maintain and strengthen

14280-533: The same day. On 3 August, a Lithuanian delegation of prominent public figures was dispatched to Moscow to sign the document by which Lithuania acceded to the USSR. After the signing, Lithuania was annexed to the USSR. On 25 August 1940, an extraordinary session of the People's Seimas reorganized itself as the provisional Supreme Soviet of the LSSR, ratified the Constitution of the LSSR, which in form and substance

14416-812: The signing of the Klaipėda Convention legalizing the annexation of the region to Lithuania between the Republic of Lithuania and the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris on 8 May 1924, the entry into a concordat with the Vatican on 27 September 1927, and the Lithuania–Germany border agreement of 29 January 1928, which legalized the national border after Lithuanian annexed the Klaipėda region . Furthermore, on 12 September 1934, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia signed

14552-455: The sons of his brother Dausprungas, along with Vykintas , the Duke of Samogitia , to conquer Smolensk , but they were unsuccessful. His attempts to consolidate his rule in Lithuania met with mixed success; in 1249, an internal war erupted when he sought to seize his nephews' and Vykintas' lands. Tautvilas, Edivydas, and Vykintas formed a powerful coalition in opposition to Mindaugas, along with

14688-554: The terms of the 23 August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , and established as a puppet state on 21 July. Between 1941 and 1944, the German invasion of the Soviet Union caused its de facto dissolution. However, with the retreat of the Germans in 1944–1945, Soviet hegemony was re-established and continued for forty-five years. As a result, many Western countries continued to recognize Lithuania as an independent, sovereign de jure state subject to international law, represented by

14824-446: The total number of deportees had risen to 13,304. In May 1948, preparations for very large-scale deportations were being made, with 30,118 staff members from Soviet organisations involved. On 22–23 May 1948, a large-scale deportation operation called Vesna began, leading to 36,932 arrests, a figure that later increased to 40,002. The second major mass deportation, known as Operation Priboi , took place on 25–28 March 1949, during which

14960-475: The winter of 1946 to elect 35 representatives to the LSSR Supreme Council. The results were again likely falsified to show an attendance rate of at over 90% and to establish an absolute victory for Communist Party candidates. The LSSR Supreme Council under Paleckis was formally the supreme governmental authority; in reality, power was in the hands of the first secretary of the Central Committee of

15096-424: The world would receive information about the situation in the LSSR and human rights violations, which caused Moscow to soften the regime. In 1972, young Romas Kalanta immolated himself in Kaunas in a public display of protest against the regime. This was followed by public unrest , demonstrating that a large portion of the population were against the regime. The Catholic Church took an active part in opposing

15232-411: Was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its territory and borders mirrored those of today's Republic of Lithuania , with the exception of minor adjustments to its border with Belarus . During World War II , the previously independent Republic of Lithuania was occupied by the Red Army on 16 June 1940, in conformity with

15368-571: Was Mindovg , which can quite easily and naturally be reconstructed as Mindaugas or Mindaugis . In 1909 the Lithuanian linguist Kazimieras Būga published a research paper supporting the suffix -as , which has since been widely accepted. Mindaugas is an archaic disyllabic Lithuanian name , used before the Christianization of Lithuania , and consists of two components: min and daug . Its etymology may be traced to "daug menąs" (much wisdom) or "daugio minimas" (much fame). Lithuania

15504-472: Was a welcome development. The precise date of Mindaugas's baptism is not known. His wife, two sons, and members of his court were baptized; Pope Innocent wrote later that a multitude of Mindaugas's subjects also received Christianity. The process of coronation and the establishment of Christian institutions would take two years. Internal conflicts persisted; during the spring or summer of 1251, Tautvilas and his remaining allies attacked Mindaugas's warriors and

15640-468: Was also a net donor to the USSR budget. It was calculated in 1995 that the occupation resulted in 80 billion LTL (more than 23 billion euros ) worth of losses, including population, military, and church property losses and economic destruction among other things. Lithuania mostly suffered until 1958 when more than a half of the annual national budgets was sent to the USSR budgets, later this number decreased but still remained high at around 25% of

15776-610: Was appointed prime minister. The Communist Party was legalized again and began publication of its papers and staging meetings to support the new government. Opposition organizations and newspapers were outlawed, and ties abroad cut. On 14–15 July, elections took place for a " People's Seimas ." The only contender was the Union of the Working People of Lithuania , a front for the Communists. Citizens were mandated to vote, and

15912-415: Was assassinated in 1263 by his nephew Treniota and another rival, Duke Daumantas of Pskov . His three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved until Traidenis gained the title of grand duke c. 1270. Although his reputation was unsettled during the following centuries and his descendants were not notable, he gained standing during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mindaugas

16048-493: Was concentrating on the conquest of Ruthenian lands, dispatching a large army to Bryansk . Treniota and Mindaugas began to pursue different priorities. The Rhymed Chronicle mentions Mindaugas's displeasure at the fact that Treniota did not create any alliances in Latvia or Estonia; he may have come to prefer diplomacy. In the midst of these events his wife Morta died, and Mindaugas took her sister as his new wife. The only problem

16184-750: Was conducting its military campaign in Western Europe in May and June 1940, the USSR invaded the Baltic states. On 14 June 1940, an ultimatum was served to Lithuania on the alleged grounds of abduction of Red Army troops. The ultimatum said Lithuania should remove officials that the USSR found unsuitable (the Minister of the Interior and the Head of the Security Department in particular), replace

16320-425: Was founded. Partisan units became smaller still, consisting of 3 to 5 partisans. Open fighting was a rarity, with sabotage and terrorism preferred. Despite guerrilla warfare failing to achieve its objectives and claiming the lives of more than 20,000 fighters, it demonstrated to the world that Lithuania's joining the USSR had not been a voluntary act and highlighted the desire of many Lithuanians to be independent. In

16456-542: Was installed in 1993 and a metal sculpture of Mindaugas in 2014. Mindaugas is the primary subject of the 1829 drama Mindowe , by Juliusz Słowacki , one of the Three Bards . He has been portrayed in several 20th-century literary works: the Latvian author Mārtiņš Zīverts ' tragedy Vara (Power, 1944), Justinas Marcinkevičius ' drama-poem Mindaugas (1968), Romualdas Granauskas ' Jaučio aukojimas (The Offering of

16592-523: Was made by surviving diplomats in the US, Vatican, Canada, Venezuela, whom Lithuania still recognized. Shortly, on 17 June, the Foreign Ministry was reinstated, with Algirdas Saudargas appointed its first head. On 11 February 1991, Lithuania's independence was recognized by Iceland, and on 17 September 1991, the country was accepted to the United Nations . One of the first critical diplomatic achievements

16728-420: Was made with Latvia , granting this country a loan in exchange for the right of Lithuania to use the port of Liepāja for transportation of goods and services. At the time, the FM was developing its system of diplomatic orders and ranks in accordance with customs of global diplomacy. On 22 May 1920, the following FM functions were established: minister, vice-minister, advisers on church and consular matters, and

16864-607: Was not mentioned at all by Vytautas the Great . His known family relations end with his children; no historic records note any connections between his descendants and the Gediminids dynasty that ruled Lithuania and Poland until 1572. A 17th-century rector of Vilnius University held him responsible for the troubles then being experienced by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ("the seed of internal discord among

17000-665: Was recorded in various distorted forms: Mindowe, Mendog, Mindog, Mendolphus in Latin ; Mindouwe, Myndow, Myndawe, and Mindaw in German; Mendog, Mondog, Mendoch, and Mindovg in Polish ; and Mindovg, Mindog, and Mindowh in Old Church Slavonic , among others. Since Old Church Slavonic sources provide the most information about Mindaugas's life, they were judged the most reliable by linguists reconstructing his original Lithuanian name. The most popular Old Church Slavonic rendition

17136-402: Was ruled during the early 13th century by a number of dukes and princes presiding over various fiefdoms and tribes. They were loosely bonded by commonalities of religion and tradition, trade, kinship, joint military campaigns, and the presence of captured prisoners from neighboring areas. Western merchants and missionaries began seeking control of the area during the 12th century, establishing

17272-536: Was similar to the 1936 Constitution of the Soviet Union . On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the USSR and occupied all of Lithuania within a month. The Lithuanian Activist Front (LAF), a resistance organisation founded in Berlin and led by Kazys Škirpa whose goal was to liberate Lithuania and re-establish its independence, cooperated with the Nazis. The LAF was responsible for killing many Lithuanian Jews (during

17408-427: Was sold in 1950 and 1955 and conservatively invested into Treasury bills and diversified industrial shares. The annual budget of the diplomatic service was approximately $ 100,000. Therefore, the funds lasted until 1980. Once the funds were exhausted, Lithuanian diplomats and American officials considered various solutions: donations by the Lithuanian community, consolidation or closure of Lithuanian consulates, sale of

17544-410: Was still angry at Vykintas for the defeat at the Battle of Saule in 1236, by sending him "many gifts". In 1250 or 1251, Mindaugas agreed to receive baptism and relinquish control over some lands in western Lithuania, in return for an acknowledgment by Pope Innocent IV as king. The Pope welcomed a Christian Lithuania as a bulwark against Mongol threats; in turn, Mindaugas sought papal intervention in

17680-455: Was tenuous. There has been much discussion among historians as to whether in later years (1255–1261) Mindaugas gave even more lands to the order. The deeds might have been falsified by the order; the case for this scenario is bolstered by the fact that some of the documents mention lands that were not actually under the control of Mindaugas and by various irregularities in treaty witnesses and seals. Mindaugas and his antagonist Daniel reached

17816-572: Was that the sister was already married to Daumantas . In retaliation, Daumantas and Treniota assassinated Mindaugas and two of his sons in fall 1263. According to a late medieval tradition, the assassination took place in Aglona . He was buried along with his horses, in accordance with ancestral tradition. After Mindaugas's death, Lithuania lapsed into internal disorder. Three of his successors – Treniota, his son-in-law Svarn, and his son Vaišvilkas – were assassinated during

17952-574: Was the agreement with the Russia Federation laying down the grounds for cross-border relations that was signed on 29 July 1991. Both states undertook to fairly comply with the generally recognized principles and norms of international law in their relationship. The signing of this agreement was followed by yet another achievement: the full withdrawal of the Soviet Armed Forces from Lithuania by 31 August 1993. On 26 April 1994,

18088-618: Was the first Soviet Republic to assert its national sovereignty and the supremacy of its national laws over the laws of the Soviet Union). All of the Soviet Union's claims on Lithuania were repudiated as Lithuania declared the restitution of its independence . The Soviet Union claimed that this declaration was illegal, as Lithuania had to follow the process of secession mandated in the Soviet Constitution if it wanted to leave. Lithuania contended that it did not need to follow

18224-521: Was the first known grand duke of Lithuania and the only crowned king of Lithuania . Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, and in 1236 as the leader of all the Lithuanians . The contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast of Lithuania proper during

18360-527: Was the only king of Lithuania; while most of the Lithuanian grand dukes from Jogaila onward also reigned as kings of Poland , the titles remained separate. Now generally considered the founder of the Lithuanian state, he is also now credited with stopping the advance of the Tatars towards the Baltic Sea, establishing international recognition of Lithuania, and turning it towards Western civilization. In

18496-457: Was these who were in effective control. By the spring of 1945, 6,100 Russian-speaking workers had been sent to Lithuania. When the Soviets reoccupied the territory, Lithuanians were deprived of all property except personal belongings. This was followed by collectivisation , which started in 1947, with people being forced to join kolkhozes . Well-off farmers would be exiled, and the livestock of

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