Lithuania

The Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva; full - Lietuvos Respublika) is a republic in northeastern Europe. One of the three Baltic States along the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland to the south, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the southwest.

History

Main article: History of Lithuania

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First mentioned in a medieval German manuscript, the Quedlinburg Chronicle, on February 14 1009, Lithuania became a significant state in the Middle Ages. The official crowning of Mindaugas as King of Lithuania in Voruta on July 6 1253 marked Lithuania's birth, as warring dukes united to support his reign. Later, during Gediminas' conquests, the nation grew into the independent, multi-ethnic Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which joined the lands of modern Belarus and Ukraine. By the 15th century, the Grand Duchy stretched across Eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Related Topics:
Medieval - Quedlinburg - February 14 - 1009 - Middle Ages - Mindaugas - Voruta - July 6 - 1253 - Duke - Gediminas' - Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Belarus - Ukraine - 15th century - Grand Duchy - Eastern Europe - Baltic - Black Sea

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When Grand Duke Jogaila was crowned King of Poland on February 2, 1386, Lithuania and Poland became unified under one monarch. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania formally merged into a single state called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This union remained in place until the adoption of the May Constitution of 1791, which abolished all subdivisions of the states and merged them into the Kingdom of Poland. In 1795, this new state was soon dissolved by the third Partition of Poland, which ceded its lands to Russia, Prussia and Austria.

Related Topics:
Grand Duke - Jogaila - King of Poland - February 2 - 1386 - Poland - Unified - 1569 - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - May Constitution - 1791 - Kingdom of Poland - 1795 - Partition of Poland - Russia - Prussia - Austria

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On February 16, 1918, Lithuania re-established its independence in severely limited territories that had been designated Lithuanian, with non-Lithuanian areas of the Grand Duchy that had fallen to the Soviet Union remaining under Soviet control. From the outset, territorial disputes with Poland (over the Vilnius region and the Suvalkai region) and Germany (over the Klaip?da region, German: Memelland) plagued the new nation. During the interwar period, the constitutional capital of Lithuania was Vilnius, although the city itself was then under Polish control (see History of Vilnius for more details). The Lithuanian government at the time was seated in Kaunas, which officially held the status of temporary capital.

Related Topics:
February 16 - 1918 - Soviet Union - Vilnius region - Suvalkai region - Germany - Klaip?da region - Vilnius - History of Vilnius - Kaunas - Temporary capital

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In 1940, at the height of World War II, the Soviet Union annexed Lithuania in accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It later came under German occupation, during which time 90% of Lithuanian Jews were killed, one of the worst death rates of the Holocaust. Ultimately Lithuania fell again to the Soviet Union in 1945.

Related Topics:
1940 - World War II - Soviet Union - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - German - Lithuanian Jews - Holocaust - 1945

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Fifty years of communist rule ended with the advent of glasnost, and Lithuania, led by S?j?dis, an anti-communist and anti-Soviet independence movement, proclaimed its renewed independence on March 11, 1990. Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to do so, though Soviet forces unsuccessfully tried until August 1991 to suppress this secession, including an incident at Vilnius' TV Tower in January 1991 that resulted in the death of several Lithuanian civilians. The last Russian troops left Lithuania on August 31, 1993 ? even earlier than those in East Germany.

Related Topics:
Glasnost - S?j?dis - March 11 - 1990 - 1991 - Incident at Vilnius' TV Tower - August 31 - 1993 - East Germany

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On February 4, 1991, Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuanian independence, and Sweden the first to open an embassy in the country. The United States of America never recognized the Soviet claim to Lithuania or the other two Baltic republics.

Related Topics:
February 4 - Iceland - Sweden - United States of America

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Lithuania joined the United Nations on September 17, 1991. On May 31, 2001, Lithuania became the 141st member of the World Trade Organization. Since 1988, Lithuania has sought closer ties with the West, and so on January 4, 1994, it became the first of the Baltic States to apply for NATO membership. On November 21, 2002, NATO invited Lithuania to start membership negotiations, and on March 29, 2004, it became a full and equal NATO member. On February 1, 1998, it became an Associate Member of the EU, and on April 16, 2003, it signed the EU Accession Treaty. 91% of Lithuanians backed EU membership in a referendum held on May 11, 2003 and on May 1, 2004, Lithuania joined the European Union.

Related Topics:
United Nations - September 17 - May 31 - 2001 - World Trade Organization - 1988 - January 4 - 1994 - Baltic States - NATO - November 21 - 2002 - March 29 - 2004 - February 1 - 1998 - EU - April 16 - 2003 - May 11 - May 1 - European Union

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