Even a brief history of Lithuania is a fascinating and rich narrative. The B altic country existed in various guises. It was a confederation of pagan tribes, a powerful Grand Duchy that included a significant part of the Russian lands, a member of the union with Poland, a province of the Russian Empire and a union republic in the USSR. All this long and thorny path led to the emergence of the modern Lithuanian state.
Antiquity
Primitive history of Lithuania began in the tenth millennium BC. e. Around this time, the earliest human settlements appeared on its territory. The inhabitants of the Neman Valley were engaged in fishing and hunting.
In the second millennium BC. e. between the Western Dvina and the Vistula, the cultures of the ancestors of the B altic tribes began to take shape. They had the first bronze items. Around the 6th century BC. e. iron tools spread among the B alts. Thanks to new tools (such as improved axes), deforestation has accelerated and agriculture has developed.
The immediate predecessors of the Lithuanians were Aukshtaits and Zhmuds, who lived next to the Prussians and Yatvags. These tribes had a prominent feature. Both of them buried horses together with people, which spoke of the fundamental rolethese animals in the then B altic farm.
On the eve of the appearance of the state
Besides the other B altic tribes, the Lithuanians also coexisted with the Slavs, with whom they fought and traded. The inhabitants of the Neman and Viliya valleys lived not only by hunting, fishing and farming. They were engaged in beekeeping and extracted wax. These pagans sold the goods of their lands in exchange for scarce metal and weapons.
The history of Lithuania then was like the history of any other nation with tribal relations. Gradually, the power of the princes (kunigas) took shape. There were also Vaidelot priests. On holidays, Lithuanians made animal (and sometimes human) sacrifices to their gods.
Unification of Lithuania
The B altic tribes needed political self-organization in the 12th century, when the first German crusaders began to appear on the border of their country. Christian orders began military expansion, aiming to baptize pagans. Due to the danger posed by outsiders, the history of Lithuania has entered a new phase.
According to the charter signed by the Galician-Volyn prince with his B altic neighbors at the beginning of the 13th century, their lands were divided among 21 princes. Soon, Mindovg, who ruled in 1238-1263, stood out among them. He was the first to succeed in completely uniting Lithuania under his sole rule.
Mindovg was surrounded by enemies. When the war broke out between him and the Livonian Order, the pagan prince decided to convert to Christianity. In 1251 he was baptized. This allowed Mindovgenlist the support of the Pope in the war with another enemy - Daniel of Galicia. As a result, the Lithuanians defeated the Slavs. Shortly before his death, Mindovg renounced Christianity, which he regarded as a diplomatic maneuver, and entered into an alliance with Alexander Nevsky directed against the Germans. In 1263, Mindovg was killed by his tribesmen Dovmont and Troynat.
Grand Duchy
Medieval history of Lithuania continued in line with the orientation to the east. The B altic princes entered into dynastic marriages with the Rurikovichs and were under Slavic influence. At the end of the 13th century, the territorial growth of Lithuania began. It was joined (often voluntarily) by Russian specific principalities, which, not wanting to pay tribute to the Mongols, united with their neighbors.
In 1385, the ruler of Lithuania, Jagiello, concluded a personal union with Poland and, thanks to this, was elected the Polish king. He then baptized his country according to the Catholic rite, although the Russian majority continued to practice Orthodoxy. In 1392, Jagiello made Vytautas his governor in Lithuania. Despite his status, in fact, this prince remained independent. Under him, the early history of Lithuania ended - the country reached the pinnacle of its power.
In 1410, Vitovt, together with Jagiello, defeated the Teutonic Order in the Battle of Grunwald, after which the knights no longer threatened the independence of the Grand Duchy. In the east, Smolensk was annexed to Lithuania, and in the south, its territory not only included Kyiv, but also extended to the Black Sea.sea.
Union with Poland
After the death of Vytautas in 1430, Lithuania gradually came under increasing Polish influence. Both countries were ruled by monarchs from the Jagiellonian dynasty. The importance of Catholicism increased. Around this time, the famous Hill of Crosses appeared in Lithuania. The history of the emergence of one of the most important attractions of the country is not known for certain. However, Lithuanians have been visiting this place for many centuries and erecting their own crosses there. According to popular belief, they bring good luck.
In 1569, the Union of Lublin was concluded between Poland and Lithuania, which marked the beginning of the Commonwe alth. It differed from the one accepted by Jagiello. Since then, the two countries were ruled by one monarch, who was chosen by the aristocracy (gentry). At the same time, both Poland and Lithuania had their own armies and systems of law.
Part of the Russian Empire
Like any other country in Europe, the history of Lithuania is rich in both ups and downs. In the 17th century, after a period of stability, the Commonwe alth began a process of gradual decline. More and more regions fell away from the country. A significant part of Ukraine was lost. The dual monarchy was under pressure from two neighboring powers - Sweden and Russia. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Commonwe alth concluded an alliance with Peter I against the northern Scandinavian kingdom, which saved it from inevitable territorial losses.
Since then, both Poland and Lithuania have been in the Russian sphere of influence. At the end of XVIIIcenturies, the Commonwe alth was divided between large neighbors. Its lands went to Prussia, Austria and Russia (the latter including Lithuania). The loss of independence did not suit the inhabitants of the Commonwe alth. Several national Polish-Lithuanian uprisings took place in the 19th century. One of them fell on the Patriotic War of 1812. Nevertheless, Russia retained its Western acquisitions, which included Lithuania. The history of the country for many years turned out to be firmly connected with the Romanov Empire.
Restoring independence
With the advent of World War I, Lithuania found itself at the forefront of the battles between Germany and Russia. German troops occupied the B altic country in 1915. In 1918, when two revolutions had already taken place in Russia, a provisional national government, Tariba, was established in Lithuania. For several months it declared the country a monarchy. Wilhelm von Urach was proclaimed king. However, soon the country nevertheless became a republic.
The history of Lithuania in the 20th century has changed a lot because of Soviet Russia. The Red Army occupied the territory of the B altic state in November 1918. The Bolsheviks took control of Vilnius. The Lithuanian Soviet Republic was created, which was merged with the Belarusian one. But due to the difficult situation on other fronts of the civil war, the Red Army was unable to hold out in the B altic. Lithuania was liberated by supporters of national independence. In 1920, the country signed a peace treaty with the RSFSR.
Interbellum
Now that there's a new oneindependent Lithuania, the history of the state could go in a variety of ways. The country was in a difficult position. Vilnius remained under the control of neighboring Poland. Because of this, Kaunas was declared the capital (and temporary). The international community recognized the independence of Lithuania according to the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1926, the B altic country was shaken by a military coup. The nationalist Antanas Smyatona came to power and established an authoritarian regime. In order to strengthen external security, Lithuania and its neighbors (Latvia and Estonia) formed an alliance of the B altic Entente. These measures did not protect small states from aggression. In 1939, Nazi Germany issued an ultimatum to Lithuania, according to which it handed over the disputed Klaipeda to the Third Reich.
World War II
On the eve of the Second World War, the USSR and Nazi Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, according to which the B altic states fell into the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. While the Germans were conquering Western Europe, the Kremlin organized the annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1940, all three countries were presented with a harsh ultimatum: let Soviet troops into their territory and accept communist power.
Thus, the history of Lithuania, the summary of which is extremely dramatic, again turned out to be connected with Russia. Smetona emigrated, and any political organizations were banned in the country. In the summer of 1940, the formation of the Lithuanian SSR ended and it was included in the USSR. Opponents of the Soviet regime were subjected to repressions and deportations to Siberia. In 1941-1944. Lithuania, as during the Firstworld war, was under German occupation.
Lithuanian SSR
After World War II, the status quo was never restored. Lithuania remained part of the USSR. This republic was the only one in the Soviet Union with a predominantly Catholic population. Russification and pressure on the church did not please many Lithuanians. An outbreak of discontent took place in 1972, when the dissident Romas Kalant set himself on fire in Kaunas.
Nevertheless, Lithuania was able to restore its sovereignty only after the perestroika that began under Gorbachev. In 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic adopted an act on the independence of the country. In response to this, supporters of the Soviet government created the National Salvation Committee. At his request, Soviet troops entered Lithuania. During clashes in Vilnius in January 1991, 15 people were killed. Today, the victims of that confrontation are considered Lithuanian national heroes.
Modernity
Moscow recognized the independence of Lithuania after the August coup. The B altic state immediately reoriented itself to the West. In 2004, Lithuania became a member of the European Union and NATO, and in 2015 it began using the euro currency.
The modern B altic state is a republic. The chief executive, the president, is elected for a term of five years. Today this position is held by Dalia Grybauskaite. The Parliament of Lithuania is called the Seimas. It has 141 deputies. Parliamentarians are elected under a mixed system.
