LITHUANIA

officially Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Lietuva, or Lietuvos Respublika country of northeastern Europe. Lithuania is bounded on the north by Latvia, on the east and south by Belarus, and on the southwest by Russia's Kaliningrad oblast (province) and by Poland. It is bounded on the west by the Baltic Sea. The capital is Vilnius. Area 25,213 square miles (65,301 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 3,798,000. officially Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Lietuva, or Lietuvos Respublika country of northeastern Europe, the southernmost and largest of the three Baltic states. It is bounded on the north by Latvia, on the east and south by Belarus, on the southwest by an exclave of Russia and by Poland, and on the west by the Baltic Sea. The capital is Vilnius. The area is 25,213 square miles (65,301 square kilometres). For a time during the Middle Ages, Lithuania was a large and powerful kingdom. For much of its history, however, it has been more narrowly bounded and has been dominated by foreign powers, the most prominent being the Russian Empire and the U.S.S.R. After a brief period of independence from 1918 until 1940, Lithuania was incorporated into the U.S.S.R. as one of its constituent republics. On March 11, 1990, the republic declared its independence, by a unanimous vote of the newly elected parliament. A period of intense political, economic, and military pressure by central Soviet authorities ensued in an attempt to force the nation to suspend or retract its declaration. Military maneuvers, seizure of public institutions by the armed forces, disruption of the supply of oil, natural gas, industrial raw materials, and food products eventually resulted in a compromise. On June 29, 1990, the Lithuanian parliament, while not renouncing the declaration of independence, agreed to a 100-day moratorium. The economic blockade was lifted by Soviet authorities. In early January 1991 Soviet military forces occupied the Lithuanian television broadcast centre and several other government buildings in Vilnius. Civilian casualties occurred. This served only to heighten resolve within Lithuania and throughout the Baltic region and at the same time to attract international support for the right of Lithuania and other Soviet republics to seek political independence. Following the abortive attempt by Communist Party conservatives in the U.S.S.R. to overthrow the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Lithuanian independence was acknowledged by the new Soviet parliament on Sept. 6, 1991. Additional reading Simas Suziedelis (ed.), Encyclopedia Lituanica, 6 vol. (19701978), is a comprehensive work, published in the West with many of the articles written in Lithuanian and translated. The following titles were published in the U.S.S.R. and present the Soviet point of view: Jonas Zinkus (ed.), Lithuania: An Encyclopedic Survey, trans. from Lithuanian (1986), not easy to use as it has no index, but readable and informative; Bronius Akstinas, Glimpses of Lithuania, 2nd ed., trans. from Lithuanian (1978), a descriptive work; and Vilius Baltrenas (compiler), In the Eyes of Foreign Guests: Meetings with Soviet Lithuania, trans. from Lithuanian (1983). Histories of the Lithuanian church contribute significantly to a characterization of the people. See Antanas Musteikis, The Reformation in Lithuania: Religious Fluctuations in the Sixteenth Century (1988); and, for modern times, Michael Bourdeaux, Land of Crosses: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in Lithuania, 193978 (1979). See also Kestutis K. Girnius, Nationalism and the Catholic Church in Lithuania, in Pedro Ramet (ed.), Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twentieth Century (1988), pp. 82103.A broad historical survey is offered in Albertas Gerutis (ed.), Lithuania 700 Years, 6th ed. (1984). More specialized histories include Leonas Sabaliunas, Lithuanian Social Democracy in Perspective, 18931914 (1990); Alfred Erich Senn, The Great Powers, Lithuania, and the Vilna Question, 19201928 (1966), focusing on foreign relations; and Robertas Ziugza, Lithuania and Western Powers, 19171940 (1987; originally published in Lithuanian, 1983). Robert A. Vitas, The United States and Lithuania: The Stimson Doctrine of Nonrecognition (1990), examines the diplomatic history of the 1940s; and Bronis J. Kaslas (ed.), The USSR-German Aggression Against Lithuania (1973), illustrates the period through documents. K.V. Tauras, Guerilla Warfare on the Amber Coast (1962), discusses underground movements in the 1940s; V. Stanley Vardys (ed.), Lithuania Under the Soviets: Portrait of a Nation, 194065 (1965), analyzes postwar developments; and Thomas Remeikis, Opposition to Soviet Rule in Lithuania, 19451980 (1980), carries the history into the late 20th century. Analysis of the popular uprising in 1988 is presented in Alfred Erich Senn, Lithuania Awakening (1990). Current events are discussed in Lituanus (quarterly). James H. Bater Romuald J. Misiunas Administration and social conditions Government The Republic of Lithuania, formerly the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, is administered by a president and a legislature dedicated to democratic principles. Before independence Lithuania had been, since 1940, a constituent republic of the U.S.S.R. During the Soviet period the Lithuanian Communist Party was largely in control of the republic's political and social institutions. It was until 1988 the only political organization of the republic. Its members and candidates for membership were supported by the activities of the Komsomol youth movement. In 1989, however, the legislature changed the provision of the constitution that gave only the Communist Party legality to one that provided for a multiparty system. The Lithuanian Communist Party began to lose power in spite of the fact that it voted to disassociate itself from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In August 1991 the Lithuanian legislature voted to remove legal rights from the party and to seize its property. The political landscape in the early 1990s was complex. Factionalism was predominant, and coalition government was expected to continue for some time. The principal political parties after independence were Sajudis, the Nationalist Union, and the Democratic Labour Party, which broke away from the Communist Party of Lithuania. The role of national minorities, especially the Poles, further complicated the political arena. Education A new national educational system was introduced in 1990. Primary and secondary education is available without charge; education usually begins at the age of 6. Institutions of higher learning include Vilnius University (founded c. 1579), Vytautas Magnus University (founded 1922; reopened 1989) in Kaunas, and Vilnius Technical University (founded 1969). The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1941. Cultural life In Lithuania there is a high level of public interest in various forms of cultural life, exhibited in public libraries, museums, amateur cultural centres, theatres, and cinemas. During the Soviet period the works of contemporary Lithuanian writers, poets, and playwrights evolved in a milieu that blended a very old cultural tradition with new social factors. In spite of such modern influences as television and radio, Lithuanian folklore continues to hand down a rich and original heritage from generation to generation. Lithuanian songs and a remarkable collection of fairy tales, legends, proverbs, and aphorisms have their roots deep in a language and culture that are among the oldest in Europe. Lithuanian folk art is mainly embodied in ceramics, leatherwork, wood carving, and textiles; its colouring (which tends to avoid gaudiness) and its original geometric or floral patterns are characteristic features. The Vilnius drawing school, founded in 1866, has had a strong influence on the nation's fine-arts traditions, and the composer and painter Mikalojus Ciurlionis (d. 1911) also had a considerable influence on contemporary forms. During the Soviet period, a realistic note was introduced into sculpture and painting, and Lithuanian drawing, noted for the use of natural colour and a highly refined technique, has won international acclaim. Architecture has been affected by a rich heritage in monuments and old buildings and by styles, ranging from the Gothic to the Neoclassical, that have acquired a distinctive local character. Music, too, has a strong tradition in the country, a special feature being the dances and singing festivals held in the towns and villages every summer. There are radio broadcasts in Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, and English; television is broadcast in Lithuanian, Russian, and Polish. Kazimieras Mekauskas James H. Bater