Everything about Lithuania totally explained
Lithuania, officially the
Republic of Lithuania is a
country variously defined as being part of
Eastern or Northern
Europe. Situated along the south-eastern shore of the
Baltic Sea, sharing borders with
Latvia to the north,
Belarus to the southeast,
Poland, and the
Russian
exclave of the
Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest. Lithuania is a member of
NATO and of the
European Union. Its population is 3.4 million. The largest city and
capital is
Vilnius.
During the 1300s, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe, as present-day
Belarus,
Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the
Lublin Union of
1569 Poland and Lithuania formed a new state: the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which
was finally destroyed by its neighboring countries in
1795. Most of Lithuania's territory was annexed by the
Russian Empire, until the
Act of Independence was signed on
February 16,
1918, which declared re-establishment of a sovereign state. Between 1940 and 1945 Lithuania was occupied by several powers —
Soviet Union,
Nazi Germany. When
World War II was near its end in
1944 and the Nazis retreated, Lithuania would again be merged into the Soviet Union. On
March 11,
1990, Lithuania became the first
Soviet republic to
declare its renewed independence.
Present-day Lithuania has one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. Lithuania became a full member of the
Schengen Agreement on
21 December 2007. In 2009 Lithuania will celebrate the millennium of its name.
History
The
first mention of Lithuania is found in a medieval German manuscript, the
Quedlinburg Chronicle, on
14 February,
1009. The Lithuanian lands were united by
Mindaugas in 1236, and neighbouring countries referred to it as "the state of Lithuania". The official coronation of Mindaugas as
King of Lithuania was on
July 6,
1253, and the official recognition of Lithuanian statehood as the
Kingdom of Lithuania.
During the early period of the
Gediminas (1316–1430), the state occupied the territories of present-day
Belarus,
Ukraine, and parts of
Poland and
Russia. By the end of the
fourteenth century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe, and was also the only remaining pagan state. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania stretched across a substantial part of Europe, from the
Baltic to the
Black Sea.
Lithuanian nobility, city dwellers and peasants
accepted Christianity in 1386, following Poland's offer of its crown to
Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Grand Duke Jogaila was crowned King of Poland on
February 2,
1386. Lithuania and Poland were joined into a
personal union, as both countries were ruled by the same
Gediminas branch, the
Jagiellon dynasty.
In 1401, the formal union was dissolved as a result of disputes over legal terminology, and
Vytautas, the cousin of
Jogaila, became the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Thanks to close cooperation, the armies of Poland and Lithuania achieved a great victory over the
Teutonic Knights in 1410 at the
Battle of Grunwald, the largest battle in medieval Europe.
A royal crown had been bestowed upon
Vytautas in 1429 by
Sigismund, the Holy Roman Emperor, but Polish magnates prevented his coronation by seizing the crown as it was being brought to him. A new crown was ordered from Germany and another date set for the coronation, but a month later Vytautas died as the result of an accident.
As a result of the growing centralised power of the Grand Principality of Moscow, in 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single state called the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. As a member of the Commonwealth, Lithuania retained its institutions, including a separate army, currency and statutory law which was digested in three
Statutes of Lithuania. In 1795, the joint state was dissolved by the third
Partition of the Commonwealth, which forfeited its lands to
Russia,
Prussia and
Austria, under duress. Over ninety percent of Lithuania was incorporated into the Russian Empire and the remainder into Prussia.
Many Jews fled Lithuania following persecution and followed opportunities that lay overseas.
After a century of occupation, Lithuania re-established its
independence on
February 16,
1918. The official government from July through November 1918, was quickly replaced by a
republican government. From the outset, the newly-independent Lithuania's foreign policy was dominated by territorial disputes with Poland (over the
Vilnius region and the
Suvalkai region) and with
Germany (over the
Klaipėda region or
Memelland). Most obviously, the Lithuanian constitution designated Vilnius as the nation's capital, even though the city itself lay within Polish territory as a result of a Polish invasion. At the time, Poles and Jews made up a majority of the population of Vilnius, with a small Lithuanian minority of only 1%. In 1920 the capital was relocated to
Kaunas, which was officially designated the
provisional capital of Lithuania. (see
History of Vilnius for more details).
In June 1940, around the beginning of
World War II, the Soviet Union
occupied and
annexed Lithuania in accordance with the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. A year later it came under German occupation. After the retreat of the German armed forces (
Wehrmacht), Lithuania was re-occupied by the
Soviet Union in 1944.
From 1944–1952 approximately 100,000 Lithuanians participated in partisan fights against the Soviet system and the
Red Army. More than twenty thousand partisans ("
forest brothers") were killed in those battles and many more were arrested and deported to
Siberian
GULAGs. Lithuanian historians view this period as a war of independence against the Soviet Union.
During the Soviet and
Nazi occupations between 1940 and 1944, Lithuania lost over 780,000 residents. Among them were around 190,000 (91% of pre-WWII community) of
Lithuanian Jews, one of the highest total mortality rates of the
Holocaust. An estimated 120,000 to 300,000 were killed by
Soviets or
exiled to
Siberia, while others had been sent to German forced labour camps and/or chose to emigrate to western countries.
Forty-six years of Soviet occupation ended with the advent of
perestroika and
glasnost in the late 1980s. Lithuania, led by
Sąjūdis, 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 to suppress this secession. The Red Army attacked the
Vilnius TV Tower on the night of
January 13,
1991, an act that resulted in the
death of 13 Lithuanian civilians. The last
Red Army troops left Lithuania on
August 31,
1993 — even earlier than they departed from
East Germany.
On
February 4,
1991,
Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuanian independence.
Sweden was the first to open an embassy in the country. The
United States of America never recognized the Soviet claim to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Russia currently refuses to recognize the occupation of Lithuania, claiming that Lithuanians decided to join the
Soviet Union voluntarily, although Russia signed a treaty with Lithuania prior to the disintegration of the USSR which acknowledged Lithuania's forced loss of sovereignty at the hands of the Soviets, thereby recognizing the occupation.
Lithuania joined the
United Nations on
September 17,
1991 and on
May 31,
2001 it 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
March 29,
2004, it became a NATO member, and on
May 1,
2004, Lithuania joined the European Union.
Politics
Since Lithuania declared independence on
March 11 1990, it has maintained strong democratic traditions. In the first general elections after the independence on
October 25 1992, 56.75% of the total number of voters supported the
new constitution. There were heavy debates concerning the constitution, especially the role of the president. Drawing from the interwar experiences, many different proposals were made ranging from a strong
parliamentary government to a
presidential system similar to the one in the
United States. A
separate referendum was held on
May 23 1992 to gauge public opinion on the matter and 41% of all the eligible voters supported the restoration of the
President of Lithuania.
The Lithuanian
head of state is the President, elected directly for a five-year term, serving a maximum of two consecutive terms. The post of president is largely ceremonial; main policy functions however include foreign affairs and national security policy. The president is also the military
commander-in-chief. The President, with the approval of the parliamentary body, the
Seimas, also appoints the
prime minister and on the latter's nomination, appoints the rest of the
cabinet, as well as a number of other top
civil servants and the judges for all courts. The judges of the
Constitutional Court (
Konstitucinis Teismas), who serve nine-year terms, are appointed by the President (three judges), the Chairman of the Seimas (three judges) and the Chairman of the Supreme Court (three judges). The
unicameral Lithuanian
parliament, the
Seimas, has 141 members who are elected to four-year terms. 71 of the members of this
legislative body are elected in single constituencies, and the other 70 are elected in a nationwide vote by
proportional representation. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be represented in the Seimas.
Counties, municipalities, and elderates
The current administrative division was established in 1994 and modified in 2000 to meet the requirements of the European Union. Lithuania has a three-tier administrative division: the country is divided into
10 counties (Lithuanian: singular —
apskritis, plural —
apskritys) that are further subdivided into
60 municipalities (Lithuanian: singular —
savivaldybė, plural —
savivaldybės) which consist of over 500
elderates (Lithuanian: singular —
seniūnija, plural —
seniūnijos).
The counties are ruled by
county governors (Lithuanian:
apskrities viršininkas) appointed by the central government. They ensure that the municipalities adhere to the laws of Lithuania and the constitution. County government oversees local governments and their implementation of the national laws, programs, and policies.
Municipalities are the most important unit. Some municipalities are historically called "district municipalities", and thus are often shortened to "district"; others are called "city municipalities", sometimes shortened to "city." Each municipality has its own elected government. In the past, the election of municipality councils occurred once every three years, but it now takes place every four years. The council elects the
mayor of the municipality and other required personnel. The municipality councils also appoint
elders to govern the elderates. There is currently a proposal for
direct election of mayors and elders, however that would require an amendment to the constitution.
Elderates are the smallest units and they don't play a role in national politics. They were created so that people could receive necessary services close to their homes; for example, in rural areas the elderates register births and deaths. They are most active in the social sector: they identify needy individuals or families and distribute welfare or organise other forms of relief.
The current system of administrative division receives frequent criticism for being too bureaucratic and ineffective. Significant complaints have been made about the number of counties, since they don't have much power. One proposal is to create four lands, a new administrative unit, the boundaries of which would be determined by the
ethnographic regions of Lithuania. The benefit would be that the lands would follow natural boundaries, rather than being defined by bureaucrats or politicians. Another of the proposed solutions involves reducing the number of counties so that there would be five in total, each based in one of the five largest cities with populations of over 100,000. Others complain that elderates have no real power and receive too little attention; they could potentially become local initiative communities which could tackle many rural problems.
Geography
Lithuania is situated in northern Europe. It has around 99 kilometres (61.5
mi) of sandy coastline, of which only about 38 kilometres (24 mi) face the open
Baltic Sea and which is the shortest among the
Baltic Sea countries; the rest of the coast is sheltered by the
Curonian sand peninsula. Lithuania's major
warm-water port,
Klaipėda, lies at the narrow mouth of the
Curonian Lagoon (Lithuanian:
Kuršių marios), a shallow lagoon extending south to
Kaliningrad. The main river, the
Neman River, and some of its tributaries carry international shipping vessels.
The Lithuanian landscape has been smoothed by glaciers. The highest areas are the
moraines in the western uplands and eastern highlands, none of which are taller than 300 metres (1,000 ft) above sea level, with the maximum elevation being
Aukštojas Hill at 294 metres (964 ft). The terrain features numerous lakes,
Lake Vištytis for example, and wetlands; a mixed forest zone covers 30% of the country. The
climate lies between maritime and continental, with wet, moderate winters and summers. According to one geographical computation method, Lithuania's capital,
Vilnius, lies only a few kilometres south of the
geographical centre of Europe.
Lithuania consists of the following
historical and cultural regions:
Economy
In 2003, prior to joining the European Union, Lithuania had the highest economic growth rate amongst all candidate and member countries, reaching 8.8% in the third quarter. In 2004 — 7.3%; 2005 — 7.6%; 2006 — 7.4%; 2007 Q3 — 10.8% growth in GDP reflects the impressive economic development. Most of the trade Lithuania conducts is within the
European Union.
It is a member of the
World Trade Organization, and the
European Union. By UN classification, Lithuania is a country with a high average income. The country boasts a well developed modern infrastructure of railways, airports and four lane highways. It has almost full employment, with an unemployment rate of only 2.9%. According to officially published figures, EU membership fuelled a booming economy, increased outsourcing into the country, and boosted the tourism sector. The
litas, the national currency, has been pegged to the
Euro since February 2, 2002 at the rate of EUR 1.00 = LTL 3.4528, and Lithuania is expected to switch to the Euro on
1 January 2010. There is gradual but consistent shift towards knowledge based economy with special emphasis on
biotechnology (industrial and diagnostic), because in Lithuania there are concentrated major biotech producers in the Baltic countries, as well as
laser equipment.
Like other countries in the region (
Estonia,
Latvia) Lithuania also has a
flat tax rate rather than a
progressive scheme. Lithuanian income levels still lag behind the rest of the older EU members, with per capita GDP in 2007 at 60% of the EU average. Lower wages may have been a factor that in 2004 influenced the trend of emigration to wealthier EU countries, something that has been made legally possible as a result of
accession to the European Union. In 2006 income tax was reduced to 27% and a reduction to 24% was made in October of 2007. Income tax reduction and 19.1 % annual wage growth is starting to make an impact with some emigrants gradually beginning to come back. The latest official data show emigration in early 2006 to be 30% lower than the previous year, with 3,483 people leaving in four months.
Demographics
Ethnic composition
The population of Lithuania stands at 3.3662 million, 84.6% of whom are ethnic
Lithuanians who speak the
Lithuanian language (one of the two surviving members of the
Baltic language group), which is the official language of the country. Several sizable minorities exist, such as
Poles (6.3%),
Russians (5.1%), and
Belarusians (1.1%).
Poles are the largest minority, concentrated in southeast Lithuania (the
Vilnius region). Russians are the second largest minority, concentrated mostly in two cities. They constitute sizeable minorities in
Vilnius (14%) and
Klaipėda (28%), and a majority in the town of
Visaginas (52%). About 3,000
Roma live in Lithuania, mostly in Vilnius, Kaunas, and Panevėžys; their organizations are supported by the National Minority and Emigration Department.
Most Lithuanian schools teach English as a first foreign language, but students may also study German, or, in some schools, French. Schools where Russian and Polish are the primary languages of education exist in the areas populated by these minorities.
Religion
In 2005 79% of Lithunians belonged to the
Roman Catholic Church. The Church has been the majority denomination since the
Christianisation of Lithuania in the end of
fourteenth century and beginning of
fifteenth century. Some priests actively led the resistance against the Communist regime (symbolised by the
Hill of Crosses) and, after independence was regained, against socialism and
liberalism, especially in ethical questions. Church attendance has increased since the end of the
Soviet occupation and the country has so far maintained a fairly high level of religious practice.
In the 16th century,
Lutheranism started to spread from neighbouring
Livonia and
East Prussia. In the first half of 20th century Lutheran Protestant church had around 200,000 members, 9% of total population, although
Lutheranism has declined since 1945. Small Protestant communities are dispersed throughout the northern and western parts of the country. Various Protestant churches have established missions in Lithuania since 1990.
4.9% are
Eastern Orthodox (mainly among the Russian minority), 1.9% are Protestant and 9.5% have
no religion. The country also has minority communities of
Judaism,
Islam, and
Karaism which make up another 1.6% of the population. According to the most recent
Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 49% of Lithuanian citizens responded that "they believe there's a God", 36% answered that "they believe there's some sort of spirit or life force" and 12% that "they don't believe there's any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
Health and welfare
As of 2004 Lithuanian life expectancy at birth was 66 years for males and 78 for females. The infant mortality rate was 8.0 per 1,000 births. The annual population growth rate in 2004 declined by 0.5% in 2004. Less than 2% of the population live beneath the poverty line, and the adult literacy rate is 99.6%.
Lithuanians have a high suicide rate: 91.7 per 100,000 persons, the highest in the world in 2000, followed by the Russian Federation (82.5), Belarus (73.1), Latvia (68.5), and Ukraine (62.1). This problem has been studied by a number of health organisations.
Largest cities
Culture
List of famous Lithuanians
Lithuanian literature
Lithuanian mythology
Music of Lithuania
Symbols of LithuaniaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Lithuania'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://lithuania.totallyexplained.com">Lithuania Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
