Lithuania

Lore & Background

For millennia, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas, who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Subsequent expansion and consolidation resulted in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which by the 14th century was the largest country in Europe. In 1386, the grand duchy entered into a de facto personal union with the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The two realms were united into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569. The commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighbouring countries gradually dismantled it between 1772 and 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory. Towards the end of World War I, Lithuania declared independence in 1918. In World War II, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany, before being reoccupied by the Soviets in 1944. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away when it proclaimed the restoration of its independence.

In Their Own Story

The morning mist clung to the cobblestones of Vilnius' Old Town as the church bells of St. Anne's rang out, their sound muffled by the dense fog rolling off the Neris River. An elderly man walked slowly past the Gothic arches, his hand brushing against a wall that had witnessed centuries of empires rise and fall. He paused at a small shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary, lighting a candle whose flame danced in the drafty air. Outside, the modern city hummed with electric buses and digital billboards, but here, time seemed suspended between the memory of the Grand Duchy and the promise of tomorrow.

Reader's Guide

Lithuania is a developed country with a high-income and an advanced economy ranking very high in the Human Development Index. It ranks highly in digital infrastructure, press freedom and happiness. It is a member of the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Eurozone, the Nordic Investment Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Schengen Agreement, NATO, OECD and the World Trade Organization. It also participates in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) regional co-operation format.

Did You Know?

• The first known record of the name Lietuva is in a 1009 story of Saint Bruno in the Annals of Quedlinburg.
• Lithuania was the largest country in Europe by the 14th century.
• Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away from the USSR, proclaiming independence on 11 March 1990.