Even a brief history of Lithuania is a fascinating and eventful story. The Baltic country existed in a variety of forms. It was a confederation of pagan tribes, a powerful Grand Duchy, which included a significant part of the Russian lands, a member of the union with Poland, the province of the Russian Empire and the Union Republic in the USSR. All this long and thorny path led to the emergence of the modern Lithuanian state.
Antiquity
The primitive history of Lithuania began in the tenth millennium BC. e. Around this time, the earliest human settlements appeared on its territory. Residents 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 Baltic tribes began to take shape. They got the first bronze items. Around the VI century BC. e. iron tools spread among the Balts. Thanks to new tools (such as improved axes), deforestation has accelerated and agriculture has developed.
The immediate predecessors of the Lithuanians were the Aukstayts and Zhmud, who lived near the Prussians and Iatvags. These tribes had an outstanding feature. Both of them buried horses with people, which indicated the fundamental role of these animals in the then Baltic economy.
On the eve of the state
In addition to other Baltic tribes, the Lithuanians also coexisted with the Slavs with whom they fought and traded. Residents of the valleys of the Neman and Vilia traded not only in hunting, fishing, and farming. They were engaged in beekeeping and extracted wax. These pagans sold the goods of their lands in exchange for metal and weapons that were scarce.
The history of Lithuania then was like the history of any other people with tribal relations. Gradually, the power of the princes (kunigasov) took shape. There were also priests of the Weideloth. On holidays, the Lithuanians offered their gods animal sacrifices (and sometimes people).
Unification of Lithuania
The political self-organization was required by the Baltic tribes in the 12th century, when the first German crusaders began to appear on the border of their country. Christian orders began military expansion, with the goal of baptizing the Gentiles. Due to the danger posed by strangers, the history of Lithuania has moved to its new stage.
According to a letter signed by the Galician-Volyn prince with his Baltic neighbors at the beginning of the 13th century, their lands were divided between 21 princes. Soon among them stood Mindovg, who ruled in 1238-1263. He was the first to completely unite Lithuania under his sole authority.
Mindovg was surrounded by enemies. When the war broke out between him and the Livonian Order, the pagan prince decided to adopt Christianity. In 1251, he was baptized. This allowed Mindovg to enlist the support of the pope in a war with another adversary - Daniel Galitsky. As a result, the Lithuanians defeated the Slavs. Shortly before his death, Mindovg abandoned Christianity, which he regarded as a diplomatic maneuver, and entered into an alliance with Alexander Nevsky against the Germans. In 1263, Mindovg was killed by his fellow tribesmen Dovmont and Troinat.
Grand Duchy
The medieval history of Lithuania continued in line with its orientation to the east. The Baltic princes entered into dynastic marriages with the Rurikovich and were under Slavic influence. From the end of the 13th century, the territorial growth of Lithuania begins. 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 entered into a personal union with Poland and thanks to this he was elected Polish king. Then he baptized his country according to the Catholic rite, although the Russian majority continued to practice Orthodoxy. In 1392, Jagiello made Vytautas his deputy in Lithuania. Despite his status, in fact, this prince remained independent. Under him, the early history of Lithuania ended - the country reached the peak 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. Smolensk was annexed to Lithuania in the east, and in the south its territory not only included Kiev, but also extended to the Black Sea.
Union with Poland
After the death of Vytautas in 1430, Lithuania gradually came under more and more 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 one of the most important sights of the country is not known for certain. However, for many centuries, Lithuanians have been visiting this place and setting 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 Commonwealth. She was different from the one that Jagiello accepted. 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 legal systems.
Part of the Russian Empire
Like any other European country, the history of Lithuania is rich in both ups and downs. In the XVII century, after a period of stability in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, a process of gradual decline began. More and more new areas fell away from the country. A significant part of Ukraine was lost. The two-monarchy was under pressure from two neighboring powers - Sweden and Russia. At the beginning of the XVIII century, the Commonwealth concluded an alliance with Peter I against the northern Scandinavian kingdom, which saved her from inevitable territorial losses.
Since then, both Poland and Lithuania were in the sphere of influence of Russia. At the end of the 18th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided between large neighbors. Its lands went to Prussia, Austria and Russia (the latter including Lithuania). The loss of independence of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth did not suit. In the 19th century, several national Polish-Lithuanian uprisings took place. 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 tightly connected with the Romanov empire.
Restoration of independence
With the onset of World War I, Lithuania was at the forefront of the battles of Germany and Russia. German troops occupied the Baltic country in 1915. In 1918, when two revolutions had already taken place in Russia, a provisional national government, Tariba, was created in Lithuania. For several months, it declared the country a monarchy. William von Urach was proclaimed king. However, soon the country still became a republic.
The history of Lithuania of the 20th century has changed a lot because of Soviet Russia. The Red Army occupied the territory of the Baltic state in November 1918. The Bolsheviks took possession of Vilnius. The Lithuanian Soviet Republic was created, which was merged with the Belarusian. But due to the difficult situation on other fronts of the Civil War, the Red Army could not stay in the Baltic. Lithuania was liberated by supporters of national independence. In 1920, the country concluded a peace treaty with the RSFSR.
Interbellum
Now that a new independent Lithuania has appeared, the history of the state could go along very different paths. The country was in a quandary. 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 under the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1926, the Baltic country was shocked by a military coup. Nationalist Antanas Smetona came to power, having established an authoritarian regime. To strengthen external security, Lithuania and its neighbors (Latvia and Estonia) formed an alliance of the Baltic Entente. These measures did not protect small states from aggression. In 1939, Nazi Germany presented an ultimatum to Lithuania, according to which it handed over the controversial Klaipeda to the Third Reich.
The Second World War
On the eve of World War II, the USSR and Hitler Germany signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, according to which the Baltic States fell into the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. While the Germans conquered Western Europe, the Kremlin organized the annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 1940, a harsh ultimatum was presented to all three countries: to let in Soviet troops and take communist power.
So 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 repression and deportations to Siberia. In 1941-1944 Lithuania, as during the First World War, was under German occupation.
Lithuanian SSR
After the Second World War, the status quo was never restored. Lithuania remained a 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 like many Lithuanians. An outburst of discontent took place in 1972, when dissident Romas Kalant carried out an act of self-immolation in Kaunas.
Nevertheless, Lithuania was able to restore its sovereignty only after the restructuring that began under Gorbachev. In 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic adopted the act of independence of the country. In response to this, supporters of the Soviet government created the National Salvation Committee. At his request, troops of the USSR entered Lithuania. During the clashes in Vilnius in January 1991, 15 people were killed. Today, the victims of that confrontation are considered Lithuanian national heroes.
Modernity
Moscow recognized Lithuania's independence after the August coup. The Baltic state immediately reoriented to the West. In 2004, Lithuania became a member of the European Union and NATO, and in 2015, it began to use the euro currency.
The modern Baltic state is a republic. The head of the executive branch, the president, is elected for a term of five years. Today this post is occupied by Dalia Grybauskaite. The Parliament of Lithuania is called the Sejm. There are 141 deputies in it. Parliamentarians are elected by a mixed system.