Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, in the Baltic States, with access to the Baltic Sea in the west.

On a detailed map of Lithuania, you can find the country's border with four states: with Latvia in the north, Belarus - in the southeast, Poland and Russia (Kaliningrad region) - in the southwest.

Lithuania is an exporter of oil and gas, dairy products, and pharmaceuticals.

Lithuania on the world map: geography, nature and climate

Lithuania on the world map is located in Northern Europe, in the Baltic region, washed by the waters of the Baltic Sea and its Curonian Lagoon in the west. The country stretched out in the latitudinal direction for 370 km, and in the meridional direction - for 280 km. The total length of the borders is 1273 km, and the length of the coastline is only 99 km.

Minerals

Lithuania is not rich in minerals. In the country there are only significant reserves of limestone, clay, quartz and gypsum sand; oil reserves on the shelf of the Baltic Sea and iron ore in the south are negligible.

Relief

The relief of Lithuania is flat and hilly, most of the country is located on the western outskirts of the East European Plain. The highest point in Lithuania is the Aukštojas Hill (294 meters), belonging to the Ošmiany Upland.

Hydrography

Lithuania has a dense river network with short lowland rivers - only 19 rivers in the country have a length of more than 100 km. The longest river is the Nemunas, 937 km long (of which 475 km through the territory of Lithuania), flowing into the Curonian Lagoon of the Baltic Sea.

On the territory of Lithuania, there are about 3,000 lakes, which are predominantly of glacial origin and occupy 1.5% of the country's area. The largest lake is Druksiai (44.79 km²), located in the territories of Lithuania and Belarus, in the eastern part of the country.

The country is dominated by lowland, transitional and raised bogs, which account for 6% of the country's territory.

Flora and fauna

Soddy-podzolic and soddy-calcareous soils are the most common in Lithuania.

About a third of the country's territory is occupied by forest vegetation, which is dominated by pine, spruce, birch, alder, aspen, and oak.

In total, the plant world of Lithuania has 10,600 plant species. Often there are thyme, St. John's wort, cotton grass, cloudberries, duckweed, horsetails.

The fauna of Lithuania consists of 68 species of mammals, 203 species of birds, 7 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphibians and about 60 species of fish. Wild boars, roe deer, foxes, wolves, hares are found in local forests and fields from mammals; and among the birds - nightingales, tits, finches, blackbirds. Roach, ruff, bream, perch live in inland waters.

The specially protected areas of the country include about 300 national and regional parks, reserves and reserves. Aukstaitsky National Park is the oldest national park in the country, which includes picturesque forests and hills with 126 lakes scattered on them. On the map of Lithuania in Russian, the national park is located in the eastern part of the country.

Climate

The climate of Lithuania is temperate continental in the center and in the eastern part, temperate maritime on the coast. The Baltic Sea has a significant impact on the climate of the whole country, making it less continental: severe frosts in winter and sweltering heat in summer are rare for Lithuania. The average annual temperature is +6 °C. Winter is mild and snowy, lasting no more than 3 months, the average January temperature ranges from -1 °C on the coast to -6 °C in the continental part. Summer is cool and rainy, lasting 3 months, the average July temperature is from +16 °C to +19 °C. 540 - 930 mm of precipitation falls annually, the largest amount of which is observed on the southwestern coast of the Baltic Sea.

Map of Lithuania with cities. Administrative division of the country

The territory of Lithuania is divided into 10 counties:

• Alytus,
• Vilnius,
• Kaunas,
• Klaipeda,
• Mariyampolsky,
• Panevezsky,
• Taurage,
• Telshyaysky,
• Utensky,
• Siauliai.

Largest cities in Lithuania

• Vilnius- the capital and largest city of Lithuania, where one fifth (546 thousand people) of the country's population lives. On the map of Lithuania with cities in Russian, the city is located in the southeast of the country. Vilnius is the transport, tourism and economic center of Lithuania, specializing in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and the food industry. The Old Town with the Gediminas Tower, the Cathedral Square, the Church of St. Johns is the most important attraction of Vilnius.
• Kaunas- the second largest city in the country, located in its central part. There are many textile enterprises operating in Kaunas, as well as the Kaunas hydroelectric power station. Kaunas Castle, built in the 13th century, is the main attraction of the city. The population of Kaunas is 301 thousand people.
• Siauliai is a city in northern Lithuania. The main role in the economy of Šiauliai is occupied by trade, the production of beverages and confectionery, and the leather industry. The city is home to the large Šiauliai University and the Šiauliai Drama Theatre. 108 thousand inhabitants live in Siauliai.

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia gained independence after the 1917 revolution in Russia. But Soviet Russia and later the USSR never gave up trying to regain these territories. And according to the secret protocol to the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, in which these republics were assigned to the Soviet sphere of influence, the USSR got a chance to achieve this, which it did not fail to take advantage of.

Implementing the Soviet-German secret agreements, the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1939 began preparations for the annexation of the Baltic countries. After the Red Army occupied the eastern provinces in Poland, the USSR began to border on all the Baltic states. Soviet troops were moved to the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. At the end of September, these countries were offered, in an ultimatum form, to conclude treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with the USSR. On September 24, Molotov told Estonian Foreign Minister Karl Selter, who arrived in Moscow: “The Soviet Union needs an expansion of its security system, for which it needs access to the Baltic Sea ... Do not force the Soviet Union to use force in order to achieve its goals.”

On September 25, Stalin informed the German ambassador, Count Friedrich-Werner von der Schulenburg, that "the Soviet Union will immediately take up the solution of the problem of the Baltic states in accordance with the protocol of August 23."

Mutual assistance treaties with the Baltic states were concluded under the threat of the use of force.

On September 28, a Soviet-Estonian mutual assistance pact was signed. A 25,000-strong Soviet military contingent was introduced into the territory of Estonia. Stalin told Selter on his departure from Moscow: “It could work out with you, as with Poland. Poland was a great power. Where is Poland now?

On October 5, a mutual assistance pact was signed with Latvia. A 25,000-strong Soviet military contingent entered the country.

And on October 10, an "Agreement on the transfer of the city of Vilna and the Vilna region to the Republic of Lithuania and on mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and Lithuania" was signed with Lithuania. When Lithuanian Foreign Minister Juozas Urbšys declared that the proposed terms of the treaty were tantamount to the occupation of Lithuania, Stalin countered that “the Soviet Union does not intend to threaten the independence of Lithuania. Vice versa. The introduction of Soviet troops will be a genuine guarantee for Lithuania that the Soviet Union will protect it in the event of an attack, so that the troops will serve the security of Lithuania itself. And he added with a grin: "Our garrisons will help you put down the communist uprising if it happens in Lithuania." 20 thousand Red Army soldiers also entered Lithuania.

After Germany defeated France with lightning speed in May 1940, Stalin decided to expedite the annexation of the Baltic states and Bessarabia. On June 4, strong groupings of Soviet troops under the guise of exercises began to advance to the borders of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. On June 14, Lithuania, and on June 16, Latvia and Estonia were presented with ultimatums of a similar content with a demand to allow significant Soviet military contingents into their territory, 9-12 divisions in each of the countries and to form new, pro-Soviet governments with the participation of the Communists, although the number Communist parties in each of the republics consisted of 100-200 people. The pretext for the ultimatums was provocations allegedly carried out against the Soviet troops stationed in the Baltic states. But this pretext was sewn with white thread. It was alleged, for example, that the Lithuanian police kidnapped two Soviet tankers, Shmovgonets and Nosov. But already on May 27, they returned to their unit and stated that they were kept in the basement for a day, trying to get information about the Soviet tank brigade. At the same time, Nosov mysteriously turned into Pisarev.

The ultimatums were accepted. On June 15, Soviet troops entered Lithuania, and on June 17 they entered Latvia and Estonia. In Lithuania, President Antanas Smetana demanded to reject the ultimatum and show armed resistance, but, not having received the support of the majority of the cabinet, he fled to Germany.

From 6 to 9 Soviet divisions were introduced into each of the countries (previously, each country had a rifle division and a tank brigade). There was no resistance. The creation of pro-Soviet governments on Red Army bayonets was presented by Soviet propaganda as "people's revolutions", which were given out as demonstrations with the seizure of government buildings, organized by local communists with the help of Soviet troops. These "revolutions" were carried out under the supervision of the representatives of the Soviet government: Vladimir Dekanozov in Lithuania, Andrei Vyshinsky in Latvia and Andrei Zhdanov in Estonia.

The armies of the Baltic states could not really offer armed resistance to Soviet aggression either in the autumn of 1939, or even more so in the summer of 1940. In the three countries, in the event of mobilization, 360,000 people could be put under arms. However, unlike Finland, the Baltics did not have their own military industry, there were not even sufficient stocks of small arms to arm so many people. If Finland could also receive supplies of weapons and military equipment through Sweden and Norway, then the way to the Baltic States through the Baltic Sea was closed by the Soviet fleet, and Germany complied with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and refused to help the Baltic states. In addition, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia did not have border fortifications, and their territory was much more accessible for invasion than the territory of Finland covered with forests and swamps.

The new pro-Soviet governments held elections to local parliaments on the principle of one candidate from an unbreakable bloc of non-partisans per seat. Moreover, this bloc in all three Baltic states was called the same - "Union of the working people", and the elections were held on the same day - July 14th. People in civilian clothes who were present at the polling stations took note of those who crossed out candidates or threw empty ballots into the ballot boxes. The Nobel laureate Polish writer Czeslaw Milosz, who was in Lithuania at that time, recalled: “It was possible to vote in the elections for the only official list of the “working people” - with the same programs in all three republics. I had to vote, as each voter was stamped in his passport. The absence of a stamp certifies that the owner of the passport is an enemy of the people who evaded the elections and thereby revealed his enemy essence. Naturally, the Communists received more than 90% of the votes in all three republics - 92.8% in Estonia, 97% in Latvia, and even 99% in Lithuania! The turnout was also impressive - 84% in Estonia, 95% in Latvia and 95.5% in Lithuania.

Not surprisingly, on July 21-22, three parliaments approved a declaration on Estonia's entry into the USSR. By the way, all these acts contradicted the constitutions of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, which stated that the issues of independence and changes in the state system can only be resolved through a popular referendum. But in Moscow they were in a hurry to annex the Baltic States and did not pay attention to formalities. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR satisfied the appeals written in Moscow for admission to the Union of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in the period from 3 to 6 August 1940.

At first, many Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians saw the Red Army as a defense against German aggression. The workers were happy to reopen businesses that had been dormant due to the World War and the resulting crisis. However, soon, already in November 1940, the population of the Baltic states was completely ruined. Then local currencies were equated to the ruble at sharply undervalued rates. Also, the nationalization of industry and trade led to inflation and a shortage of goods. The redistribution of land from the more prosperous to the poorest peasants, the forced relocation of farmers to villages, and repressions against the clergy and intelligentsia provoked armed resistance. Detachments of "forest brothers" appeared, so named in memory of the rebels of 1905.

And already in August 1940, the deportations of Jews and other national minorities began, and on June 14, 1941, the turn came to Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians. 10 thousand people were deported from Estonia, 17.5 thousand people from Lithuania and 16.9 thousand people from Latvia. 10,161 people were resettled and 5,263 were arrested. 46.5% of the deportees were women, 15% were children under 10 years old. The total number of deceased victims of deportation was 4884 people (34% of total number), of which 341 people were shot.

The capture of the Baltic countries by the Soviet Union was fundamentally no different from the German capture of Austria in 1938, Czechoslovakia in 1939 and Luxembourg and Denmark in 1940, also carried out peacefully. The fact of occupation (in the sense of the seizure of territory against the will of the population of these countries), which was a violation of international law and an act of aggression, was recognized as a crime at the Nuremberg trials and imputed to the main Nazi war criminals. As in the case of the Baltic states, the Anschluss of Austria was preceded by an ultimatum to establish a pro-German government in Vienna, headed by the Nazi Seyss-Inquart. And already it invited German troops to Austria, which previously were not in the country at all. The annexation of Austria was carried out in such a way that it was immediately incorporated into the Reich and divided into several Reichsgau (regions). Similarly, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, after a short period of occupation, were included in the USSR as union republics. The Czech Republic, Denmark and Norway were turned into protectorates, which did not prevent them both during the war and after it from talking about these countries as occupied by Germany. This formulation was also reflected in the verdict of the Nuremberg trials of the main Nazi war criminals in 1946.

Unlike Nazi Germany, whose consent was guaranteed by the secret protocol of August 23, 1939, most Western governments regarded the occupation and annexation as illegal and continued de jure to recognize the existence of an independent Republic of Latvia. As early as July 23, 1940, U.S. Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles denounced the "dishonest processes" by which "the political independence and territorial integrity of the three small Baltic Republics... were premeditated and deliberately destroyed by one of their more powerful neighbors." Non-recognition of the occupation and annexation continued until 1991, when Latvia regained its independence and full independence.

In Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, the entry of Soviet troops and the subsequent annexation of the Baltic countries to the USSR is considered one of the many Stalinist crimes.

75 years ago, on October 10, 1939, the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed, according to which the USSR transferred Vilna and the Vilna region to Lithuania. Lithuanian politicians are unanimously silent about this consequence of the so-called "Soviet occupation". They do not remember that during the "occupation" the population of Lithuania was growing, and now it is declining, and the territory of the republic was swollen by leaps and bounds.

This silence is by no means accidental. Lithuania, which was a showcase of the achievements of socialism within the USSR, has not achieved prosperity in 23 years of independence, but has turned into an EU colony. Being unable to solve the pressing social and economic problems, the Lithuanian elite stuffs the population with horror stories about the "Soviet occupation", the denial of which in Lithuania is punishable by law.

Taking advantage of the anniversary ignored by the Lithuanian authorities, let us recall the territorial acquisitions of Lithuania made during the period of "occupation". Such miracles have never happened to any occupied state before!

The history of the losses of pre-war Lithuania

Shortly after the end of the First World War, German troops left the territories they occupied, which are today part of Lithuania. The trail of German boots has not yet cooled down, and various political forces have already made attempts to fill the vacuum of power. As a result, in February 1919, the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed, with Vilna as its capital.

However, events continued to develop at a breathtaking pace. Already on April 19, Vilna was captured by Polish troops. A year later, at the height of the Soviet-Polish war, the Red Army expelled the Polish invaders from Vilna. In July 1920, the RSFSR recognized the independence of Lithuania and for the first time transferred Vilna with the adjacent region to it.

The defeat of the armies of Mikhail Tukhachevsky near Warsaw turned into grave consequences not only for the RSFSR, but also for Lithuania. The head of the Second Commonwealth, Jozef Pilsudski, whose childhood was spent in Vilna, was eager to see the city with the region as part of Poland. To capture Vilna, Warsaw carried out a multi-way combination. It began with the fact that on October 8, 1920, a division "rebelled" under the command of another native of the Vilna region, General Lucian Zheligovsky. She occupied Vilna without encountering resistance from the Lithuanian authorities and their armed forces.

Piłsudski formally distanced himself from Zheligowski's supposedly "unauthorized" action. However, already on October 12, he told the French and British diplomats who came to see him that "his feelings are on Zheligovsky's side." Attempts made in 1921 to resolve the conflict through diplomacy failed. Lithuania severed diplomatic relations with Poland. On January 8, 1922, elections were held for the Provisional Seimas of Central Lithuania. On February 20, he decided on the entry of the Vilna region into the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

On March 15, 1923, a conference of British, Italian and Japanese ambassadors accredited in Paris, chaired by a representative of the French government, established the Polish-Lithuanian border. She assigned the Vilna region to the Second Rzeczpospolita. In turn, the Soviet government, in a note dated April 5, 1923, declared to Poland that it would not recognize the decision of the conference of ambassadors. Since everyone had their own opinion, it is not surprising that throughout the entire interwar period, Warsaw had bad relations not only with Moscow, but also with Kaunas (then the capital of Lithuania).

Until the beginning of World War II, the Vilna region remained a "bone of contention" between Lithuania and Poland. For more than 15 years, Warsaw has been seeking the restoration of diplomatic relations, which, according to the Polish leadership, would mean recognition by Lithuania of the loss of Vilnius. And when the Pilsudchik's patience ran out, they staged another provocation. On March 11, 1938, the corpse of a Polish border guard was discovered on the Polish-Lithuanian demarcation line. To investigate what happened, Kaunas suggested that Warsaw create a mixed commission. However, the Poles categorically refused the offer, unfoundedly blaming the murder on the Lithuanian side. The purpose of the provocation became clear on March 17, when Warsaw presented an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding the restoration of diplomatic relations and the removal of the mention of Vilna from the constitution as the capital of the state. The threat of a Polish invasion forced Kaunas to accept these terms.

Exactly one year later, Lithuania faced a new threat. In March 1939, Nazi Germany demanded that the Lithuanian leadership transfer Klaipeda and the Klaipeda (Memel) region to it. The Lithuanians did not find the strength to resist this time either ...

Lithuanian acquisition history

The loudest curses from Lithuanian politicians and journalists have been honored for many years in a row by the Non-Aggression Treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union of August 23, 1939. Meanwhile, the Lithuanians, less than anyone else, have grounds for such a reaction. After all, just after the Second Rzeczpospolita disappeared from the political map of Europe on September 28, 1939, Lithuania got a chance to return the Vilna region.

Parts of the Red Army entered Vilnius on September 19. A significant part of the Vilna region was included in the Byelorussian SSR. This decision, which may seem strange today, was not so at the time. Some Belarusian politicians expressed claims to Vilna back in 1919. And most importantly, the population of the Vilna region, even in 1919, even twenty years later, was by no means Lithuanian in composition.

On October 10, 1939, the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of Mutual Assistance was signed. The USSR got the opportunity to create military bases on the territory of the republic and transferred the Vilna region and Vilna to Lithuania. The city was renamed Vilnius and declared the capital of Lithuania. It is worth noting that the then leadership of Soviet Belarus, which also had views of Vilna, did not like this decision. However, the "leader of the peoples" made a choice not in their favor.

On October 27, Lithuanian troops entered Vilnius. The next day, the welcoming ceremony for the Lithuanian troops was officially held. However, the jubilant Lithuanians constantly caught the frowns of the unfriendly Poles. The Lithuanian historian Cheslovas Laurinavičius writes: “If the Lithuanians hoped that the Poles, as a side that had lost its statehood, would humbly submit to their domination, then the Poles, on the contrary, hoped that the Lithuanians would voluntarily give up the initiative precisely to the Poles - and not only because they considered themselves more civilized nation than the Lithuanians."

Further, Laurinavičius stated: “Basically, all authors who study Lithuanian rule in Vilnius characterize it as nationalist, and very tough at that ... Litvinization of the Vilnius region was planted, first of all, by police means, in particular, they made sure that people did not speak on the streets of Vilnius -Polish. Those who did not speak Lithuanian were fired from their jobs. The brutality of the government was also manifested in the expulsion from the region not only of military refugees, but also of the so-called "newcomers", that is, those who, according to the Lithuanian understanding, were not native residents. By the way, they were deported from the region not only to other regions of Lithuania, but also to Germany and the USSR, by agreement with the latter ... As a result, in practice, not only military refugees lost their citizenship, but also many of those who lived in the region during the period of Polish rule " .

Soon, the Department of State Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania and the Gestapo concluded a secret agreement, according to which the Lithuanian special services began to transfer Polish underground fighters and those Poles from whom the Lithuanian authorities wanted to get rid of into the hands of their German colleagues. One can imagine what a "warm welcome" awaited the Poles in Hitler's Third Reich...

Once again, the Lithuanians lost the opportunity to be the masters of their capital on the second day of the Great Patriotic War, when the Nazis entered Vilnius. Three years later, on July 13, 1944, the city was liberated from the invaders. Especially for Lithuanian schoolchildren and students, I inform you that it was not the Lithuanian "forest brothers" who did this, but the Red Army.

It was Joseph Stalin, cursed by the Lithuanian authorities and Lithuanian nationalists, who, after the expulsion of the German Nazis and their henchmen, returned its capital to Lithuania for the third time.

He handed over to Lithuania and Klaipeda with the Klaipeda region. Although he might not have done it. After all, the city, founded in 1252 by German knights, belonged to Prussia for many centuries and was called Memel. It became part of Lithuania only in 1923. And just 16 years later, the Chancellor of the Third Reich, with the consent of the Lithuanian government, returned Memel to Germany. Therefore, when, after the end of the war, East Prussia passed to the USSR, Stalin could well leave Klaipeda with the region as part of the RSFSR. But he gave the Klaipeda region to the Lithuanian SSR.

Among other Stalinist gifts, the Druskininkai resort can be mentioned. In October 1940, Stalin handed over to Lithuania the Druskeniki that had previously been part of the Byelorussian SSR. The same fate befell Sventsiany and the railway station Godutishki (Adutishkis) with the surrounding villages, which were also previously part of the Byelorussian SSR.

PS. The study of the reasons for Comrade Stalin's truly phenomenal generosity towards Lithuania is an important scientific problem. It is high time for Lithuanian colleagues to put it before them and finally get to the bottom of the truth. Otherwise, the picture of the consequences of the "Soviet occupation" will remain incomplete.

Republic of Lithuania. The name of the country Lithuania (Lietuva) is derived from the ancient name of the river. Letava (Lietava from lit. lieti to pour, pp Nyarisa), Russian. Letavka. The feudal principality, through the lands of which this river flowed, eventually occupied the leading ... ... Geographic Encyclopedia

- (Lietuva), the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika), a state in Eastern Europe, in the Baltic States, washed by the Baltic Sea. 65.2 thousand km2. Population 3707 thousand people (1996), urban 68.3% (1994); Lithuanians (2924 thousand people; 1989, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1) 1. Collected. The people constituting the population of Lithuania; Lithuanians: I will crack the earth, and many countries of Khinov, Lithuania, Yatvyaz, Deremela and Polovtsi, have turned their faces, and bowed their heads under thy swords of haraluzhny. 32. In Afetov’s part, sit Rus, ... ... Dictionary-reference book "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"

- (Republic of Lithuania), a state in Eastern Europe, in the Baltic States, washed by the Baltic Sea. The area is 65.2 thousand km2. The population is 3798 thousand people, urban 68%: Lithuanians (79.6%), Russians (9.4%), Poles (7.0%) and others. Official language… … Modern Encyclopedia

Dr. Russian lithuania, collected, Lithuanians (Pov. time years), adj. Lithuanian, Ukrainian Lithuania, blr. Lithuania, Polish Litwa, litwin, litewski. Loans. from lit. Lietuva Lithuania, cf. ltsh. Lìetava - the same, leĩtis Lithuanian, leĩtene Lithuanian, Leĩšmale Lithuanian ... Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Fasmer

Lithuania- LITHUANIA, collected, arch. - Lithuanians. Well, many Russian people and foreigners, Lithuanians and Germans, who are baptized in our true Orthodox faith, do not wear crosses on themselves and do not keep holy fast days, Wednesdays and Fridays, and on fast days they eat meat and all sorts ... ... Dictionary of the trilogy "The Sovereign's Estate"

J. Baltic tribes of pastoralists and farmers who came to the basins of the Neman and Daugava rivers (predecessors of modern Lithuanians). Explanatory Dictionary of Ephraim. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language Efremova

Exist., Number of synonyms: 1 country (281) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

Went. Psk. Unapproved About the beginning of the battle, squabbles. SPP 2001, 49 ... Big dictionary of Russian sayings

Lithuania- rep. yashәүche top halyk ... Tatar telenen anlatmaly suzlege

Lithuania- (Lithuania), state in east. coast of the Baltic Sea. On Wednesday. century, it was a large Grand Duchy, at one time stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea and in the east almost to Moscow. In 1569, it united with Poland, then, in 1795, its ... ... The World History

Books

• Lithuania, Gordon McLachlan. Lithuania is a small but amazing country. Travel lovers will truly enjoy visiting stylish local cafes and leisurely…
• Lithuania, McLachlan Gordon. Lithuania is a small but amazing country. Travel lovers will truly enjoy visiting stylish local cafes and leisurely strolls through the old streets of Vilnojus and Kaunas,…

The Soviet Union formed Lithuania within its current borders, adding almost 20% of its current territory and over 550,000 people to it.

The Soviet government, in the context of the ongoing war with Poland, in July 1920 concluded the Moscow Treaty on the recognition of an independent Lithuanian state (with its capital in Vilnius and vast territories southeast of the city, including Grodno, Oshmyany, Lida). The successful offensive of the Red Army in July 1920 on the Soviet-Polish front passing through the territory of Lithuania allowed the Lithuanian units to occupy Vilna. At the same time, the defeat of the Soviet troops in August 1920 near Warsaw deprived Lithuania of military support, leading, in turn, to the loss of the fleeting Polish-Lithuanian armed conflict over the Vilna region (September-November 1920) and it in October 1920. (Polish-Lithuanian).

Another object was the Memel region, which Germany lost under the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. In January 1923, the Lithuanian authorities decided to act ahead of the curve by organizing a “popular uprising” with the subsequent formation of their own administration. This was preceded by diplomatic consultations between Moscow and Vilnius. November 29 Minister of Foreign Affairs of Soviet Russia George Chicherin On his way to Berlin, he met in Kaunas with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ernestas Galvanauskas, with whom he discussed support for Lithuanian plans in Klaipeda, stating that Soviet Russia would not remain passive if Poland opposed Lithuania.

The Lithuanian demarche provoked a sharp reaction from Poland, which, in the absence of international condemnation of Lithuania's actions, threatened to use its troops, defiantly sending its cruiser to the Memel port. And only Moscow's resolute retaliatory protest kept Warsaw from military actions.

The real territorial expansion of Lithuania began after the capitulation of Poland to Germany in October 1939 and the return of the USSR to the territories lost by Soviet Russia during the Polish-Soviet war in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, as well as the Vilna region. Already on October 10, 1939, mutual assistance was also signed between the Soviet Union and Lithuania, according to which parts were located on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, and the city of Vilna and the northeastern part of the former Vilna Voivodeship (1/3) were transferred to Lithuania (the rest was included part of the Byelorussian SSR). On October 27, 1939, units of the Lithuanian army entered Vilna.

Lithuania to the existing 55 thousand sq. m. km of its territory (including the Klaipeda region) added another 6.9 thousand square meters. km at the expense of the Vilna lands. Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov, speaking at the 5th session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, noted:

“The state of Lithuania with its population of 2.5 million people. significantly expands its territory, increases by 550 thousand people. its population and receives the city of Vilna, the number of inhabitants of which is almost 2 times higher than the population of the present capital of the Republic of Lithuania. The Soviet Union went towards the transfer of the city of Vilna to Lithuania, not because it is dominated by the Lithuanian population. No, in Vilna the majority is non-Lithuanian...”

On November 1, 1929, the Izvestia newspaper quoted the reaction of the foreign press, which stated that “in world history there has never been a case in which a large state of its own accord would give such a large city to a small state.”

The news about the accession of the Vilna region to Lithuania was met with numerous demonstrations on the streets of Lithuanian cities, where citizens, as a token of gratitude to the USSR, carried portraits of Lenin, Stalin, Molotov, Dimitrov.

In August 1940, not only did the government change in Lithuania, but the state structure also changed. The People's Seimas of Lithuania announced the country's accession to the Soviet Union. In November 1940, the next stage of the territorial expansion of the now Lithuanian SSR took place - by 2.6 thousand square meters. km. By decision of Moscow, Belarusian territories were transferred to its composition: almost the entire Sventsyansky district, part of the Ostrovets district, as well as other territories, including Druskininkai.

As for the fate of the Memel region, the Lithuanian Seimas in March 1939 unanimously approved its voluntary transfer to Germany. And only in January 1945 it was again liberated during the bloody battles by the Soviet troops and included under the name Klaipeda in the Lithuanian SSR. The final legal registration of the Klaipeda region took place in 1948, which was the final stage in the formation of the modern borders of Lithuania.

After the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and the recognition of independence, Lithuania inherited exactly those territories that it inherited from the Soviet regime.