Portal:Lithuania

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The Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva; full - Lietuvos Respublika) is a republic in Northern Europe. One of the three Baltic States along the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland to the south, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the southwest.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe: 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. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighboring countries systematically dismantled it from 1772 to 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory. In the wake of the First World War, Lithuania's Act of Independence was signed on February 16, 1918, declaring the re-establishment of a sovereign state. Starting in 1940, Lithuania was occupied first by the Soviet Union then Nazi Germany. As World War II neared its end in 1944 and the Nazis retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare its renewed independence.

Lithuania became a full member of the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007. In 2009, Lithuania celebrating the millennium of its name.

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Featured article

Welles declaration, July 23, 1940

The Welles declaration was issued on July 23, 1940 by acting United States Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles. The declaration condemned the Soviet Union's forcible incorporation of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and announced a U.S. refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Soviet control of the three states. It was an application of the Stimson Doctrine to the Baltic issue.The declaration was consistent with Franklin D. Roosevelt's overall attitude towards forcible territorial expansion, and reflected the views held by the highest levels of the Roosevelt administration.

The Welles Declaration established a decades-long non-recognition of the Baltic States' forcible annexation. The document had major significance for overall U.S. policy toward Europe in the critical year of 1940. Subsequent U.S. presidents and Congressional resolutions reaffirmed the substance of the Welles declaration. The Baltic states re-established their independence in 1990. (continue...)

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Featured picture

Stelmužė Oak is one of the oldest oak trees in Europe

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Did you know

Did you know that...

...football champion Romualdas Marcinkus (pictured) was the only Lithuanian pilot to serve in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War?

...the name of Lithuania was mentioned for the first time in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009...
...Lithuania is in the geographical center of Europe? According to a study made by a French scientist in 1989, the geographical center of Europe lies just 26 kilometres North to Vilnius, the capital...
...Lithuanians were the last nation in Europe to convert to Christianity...
...national food Cepelinai is named so after the Zeppelins...
...Grand Duchy of Lithuania once stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea...
...the only public sculpture for Frank Zappa was in Vilnius, the capital, until in 2002 a bronze bust was installed in a square in Bad Doberan, Germany
...the evil serial killer Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs was born in Lithuania?
...over 76% of the country's population spectated the Lithuania men's national basketball team games live in 2014?

...Constitution of May 3 was the first constitution in Europe and second in the world after United States Constitution of 1788?
...Vilnius University is the oldest university in Eastern Europe?
...Lithuanian book smugglers has no possible equivalents in the whole world?
...Lithuania, together with Latvia and Estonia, in 1989 formed a human chain – Baltic Way which connected the three Baltic states capitals?

...Lithuanian basketball legend Arvydas Sabonis is not only considered as one of the best European basketball players of all-time, but also currently is the tallest person in the whole Lithuania with 223,6 cm height?
...the world's strongest person Žydrūnas Savickas is living in Lithuania?
...Jurgis Mačiūnas was a founding member and the central coordinator of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers?
...on September 18, 1999 Jurgis Kairys flew under all bridges over the Neris River in Vilnius?
..."the godfather of American avant-garde cinema" Jonas Mekas is of Lithuanian descent?
...Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis is of Lithuanian descent?
...The Killers vocalist Brandon Flowers is of Lithuanian descent?
...AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd is of Lithuanian descent?
...Violeta Urmana is one of the finest soprano and mezzosoprano voices in the world?
...Lithuanian language is believed to be the linguistically most conservative living Indo-European tongue, retaining many features of Proto Indo-European?
...Lithuania-born political activist Michael Oliver attempted to create a sovereign micronation Republic of Minerva?
...Prince Wilhelm of Urach was named as King of Lithuania Mindaugas II just for a few months in 1918?