Voivodeships – administrative-territorial units in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania headed by a governor. Appeared in 1413 after the reforms of Vytautas. They were divided into smaller units - counties and volosts.

Getman – commanded the armed forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Zhemoytiya(Zhmud) is the territory of the central and western part of modern Lithuania, where the process of formation of the Lithuanian ethnic group took place.

Golden Horde – The state, which existed in the mid-13th – 15th centuries, was created by the descendants of the Mongol Khan Genghis Khan. During the period of greatest power, it included in its composition Central Asia, North Caucasus, Polovtsian steppes. Waged wars with ON.

Chancellor – head of the office of the Grand Duke and nobles, keeper of the great state seal.

Lithuania – in the XIII century. historical name of the territory of Upper Ponemonie. Baltic territory, but largely colonized by the Slavs. It was located in the center of the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to which the name was transferred. Not to be confused with ethnic Lithuania (more precisely, Lietuva) (in those days – Zhemoytia).

Magdeburg law – the right of a feudal city to self-government, according to which economic activity, property rights, socio-political life, and the class status of the townspeople were regulated by their own system of legal norms.

Zemsky Marshal - presided over meetings of the Sejm and the Rada, proclaimed the decisions of the Grand Duke and the Rada, was the caretaker of order and etiquette at court and during official ceremonies, and managed the reception of foreign ambassadors.

Rada ON (gentlemen-rada) – the highest authority in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which included the first officials (chancellor, zemsky marshal, hetman, governors, etc.). Known since the beginning of the 14th century. It arose initially as an advisory body under the Grand Duke, but from the end of the 15th century. significantly limited his power.

Podskarbiy Zemsky - caretaker of the state treasury, acted as minister of finance, kept records of state revenues and expenses.

Seym (Soym) – estate-representative body of power of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. Consisted of representatives of the gentry. The competence of the general (national) Sejm included: the election of the Grand Duke, issues of war and peace, relations with other countries, the establishment of taxes and the regulation of legislation.

Warband - military-religious organization of German crusaders. Created in the 12th century. in Palestine. Waged long wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Questions for self-control

1. Name the socio-economic and political prerequisites for the formation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

2. List the main ways for new lands to enter the emerging state.

3. Determine the main reasons and conditions for signing the Krevo Union. What were the reasons for the internal political conflicts after its imprisonment?



4. Which prince began collecting the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania?

5. What do you know about the first capital of the state?

6. Which princes made the greatest contribution to the expansion and strengthening of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, when did this happen?

7. What were the main foreign policy opponents of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 14th – 16th centuries? How did the relationship between them unfold?

8. List the main authorities and administration in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

INTRODUCTION

1. GENERAL FUNDAMENTALS OF GOVERNMENT

2. STRUCTURE OF APARTMENT PRINCIPLES

3. CONSTITUTIONS OF LAND-ANNEXES

4. TERRITORIAL DEVICE ON

5. CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia, Zhemoitsk was a monarchy headed by the Grand Duke ("sovereign") - the bearer of legislative, executive, judicial, and military power. The original residence of the grand dukes was the ancient Belarusian city of Novogorodok (modern Novogrudok). Since 1323, the official capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russian Zhemoitsk was the city of Vilna (modern Vilnius). The coat of arms of this power was "Pursuit". The "Pahonia" coat of arms was first mentioned in chronicles at the end of the 13th century. “Pursuit” in the form of a silver horseman on a red shield was adopted as the official state symbol of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1384.

The official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was Old Belarusian (“Russian”). It was spoken by the grand ducal court, it was the language of the courts, state acts, in one of which - the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1588, its state status was secured: “And the zemstvo clerk draws in Russian letters and words in Russian all sheets, extracts and calls write, and not in another language and words...".

In your inner and foreign policy the grand ducal power relied on the feudal nobility. This is confirmed by the existence of Lithuanian advisory bodies under the grand dukes, which included representatives of the grand ducal family and the richest and most influential families. Evidence of the activities of such bodies dates back to the times of Mindaugas, Gediminas, Olgerd, Keistut, Jagiello, and Vytautas.

Thus, in the charter of Grand Duke Vytautas, dated 1388, it is noted that he coordinated his decisions with the Rada (“planned with the lords of the Rada”). The Grand Ducal Rada initially acted as a council under the “sovereign”, without a specific composition and specifically defined functions.

The separation of the Rada into an independent, special body of power took place over the course of the 30-40s. XV century It was during civil war 30s V. The position of the feudal nobility strengthened significantly; it was among them that candidates for the post of grand duke sought support.

1. GENERAL FUNDAMENTALS OF GOVERNMENT

The connection of the lands of Lithuania, Zhmudi and the Belarusian principalities at first was extremely complex and extraordinary, from the point of view and modern science state law and from the point of view of similar examples of the Middle Ages, structure. The territorial structure is very complex. The entire state is made up of the following independently living lands: from appanage principalities, from annex regions that were in a state of federation or union with the central principality, i.e. from the lands of Vitebsk, Polotsk, Smolensk and Zhmud and, to a certain extent, Podlyash, and finally, from the territory of Lithuania proper with parts of the former Russian regions adjacent to it. But in terms of state structure, parts of Lithuania proper were not in the same position. In terms of governance, the lands of Lithuania itself also attracted individual Russian volosts. Finally, to these three parts of the state we must add its three southern provinces, which were not included in Belarus, namely the lands of Kyiv, Volyn and Podolsk, which had a special autonomous structure. It is necessary immediately in short words to find out the position of the southern provinces of the state, which later formed the Polish provinces and laid the foundation for Southern Ukraine. In ancient times, these lands had prince-deputies from among the Gediminovichs and, after the destruction of the appanages, became part of the state: Volyn in 1444 after the death of the childless Svidrigaila and the Kiev land in 1471 after the death of Olelkovich. Both lands received a special provincial structure with autonomous governance, but without signs of maintaining state independence. Eastern Podolia was ruled by Vinnytsia and Braslav; elders, without even the importance of an autonomous province.

All these provinces, before their annexation to Poland in 1569, still bore the consequences of the Tatar devastation, were sparsely populated, and there was almost no trade movement here. Frequent attacks by the Tatars deterred the colonization of these southern provinces. The central cities had only the significance of fortresses (Kyiv, Cherkassy, ​​Kanev, Braslav, Vinnitsa, Lutsk, Vladimir), protecting the south from the Tatars. Their small population huddled under the fortress walls, seeking protection here. Only Volyn was more densely populated and had highly developed private land ownership. On the contrary, the Kiev region and Podolia were still waiting for a colonist and their settlement began only after 1569.

The general principle, historically introduced into this complex structure of the state, was the recognition of “old times,” that is, the ancient way of life of each isolated part of the state, and the recognition of the dominance of ancient Russian legal norms.

This means that each part retained its rights and government structure. According to the concepts of that time, in Smolensk or in Polotsk, for example, the prince reigned, “who is at Vilnius and on the Troki”! Some scholars call such a union of lands a federation under the leadership of the Prince of Lithuania proper. This definition is correct from the point of view of modern law, but people of the 15th century. deepened this concept of a federal structure in the sense of understanding this system as a personal union, and the prince of Vilna united in his person the rest of the reigning lands. Therefore, the Lithuanian prince was simultaneously considered as the prince of Smolensk, Polotsk and Vitebsk, which is sometimes expressed in documents. But along with the Prince of Lithuania, who united a number of principalities, there were also special appanage princes who were in vassal dependence on the Grand Duke.

2. STRUCTURE OF APARTMENT PRINCIPLES

Some of the Rurikovichs and some of the Gediminovichs sat in appanage princedoms. The Rurikovichs with their reigns either themselves became vassals of the Grand Duke, or were forced to do so by the Grand Dukes. In the position of the Rurikovichs and the Gediminovichs, a considerable difference is noticeable: in the sense of greater dependence on the Grand Duke and in the sense of the greater ease with which the great princes deprived the Gediminovichs of their disobedient inheritances. However, the internal life of the appanage reigns did not suffer changes from these differences. The appanage prince brought “submission” to the Grand Duke, that is, an act of submission, usually expressed in a special oath. Loyal service and military assistance to the Grand Duke were the duties of the appanage. This was accompanied by the payment of tribute. But the appanage prince is connected with the great “brotherhood”. He has the right to give advice to the Grand Duke - to sit in his Rada, that is, in the council. But internally the estate is governed according to the old ways, the grand ducal power does not operate in it. The life of the estate proceeds in accordance with the norms of ancient Russian law. Under the appanage prince there is Boyar Duma, consisting of regional governors, court officials, and the boyars in general. With this Duma, the prince decides all matters and it seals with its consent and presence the acts of his government activities. Court case, land distribution, arrangement military service and so on is entirely in the power of the appanage prince. Along with the boyars, there are also veche meetings!

In the territorial sense, the appanages were scattered in different parts of the state. Scattered within the borders of Lithuania proper were mainly the Gediminite fiefs, which over time became part of Lithuania proper. Such, for example, are the appanages: Gorodensky, Novgorodsky, Minsky, which became part of Lithuania proper in the second quarter of the 14th century, Mstislavsky (on Sozh) with Mogilev and Mglin (Chernigov province), which existed until 1527; Podlyakhia, led by Berestye, was an inheritance under Gediminas and Vytautas; The Turovo-Pinsk principality had a prince until 1524; At the same time, the Principality of Gorodets (Davyd-Gorodok on Pripyat) ended its existence; The Slutsk and Kopyl principalities existed until the beginning of the 17th century. All these reigns were interspersed with the territory of lands that were under the direct power of the Grand Duke. A dense row of principalities, making up an almost continuous territory, was located in the east. Here were almost exclusively the reigns of the Rurikovichs. It is easy to see from the territory of these principalities how far, even beyond the borders of the Belarusian nation, the power of the Grand Duke went in the first period of the history of Lithuania and Rus'.

Thus, within the boundaries of the former Smolensk land, the most important appanages were: Vyazemsky, Toropetsk, Velsky. Within the Chernigov-Seversk land, the most important destinies were: on the lands of the ancient Radimichi, divided in 1356 into Trubchevsky and Novgorod-Seversky and lost to Lithuania in 1499, Starodubovsky district with the city of Gomel, which was part of Lithuania until 1432, and, however, , Gomel remained with Lithuania. In the extreme southeast there were the appanages of Novosilsky, Belevsky, Odoevsky, Vorotynsky, Mazetsky, Tarussky (in Kaluga province) and others, which were transferred to Moscow for the most part in the 15th and early 16th centuries.

3. CONSTITUTIONS OF LAND-ANNEXES

The structure of the lands of Polotsk, Vitebsk and Smolensk is very interesting, of which the first two became part of the Grand Duchy very early. At first they had princes. But in this early period of the formation of the state, even the right to elect appanage princes who recognized the power of the Grand Duke, and even recognition of the power of the Grand Duke depended on the consent of the vecha of each individual land, i.e. The ancient Russian veche way of life still held on. So, in the half of the 13th century. The Lithuanian prince Mingailo settled in Polotsk, not without the help of military force, but his grandson Boris reigned in Polotsk only because he stuck to the old days: “When he panicked in Polotsk, he was kind to his subjects and gave them, his subjects, freedom and justice and ringing ring and therefore be born like in Veliky Novgorod and Pskov." During the succession of grand dukes in Vilna, each land separately recognized the power of the grand duke over itself. The power of Vytautas in 1404 was established in Smolensk only because here Grand Duke had his own party and, moreover, ordered the Smolny residents to “do a lot of damage.” In 1440, the Lithuanian lords installed Grand Duke Casimir in Vilna, but each land separately recognized him, not without negotiations and concessions on the part of the Grand Duke. This order of separate recognition of the Grand Duke ended only in 1492 with the election of Alexander as Grand Duke at the general Sejm in Vilna. In the early period of national life, local zemstvo councils, each separately, resolved issues of war and peace and did not always agree with how the Grand Duke decided. Local councils themselves determined the payment of extraordinary taxes for military needs. Finally, local legislation was in the power of the regional council, for example, issues of trade, civil law, questions about local finances, etc. The activities of the local council in the field of justice continued until the half of the 16th century, i.e. then, when the veches turned into local diets of the gentry.

Ancient customs in relation to government and population were preserved for a long time so much so that even the Grand Dukes Casimir and Alexander, having sent state affairs in Lithuania proper, moved to the annex regions, lived here for some time and governed the regions together with the local council.

The lands were governed on the basis of charters, that is, local constitutional acts. These laws regulating local life are based on the principle that “we (that is, the ruler) do not destroy the old, and do not introduce new things.” Indeed, the charters secured political, social and legal order, developed in these lands during previous centuries. After all, Polotsk and Vitebsk represented democracy, in which all affairs were controlled by the veche. And now the meeting of good and small people, all townspeople, was the highest body in matters relating to local government. Original feature The ancient Russian city was its unity with the land, that is, with the whole region. The city was the center and residents of the region and the city took part in the meeting, which is why there was no strict distinction between urban and rural classes of society. The city appeared with the same character in its charter. The city had its own treasury, city elected officials were present at the governor's trial. The norms of criminal and civil law, developed by custom, were now enshrined in law. The resolutions of the statutory charters indicate the high political development of the ancient Russian zemstvo. Thus, the Grand Duke guaranteed the regions the personal safety of residents (namely, personal inviolability: no one could be deprived of their freedom or executed without trial), the freedom of women left without guardians from forced marriages at the request of the Grand Duke, the right to travel to neighboring regions and beyond the border of the state, the irresponsibility of the family for the crime of one of its members, the preservation of personal privileges and the “honor” of the nobility. In the field of property rights of citizens, the rights of property ownership, wills, and inheritance were confirmed. Finally, the charters ensured the ancient procedural law, the commercial court, the person and property of citizens from oppression by the local administration and certain obligations of the population to serve state taxes and duties. Judging by the volume and importance of the obligations assumed by the sovereign in relation to each individual region, it is clear that zemstvo charters were constitutional charters of individual lands. The lands of Polotsk, Vitebsk and Smolensk remained separate states. In fact, they preserved the appearance of individual principalities: in each land, court positions were preserved, occupied by local natives, for example, the position of marshal, equerry, hunter, okolnik, falconer, beaver keeper, housekeeper, etc. In case of his arrival, the Grand Duke had a full court staff in every land, as it was under the appanage princes. The city itself was even demolished, however, only for trade matters, with neighboring states and cities, for example, with Riga and others. There was a grand-ducal governor in the city, but he was appointed by the ruler from the local boyars and with the consent of the entire embassy, ​​that is, all residents. The governor, taking office, took an oath, like to the ancient Russian prince. In general, there are many interesting points in the charters; there are expressions and definitions that correspond not only to the spirit, but also to the archaic nature of the text, to the ancient sworn princely charters that the Vitebsk and Polotsk princes issued to the population in the ancient Dolitovsky times.

Under such conditions, the life of the land acquired the character of the life of a separate state on the basis of ancient Russian law. The land was governed by its own veche assembly, had its own finances, and so on. The highest body of court, administration and legislation was the local veche, sometimes now called the “sejm”. As in ancient times, the whole earth lives this life, without distinction between classes of society. But it already has some features that indicate the gradual penetration of new views. In Lithuanian times, signs of class struggle and party struggle were noticeable at veches, so that sometimes the Grand Duke himself had to issue decrees that the parties should live “harmoniously” among themselves, so that everyone would come together at the veche to resolve common affairs, that is, as happened in antiquity. The ancient orders had to be remembered because new phenomena appeared in life. There is a noticeable division of parties based on class interests.

The party division corresponding to the class division indicates the emerging differentiation of estates, which led over time, as we will see, to the complete separation of estates and to isolation in political life.

The above characterizes the way of life of the Polotsk, Smolensk and Vitebsk lands. Zhmud and Podlyakhia did not have a strictly developed tradition of separate state independence. True, in 1446 Zhmud received a charter from Grand Duke Casimir, giving this land broad autonomy. Podlaskie land in 1444 also received privileges from the Grand Duke, but this charter did not give Podlasie the character of a land-principal state, but gave only one class - the gentry - autonomous rights, mainly in the field of judicial system.

4.TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE OF THE GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in its own sense had a very complex territorial structure. According to the historical origin of its territory and its ethnographic composition, the following parts can be distinguished in the territory of Lithuania. First of all, the parts whose center was the old capital of Lithuania - Troki. These are the ancient ancestral lands of the Gediminovichs. The second part of the lands made up the district of the new capital - Vilna, which included a small part of the Lithuanian courts, that is, centers of economy, and those Russian courts and volosts that belonged to Lithuania itself and, under the very first princes, became part of it. These are the western parts of the Polotsk lands, part of the northeastern part of the Turovo-Pinsk principality. Thus, this territory is based on the lands of the Vilna and Troketsky principalities of the most ancient composition. Over time, new lands from the territories of former Russian principalities were added to the land fund of the principalities. From Podlyakhia to the Dnieper stretched, as we indicated above, a strip of appanage principalities occupied primarily by the Gediminovichs. When the Russian principalities were annexed and when they were transferred to the Gediminovichs, the Lithuanian Grand Dukes retained part of the territory of these principalities and annexed them to their lands.

Thus, the territory of the Vilna and Troka principalities was overgrown with Russian volosts, located in stripes among the appanage princely lands. Olgerd and Keistut concluded a condition among themselves, according to which half of the annexed lands were assigned to the Troki reign, half to the Vilna reign. Traces of this agreement were preserved even when any division between the Trocian and Vilna princes had no real meaning. Sometimes even volosts were divided into two parts, Vilna and Troka (for example, Bobruisk volost was divided into Vilna and Troka halves in the half of the 16th century). When appanage reigns were destroyed for political reasons or due to the end of the dynasty, their lands were also annexed to the Vilna reign. This created a unique complex of lands that made up the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Geographically, this unique territory of Lithuania and Lithuanian Rus can be designated as follows: largest centers its administrations: in the west - Vilno, Troki, Braslav (Kovno province), Novogrudok, Grodno, Berestye, Slonim; in the center - Bobruisk, Mozyr, Minsk, Pinsk, Kletsk; in the east - Gomel, Mogilev, Rogachev. This is how this territory was formed at different times, which began in the 13th century. and the final formation of which was completed by the beginning of the second quarter of the 16th century.

The Troki and Vilna principalities are ancient fiefdoms of the Lithuanian princes. Therefore, on the territory of both reigns, the Grand Duke felt, first of all, a prince-patrimonial prince. Therefore, the management of these lands developed according to the patrimonial type, with the undoubted addition of such features that were characteristic of ancient Lithuanian legal concepts, which in this case diverged from the ancient Russian legal structure. The latter recognized the democratic system and the participation of all free citizens in governing the country. The center of each volost is the city - hence the importance of the city meeting. On the territory of the Vilna-Troksky reign, the following population groups were distinguished: the major princes and the lords who were personally dependent on the Grand Duke. These are mostly descendants of Lithuanian elders or relatives of the Gediminovichs, who lost the rights of appanage princes. All these are owners of large latifundia, on the territory of which the power of the Grand Duke did not extend at all. These were the descendants of large Lithuanian landowners, who expanded their private holdings through further increments, as their princes succeeded, who shared their lands with their closest collaborators and assistants. This was the Lithuanian nobility, enjoying privileges and distinguished by wealth. In their localities they were the same patrimonial owners as the prince was in his reign. Then, small landowners who made up the military service class lived on the lands of the grand ducal estate. They were called servants, later - boyars, and later became part of the gentry. These were free military men who initially did not take part in the political life of the land. In addition to military personnel, noble and ignorant, numerous of his subjects lived on the territory of the patrimony, that is, the peasant class, which owed its patrimony many duties and taxes.

However, there is a noticeable difference in the structure and management of the ruler's subjects. Of course, all of them did not participate in political life. But that part of them that had previously been annexed to the principality no longer enjoyed any rights of local self-government. Geographically, these are the Gospodar's courtyards and villages in the western parts of the territory outlined above, that is, in the territory of Troki, Vilna, Podlyakhia, Novogrudok, Minsk. The eastern regions were later annexed and for them the principle of the inviolability of antiquity was retained by the grand ducal government. Therefore, these volosts retained the foundations of their local government.

CONCLUSION

The Eastern Russian regions that enjoyed autonomy were usually called Russian volosts in the language of that time. Residents of the volosts did not retain political rights, but retained the foundations of self-government, the entire way of ancient life. Each volost represented a curious corner of the ancient Russian system. The center of each volost was one of the ancient cities (these were the main ones: Bobruisk, Rogachev, Mogilev, Gomel, Mozyr, etc.). The city and the volost were one whole, without distinction between classes and population. The entire volost gathered for a volost meeting, consisting of the husbands of the volost, where all the affairs of the volost were decided. The volost elected representatives and executors of its decisions - elders, ranks, jurors. The volost had its own court - a mine. The volost was in charge of the distribution of taxes, cuts and markings. Administrative power was in her hands. In general, these volosts were a curious oasis of the country, which the Voloshans guarded very staunchly.

Tributaries preserved the type of ancient settlements and forms of land tenure. They sat on the land, usually developed by them from under the ancient forest and considered their property. They sat in services and courtyards, i.e. separate farmsteads scattered among forests and swamps. For the most part, the courtyard and services consisted of one smoke, but sometimes the courtyard grew naturally and turned into a settlement of several smokes, although their number rarely exceeded 10 and only in a few cases reached 27. The amount of land under the courtyard, service is not the same, it was composed gradually as forest islands were developed, due to the expanding needs of the courtyard family. The principle that united people into one yard was the principle of syabrin or shared family-community organization. Syabry is the oldest form of communal life, characteristic of deep antiquity not only Russian, but also common Slavic. The Syabrin community consisted of relatives and sometimes strangers. They all worked together and used property together, but in the event of division, each family member received the right to his share of the property in accordance with the right of inheritance. When the yard grew, some of the co-owners were evicted from it to neighboring lands, but, having divided the arable fields and other property, these settlements continued to jointly own fishing grounds, hayfields, forests, that is, items of the economy that allowed the common use of a large circle of people. However, these lands could also be subject to division and become private ownership. In this form of common ownership there was an embryo of communal forms of land ownership, but these forms never received recognition and development among us, as was the case in the Moscow state. At its core, Syabrinsk land ownership has the character of private land ownership!

LIST OF SOURCES USED

1. Lyubavsky, M.K. Regional division and local government of the Lithuanian-Russian state at the time of publication of the first Lithuanian statute / M.K. Lyubavsky. - Moscow, 1934. - 248 p.

2. Leontonovich, E.I. On the history of the administrative system of the Lithuanian state / E.I. Leontonovich. - Warsaw, 1899. - 167 p.

3. Butromeev, V.P. Crown of the Grand Duchy / V.P.Butromeev. - M.: "Olma - press", 1999, 336 p.

4. Dovnar-Zapolsky, M.V. History of Belarus / M.V. Dovnar-Zapolsky. - Mn.: Belarus, 2005. - 680 p.

5. Bokhan, Yu.V. Belarus during the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania / V.N. Golubev. - Minsk: Ecoperspective, 2008, - 688 p.

The Republic of Lithuania (Lietuva) is a state in Eastern Europe. Lithuania is located on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea and borders on Latvia in the north, Belarus in the east and southeast, Poland in the south, and the Kaliningrad region of Russia in the southwest. The western border of the state runs along the Baltic Sea. The length of the sea coastline is 99 km. Lithuania consists of four historical regions: Samogitia (in the west), Aukštaitija (in the east), Dzukija (in the southeast), Suvalkija (in the southwest). This is a developed agrarian-industrial country. Lithuanians are believed to speak the oldest language in the Indo-European family.

During the period of its greatest power, Lithuania included the territory of present-day Belarus, most of modern Ukraine, part of Western Russian lands and stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea. In the context of the struggle against the crusaders, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania entered into an alliance with the Kingdom of Poland, concluding the Union of Krevo (1385). In 1569, Lithuania and Poland were in the united state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the end of the 18th century, the state was divided between Russia, Austria and Prussia, while most of the territory of Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, Lithuania gained independence, which was secured by an agreement between the RSFSR and the Republic of Lithuania on July 12, 1920. In 1940, Lithuania again became part of the USSR, then in 1990 the republic seceded from the Soviet Union.

History of the Lithuanian SSR. Vilnius, 1978
Lithuania. Concise Encyclopedia . Vilnius, 1989

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