Act Of March 11
The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of March 11 ( lt, Aktas dėl Lietuvos nepriklausomos valstybės atstatymo) was an independence declaration by Lithuania adopted on March 11, 1990, signed by all members of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania led by Sąjūdis. The act emphasized restoration and legal continuity of the interwar-period Lithuania, which was occupied by the Soviet Union and lost independence in June 1940. It was the first Soviet republic of the 15 Soviet republics to declare independence from the Soviet Union. The other 14 Soviet republics would later declare their independence. These events (being part of the broader process dubbed the "parade of sovereignties") would lead to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Background Loss of independence After the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century, Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolut ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Act Of Independence Of Lithuania
The Act of Independence of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), The signed document is actually titled simply '' Nutarimas'', meaning "decision" or "resolution", and it "proclaims the restoration of the independent state of Lithuania". was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty representatives of the Council, which was chaired by Jonas Basanavičius. The Act of February 16 was the result of a series of resolutions on the issue, including one issued by the Vilnius Conference and the Act of January 8. The path to the Act was long and complex because the German Empire exerted pressure on the Council to form an alliance. The Council had to carefully maneuver between the Germ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Socialist Revolution
Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolution is a necessary precondition for transitioning from a capitalist to a socialist mode of production. Revolution is not necessarily defined as a violent insurrection; it is defined as a seizure of political power by mass movements of the working class so that the state is directly controlled or abolished by the working class as opposed to the capitalist class and its interests.Thompson, Carl D. (October 1903)"What Revolutionary Socialism Means" ''The Vanguard''. Green Bay: Socialist Party of America. 2 (2): 13. Retrieved 31 August 2020 – via the Marxist Internet Archive. Revolutionary socialists believe such a state of affairs is a precondition for establishing socialism and orthodox Marxists believe it is inevitable but not predetermine ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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People's Seimas
The People's Seimas ( lt, Liaudies Seimas) was a puppet legislature organized in order to give legal sanction the occupation and annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union. After the Soviet ultimatum in June 1940, a new pro-Soviet government was formed, known as the People's Government. The new government dismissed the Fourth Seimas and announced elections to the People's Seimas. The elections were heavily rigged, and resulted in a chamber composed entirely of Communists and Communist sympathizers (the electorate had no choice as 79 candidates were offered to the 79 seats). The new parliament unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and petitioned for admission to the Soviet Union as a constituent republic. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR accepted the Lithuanian petition on August 3, 1940. The People's Seimas adopted a new constitution, a close copy of the 1936 Soviet Constitution, on August 25 and renamed itself to the Supreme Sovie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1940 Lithuanian Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Lithuania on 14–15 July 1940 to the so-called People's Seimas. They followed an ultimatum from the Soviet Union to allow Soviet troops to enter the country and operate freely. The elections were rigged and only communist candidates were allowed to run.Ineta Ziemele (2002''Baltic yearbook of international law: 2001''p4 Background President Antanas Smetona left Lithuania on 15 June as the Red Army occupied the country and took control of the government. On 1 July the puppet People's Government led by Justas Paleckis announced elections to a new parliament, the People's Seimas, to be held on 14 July. The Communist Party of Lithuania emerged from underground with 1,500 members. Soon afterwards, the government announced the formation of the Union of the Working People of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos liaudies darbo sąjunga), ostensibly a popular front. Voters were presented with a single list of candidates, including some non-communists. Just one ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Justas Paleckis
Justas Paleckis ( – 26 January 1980) was a Lithuanian author, journalist and politician. He was nominal acting president of Lithuania after the Soviet invasion while Lithuania was still ostensibly independent, in office from 17 June to 3 August 1940. He then remained as the nominal head of state of the Lithuanian SSR until 1967. Life and career Paleckis was born in Telšiai in 1899 in to the family of a blacksmith of noble origin. In 1926–1927, he was a director of the Lithuanian official news agency, ELTA. He later voiced opposition to the ruling elite in Lithuania; in this way, he became a suitable candidate for the Lithuanian communists (subordinate to Soviet envoy Vladimir Dekanozov) to become the puppet leader of Lithuania in the Soviets' planned takeover of the country in 1940. Paleckis had connections to the Lithuanian Communist Party from the early 1930s. After President Antanas Smetona fled to the US when the Soviet Union occupied the country, Prime Minister Ant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antanas Merkys
Antanas Merkys (; 1 February 1887 – 5 March 1955) was the last Prime Minister of independent Lithuania, serving from November 1939 to June 1940. When the Soviet Union presented an ultimatum to Lithuania demanding that it accept a Soviet garrison, President Antanas Smetona fled the country leaving Merkys as acting president. Merkys ostensibly cooperated with the Soviets, and illegally took over the presidency in his own right. After three days, Merkys handed power to Justas Paleckis, who formed the People's Government of Lithuania. When Merkys attempted to flee the country, he was captured and deported to the interior of Russia, where he died in 1955. Biography Merkys was born at Bajorai, near Skapiškis. Educated in law, he served in the Russian Army during World War I (1914–18). In 1919, he served as the newly independent Lithuania's Minister of Defence before serving with the Lithuanian Army until his decommissioning in 1922. He then practised as a lawyer. After the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Antanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual and journalist and the first President of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 to 1940, before its occupation by the Soviet Union. He was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II, and was one of the most prominent ideologists of nationalism in Lithuania. Early life and education Smetona was born on in the village of Užulėnis, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire, to a family of farmers – former serfs of the Taujėnai Manor, which belonged to the Radziwiłł family. Researcher Kazimieras Gasparavičius has traced Smetona's patrilineal ancestry to Laurentijus who was born around 1695 and lived near Raguva. Smetona was the eighth of nine children. His parents were hardworking people who managed to double their inherited . His father was literate and Smetona learned to read at home. His father died in 1885 when Smetona was only 11 year ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soviet Socialist Republic
The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The Soviet Union was formed in 1922 by a treaty between the Soviet republics of Byelorussia, Russia, Transcaucasia, and Ukraine, by which they became its constituent republics. For most of its history, the USSR was a highly centralized state despite its nominal structure as a federation of republics; the decentralization reforms during the era of ''perestroika'' and ''glasnost'' conducted by Mikhail Gorbachev are cited as one of the factors which led to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. There were two very distinct types of republics in the Soviet Union: the larger union republics, representing the main ethnic groups of the Union and with the constitutional right to se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Occupation And Annexation Of The Baltic States By The Soviet Union (1940)
The Soviet occupation of the Baltic states covers the period from the Soviet–Baltic mutual assistance pacts in 1939, to their invasion and annexation in 1940, to the mass deportations of 1941. In September and October 1939 the Soviet government compelled the much smaller Baltic states to conclude mutual assistance pacts which gave the Soviets the right to establish military bases there. Following invasion by the Red Army in the summer of 1940, Soviet authorities compelled the Baltic governments to resign. The presidents of Estonia and Latvia were imprisoned and later died in Siberia. Under Soviet supervision, new puppet communist governments and fellow travelers arranged rigged elections with falsified results. Shortly thereafter, the newly elected "people's assemblies" passed resolutions requesting admission into the Soviet Union. In June 1941 the new Soviet governments carried out mass deportations of "enemies of the people". Consequently, at first many Balts greeted the G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baltic States
The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea are sometimes referred to as the "Baltic nations", less often and in historical circumstances also as the "Baltic republics", the "Baltic lands", or simply the Baltics. All three Baltic countries are classified as high-income economies by the World Bank and maintain a very high Human Development Index. The three governments engage in intergovernmental and parliamentary cooperation. There is also frequent cooperation in foreign and security policy, defence, energy, and transportation. The term "Baltic states" ("countries", "nations", or similar) cannot be used unambiguously in the context of cultural areas, national identity, or language. While the majority ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spheres Of Influence
In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal alliance or other treaty obligations between the influenced and influencer, such formal arrangements are not necessary and the influence can often be more of an example of soft power. Similarly, a formal alliance does not necessarily mean that one country lies within another's sphere of influence. High levels of exclusivity have historically been associated with higher levels of conflict. In more extreme cases, a country within the "sphere of influence" of another may become a subsidiary of that state and serve in effect as a satellite state or ''de facto'' colony. This was the case with the Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc after World War II. The system of spheres of influence by which powerful nations intervene in the affairs of others co ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |