''Šviesa'' or ''Szviesa'' (literally: ''The Light'') was a short-lived

Lithuanian-language Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic languages, Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the Europ ...

newspaper printed during the Lithuanian press ban in Tilsit (now

Sovetsk Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск) is the name of several urban localities in Russia. *Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, formerly Tilsit * Sovetsk, Kirov Oblast, a town in Sovetsky District of Kirov Oblast; * Sovetsk, T ...

) in German East Prussia and smuggled to Lithuania by the

knygnešiai Lithuanian book smugglers or Lithuanian book carriers ( lt, knygnešys, plural: lt, knygnešiaĩ, label=none) transported Lithuanian language books printed in the Latin alphabet into Lithuanian-speaking areas of the Russian Empire, defying a ba ...

. The monthly newspaper was published from August 1887 to August 1888 and from January to August 1890. 50- to 32-page newspaper had circulation of about 1,000. A special 72-page supplement was published in 1888. Influence of ''Šviesa'' was not very significant as it did not last and did not offer new ideas. After the first national Lithuanian newspaper ''

Aušra ''Aušra'' or ''Auszra'' (literally: ''dawn'') was the first national Lithuanian newspaper. The first issue was published in 1883, in Ragnit, East Prussia, Germany (newspaper credited it as lt, Ragainė) East Prussia's ethnolinguistic part - ...

'' ceased its publication due to financial difficulties, Lithuanian students in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and young priests, disappointed by secular ''Aušra'', organized publication of ''Šviesa''. They sought to take leadership of the

Lithuanian National Revival The Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively the Lithuanian National Awakening or Lithuanian nationalism ( lt, Lietuvių tautinis atgimimas), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuania ...

and propagate Catholic ideals. Edited by priest Antanas Vytartas and Jonas Kriaučiūnas, ''Šviesa'' was geared towards a common villager and included many practical articles about farming, husbandry, forestry. Other articles explained Christianity, promoted education, developed nationalistic ideas. ''Šviesa'' did not protest Russification or other policies of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. It also had conflicting views of Polish culture: sometimes it would criticize Polonized Lithuanians and argue for distinctively Lithuanian culture, but in other cases common Catholic faith would take precedence against Russian Orthodoxy. Contributors included

Antanas Baranauskas Antanas Baranauskas ( la, Antonius Baranovski, pl, Antoni Baranowski; 17 January 1835 – 26 November 1902) was a Lithuanian poet, mathematician and Catholic bishop of Sejny. Baranauskas is best known as the author of the Lithuanian poem '' An ...

Jonas Jablonskis Jonas Jablonskis (; 30 December 1860, in Kubilėliai, Šakiai district – 23 February 1930, in Kaunas) was a distinguished Lithuanian linguist and one of the founders of the standard Lithuanian language. He used the pseudonym ''Rygiškių Jon ...

Petras Leonas Petras Leonas (1864–1938) was a Lithuanian attorney and politician, the first Minister of Justice of the newly independent Lithuania in 1918. After graduating from Moscow University in 1889, Leonas held a government job at various courts in S ...

, Pranas Mašiotas,

Maironis Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian National Revi ...

References

Defunct newspapers published in Lithuania Lithuanian-language newspapers Newspapers established in 1887 Publications disestablished in 1890 Lithuanian press ban {{italic title