Belarus–Lithuania border
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The Belarus–Lithuania border is an international border almost in length between the
Republic of Belarus A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
( CIS member) and the
Republic of Lithuania A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
( EU member). It is an external border of the European Union as well as the western border of the
Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...
. of the border is on land, while are on water, crossing lakes, e.g. Lake Drūkšiai and following some rivers, e.g. Dysna River and Neman River. Both countries follow the most basic rules of the
freedoms of the air The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberalis ...
meaning for example that aircraft can fly over the border and through a country without special permission. However on 23 May 2021,
Ryanair Flight 4978 Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, operated by the Polish subsidiary Buzz. On 23 May 2021, while in Belarusian airspace, it was d ...
, an intra-EU flight with 171 passengers on board, crossing Belarusian airspace, was intercepted by a Belarusian MiG-29 and forced to land at Minsk Airport, where two of the passengers were arrested, which was objected by many governments and called air hijacking by a state.


History

Historical borders of and within the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
and later, following the partitions of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...
,
governorates A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is often used in translation from ...
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. ...
varied significantly throughout the history and at times bore little resemblance to the modern borders. The early formations of the current border originate after the
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, following the establishment of the Republic of Lithuania (1918–1940) and the
Lithuanian–Soviet War The Lithuanian–Soviet War or Lithuanian–Bolshevik War ( lt, karas su bolševikais) was fought between newly independent Lithuania and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic in the aftermath of World War I. It was part of the la ...
. The Soviet-Lithuanian Peace Treaty was signed on 12 July 1920, defining and recognizing the eastern border of Lithuania, even though it was ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' controlled by Poland due to the
Polish–Lithuanian War The Polish–Lithuanian War (in Polish historiography, Polish–Lithuanian Conflict) was an undeclared war between newly-independent Lithuania and Poland following World War I, which happened mainly, but not only, in the Vilnius and Suwałki reg ...
and
Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
. It was similar to the present border, but the
Vilnius region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territor ...
was ''de facto'' controlled by
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Following the
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, a new border was established between the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic within the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. It is the basis of the current border which had remained largely stable since 1940. The border is defined by the treaty of 6 February 1995 between the two countries. The border demarcation of the border was completed in 2007. Since 2004 the border has served as the external border of the European Union and, since 2007, the Schengen Area. These developments brought increased border controls and stricter visa requirements for crossing between the two countries. An agreement signed in 2010 aims to implement simplified traveling for people living within of the border.


Definition of the border

The treaty defines the border as starting at the border tripoint of Lithuania, Latvia and Belarus, where there is a monument (). It goes southeast across Lake Drūkšiai, following river Apyvardė, across lakes Apvardai and Prūtas, further following Dysna River to the east, and further to
Adutiškis Adutiškis (; pl, Hoduciszki; be, Гадуцішкі) is a town in Švenčionys district municipality, in Vilnius County, in northeast Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 689 people. The town is located near K ...
railway station. It further goes north of Belarusian settlement Lyntupy, east of the Lithuanian settlement Šumskas, across the road
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
- Maladzyechna, goes around the area of Lithuanian settlement Dieveniškės from the east, south and west, goes to the North of Belarusian settlement Bieniakoni, crosses the road Vilnius-
Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuan ...
and further follows Šalčia river. It further continues to the south of Lithuanian city
Eišiškės Eišiškės (, pl, Ejszyszki, russian: Эйши́шки/Eishishki, be, Эйшы́шкі/Eishyshki, yi, אײשישאָק/Eyshishok/Eishishok) is a small city in southeastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus. It is situated on a small group ...
, follows Načia river, goes to the south of Lithuanian settlement Dubičiai, reaches the source of
Kotra River The Kotra ( be, Котра; lt, Katra) is a river in Belarus and Lithuania. The river is an example of a rare phenomenon of river bifurcation. At first, the Kotra and Ūla form one river, known as the Pelesa, which originates in Belarus and ...
and further follows this river, then across lakes Grūda ir Dubas. It further crosses the railroad Vilnius- Grodno next to the stop Senovė, and the railroad to
Druskininkai Druskininkai (; pl, Druskieniki; be, Друскенiкi; yi, דרוזגעניק, translit=Druzgenik) is a spa town on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai has a population ...
to the north of the stop Pariečė, continuing west towards Neman river and up against the current, and further following Mara river to the border tripoint of Belarus, Lithuania and Poland ().


2021 migrant crisis

In June 2021, Lithuanian officials claimed that Belarusian authorities could encourage illegal migration from
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and Syria to Lithuania by organizing groups of refugees and helping them to cross the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.Belarus ‘weaponising’ illegal migration, Lithuania says
/ref> It was assumed that the state support of illegal migration could be carried out for political reasons. Illegal migration from Belarus forced Lithuania to declare state of emergency on 7 July 2021.Lithuania declares state of emergency over migrant arrivals from Belarus
/ref> Lithuania is building a border barrier to stem the flow of illegal crossings. On 5 August 2021, the chief of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service presented a project of the proposed
barrier A barrier or barricade is a physical structure which blocks or impedes something. Barrier may also refer to: Places * Barrier, Kentucky, a community in the United States * Barrier, Voerendaal, a place in the municipality of Voerendaal, Netherl ...
for the entire Belarus-Lithuania border which would be high and would use multiple layers of the
Concertina wire Concertina wire or Dannert wire is a type of barbed wire or razor wire that is formed in large coils which can be expanded like a concertina. In conjunction with plain barbed wire (and/or razor wire/tape) and steel pickets, it is most ofte ...
. The cost of the project is estimated at €150 million and the Lithuanian parliament approved it as a matter of urgency. As of May 2022, more than 330 km of the barrier with modern surveillance equipment was built.


See also

* Belarus–Lithuania relations


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belarus-Lithuania border 1995 establishments in Belarus 1995 establishments in Lithuania 1995 in international relations Borders of Belarus Borders of Lithuania International borders Internal borders of the Soviet Union European Union external borders Border barriers constructed during the European migrant crisis