100th anniversary of the restoration of statehood 03

The Centennial of the Restored State of Lithuania marks the 100th anniversary of the

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 '' ...

which was signed on 16 February 1918.

Historical background

Lithuania's statehood dates to the 13th-century

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 Li ...

. On 6 July 1253,

Mindaugas Mindaugas (german: Myndowen, la, Mindowe, orv, Мендог, be, Міндоўг, pl, Mendog, c. 1203–1263) is the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or r ...

was crowned as the

King of Lithuania The monarchy of Lithuania concerned the monarchical head of state of Lithuania, which was established as an absolute and hereditary monarchy. Throughout Lithuania's history there were three ducal dynasties that managed to stay in power—House ...

. In 1385, Lithuania joined Poland in a union that grew into 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 Crown of the Kingdom of ...

by 1569. Between 1772 and 1795, most of Lithuania was

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by 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. ...

. Towards the end of

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 ...

, on 16 February 1918, twenty people signed the

, which proclaimed the restoration of an Independent State of Lithuania, creating a modern state. During

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 opposin ...

, Lithuania was forcibly occupied and annexed by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1940, followed by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1941, and again by the Soviets in 1944 as one of its constituent republics. During the late 1980s and the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, Lithuania fought to restore its independence which culminated in the

Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania 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 S ...

signed on 11 March 1990.

Goal and tasks

In order to have every Lithuanian citizen experience the significance of this

jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

, the

Government of Lithuania The Government of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Vyriausybė), officially the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (''Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė'', abbreviated ''LRV''), is the cabinet of Lithuania, exercising executive power in the countr ...

has initiated a celebration of the centenary of the restoration of Lithuania. The intention of the celebration is to: To achieve this, the government has been planning to increase Lithuania's reputation abroad. February 16 has been pronounced as the most important jubilee date, but the Centennial is intended to last all year. The

National Flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

and

Vytis The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is als ...

have been chosen as symbols of the celebration of the centenary. Three main focuses of activity have been identified by the government: * Discover – activities aimed at the past and present: an invitation to know the country, its achievements, and heroes. * Celebrate – activities aimed at the present-day invite the society to meaningfully celebrate on 16 February. * Create – activities aimed at the future by emphasizing the idea that every person who contributes to the prosperity of Lithuania is an important hero of the Centennial and by encouraging active involvement and participation in creating the present and the future.

Activities

100th anniversary of the restoration of statehood 07

6 July 2017, the Statehood Day, marked the official start of the Centennial. On that day, the national anthem was sung at the same time at 100 Lithuania's

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

s and around the world. The main events of the celebration of the centennial are scheduled for 2018. The most important of them will be the commemoration of the 16 February. The largest event will be the 20th Song Festival "Vardan tos ...," to be held in

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 ...

on 30 June – 6 July 2018. The name of the festival comes from ''

Tautiška giesmė "" (; literally "The National Hymn") is the national anthem of Lithuania, also known by its opening words, "" (official translation of the lyrics: "Lithuania, Our Homeland", literally: "Lithuania, Our Fatherland"), and as "" ("The National Anthem ...

'', the Lithuanian anthem. A lot of attention will be given to the presentation of Lithuania and its cultural and scientific achievements abroad. Many smaller initiatives have been already or will be implemented in the near future. The Lithuanian Council for Culture alone has received fifty applications for “The Centennial of the State of Lithuania” program. Hundreds of initiatives have been supported by other cultural and scientific programs and foundations. In 2018, tens of scientific conferences, exhibitions, symposiums, educational programs, concerts, and performances will take place.

References

External links

Official website for Lithuania's centennial

Misija Lietuva 100

Schedule of centennial celebrations'
{{Lithuania topics 2018 in Lithuania Historical events in Lithuania Regional centennial anniversaries Events in Vilnius Military parades History of Lithuania

Historical background

Goal and tasks

Activities

See also

References

External links