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National Revival National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Eur ...
, 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 Lithuanian-inhabited areas belonged to the Russian Empire (the Russian partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). It was expressed by the rise of
self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...
of the
Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...
that led to the formation of the modern Lithuanian nation and culminated in the re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian state. The most active participants of the national revival included Vincas Kudirka and Jonas Basanavičius. The period largely corresponded to the rise of
romantic nationalism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
and other national revivals of 19th-century Europe. The revival was predated by a short period of the early 19th century known as the " Samogitian revival" led by students of Vilnius University, including Simonas Daukantas and
Simonas Stanevičius Simonas Tadas Stanevičius (; 26 October 1799 in Kanopėnai near Viduklė – 10 March 1848 in Stemplės near Švėkšna) was a Lithuanian writer and an activist of the "Samogitian Revival", an early stage of the Lithuanian National Revival. Biog ...
. The most recent Lithuanian national revival may be linked to the late 20th century developments also known as the
Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic states, Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union a ...
.


Lithuanian language status

Due to a long period of common Polish-Lithuanian statehood and nationality, and the Russian Empire's policy of
Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...
, many of the Lithuanian nobles in the 19th century had become Polonized and the language was generally used only by the poor and by the middle classes; some of the latter tended to use Polish as a status symbol for social advancement. Lithuanian was generally a spoken language and was not considered prestigious enough for written usage; it was, however, retained by some members of the minor nobility, especially in the Samogitian region. The language was not yet standardized; its grammar varied greatly from region to region in form of Aukštaitijan and Samogitian dialects and their sub-dialects. There were even expectations that the Lithuanian language would become extinct, as the eastern territories within what is modern-day Lithuania and northwestern Belarus became increasingly Slavicized, and many people used Polish or
Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...
in their daily lives. At the beginning of the 19th century, the use of the Lithuanian language was largely limited to Lithuanian rural areas; the only area where Lithuanian was considered suitable for literature was German-controlled Lithuania Minor in
East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
. Even here, an influx of German immigrants threatened the native language and
Prussian Lithuanian The Prussian Lithuanians, or Lietuvininkai (singular: ''Lietuvininkas'', plural: ''Lietuvininkai''), are Lithuanians, originally Lithuanian language speakers, who formerly inhabited a territory in northeastern East Prussia called Prussian Lithuan ...
culture. Several factors contributed to its subsequent revival: the language drew attention from scholars of the emerging science of
comparative linguistics Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness ...
; after the abolition of serfdom in the Russian Empire in 1861,
social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given society ...
increased, and Lithuanian intellectuals arose from the ranks of the rural populace; and language became associated with identity in Lithuania, as elsewhere across Europe. Within the Catholic Church, the barriers that had earlier prevented commoners from entering the priesthood were eased. A closer relationship developed between the educated clergy, who were increasingly of ethnic Lithuanian stock, and their parishioners, including empathy for their wish to use the Lithuanian language. The emerging national movement sought to distance itself from both Polish and Russian influences, and the use of the Lithuanian language was seen as an important aspect of this movement.Nationalism in Post-Soviet Lithuania
Terry D. Clark, University of Michigan Press. June 12, 2006. Accessed October 29, 2007.


Development of national ideas

The development of Lithuanian national culture and national identity was further burdened by the
Lithuanian press ban The Lithuanian press ban ( lt, spaudos draudimas) was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet in force from 1865 to 1904 within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-lan ...
, one of the repressive measures that followed the
1863 uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed a ...
. After the uprising, serfdom was finally abandoned. The revival began among young educated people of Lithuanian extraction who attended higher education studies at the universities of the Russian Empire and foreign states. Many were sons of wealthy farmers in origin and thus, having come from the peasant class was least affected by Polonisation. The movement resulted in the publication of the Lithuanian newspapers '' Aušra'' and ''
Varpas ''Varpas'' (literally: ''The Bell'') was a monthly Lithuanian-language newspaper published during the Lithuanian press ban from January 1889 to December 1905. Because its publication was illegal in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, it ...
'', followed by the publication of poems and books in Lithuanian. These writings romanticized the past of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, depicting the nation as formerly a great power with many heroes. The revival spearheaded the independence movement, with various organizations opposing Russification and Russian influence. Russian policy became harsher in response, and there were known instances of attacks on
Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
es; meanwhile, a ban on the Lithuanian press continued. Yet even with a press ban, the literacy of Lithuanians continued to rise significantly and was one of the greatest among the nations in the Russian Empire, behind only Finns, Estonians and Latvians. The political Lithuanian nation had already been formed by the end of the 19th century. Political claims were voiced in the Great Seimas of Vilnius, and political and cultural activity continued to grow after the press ban was finally lifted in 1904.


History of scholarship

The first important study on the Lithuanian national revival was written by Michał Pius Römer in 1908 - ''Lietuva. Studija apie lietuvių tautos atgimimą'' (''Litwa. Studyum o odrodzeniu narodu litewskiego'', ''Lithuania: Study of national revival'').


See also

* ''''


References


Further reading

* Genzelis B., 2007, The restitution of Lithuania's statehood. Vilnius: Lithuanian National Museum. * Römeris M., 2020, Lietuva: studija apie lietuvių tautos atgimimą (''Lithuania: Study of national revival''). Vilnius: Flavija. {{Authority control History of Lithuania (1795–1918) Lithuanian nationalism