Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters or Movement for the Struggle for Lithuanian Freedom ( lt, Lietuvos laisvės kovos sąjūdis or LLKS) was a resistance organization of the Lithuanian partisans, waging a guerrilla war against the Soviet Union in the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

. The organization was established on February 10, 1949, during a meeting of all partisan commanders in

Minaičiai Minaičiai or Mėnaičiai is a village in Lithuania, located on the Šušvė River. It has a primary school. According to the 2011 census, it had 179 residents. History After World War II, the homestead of Stanislovas Miknius hid a bunker of Le ...

village.

Jonas Žemaitis Jonas Žemaitis (also known under his '' nom de guerre'' ''Vytautas''; March 15, 1909 in Palanga – November 26, 1954 in Moscow) was one of the leaders of the Lithuanian partisans, armed resistance against the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, and ...

(codename ''Vytautas'') was elected as the chairman of its presidium. On February 16, the 31st anniversary of the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania, the Union adopted a declaration proclaiming itself to be the supreme political and military authority in Lithuania. In 1996, after

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

regained independence in 1990, the Seimas (parliament) recognized the declaration as an official act of the Republic of Lithuania and Žemaitis as

President of Lithuania The President of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The officeholder has been Gitanas Nausėda since 12 July 2019. Powers The president has somewhat more executive authority tha ...

. The organization and the partisan war were suppressed by the Soviet security agencies by 1953.

Structure

References

Sources

External links

English translation of the Declaration of February 16, 1949
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1949 Organizations disestablished in 1953 Paramilitary organizations based in Lithuania Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic 1949 establishments in the Soviet Union 1953 disestablishments in the Soviet Union