''Vilniaus žinios'' (literally: ''Vilnius news'') was a short-lived newspaper published 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 ...

, Lithuania. It was the first legal Lithuanian-language daily newspaper to appear after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted on May 7, 1904.

History

The first issue of ''Vilniaus žinios'' was published on December 23, 1904. It was discontinued on March 17, 1909 after 1175 issues. ''Vilniaus žinios'' was founded by

Petras Vileišis Petras Vileišis (25 January 1851 – 12 August 1926) was a prominent Lithuanian engineer specializing in the construction of railroad bridges. He was very active in Lithuanian public life and together with his brothers Jonas and Antanas became ...

, who published it in his own printing house and was officially credited as its editor. The first issues were edited by

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 ...

and

Povilas Višinskis Povilas Višinskis (; 28 June 1875 – 23 April 1906) was a Lithuanian cultural and political activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. He is best remembered as a mentor of literary talent. He discovered Julija Žymantienė (Žemaitė) an ...

, later ones by Jonas Kriaučiūnas, Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, Jonas Vileišis, and others. At first the public was interested in the newspaper and its circulation reached 6,000 copies in 1905. The newspaper's staff was instrumental in organizing the

Great Seimas of Vilnius The Great Seimas of Vilnius ( lt, Didysis Vilniaus Seimas, also known as the ''Great Assembly of Vilnius'', the ''Grand Diet of Vilnius'', or the ''Great Diet of Vilnius'') was a major assembly held on December 4 and 5, 1905 (November 21–22, 19 ...

at the end of 1905. However, soon the interest started to decline as the newspaper strived to remain nonpartisan and focused on reporting news from around the country. ''Vilniaus žinios'' failed to develop its own distinct image and changed staff frequently. The Catholic peasantry was dissatisfied with the newspaper because at first it was quite anti-religious. At the end of 1906 new editor Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas promised to abandon its secular stand. However, that did not save the newspaper as it turned away the liberal intelligentsia. The circulation dropped to 2,000 copies at the beginning of 1907 and the newspaper went bankrupt. After a few months break Petras Vileišis revived the newspaper. In October 1907 he sold it to a corporation owned by Jonas Vileišis and others. ''Vilniaus žinios'' became geared more towards the rightist

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

. This further alienated priests and Catholic peasantry, and the readership continued to diminish. In March 1909 the newspaper, largely due to financial troubles, was discontinued.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilniaus zinios Publications established in 1904 Publications disestablished in 1909 Defunct newspapers published in Lithuania Newspapers published in Vilnius Daily newspapers published in Lithuania 1904 establishments in Lithuania Newspapers published in the Russian Empire