Tomas Baranauskas (born 12 September 1973 in Kaunas) is a Lithuanian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

specializing in the history of medieval Lithuania. He is the author of the book ''The Formation of the Lithuanian State''. Baranauskas spent his youth in

Žeimelis Žeimelis is a small town in northern Lithuania, 40 km to the north from Pakruojis, near the border with Latvia. It is a centre of an elderate. According to a census in 2011, Žeimelis had 953 residents. Town of Žeimelis is a state-protec ...

and

Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...

. In 1998, he graduated from the Faculty of History at the

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...

. Since September 1996 he works in the Lithuanian Institute of History. At the end of May 2000, he published ''The Formation of the Lithuanian State'' ("Lietuvos valstybės ištakos"). In the book Baranauskas argued that 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 ...

formed earlier than generally accepted; i.e. that the state was founded before King

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 ...

. The book received mixed reviews from the academics. Since 22 June 2000 Baranauskas maintains the largest site on the medieval history of Lithuania on the Internet – "Medieval Lithuania". Since March 2003 he also administers the official website of the Lithuanian Institute of History. Baranauskas was the person who coined the term "

Litvinism Litvinism (, or ) is a branch of nationalism, philosophy and political current in Belarus, which bases the history of its state on the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and emphasizes the Baltic component of the Belarusian ethnic group. ...

" for the theory and idea existing in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

according to which the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and medieval Lithuanians were Belarusian.

Books

* ''Lietuvos valstybės ištakos'', Vilnius, 2000, 317 p. . - Summary
The Formation of the Lithuanian State
* ''Vorutos pilis'', Vilnius, 2001, 16 p. (together with Gintautas Zabiela) . * ''Lietuvos istorijos kalendorius. 2002'', Vilnius, 2001. . * ''Lietuvos istorijos bibliografija. 1998'', Vilnius, 2005, 333 p. . * ''Anykščių medinė pilis'', Anykščiai, 2005, 16 p.

References

External links

Information about T: Baranauskas
at Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences
Medieval Lithuania
Medieval history of Lithuania 1973 births Living people Writers from Kaunas Historians of Lithuania 21st-century Lithuanian historians Vilnius University alumni {{Lithuania-historian-stub