''Lietuvos žinios'' (literally: ''News of Lithuania'') was a daily newspaper in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Established in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

in 1909, it was a liberal newspaper representing the Lithuanian Democratic Party. Even though its publication was interrupted by World War I and

Soviet occupation of Lithuania The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Baltic st ...

, ''Lietuvos žinios'' billed itself as the oldest newspaper in Lithuania.

History

1909–1915

Jonas Vileišis Jonas Vileišis (January 3, 1872 – June 1, 1942) was a Lithuanian lawyer, politician, and diplomat. Early life and career Vileišis was born in Mediniai, near Pasvalys. In 1892 he graduated from the Šiauliai Gymnasium. During 1892-1894, he ...

, publisher of ''

Vilniaus žinios ''Vilniaus žinios'' (literally: ''Vilnius news'') was a short-lived newspaper published in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was the first legal Lithuanian-language daily newspaper to appear after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted on May 7, 1904. History ...

'', decided to discontinue the newspaper and established ''Lietuvos žinios'' on June 19, 1909. A few months later he transferred the rights to the Lithuanian Democratic Party. ''Lietuvos žinios'' was published by partnership '' F. Bortkevičienė, dr. K. Grinius ir Ko'' and shared staff with ''

Lietuvos ūkininkas ''Lietuvos ūkininkas'' (literally: ''Lithuanian farmer'') was a weekly Lithuanian-language newspaper published between 1905 and 1940. It was published by and reflected the political views of the Lithuanian Democratic Party, Peasant Union, and L ...

''. Its initial circulation was 2,500 copies. At first it was published twice a week. In 1911, it began publishing three times a week becoming a daily in 1914. The newspaper included semi-independent monthly supplements, including ''

Aušrinė Aušrinė ("dawning", not to be confused with ''Aušra'', "dawn") is a feminine deity of the morning star (Venus) in the Lithuanian mythology. She is the Wiktionary:antipode, antipode to "Vakarinė", the evening star. Her cult possibly stems fr ...

'' (for youth), ''Mokykla'' (on education), ''Farmaceutų reikalai'' (on pharmacy), ''Vasaros darbai'' (collection of folklore). Editors in chief were

Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Gabrielė Petkevičaitė (18 March 1861 – 14 June 1943) was a Lithuanian educator, writer, and activist. Her pen name Bitė (''Bee'') eventually became part of her last name. Encouraged by Povilas Višinskis, she joined public life and started ...

Mykolas Sleževičius Mykolas Sleževičius (21 February 1882 – 11 November 1939) was a Lithuanian lawyer, political and cultural figure, and journalist. One of the most influential figures in inter-war Lithuania, he served as the prime minister of Lithuania on thr ...

Jurgis Šaulys Jurgis Šaulys (; 5 May 1879–18 October 1948) was a Lithuanian economist, diplomat, and politician, and one of the twenty signatories to the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania. Šaulys attended Palanga Progymnasium and Vilnius St. J ...

, and

Žemaitė Žemaitė (, , "Samogitian woman") was the pen name of Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė ( – 7 December 1921). She was a Lithuanian/Samogitian writer, democrat and educator. Born to impoverished gentry, she became one of the major partici ...

. Even though it was affiliated with the Democratic Party, the newspaper attempted to represent non-partisan liberal agenda. ''Lietuvos žinios'' reported on political, economic, and cultural news in Lithuania and abroad. After writer Žemaitė became its editor, the newspaper paid more attention to literature. It publisher a few of her short stories. Other contributing fiction writers included Ignas Šeinius, Julius Janonis,

Balys Sruoga Balys Sruoga (2 February 1896 – 16 October 1947) was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist. He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth. His works were published by the liberal wing of the Lithuanian cultura ...

Kazys Binkis Kazys Binkis (16 November 1893 – 27 April 1942) was a Lithuanian poet, journalist, and playwright. Biography Kazys Binkis was born on 16 November 1893 in the village of Gudeliai in Biržai District Municipality. He attended primary school at ...

. It was discontinued on August 15, 1915 due to World War I.

1922–1940

''Lietuvos žinios'' was revived on February 16, 1922 in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

by the

Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union The Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union (, LVLS) was a centre-left political party in Lithuania between 1922 and 1936. The party's leaders included the third President Kazys Grinius and three-term Prime Minister Mykolas Sleževičius. History Th ...

. Its notable editors included

Kazys Grinius Kazys Grinius (, 17 December 1866 – 4 June 1950) was the third President of Lithuania, holding the office from 7 June 1926 to 17 December 1926. Previously, he had served as the fifth Prime Minister of Lithuania, from 19 June 1920 until his r ...

Felicija Bortkevičienė Felicija Bortkevičienė ''née'' Povickaitė (1 September 1873 – 21 October 1945) was a Lithuanian politician and long-term publisher of ''Lietuvos ūkininkas'' and ''Lietuvos žinios''. She became active in public life after she moved to Vil ...

, Jonas Kardelis (1933–1940). In 1924, the newspaper had only four pages and circulation of 2,800 copies. ''Lietuvos žinios'' advocated for the Peasant Popular Union, publishing its agenda, resolutions and activity reports. After the elections to the Third Seimas in June 1926, the Peasant Popular Union formed a coalition government with the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. This propelled the newspaper into the spotlight as the voice for the new government. After the coup d'état in December 1926, the newspaper stubbornly opposed the new authoritarian regime of

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician. He served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and later as the authoritarian head of state from 1926 until the Occu ...

, was censored, and even temporarily suspended. Despite political struggles, the newspaper grew to 12 pages (22–24 pages on Saturday) and circulation of 30,000 by 1935, at times competing with official ''

Lietuvos aidas ''Lietuvos aidas'' (literally: ''Echo of Lithuania'') is a daily newspaper in Lithuania. It was established on September 6, 1917, by Antanas Smetona, and became the semi-official voice of the newly formed Lithuanian government. When the government ...

'' in popularity. The newspaper was praised for having a network of correspondents in each county of Lithuania as well as major European cities and its ability to publish news quickly and effectively. ''Lietuvos žinios'' was discontinued on September 1, 1940, after Lithuania was occupied by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

1990–2019

In 1990, when Lithuania declared independence, the

Social Democratic Party of Lithuania The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (, LSDP) is a centre-left and social democratic political party in Lithuania. Founded as an underground Marxist organisation in 1896, it is the oldest extant party in Lithuania. During the time of the ...

revived ''Lietuvos žinios'' as a newspaper for politics, culture and society. Its daily circulation peaked at some 30,000 copies and later plummeted. In 1993, it was acquired by the

Achema Group Achema is the largest fertilizer producer in the Baltic states. It is headquartered in Jonava, central Lithuania. Its factory is located in the village of Jonalaukis by Jonava, near the confluence of rivers Neris and Šventoji. In 2011, Achem ...

. In 2010, it had circulation of about 20,000 copies. After suffering a net loss of 963,300 euros in 2018, the newspaper was discontinued on 30 April 2019.

References

External links

*
Official website
*
Archive issues (1909–1940)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lietuvos Zinios Newspapers established in 1909 Publications disestablished in 2019 2019 disestablishments in Lithuania Defunct Lithuanian-language newspapers Daily newspapers published in Lithuania Newspapers published in Vilnius Newspapers published in Kaunas Newspapers published in the Russian Empire