''Mūsų žinynas'' () was a

Lithuanian-language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...

military journal published by the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence 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 ...

from 1921 to 1940. In total, 184 issues were published in the

interwar Lithuania In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

. The journal was revived in 2023 and is published by the

General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania The General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania (''Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija'') is a state-sponsored institution of higher learning based in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was founded in 1994 by the Lithuanian Seimas, and ...

History

After the end of the

Lithuanian Wars of Independence The Lithuanian Wars of Independence, also known as the Freedom Struggles (), refer to three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence at the end of World War I: with Bolshevik forces (December 1918 – August 1919), Bermontians (October ...

, the Ministry of Defence allocated resources to improve soldiers' education and promote military science. It was decided to establish a journal dedicated to military science and history. The first issue of ''Mūsų žinynas'' was published in March 1921. It was discontinued after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940. Initially, the journal was every two months. In 1929, it became a monthly. In total, 184 issues (about 21,700 pages) were published in interwar Lithuania. Its circulation was 3,000 copies in 1921–1923, 1,000 copies in 1924–1932, 2,500 copies after 1933. The journal was revived in July 2023 and is published twice a year by the

Content

The journal published articles on various topics, including military history (for example, a study on the

Uprising of 1863 The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last in ...

Augustinas Janulaitis Augustinas Janulaitis (1878–1950) was a Lithuanian attorney, judge, and university professor who specialized in the legal history of Lithuania. Janulatis studied law at the University of Moscow but was expelled for participating in the 1899 Ru ...

), military education, organization and management of military units, military technology and weapons, review of military publications. The journal also published articles on psychological (for example, article on fear by Jonas Vabalas-Gudaitis) or philosophical (for example, article on life and death by

Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė Sofija Čiurlionienė ''née'' Kymantaitė (13 March 1886 – 1 December 1958) was a Lithuanian writer, educator, and activist. After studies at girls' gymnasiums in Saint Petersburg and Riga, she studied philosophy, literature, art history at ...

) topics. In 1925, the journal ceased publishing articles on military history as a separate journal ''Karo archyvas'' was established devoted to military history. In 1937, ''Mūsų žinynas'' was reorganized and focused on military education and preparedness. The journal published several supplements, including ''Kardas'' and ''Karo archyvas'', which evolved into independent publications, as well as ''Karo literatūros rodyklė'' and ''Karo mokslų draugijos žinios''.

Editors and contributors

The journal was edited by: * Jonas Laurinaitis (issues 1–2) * Vytautas Steponaitis (issues 3–27 and 33–122) * Juozas Lanskoronskis (issues 28–32) * Aleksandras Šimkus (123–184) Many prominent Lithuanians contributed articles to the journal, including

Jonas Basanavičius Jonas Basanavičius (, ; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often given the informal hon ...

, Petras Biržys,

Martynas Yčas Martynas Yčas (December 10, 1917 – April 22, 2014) was an American microbiologist of Lithuanians, Lithuanian descent. He co-authored the book ''Mr. Tompkins: Inside Himself'' with physicist George Gamow. Yčas was born in Voronezh. He starte ...

, Paulius Galaunė, Kazys Musteikis, Petras Ruseckas, Aleksandras Ružancovas, and others.

References

External links

Archive of the interwar ''Mūsų žinynas''Archives of the revived ''Mūsų žinynas''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musu Zinynas Military journals Lithuanian-language journals Mass media in Kaunas Ministry of National Defence (Lithuania) Publications established in 1921 Publications disestablished in 1940 1921 establishments in Lithuania 1940 disestablishments in Lithuania Publications established in 2023 2023 establishments in Lithuania