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Lithuania
*** Shopping-Tip: Lithuania
{{Infobox_Country
|native_name = ''Lietuvos Respublika''
|conventional_long_name = Republic of Lithuania
|common_name = Lithuania
|image_flag = Flag of Lithuania.svg
|image_coat = Vytis.gif
|image_map = LocationLithuania.png
|national_motto =
Lithuanian language Lithuanian: ''Vienybė težydi''
(
English language English: "Let the unity bloom")
|national_anthem = ''
Tautiška giesmė''
|official_languages =
Lithuanian language Lithuanian
|capital =
Vilnius
|latd=54 |latm=40 |latNS=N |longd=25 |longm=19 |longEW=E
|largest_city =
Vilnius
|government_type =
Parliamentary democracy
|leader_titles =
List of Lithuanian rulers PresidentPrime Minister of Lithuania Prime Minister
|leader_names =
Valdas AdamkusAlgirdas Brazauskas
|area_rank = 122nd
|area_magnitude = 1 E10
|area= 65,200
|areami²= 25,167
|percent_water = negligible
|population_estimate = 3,596,617
|population_estimate_rank = 125th
|population_estimate_year = 2005
|population_census =
|population_census_year =
|population_density = 55
|population_densitymi² =143
|population_density_rank = 116th
|GDP_PPP = $49.38 billion
|GDP_PPP_rank = 77th
|GDP_PPP_year= 2005
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $13,700
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 67th
|sovereignty_type =
History of Lithuania Independence
|established_events = Declared
Recognized
|established_dates = From the
Soviet UnionMarch 11,
1990September 6,
1991
|HDI = 0.852
|HDI_rank = 39th
|HDI_year = 2003
|HDI_category =
high
|currency =
Lithuanian litas (Lt)
|currency_code = LTL
|country_code =
|time_zone =
Eastern European Time EET
|utc_offset = +2
|time_zone_DST =
Eastern European Summer Time EEST
|utc_offset_DST = +3
|cctld =
.lt
|calling_code = 370
|footnotes =
}}
The '''Republic of Lithuania''' (
Lithuanian language Lithuanian: ''Lietuva''; full - ''Lietuvos Respublika'') is a
republic in
Eastern Europe. One of the three
Baltic States along the
Baltic Sea, it shares borders with
Latvia to the north,
Belarus to the southeast,
Poland to the south, and the
Kaliningrad Oblast (region) of
Russia to the southwest.
History
''Main article:
History of Lithuania''
First mentioned in a medieval German manuscript, the ''
Quedlinburg Chronicle'', on February 14, 1009, Lithuania became a significant state in the
Middle Ages. The official crowning of
Mindaugas as
King of Lithuania on July 6, 1253 marked Lithuania's birth, as warring dukes united to support his reign. Later during the early years of the
Gediminid dynasty (1316 - 1430), the nation grew into an independent, multi-ethnic
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which incorporated the lands of modern
Belarus and
Ukraine. By the 15th century, the Grand Duchy stretched across
Eastern Europe from the
Baltic Sea Baltic to the
Black Sea.
When
Grand Duke Jogaila was crowned King of Poland on February 2, 1386, Lithuania and
Poland joined in a
personal union, as both countries were ruled by the same
Jagiellon dynasty. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania formally merged into a single state called the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This union remained in place until the adoption of the
May Constitution of Poland May Constitution of 1791, which abolished all subdivisions of the states and merged them into the
Kingdom of Poland (1791–1795) Kingdom of Poland. In 1795, this new state was soon dissolved by the third
Partition of Poland, which ceded its lands to
Imperial Russia Russia,
Prussia and
Austria. Lithuania was incorporated into the Russian Empire.
On February 16, 1918, Lithuania re-established its independence. From the outset, territorial disputes with Poland (over the
Vilnius region and the
Suvalkai region) and
Germany (over the
KlaipÄ—da region, German: Memelland) preoccupied the foreign policy of the new nation. During the interwar period, the constitutional capital was
Vilnius, although the city itself was within the borders of Poland (see
History of Vilnius for more details). The Lithuanian government at the time was seated in
Kaunas, which officially held the status of
temporary capital.
In 1940, at the beginning of
World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed Lithuania in accordance with the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It later came under German occupation, during which time 90% of
Lithuanian Jews were killed, one of the worst death rates of
the Holocaust. With the retreat of the Germans, Lithuania was reoccupied by the Soviet Union in 1945.
Fifty years of communist rule ended with the advent of
glasnost, and Lithuania, led by
Sąjūdis, an anti-communist and anti-Soviet independence movement, proclaimed its renewed independence on March 11, 1990. Lithuania was the first Soviet republic to do so, though Soviet forces unsuccessfully tried until August 1991 to suppress this secession, including an incident at
SC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre Vilnius' TV Tower in January 13 night, 1991 that resulted in the death of 13 Lithuanian civilians. The last Russian troops left Lithuania on August 31, 1993 — even earlier than those in
East Germany.
Image:Lietuva007.jpg thumb|Aušros Vartai Street in Vilnius
Image:Lietuva002.jpg thumb|Landscape of Lithuania
Image:Lietuva004.jpg thumb|Lake and castle in Trakai
On February 4, 1991,
Iceland became the first country to recognize Lithuanian independence, and
Sweden the first to open an embassy in the country. The
United States of America never recognized the Soviet claim to Lithuania or to the other two Baltic republics.
Lithuania joined the
United Nations on September 17, 1991. On May 31, 2001, Lithuania became the 141st member of the
World Trade Organization. Since 1988, Lithuania has sought closer ties with the West, and so on January 4, 1994, it became the first of the
Baltic States to apply for
NATO membership. On November 21, 2002, NATO invited Lithuania to start membership negotiations, and on March 29, 2004, it became a full and equal NATO member. On February 1, 1998, it became an Associate Member of the
European Union, and on April 16, 2003, it signed the EU Accession Treaty. 91% of Lithuanians backed EU membership in a referendum held on May 11, 2003 and on May 1, 2004, Lithuania joined the EU.
Politics
''Main article:
Politics of Lithuania''
The Lithuanian
head of state is the
List of Presidents of Lithuania president, elected directly for a five-year term, maximum two terms consecutively. The president also functions as the commander-in-chief and oversees foreign and security policy. The president, on the approval of the parliament (Seimas), also appoints the
prime minister and on the latter's nomination, appoints the rest of the
cabinet (government) cabinet, as well as a number of other top civil servants and the judges for all courts. Judges of the
Constitutional Court (''Konstitucinis Teismas''), who serve for nine year terms, are appointed by the President (three judges), the Chairman of the Seimas (three judges) and the chairman of the Supreme Court (three judges).
The
unicameral Lithuanian
parliament, the ''
Seimas'', has 141 members who are elected to four-year terms. About half of the members of this
legislative body are elected in single constituencies (71), and the other half (70) are elected in a nationwide vote by
proportional representation. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to be represented in the Seimas.
Administrative division
''Main article:
Administrative division of Lithuania''
Image:Lh-map.png right|thumb|Map of Lithuania with cities
Lithuania consists of 10 counties (Lithuanian: ''apskritys'', singular - ''apskritis''), each named after their principal city. The counties are subdivided into 60 municipalities (some municipalities are historically called "district municipalities", and thus shortened to "district"; others are called "city municipalities", sometimes shortened to "city", or leaving just the name of city; and some are just simply called "municipalities") (see:
List of municipalities of Lithuania). The municipality is the most important unit.
Each municipality has its own elected government. In the past, the election of municipality councils occurred once every three years, but now take place every four years. The council elects the
mayor of the municipality and other required personnel (larger municipalities have larger councils and more officials). The municipality councils also appoint
elder (administrative title) elders to the administrative division (small municipalities do not have elderships, though). Taken together, the municipalities consist of over 500
elderships. This administrative division was created in 1994 and modified in 2000. There is currently a proposal that would require mayors and elders to be elected in direct elections by the public.
The whole of Lithuania is partitioned into counties, which are ruled by officials ("Rulers of Apskritis") who are sent by the central government. These officials ensure that the municipalities work according to the laws of Lithuania and the constitution. They do not, however, have substantial powers vested in them, and there has been a proposal to reduce the number of counties because of the small number of municipalities falling under each ruler's jurisdiction.
One proposal is to create a new administrative unit comprised of four lands, the boundaries of which would be determined by the
Regions of Lithuania ethnographic regions of Lithuania. Another proposed solution is to expand the counties so that there would be five in all, each based in one of the five largest cities.
Also see:
Counties of Lithuania,
List of municipalities of Lithuania,
Elderships
Geography
''Main article:
Geography of Lithuania''
Image:Lietuva012.jpg thumb|Trakai
Image:Lietuva001.jpg thumb|Druskininkai
Image:Lietuva005.jpg thumb|
The largest and most populous of the
Baltic states, Lithuania has around 99
kilometres (61.5
mile mi) of sandy coastline, of which only about 38 kilometres (24 mi) faces the open
Baltic Sea. Lithuania's major warm-water port of
Klaipėda lies at the narrow mouth of ''Kuršių marios'' (
Curonian Lagoon), a shallow lagoon extending south to
Kaliningrad. The main river, the
Nemunas, and some of its tributaries carry international shipping vessels.
Lithuanian landscape is glacially flat, except for
moraine morainic hills in the western uplands and eastern highlands that are no higher than 300 metres (1,000
foot (unit of length) ft), with the highest point being found at
JuozapinÄ—s at 292 metres (958 ft). The terrain features numerous lakes,
Lake Vištytis) for example, swamps, and a mixed forest zone covers 30% of the country. The
climate lies between maritime and continental, with wet, moderate winters and summers. According to some geographers, Lithuania's capital,
Vilnius, lies a few kilometres south of the
Geographic Center of Europe geographical centre of Europe.
Lithuania consists of the following
Regions of Lithuania historical and cultural regions:
*
Aukštaitija - literally, the "Highlands"
*
Samogitia - also known as ''Žemaitija,'' or literally, the "Lowlands"
*
Dzūkija (''Dzūkija'' or Dainava).
*
Sudovia (''SÅ«duva'' or Suvalkija).
Also:
*
Lithuania Minor Mažoji Lietuva - Lithuania Minor, also known as "Prussian Lithuania" (''Prūsų Lietuva''). Now most of it is under control by
Russia (
Kaliningrad Oblast).
Economy
''Main article:
Economy of Lithuania''
In 2003, prior to joining the European Union, Lithuania had the highest economic growth rate amongst all candidate and member countries, reaching 8.8% in the third quarter. In 2004, a 6.6% growth in GDP reflected impressive economic development. Prior to 1998, Lithuania was the
Baltic state that conducted the most trade with
Russia; however, the 1998 Russian financial crisis forced the country to orient toward the West.
Lithuania has since gained membership of the
World Trade Organization, and joined the
European Union on May 1, 2004. According to officially published figures, accession to the EU reduced previously high
unemployment to 10.6% in 2004, although some argue that this has been prompted by the high rate of
emigration from Lithuania that has occurred since it joined the EU. Lithuania has nearly completed the
privatization of its large, state-owned utilities. The
Litas, the national currency, has been pegged to the
Euro since February 2, 2002 at the rate of EUR 1.00 = LTL 3.4528, and Lithuania is expected to switch to the Euro on
1 January 2007, thus becoming one of the first of the new EU members to do so, together with Estonia and Slovenia.
Lithuanian income levels still lag behind the rest of the older EU members, with per capita GDP in 2006 at 56% of the EU average. Like other countries in the region (
Estonia,
Latvia and
Russia) Lithuania has also adopted a
Flat tax flat rate of tax rather than a
Graduated tax progressive scheme. However, at 33% of income, the tax rate is considerably higher than that of its neighbours and some suggest that this, combined with low wages, may be a factor influencing the current trend of mass emigration to Western Europe, something that has been made legally possible as a result of
Enlargement of the European Union accession to the European Union in 2004 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1549075,00.html]. The Ministry of Labour estimated in 2004 that as many as 360,000 workers may have left the country by the end of that year, a prediction that is now thought to have been broadly accurate. The impact is already evident: in September 2004, the Lithuanian Trucking Association reported a shortage of 3,000-4,000 truck drivers. Large retail stores have also reported some difficulty in filling positions [http://www.state.gov/e/eb/ifd/2005/42068.htm].
Demographics
''Main article:
Demographics of Lithuania''
83.5% of the Lithuanian population are ethnic Lithuanians who speak the
Lithuanian language (one of two surviving members of the
Baltic languages Baltic language group), which is the official language of the state. Several sizable minorities exist, such as
Poles (7%),
Russians (5%), and
Belarusians (1.5%).
Poles are the largest minority, mostly concentrated in southeast Lithuania (the
Western Vilnius region). Russians are the second largest minority, concentrated mostly in the cities and comprising a majority in
Visaginas; they also constitute a large minority in
Vilnius and
KlaipÄ—da.
Because of the Soviet occupation, most older people and some members of the younger population still understand Russian. Most schools teach English (sometimes German) as a first foreign language, but students may also study Russian, German, or, in some schools, French. However, there are still some schools that teach Russian as a primary language.
The predominant religion is
Roman Catholicism, but
Eastern Orthodoxy,
Protestantism,
Judaism,
Islam and
Karaism (an ancient offshoot of Judaism represented by a long-standing community in
Trakai) also exist as minority religions.
The country has the highest
suicide rate in the world, with 42.1 suicides per 100,000 people in
2003 [http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/lith.pdf ].
Citizenship
The fact that Lithuania has joined the
European Union has made Lithuanian Citizenship all the more appealing. Lithuanian
Citizenship is easier to obtain than that of many other European countries - only one great-grandparent is necessary to become a Lithuanian Citizen. Persons who held Citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania prior to 15 June 1940, their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren (provided that these persons did not repatriate) are eligible for Lithuanian Citizenship [http://www.lithuanianembassy.ca/documents/Lithuanian%20citizenship%20information.pdf].
An excellent example of individuals claiming Lithuanian Citizenship would be the
Jewish people of
South Africa, the vast majority of whom have at least one Lithuanian great-grandparent. Claiming Lithuanian Citizenship, however, can be laborious, time consuming and expensive. Aside from this, the correct documentation is needed - such documentation is often difficult to retrieve.
Lithuanian citizens are, naturally, allowed to travel throughout the
European Union without a visa being required. As far as work is concerned, the
United Kingdom and
Ireland place no restrictions on Lithuanians working in their respective countries. The other 13 original member nations of the European Union still place restrictions on work, but these are merely transitional agreements, and, as ''
The Economist'' has suggested, many of these countries will soften their restrictions on Lithuanians working in their countries sooner than expected.
Culture
''Main article:
Culture of Lithuania''
*
List of famous Lithuanians
*
Lithuanian Literature
*
Lithuanian mythology
*
Music of Lithuania
Miscellaneous topics
*
Communications in Lithuania
*
Foreign relations of Lithuania
*
Economy of Lithuania '''''Needs to be updated'''''
*
Holidays in Lithuania
*
Lietuvos Skautija
*
List of cities in Lithuania
*
List of extinct and endangered animals of Lithuania
*
List of Lithuanian rulers
*
Military of Lithuania
*
Sports in Lithuania
*
Tourism in the Baltics
*
Transportation in Lithuania
See also
*
Lithuanians
*
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
*
Lithuanian SSR Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
External links
{{portal|Lithuania}}
{{sisterlinks|Lithuania}}
-
Prezidentas [http://www.president.lt (in Lithuanian)] - Official presidential site
-
Seimas [http://www3.lrs.lt (in Lithuanian)] - Official parliamentary site
-
Vyriausybe [http://www.lrv.lt (in Lithuanian)] - Official governmental site
-
Lithuanian Central Internet Gates [http://www.lietuva.lt (in Lithuanian)] - Main Lithuanian portal
-
Lithuania Online - Wide collection of Lithuanian links
-
Lithuanian State Department of Tourism
Maps & GIS
-
Maps of Lithuania on Maps.lt
-
Maps of Lithuania on Mapquest
{{EU_countries}}
{{NATO}}
{{Europe}}
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