[lith-oo-ey-nee-uh] 
| a republic in N Europe, on the Baltic: an independent state 1918–40; annexed by the Soviet Union 1940; regained independence 1991. 3,635,932; 25,174 sq. mi. (65,200 sq. km). Capital: Vilnius. |
Lith·u·a·ni·a (lĭth'ōō-ā'nē-ə)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of north-central Europe on the Baltic Sea. Settled perhaps as early as 1500 B.C., the area was unified in the 13th century and became one of the largest states of medieval Europe. Lithuania merged with Poland in 1569 but was absorbed into Russia by three partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, and 1795). The independent country of Lithuania existed from 1918 to 1940, when it became a constituent republic of the USSR. Occupied by Germany from 1941 to 1944, it reverted to Soviet rule after World War II and was known as the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic before achieving independence in 1991. Vilnius is the capital and the largest city. Population: 3,580,000. |
Republic on the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and southeast, Poland to the south, and by an isolated segment of Russia to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vilnius.
Note: Lithuania was one of the largest and most powerful states in Europe from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, at which time it merged with Poland. In the late eighteenth century, it was absorbed by Russia. A nationalist movement that grew in strength throughout the nineteenth century finally bore fruit when the Russian empire collapsed during World War I. Lithuanians achieved their desired goal of an independent state during the interwar years, but their country was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, as were the neighboring countries of Estonia and Latvia.
Note: Occupied by German forces during World War II, at which time thousands of Lithuanian Jews were exterminated.
Note: As the communist system began to collapse and the Soviet Union began to dissolve, Lithuania became the first of the Baltic republics to reject Soviet rule, declaring its independence in March 1990.
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