Vilniaus apskritis

Dave and I visited the National History museum yesterday that gave us an excellent account of Lithuanian History dating back over 13000 years ago with early nomadic Baltic tribes. In short Lithuania has had a very tumultuous past as an independent state as well as being under rule of Germany, a joint partnership with Poland. The French very briefly (Napolean 1812) and namely the kingdom of Prussia and Russia. Their culture and history is very unique and understandable a source of pride for the people here. For some more detail on Lithuanian history see here from Wikipedia;
The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded many[specify] thousands of years ago,[1] but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD.[2] Lithuanians, one of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands and established the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century (and also a short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania). The Grand Duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state. It remained fiercely independent and was one of the last areas of Europe to adopt Christianity (beginning in the 14th century). A formidable power, it became the largest state in Europe in the 15th century through the conquest of large groups of East Slavs who resided in Ruthenia.[3] In 1385, the Grand Duchy formed a dynastic union with Poland through the Union of Krewo. Later, the Union of Lublin (1569) created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that lasted until 1795, when the last of the Partitions of Poland erased both Lithuania and Poland from the political map. After the dissolution, Lithuanians lived under the rule of the Russian Empire until the 20th century, although there were several major rebellions, especially in 1830–1831 and 1863.

On 16 February 1918, Lithuania was re-established as a democratic state. It remained independent until the outset of World War II, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Following a brief occupation by Nazi Germany after the Nazis waged war on the Soviet Union, Lithuania was again absorbed into the Soviet Union for nearly 50 years. In 1990–1991, Lithuania restored its sovereignty with the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. Lithuania joined the NATO alliance in 2004 and the European Union as part of its enlargement in 2004.

During the Post WWII Soviet occupation there was a forced deportation of Lithuanians to work in Siberia. One 14 yr old girl named Dalia Grinkevičiūtė wrote a memoir about her life during this time. The museum had an exhibit based on her writings. You can read more about it at the link below.

https://audioteka.com/lt/audiobook/lietuviai-pr…

Also depicted in the first and final two pictures is a little bit about The Baltic Way. The event occurred on 23 August 1989 where approximately 2 million people linked hands from Vilnius in Lithuania, through Riga in Latvia and ending in Tallinn in Estonia. The event was a protest against Soviet occupation.Läs mer