Romuva (religion)Romuva is a neo-pagan movement derived from the traditional mythology of the Lithuanians, attempting to reconstruct the religious rituals of the Lithuanians before their Christianization in 1387. Practitioners of Romuva claim to continue Baltic pagan traditions which survived in folklore, customs and superstition. Romuva is a polytheistic pagan faith which asserts the sanctity of nature and ancestor worship.
Constituent Assembly of LithuaniaThe Constituent Assembly of Lithuania (Steigiamasis Seimas) was the first parliament of the independent state of Lithuania to be elected in a direct, democratic, general, secret election. The Assembly assumed its duties on 15 May 1920 and was disbanded in October 1922. Following the last Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania was annexed by and became part of the Russian Empire.
SąjūdisSąjūdis (ˈsâːjuːdjɪs, "Movement"), initially known as the Reform Movement of Lithuania (Lietuvos Persitvarkymo Sąjūdis), is a political organisation which led the struggle for Lithuanian independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was established on 3 June 1988 as the first opposition party in Soviet Lithuania, and was led by Vytautas Landsbergis. Its goal was to seek the return of independent status for Lithuania. Singing Revolution In the mid-1980s, Lithuania's Communist Party leadership hesitated to embrace Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost.
Baltic WayThe Baltic Way (Baltijos kelias; Baltijas ceļš; Balti kett) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom") was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning across the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which at the time were occupied and annexed by the USSR and had a combined population of approximately eight million. The central government in Moscow considered the three Baltic countries constituent republics of the Soviet Union.
Sovetsk, Kaliningrad OblastSovetsk (Сове́тск; Tilsit; Old Prussian: Tilzi; Tilžė; Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Sovetsk lies in the historic region of Lithuania Minor at the confluence of the Tylzha and Neman rivers. Panemunė in Lithuania was formerly a suburb of the town; after Germany's defeat in World War I, the trans-Neman suburb was detached from Tilsit (with the rest of the Klaipėda Region) in 1920.
UkmergėUkmergė (; previously Vilkmergė; Wiłkomierz) is a city in Vilnius County, Lithuania, located northwest of Vilnius, with a population of about 20,000. The city took its original name Vilkmergė from the Vilkmergėlė River, which was initially called Vilkmergė and assumed a diminutive form after the growth of the settlement. It is commonly thought that the name may be translated as "she-wolf", from the combination of Vilkas (wolf) and Merga (maiden). More likely the second root of the dual-stemmed name is the verb merg-/merk- meaning "to submerge" or "to dip".
History of BelarusThe lands of Belarus during the Middle Ages were split between different principalities, including Polotsk, Turov, Vitebsk, and others. Following the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, these lands were absorbed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which later was merged into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Following the Partitions of Poland, Belarusian territories became part of the Russian Empire.
KrevaKreva (Крэва, ˈkrɛva; Krėva or Krẽvas; Krewo; Крéво) is a township in the Smarhon District of Grodno Region, Belarus. The first mention dates to the 13th century. The toponym is derived from the name of the Krivichs tribe. The Kreva Castle, constructed of brick, was built by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas in ethnically Lithuanian lands. After his death in 1341, Kreva became the patrimony of his son and successor, Algirdas. In 1382, the Grand Duke Kęstutis was imprisoned in Kreva during the Lithuanian Civil War and subsequently murdered on the order by his nephew Jogaila.
Neman, RussiaNeman (Не́ман; Ragnit; Ragainė), is a town and the administrative center of Nemansky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the historic region of Lithuania Minor, on the steep southern bank of the Neman River, where it forms the Russian border with the Klaipėda Region in Lithuania, and northeast of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast. Population figures: Ragnita (from Old Prussian: ragas, "spur"), founded in 1288, was a settlement of the Baltic (Old Prussian) tribe of Skalvians.
ŠiauliaiŠiauliai (ʃaʊˈleɪ; ɕɛʊ̯ˈljɛɪ̯ˑ; Šiaulē) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 108,000 in 2023. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different languages: Samogitian Šiaulē, Latvian Saule (historic) and Šauļi (modern), German (outdated) Schaulen, ˈʃaʊ̯lən, Polish Szawle, Russian Шавли (Shavli – historic) and Шяуля́й (Shyaulyai – modern), Yiddish שאַװל (Shavel). The city was first mentioned in written sources as Soule in Livonian Order chronicles describing the Battle of Saule.
