Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania
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The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of 11 March (
Background
Loss of independence
After the
In Lithuania's case, President Antanas Smetona left the country rather than accept the occupation. He did not resign but turned over his presidential duties to Prime Minister Antanas Merkys as per the constitution. The next day, Merkys declared himself president in his own right. The cabinet confirmed Merkys in office, claiming that Smetona had effectively resigned by leaving the country.
Two days later, under Soviet pressure, Merkys appointed Justas Paleckis, a left-wing journalist and longtime opponent of the Smetona regime, as prime minister. Merkys then resigned at Moscow's insistence, making Paleckis acting president as well. The Soviets then used the Paleckis government to give the final Soviet takeover the appearance of legality.
The Paleckis government staged a
The Soviet authorities undertook
Independence movements
As Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to revive the economy of the Soviet Union, he introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring).
Gorbachev's political agenda went for great and deep changes within the Soviet government, as such, Gorbachev invited the Soviet public into open and public discussions unseen before.
For the Soviet Lithuanian dissidents and activists, it was a golden opportunity not to be missed, to bring their movements from underground into the public life.
On 23 August 1987 (the 48th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact), the Lithuanian Liberty League organized the first public protest rally that did not result in arrests.
Encouraged by the non arrests, by mid-
However, Sąjūdis grew in popularity, attracting large crowds to rallies in Vingis Park and therefore radicalizing its agenda, taking advantage of Gorbachev's passiveness.
In 1989, Sąjūdis, not afraid of angering Moscow and causing a violent crackdown, continuously pushed further with its demands: from limited discussions on Gorbachev's reforms, to demand greater say in economic decisions, to political autonomy within the Soviet Union.
By the time of the Baltic Way, a human chain spanning over 600 kilometres (370 mi) across the three Baltic states to mark the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the official goal of Sąjūdis was now independence for Lithuania.
Similar processes happened in other Soviet republics during 1988-1991, collectively known as the "parade of sovereignties" , which were the major factor contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Democratic election
The Act
SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
ACT
On the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania
The
Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, expressing the will of the nation, decrees and solemnly proclaims that the execution of the sovereign powers of the State of Lithuania abolished by foreign forces in 1940, is re-established, and henceforth Lithuania is again an independent state.The Act of Independence of 16 February 1918 of the Council of Lithuania and the Constituent Assembly decree of 15 May 1920 on the re-established democratic State of Lithuania never lost their legal effect and comprise the constitutional foundation of the State of Lithuania.
The territory of Lithuania is whole and indivisible, and the constitution of no other State is valid on it.
The State of Lithuania stresses its adherence to universally recognized principles of international law, recognizes the principle of inviolability of borders as formulated in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in Helsinki in 1975, and guarantees human, civil, and ethnic community rights.
The Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, expressing sovereign power, by this Act begins to realize the complete sovereignty of the state.[2]
The Supreme Council took the line that Lithuania's original declaration of independence in 1918 was still valid, and considered the Act to be a reassertion of an independence that still legally existed under international law. It was based on the premise that Smetona never resigned, and Merkys' takeover of the presidency was illegal and unconstitutional. Lithuania's official position on the matter since then has been that all subsequent acts leading up to the Soviet annexation were ipso facto void.
Aftermath
The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania served as a model and inspiration to other
Mikhail Gorbachev called the Act of Independence illegal and the USSR demanded revocation of the Act and began applying sanctions against Lithuania including an economic blockade. In addition, on 13 January 1991 Soviet forces stormed the LRT building in Vilnius along with the Vilnius TV Tower.
Unarmed civilian Lithuanians confronted Soviet soldiers. Fourteen people were killed and seven hundred injured in what became known as January Events.
On 31 May 1990 the Supreme Soviet of Moldavian SSR voted to recognize the Restoration of the Independence of Lithuania.[3] The Parliament of Moldavia was the first legislature in the world to recognize Lithuania's independence, although Moldavia was still part of the Soviet Union. The Moldavian Supreme Soviet promised to establish an embassy to Lithuania in the near future.[4]
On 13 January 1991, during Soviet forces stormed the LRT building in Vilnius, Russian leader B.Yeltsin arrived in Tallinn, and with the leaders of the Baltic countries he signed a joint declaration, recognising one another’s independence/sovereignty.[5] Later, on 27 July 1991, the Russian government re-recognized Lithuania and the two countries re-established diplomatic relations on 9 October 1991.
On 11 February 1991 the
On 26 August 1991 Lithuanian border guards were posted at
After the failed
Finally, on 6 September 1991 Lithuania's independence was recognized by the State Council of the Soviet Union.[14] Its recognition of Lithuania's independence was quickly followed by several countries including China, India, and Belarus as well as Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
On 17 September 1991 the United Nations admitted Lithuania as a member.[15] On the same day, the United Nations also admitted Estonia, Latvia, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, North Korea, and South Korea as members.[15]
On 29 March 2004 Lithuania became a member of NATO.[16] On 1 May 2004 Lithuania also became a member of the European Union.[17] NATO. The country banned displays of Soviet and Nazi symbols in 2008.
Date | Country |
---|---|
31 May 1990 | Moldavian SSR[4] |
13 January 1991 | Russian SFSR[5] |
11 February 1991 | Iceland[6] |
28 February 1991 | Denmark[10] |
16 May 1991 | Slovenia |
27 July 1991 | Russian SFSR |
3 August 1991 | Croatia |
23 August 1991 | Latvia |
24 August 1991 | Norway |
24 August 1991 | Hungary |
25 August 1991 | Argentina |
25 August 1991 | France |
26 August 1991 | Bulgaria |
26 August 1991 | Italy |
26 August 1991 | Canada |
26 August 1991 | Poland |
26 August 1991 | Malta |
26 August 1991 | Portugal |
26 August 1991 | Romania |
26 August 1991 | San Marino |
26 August 1991 | Ukraine |
27 August 1991 | Albania |
27 August 1991 | Australia |
27 August 1991 | Belgium |
27 August 1991 | United Kingdom |
27 August 1991 | Georgia |
27 August 1991 | Spain |
27 August 1991 | Luxembourg |
27 August 1991 | Sweden |
27 August 1991 | Germany |
27 August 1991 | Ireland |
27 August 1991 | Estonia |
28 August 1991 | Austria |
28 August 1991 | Chile |
28 August 1991 | New Zealand |
28 August 1991 | South Africa |
28 August 1991 | Finland |
28 August 1991 | Switzerland |
28 August 1991 | Uruguay |
29 August 1991 | Czechoslovakia |
29 August 1991 | Mongolia |
30 August 1991 | Vatican City |
31 August 1991 | Kyrgyzstan |
2 September 1991 | Ecuador |
2 September 1991 | Netherlands |
2 September 1991 | United States |
3 September 1991 | Greece |
3 September 1991 | Libya
|
3 September 1991 | Nicaragua |
3 September 1991 | Turkey |
4 September 1991 | Brazil |
4 September 1991 | Israel |
4 September 1991 | Tunisia |
5 September 1991 | South Korea |
5 September 1991 | Mexico |
6 September 1991 | Guinea |
6 September 1991 | Japan |
6 September 1991 | Colombia |
6 September 1991 | Singapore |
6 September 1991 | Egypt |
6 September 1991 | Soviet Union[14] |
7 September 1991 | Afghanistan |
7 September 1991 | China |
7 September 1991 | North Korea |
7 September 1991 | Peru |
7 September 1991 | Senegal |
7 September 1991 | Bangladesh |
8 September 1991 | Pakistan |
9 September 1991 | Bolivia |
9 September 1991 | India |
9 September 1991 | Cuba |
9 September 1991 | Syria |
9 September 1991 | Thailand |
9 September 1991 | Vietnam |
9 September 1991 | Cape Verde |
10 September 1991 | Azerbaijan |
10 September 1991 | Iran |
10 September 1991 | Nepal |
11 September 1991 | Madagascar |
12 September 1991 | Armenia |
12 September 1991 | Cyprus |
13 September 1991 | Yemen |
15 September 1991 | Bahrain |
15 September 1991 | Jordan |
15 September 1991 | Kuwait |
15 September 1991 | Philippines |
16 September 1991 | Saudi Arabia |
17 September 1991 | Indonesia |
19 September 1991 | United Arab Emirates |
20 September 1991 | Laos |
24 September 1991 | Turkmenistan |
25 September 1991 | Panama |
30 September 1991 | Uzbekistan |
30 September 1991 | Namibia |
22 October 1991 | Mauritania |
22 October 1991 | Yugoslavia[19] |
2 November 1991 | Sri Lanka |
23 December 1991 | Ghana |
23 December 1991 | Kazakhstan |
24 December 1991 | Mozambique |
25 December 1991 | Tajikistan |
27 December 1991 | Algeria |
27 December 1991 | Belarus |
30 December 1991 | Lebanon |
2 January 1992 | Iraq |
6 January 1992 | Burundi |
16 January 1992 | Burkina Faso |
25 January 1992 | Mali |
31 January 1992 | Benin |
21 February 1992 | Costa Rica |
17 March 1992 | Zimbabwe |
25 September 1992 | El Salvador |
6 November 1992 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
10 November 1992 | Nigeria |
12 January 1993 | Chad |
See also
- Act of Independence of Lithuania, the Act of 16 February 1918
- On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia - A similar Act in the Latvian SSR
- Estonian SSR
- State continuity of the Baltic states
References
- ^ a b "LR AT AKTO Dėl Lietuvos nepriklausomos valstybės atstatymo signatarai". Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas.
- ^ "Supreme Council - Reconstituent Seimas 1990 - 1992". Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas.
- ^ "Prime Minister thanks Moldova for recognizing Lithuania's Independence in 1990". January 29, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
- ^ a b "Moldavia Regognizes Lithuania". Chicago Tribune. 1 June 1990. p. 9.
- ^ a b World, Estonian (2023-08-20). "Estonia celebrates the restoration of independence". Estonian World. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b "Svo fIjótt sem verða má". Þjóðviljinn (in Icelandic). 12 February 1991. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ "Stjórnmálasamband verði tekið upp svo fljótt sem verða má". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 12 February 1991. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- Dagblaðið Vísir(in Icelandic). 12 February 1991. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
- ^ "Soviets Recall Envoy After Iceland Recognizes Lithuania". Associated Press. The Los Angeles Times. 14 February 1991. p. P2.
- ^ a b "Vote threatens civil war, Latvians told". Associated Press. 1 March 1991. p. 3A.
- ^ Mellgren, Doug (August 27, 1991). "First foreign envoy to Baltics arrives in Lithuania". Associated Press. The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). p. 8A.
- ^ a b c Witt, Howard (August 27, 1991). "Lithuania Displays Stamp of a Sovereign Nation". Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois, USA). p. 1, 6.
- ^ a b Page, Susan (3 September 1991). "Bush recognizes Baltic republics". Newsday (Long Island, New York, USA). Hartford Courant. p. A1.
- ^ a b Tamayo, Juan O. (7 September 1991). "Kremlin recognizes Baltics' independence". The Miami Herald (Miami, Florida, USA). p. 20A.
- ^ a b Curry, George E. (18 September 1991). "Baltics, Koreas join UN; Saudi is president". Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois, USA). p. 5.
- ^ Raum, Tom (30 March 2004). "Bush hails new NATO members; alliance eyes Iraq role". Associated Press. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A2.
- ^ McCabe, Aileen (1 May 2004). "The East Gets In". CanWest News Service. Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). p. 17.
- ^ "Atkurtos Lietuvos nepriklausomos valstybės pripažinimo chronologija". Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ "Political Relations with Serbia". Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Hungary. 22 September 2014.
Further reading
- The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World (p. 69, 70), Joel Krieger (editor), Oxford University, 1993.
- Background Notes on Countries of the World 2003; September 2003, Lithuania, (p. 12)
- The Baltic Revolution; Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and The Path to Independence, Anatol Lieven, 1993.
- Collapse of an Empire, Lessons for Modern Russia (pp. 175, 214, 217–219), Yegor Gaidar, Brookings Institution, 2007.
- Why did the Soviet Union collapse, Understanding Historical Change, (p. 152–155), Robert Strayer, M.E.Sharpe, 1998.
- Ilgūnas, Gediminas. "Lietuvos kelias į 1990 m. kovo 11-ąją (1940-1990 m.)". Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas.