Lithuania–Russia relations
Lithuania |
Russia |
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Lithuania–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between Lithuania and Russia. Lithuania has an embassy in Moscow and consulates in Kaliningrad and Sovetsk. Russia has an embassy in Vilnius. The two countries share a common border through Kaliningrad Oblast.
In response to
History
Medieval period
The origins of the relations between contemporary Lithuania and Russia can be traced back to the
Post-medieval period
After the
20th century
During the
After the outbreak of hostilities in
Interwar period
During the
Following the peace treaty with Soviet Russia, Lithuania secretly allowed the Soviet forces a passage through its territory as they moved against Poland.[15] On 14 July 1920, the advancing Soviet army captured Vilnius and returned it to Lithuanians, but on 26 August 1920 the city was again captured by the Polish army which defeated the Soviets. To prevent further fighting, the Suwałki Agreement was signed by Poland and Lithuania on 7 October 1920; it left Vilnius on the Lithuanian side of the armistice line.[16] It never went into effect, however, because Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski, acting on Józef Piłsudski's orders, staged the Żeligowski's Mutiny: a military offensive presented as a mutiny.[16] He invaded Lithuania on 8 October 1920, captured Vilnius the following day, and established a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania in eastern Lithuania on 12 October 1920. The "Republic" was a part of Piłsudski's federalist scheme, which never materialized due to opposition from both the Polish and Lithuanian nationalists.[16]
On 30 December 1922, Soviet Russia was incorporated into the Soviet Union, and the latter state inherited the Lithuania–Russia relations.
The Third Seimas of Lithuania was elected in May 1926. For the first time, the bloc led by the Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party lost their majority and went into opposition. It was sharply criticized for signing the Soviet–Lithuanian Non-Aggression Pact, even though it affirmed Soviet recognition of Lithuanian claims to Poland-held Vilnius.[17]
World War II
At the beginning of
After months of intense propaganda and diplomatic pressure, the
Soviet occupation 1944-1991
In the summer of 1944, the Soviet Red Army reached eastern Lithuania.
After Stalin's death in 1953, the deportees were slowly and gradually released. The last deportees were released only in 1963. Some 60,000 managed to return to Lithuania, while 30,000 were prohibited from settling back in their homeland. Soviet authorities encouraged the immigration of non-Lithuanian workers, especially Russians, as a way of integrating Lithuania into the Soviet Union and encouraging industrial development,[30] but in Lithuania this process did not assume the massive scale experienced by other European Soviet republics.[31]
As allies of the Soviet Union during World War II, the United States and the United Kingdom recognized the occupation of the Republic of Lithuania at Yalta Conference in 1945 de facto. However, the US, UK her Western governments did not recognize the seizure of Lithuania by the Soviet Union in 1940 and in 1944 de jure according to the Welles Declaration of 23 July 1940.[32] As a result of this doctrine, most Western countries continue to recognize Lithuania as an independent, sovereign de jure state subject to international law represented by the legations appointed by the pre-1940 state which functioned through the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service.
- Soviet repressions
During the occupation of Lithuania, at least 130,000 people, 70% of them women and children,
In 1956 and 1957, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union approved releases of larger groups of the deportees, including the Lithuanians. Deportees started returning in large numbers creating difficulties for local communists – deportees would petition for return of their confiscated property, were generally considered unreliable and required special surveillance. Soviet Lithuanian officials, including Antanas Sniečkus, drafted local administrative measures prohibiting deportee return and petitioned Moscow to enact national policies to that effect.[36] In May 1958, the Soviet Union revised its policy regarding the remaining deportees: all those who were not involved with the Lithuanian partisans were released, but without the right to return to Lithuania.[37] The last Lithuanians—the partisan relatives and the partisans—were released only in 1960 and 1963 respectively.[38] Majority of the deportees released in May 1958 and later never returned to Lithuania.[39]
About 60,000 deportees returned to Lithuania.[40] Upon return, they faced further difficulties: their property was long looted and divided up by strangers, they faced discrimination for jobs and social guarantees, their children were denied higher education. Former deportees, resistance members, and their children were not allowed to integrate into the society. That created a permanent group of people that opposed the regime and continued non-violent resistance.[41]
Lithuania restores independence
Lithuania declared sovereignty on its territory on 18 May 1989 and restored independence from the Soviet Union on 11 March 1990 as the
Lithuania and the Russian Federation
On 27 July 1991, the Russian government re-recognized Lithuania and the two countries re-established diplomatic relations on 9 October 1991. President Boris Yeltsin and the Chairman of the Supreme Council Vytautas Landsbergis met to discuss economic ties. The Russian troops stayed in Lithuania for an additional three years, as Boris Yeltsin linked the issue of Russian minorities with troop withdrawals. Lithuania was the first to have the Russian troops withdrawn from its territory in August 1993.[citation needed] Since the reestablishment of independence, only two Lithuanian leaders have visited Moscow: one by Algirdas Brazauskas in 1997 and Valdas Adamkus in 2001 and 2005.[45][46][47] A planned 1999 trip to Moscow was reportedly canceled due to Boris Yeltsin's illness.[48] The first telephone conversation took place between Dalia Grybauskaitė and Dmitry Medvedev in 2009.[49]
Following
Russian invasion of Ukraine
Following the start of the
Together with the other EU member states, Lithuania banned Russian language media channels and imposed sanctions on Russia, and Russia, in turn, added all EU countries to the list of "
On 10 May, Lithuania's
On 8 June 2022 Russian parliamentarian
In September 2022,
In December 2022, diplomatic relations between Lithuania and Russia were downgraded to the level of acting chargé d'affaires after the Russian ambassador was expelled and the Lithuanian ambassador recalled.[65]
In August 2023, following a survey, Lithuania announced that 254 Russian and 910 Belarusian citizens living in Lithuania posed a threat to national security and that their residence permits will be revoked.[66][67]
In September 2023, following the new explanation of the EU sanctions by the European Commission, Lithuania together with the other Baltic States and Finland banned the vehicles with the Russian license plates from entering their territory.[68][69]
Trade
In 2021 Russia exported $4.56 billion of goods to Lithuania with crude oil, the main product. Exports from Lithuania were $4.14 billion with wine being the top product. From 1995 to 2021 Russian exports have risen by 6.04% p.a. with Lithuanian exports rising at 8.06% on average.[70]
Ambassadors
Lithuanian
- Egidijus Bičkauskas (1993–1998, plenipotentiary representative)
- Romualdas Kozyrovičius (1999–2000, 2006–2007)
- Zenonas Namavičius (2000–2002)
- Rimantas Šidlauskas (2002–2008)
- Antanas Vinkus (2009–2011)
- Renatas Norkus (2012–2014)
- Remigijus Motuzas (2015–2020)
- Eitvydas Bajarūnas (2020–2022; recalled due to Russo-Ukrainian War)
Russian
See ru:Список послов СССР и России в Литве (List of ambassadors of the USSR and Russia in Lithuania)
- Nikolai Obertydhev (Russian: Обёртышев, Николай Михайлович) (1992–1996)
- Konstantin Mozel (Russian: Мозель, Константин Николаевич) (1996–1999)
- Yuri Zubakov (Russian: Зубаков, Юрий Антонович) (1999–2003)
- Boris Cepov (Russian: Цепов, Борис Анатольевич) (2003–2008)
- Vladimir Chkhikvadze (Russian: Чхиквадзе, Владимир Викторович) (2008–2013)
- Aleksandr Udaltsov (Russian: Удальцов, Александр Иванович) (2013–2022)
See also
- Foreign relations of Lithuania
- Foreign relations of Russia
- Lithuania–Russia border
- Lithuania–Ukraine relations
References
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- ^ Eidintas et al. (2015), p. 45
- ^ a b c Krom (2012), p. r1
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- ^ Eidintas et al. (2015), p. 23
- ^ "Литовская губерния". Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1890–1906.
- ^ Eidintas et al. (2015), p. 123
- ^ Eidintas et al. (2015), p. 128
- ^ Snyder (2003), p. 53
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- ^ a b Snyder (2003), p. 63
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- ^ Snyder (2003), p. 72
- ^ a b c Snyder (2003), p. 88
- ^ Saulius Sužiedelis, Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów [Extermination of the Jews, hell for the Lithuanians]. Zagłada Żydów, piekło Litwinów Gazeta Wyborcza wyborcza.pl 28.11.2013
- ^ a b Lithuania profile: history. U.S. Department of State Background Notes. Last accessed on 2 June 2013
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- ^ Tony Wesolowsky (12 January 2021). "Thirty Years After Soviet Crackdown In Lithuania, Kremlin Accused Of Rewriting History". Radio Free Europe.
- ^ "On This Day 13 January, 1991: Bloodshed at Lithuanian TV station". BBC News. 13 January 1991. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ Петерс, Ирина (5 February 2012). "Дневники Валдаса Адамкуса". Радио Свобода (in Russian). Retrieved 5 September 2020.
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- ^ Lee, Michael (8 March 2020). "Here are the nations on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list". CTV News.
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- ^ Russian lawmaker slams Lithuanian resolution on Russia's activity in Ukraine, TASS, 10 May 2022
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- ^ Manning, Joshua (8 September 2022). ""You are not welcome here!" Estonia restricts entry of Russian citizens from September 19". Euro Weekly News. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
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Bibliography
- ISBN 9786094371639. Archived from the original(PDF) on 28 January 2021.
- Krom, Mikhail (2012). Changing allegiances in the age of state building: the border between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Grand Principality of Moscow. ISBN 9783643902573.
External links
- (in English and Lithuanian) Treaties signed between Lithuania and Russia
- (in English, Russian, and Lithuanian) Embassy of Lithuania in Moscow
- (in Russian and Lithuanian) Embassy of Russia in Vilnius