Why did Lithuania’s dictator in the 1920s (the pro-Nazi Augustinas Voldemaras) kick the author out of the country for writing this seemingly harmless book? What was the significance of the fact that the author’s father tutored a teenage Lenin while both were in law school in Russia? And how was this ground-breaking equivalent of “Lithuanian History for Dummies” about a century ahead of its time? This centennial edition of a ground-breaking classic, translated into smooth and idiomatic English, with numerous images that bring the story to life, includes an introduction written by the author’s grandson—a Harvard graduate and PhD in political science—in which he describes the detective work through which he solved various mysteries relating to the book. He also describes three interesting parallels that were impressed on him, including the striking similarities between the dictator Voldemaras and the present-day American authoritarian politician Donald J. Trump. In a sense, this book represents a case study in the power of the written word and the repercussions that its exercise can generate. One hundred years later, at a time of heightened assault on both truth and freedom of speech worldwide—with authoritarianism steadily on the rise—these themes remain as timely as ever.

A Short History of Lithuania to 1569: Centennial Edition (1921–2021)

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading Modern day Lithuania is a small country bordering the Baltic Sea with a population of less than 3 million people, but despite its relative size, the nation has exerted an influential role on the history of the region. More recently, in the 20th century, Lithuania was caught between much larger powers in two world wars and then the Cold War. Along with neighbors Latvia and Estonia, Lithuania was one of the only states to truly break free of the Soviet Union when the latter dissolved in 1991. Now entrenched in the EU's political and security bloc, Lithuania has seen unprecedented economic growth and prosperity, although Vilnius is still wary of the Russian giant on its doorstep. The end of the Cold War brought Lithuania the independence it had sought for almost 200 years and had only briefly attained in the 1918-39 Interwar Period. This is due in large measure to its location, as Lithuania is wedged between Poland and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to the south, Belarus to the east and Latvia to the north. The country's capital city is Vilnius and next largest city is Kaunas. Covering an area of 65,000 square kilometers, although at various stages of its history this was much greater, Lithuania borders the Baltic Sea to the west. Indeed, it is perhaps best to think of the country as a Baltic one, and as with the other Baltic states, Lithuania has been at the crossroads of events involving European, Middle Eastern, and Asian powers. For centuries, its main relationships were with Poland, Sweden, and the burgeoning Rus peoples, later Russia and Ukraine. Subsequently Germany would become an important player in the Baltics, while Russia's Romanov dynasty coveted access to the Baltic sea lanes, inevitably meaning Lithuania would come into its sights. Given everything going on around it, it should come as little surprise that Lithuania's history during the 20th century revolved around the remarkable resilience of its people in the face of aggression and imperialism from first Russia, then Nazi Germany, then the Soviet Union. The Fight for Lithuanian Independence: The History and Legacy of Lithuania in the 20th Century examines the geopolitics of the region, Lithuania's place in it, and the most important events in Lithuania's recent history. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Lithuania like never before.

The Fight for Lithuanian Independence

The history of eastern European is dominated by the story of the rise of the Russian empire, yet Russia only emerged as a major power after 1700. For 300 years the greatest power in Eastern Europe was the union between the kingdom of Poland and the grand duchy of Lithuania, one of the longest-lasting political unions in European history. Yet because it ended in the late-eighteenth century in what are misleadingly termed the Partitions of Poland, it barely features in standard accounts of European history. The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 tells the story of the formation of a consensual, decentralised, multinational, and religiously plural state built from below as much as above, that was founded by peaceful negotiation, not war and conquest. From its inception in 1385-6, a vision of political union was developed that proved attractive to Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Germans, a union which was extended to include Prussia in the 1450s and Livonia in the 1560s. Despite the often bitter disagreements over the nature of the union, these were nevertheless overcome by a republican vision of a union of peoples in one political community of citizens under an elected monarch. Robert Frost challenges interpretations of the union informed by the idea that the emergence of the sovereign nation state represents the essence of political modernity, and presents the Polish-Lithuanian union as a case study of a composite state. The modern history of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus cannot be understood without an understanding of the legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian union. This volume is the first detailed study of the making of that union ever published in English.

The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania

Discover the captivating history and rich cultural heritage of Lithuania. From the ancient roots of the Baltic tribes to the struggles for independence and the nation's journey into the European Union, each chapter offers a narrative that transports readers through time. Immerse yourself in the grandeur of Lithuania's medieval past, explore the architectural marvels of castles and monasteries, and uncover the secrets of ancient hillforts. Dive into the vibrant world of Lithuanian folklore and mythology, where mythical creatures and captivating stories come to life. Indulge in the delectable delights of Lithuanian cuisine and explore the natural wonders of the Lithuanian forests and the Curonian Spit. This text-only book provides a comprehensive and immersive reading experience. Whether you are a history enthusiast, a lover of folklore and mythology, or simply seeking to broaden your knowledge of different cultures, this book offers a fascinating and educational journey. Let the pages of this book transport you to the heart of Lithuania, where a world of captivating stories, remarkable architecture, and cultural traditions awaits. Don't miss this opportunity to embark on a captivating adventure through the history of Lithuania. Grab your copy of this text-only book and immerse yourself in the vibrant tapestry of Lithuania's past.

The History of Lithuania

The fascinating history of a Baltic empire’s dominance and decline—excerpted from internationally bestselling author Norman Davies’s Vanished Kingdoms Vanished Kingdoms introduces readers to once-powerful European empires that have left scant traces on the modern map. In this excerpt from his widely acclaimed book, Norman Davies tells the ill-fated story of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Founded in the mid-thirteenth century in one of the continent’s first settled regions, where the oldest of its Indo-European languages is spoken, the Grand Duchy at its peak was the largest country in Europe, stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and it commanded yet greater influence after uniting with its western neighbor, the Kingdom of Poland, to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grand Duchy’s huge territory included the great cities of Kiev, Vilnius, Riga, Minsk, and Brest. Despite being ahead of its time as an elective republic in an age of absolute monarchy, power struggles and foreign incursions led to its ultimate demise and forced partition by Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1795. In this selection from a work The Boston Globe has called “commendably accessible, magisterial, and uncommonly humane,” Davies chronicles these rich yet unfamiliar chapters in the history of modern Lithuania, Belarus, and Latvia with his signature acuity and verve.

Litva: The Rise and Fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

*Includes pictures *Includes a bibliography for further reading Though history is usually written by the victors, the lack of a particularly strong writing tradition from the Mongols ensured that history was largely written by those who they vanquished. Because of this, their portrayal in the West and the Middle East has been extraordinarily (and in many ways unfairly) negative for centuries, at least until recent revisions to the historical record. The Mongols have long been depicted as wild horse-archers galloping out of the dawn to rape, pillage, murder and enslave, but the Mongol army was a highly sophisticated, minutely organized and incredibly adaptive and innovative institution, as witnessed by the fact that it was successful in conquering enemies who employed completely different weaponry and different styles of fighting. The Mongols were pushed out of the region by the Poles and Lithuanians, who then occupied state territories in the 14th century. Poland seized areas in the west, known as Galicia, while Lithuania occupied a northern area called Volynia. The Mongol-Tatars, however, retained control of the Crimean Peninsula, using it as a base for trade, including that of slaves, with the Ottoman Empire. The Tatars would actually strengthen their grip on the Crimea after the Golden Horde's demise and continue terrifying other European powers. By allying themselves with the Ottomans, the Tatars seemingly lost the potent position they had when they were a part of the Mongol Empire, they were still close to being a superpower from Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Ottomans would continue to expand their territory and threaten other European nations for centuries to come. Meanwhile, Russia also began expanding its influence by playing a role in defeating the Mongol hordes. The Russian ruler, Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan III, married the final heir to the Byzantine throne, Sophia (born Zoe) Palaiologina, the daughter of the last emperor of Byzantium, in 1480. Sophia would go on to be the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible, the first tsar of Imperial Russia from 1547-84. As a result of this lineage, the Romanov tsars would claim they were the torchbearers of Orthodox Christianity, descending directly from Byzantium. All of this political maneuvering would bring about one of the most famous battles in the history of Eastern Europe as the various parties sought to fill the power vacuum. The battle would be fought around Orsha, which is today a city of about 118,000 inhabitants on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa Rivers in northern Belarus. One of the oldest settlements in that nation, Orsha has historically been an important center of communication and trade, situated as it is on a major river that flows down into the Black Sea. In 1514, Orsha was a much smaller town, home to a population of no more than 5,000 as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, but on September 8 of that year, the normally quiet and unpretentious town was thrust into the world's gaze when over 100,000 troops engaged in one of the 16th century's biggest battles outside the town walls. The battle pitted the forces of the King of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania against the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and it was part of a conflict known to history as the Fourth Muscovite-Lithuanian War. That war was part of a series of conflicts that began in the 15th century, and the fighting would not end until Poland and the lands of Grand Duchy of Lithuania were completely annexed by the Russian Empire in 1795. The Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars: The History of the Russian Conflicts against the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania examines the turbulent history of the region and the series of conflicts between the various powers. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars like never before.

The Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars

This volume provides a fresh perspective of the history and legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as the often-disputed memory of it in contemporary Europe. The unions between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania have fascinated many readers particularly because many solutions that have been implemented in the European Union have been adopted from its Central and Eastern European predecessor. The collection of essays presented in this volume are divided into three parts – the Beginnings of Poland-Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Legacy and Memory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – and represent a selection of the papers delivered at the Third Congress of International Researchers of Polish History which was held in Cracow on 11-14 October 2017. Through their application of different historiographical perspectives and schools of history they offer the reader a fresh take on the Commonwealth’s history and legacy, as well as the memory of it in the countries that are its inheritors, namely Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine. An exploration of one of the biggest countries in Early Modern Europe, this will be of interest to historians, political scientists, cultural anthropologists and other scholars of the history of Central and Eastern Europe in the Early Modern period.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

A major new assessment of the "vanished kingdom" of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth--one which recognizes its achievements before its destruction Richard Butterwick tells the compelling story of the last decades of one of Europe's largest and least understood polities: the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Drawing on the latest research, Butterwick vividly portrays the turbulence the Commonwealth experienced. Far from seeing it as a failed state, he shows the ways in which it overcame the stranglehold of Russia and briefly regained its sovereignty, the crowning success of which took place on 3 May 1791--the passing of the first Constitution of modern Europe.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733-1795

This book examines the transformation of the elective principle in Transylvania and the newly created Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early 1570s. These countries insisted on their right to 'free elections', despite the threat to public stability, and this served to transform their institutions and constitutions.

Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1569-1587

For four centuries, the Polish�Lithuanian state encompassed a major geographic region comparable to present-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Romania. Governed by a constitutional monarchy that offered the numerous nobility extensive civil and political rights, it enjoyed unusual domestic tranquility, for its military strength kept most enemies at bay until the mid-seventeenth century and the country generally avoided civil wars. Selling grain and timber to western Europe helped make it exceptionally wealthy for much of the period. The Polish�Lithuanian State, 1386�1795 is the first account in English devoted specifically to this important era. It takes a regional rather than a national approach, considering the internal development of the Ukrainian, Jewish, Lithuanian, and Prussian German nations that coexisted with the Poles in this multinational state. Presenting Jewish history also clarifies urban history, because Jews lived in the unincorporated "private cities" and suburbs, which historians have overlooked in favor of incorporated "royal cities." In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the private cities and suburbs often thrived while the inner cities decayed. The book also traces the institutional development of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland�Lithuania, one of the few European states to escape bloody religious conflict during the Reformation and Counter Reformation. Both seasoned historians and general readers will appreciate the many excellent brief biographies that advance the narrative and illuminate the subject matter of this comprehensive and absorbing volume.

The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795

The History of Lithuania Before 1795

A History of Lithuania

<p><a href="https://history-maps.com/story/History-of-Lithuania">Lithuania's history</a> spans from ancient Baltic tribes to a modern European state. In 1253, it became a kingdom under Mindaugas, later forming the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which peaked in the 15th century as one of Europe's largest states. In 1569, Lithuania united with Poland in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, lasting until partition by neighboring empires in the late 18th century. Lithuania regained independence in 1918 but was occupied by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany during World War II. It reestablished independence from the USSR in 1990, becoming a member of the EU and NATO in the early 21st century.</p>

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