Lithuania and Russia compared

Entangled histories

9 events in which either nation’s sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle; nothing here was written for this page.

1. 1795

   Final partition and annexation by Russia

   In the third partition of the Commonwealth, Russia, Prussia and Austria completed its dismemberment; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was annexed almost wholly by the Russian Empire, ending Lithuanian statehood.

   Politics & Power · from the Lithuania chronicle · The Commonwealth, the Partitions and the National Revival · Partitions of Poland, History of Lithuania

2. 23 Aug 1939

   Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

   The German-Soviet non-aggression pact and its secret protocol divided eastern Europe into spheres of influence; an adjustment that autumn assigned Lithuania, with the other Baltic states, to the Soviet sphere.

   Politics & Power · from the Lithuania chronicle · War, Soviet Occupation and the Partisan Struggle · German-Soviet Pact, History of Lithuania

3. 1940

   Soviet occupation and annexation

   The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania in June 1940 and annexed it in August as the Lithuanian SSR, an incorporation never recognised as lawful by the United States and most Western states.

   War & Rupture · from the Lithuania chronicle · War, Soviet Occupation and the Partisan Struggle · German-Soviet Pact, History of Lithuania

4. 1941–1952

   Mass deportations to Siberia

   The Soviet regime deported well over one hundred thousand Lithuanians to camps and forced settlements, with the largest operations in 1948 and 1949, to crush resistance and impose collectivisation.

   Catastrophe · from the Lithuania chronicle · War, Soviet Occupation and the Partisan Struggle · Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania, History of Lithuania

5. 1944–c. 1953

   The Forest Brothers' partisan war

   Thousands of Lithuanians fought a guerrilla war against the returning Soviet forces; the partisan movement controlled much of the countryside before being crushed by the early 1950s.

   War & Rupture · from the Lithuania chronicle · War, Soviet Occupation and the Partisan Struggle · Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania, History of Lithuania

6. 1988

   The rise of Sajudis

   The reform movement Sajudis emerged as Soviet controls loosened, mobilising mass support for Lithuanian sovereignty and winning a majority in the 1990 elections to the republic's parliament.

   Politics & Power · from the Lithuania chronicle · Restoration of Independence and a European Lithuania · March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania, History of Lithuania

7. 11 Mar 1990

   Restoration of independence

   The Supreme Council adopted the Act on the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania, making Lithuania the first Soviet republic to declare the restoration of its independence.

   Independence · from the Lithuania chronicle · Restoration of Independence and a European Lithuania · March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania, History of Lithuania

8. 13 Jan 1991

   The January events in Vilnius

   Soviet forces stormed the Vilnius television tower and broadcasting centre, killing fourteen unarmed civilians; the defenders held parliament and the crackdown discredited Moscow.

   War & Rupture · from the Lithuania chronicle · Restoration of Independence and a European Lithuania · January 13, 1991: the night when Soviets stormed LRT, March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania

9. 29 Mar 2004

   Accession to NATO

   Lithuania formally joined NATO on 29 March 2004, anchoring its security in the Atlantic alliance a little over a decade after the withdrawal of Soviet forces.

   Politics & Power · from the Lithuania chronicle · Restoration of Independence and a European Lithuania · Chronology of Events: Lithuania and NATO