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A Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva; full - Lietuvos Respublika) occurs as republic in northeastern Europe. One of a trio Baltic States along the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland to a south, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia to the southwest.
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Independent article: History of Lithuania
Number 1 mentioned inside the medieval German manuscript, the Quedlinburg Chronicle, on February 14 1009, Lithuania became a important state in the Middle Ages. A official crowning of Mindaugas as King of Lithuania in Voruta on July 6 1253 marked Lithuania's birth, as belligerent dukes united to support his reign. Late, when you took Gediminas' conquests, a united states grew into the independent, multi-multiethnic Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which joined the lands of modern Belarus and Ukraine. Per 15th century, the Grand Duchy stretched across Eastern Europe from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
Whilst Grand Duke Jogaila was crowned King of Poland on February 2, 1386, Lithuania and Poland became unified under one monarch. Around 1569, Poland and Lithuania formally merged into one state known as a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This union remained in situ until a adoption of the May Constitution of 1791, which abolished all subdivisions of a states & merged the two into the Kingdom of Poland. Around 1795, this new state was shortly dissolved per third Partition of Poland, which ceded its lands to Russia, Prussia and Austria.
In February 16, 1918, Lithuania re-established its independence in severely limited territories that experienced been intended Lithuanian, by owning non-Lithuanian areas of the Grand Duchy that got fallen to the Soviet Union remaining under Soviet control. From either a first, territorial disputes by owning Poland (across a Vilnius region and the Suvalkai region) and Germany (over a Klaipėda region, German: Memelland) plagued the freshly united states. When you took a interwar cycle, a constitutional capital of Lithuania was Vilnius, although the city itself was so under Polish control (understand History of Vilnius for more details). A Lithuanian government at a period was seated within Kaunas, which officially held the status of temporary capital.
Around 1940, at the height of World War II, the Soviet Union annexed Lithuania in accordance using a Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It late come under German occupation, during which instance 90% of Lithuanian Jews were killed, one of a worst dying rates of the Holocaust. Ultimately Lithuania fell once again to the Soviet Union in 1945.
Fifty years of communistic rule ended by using a advent of glasnost, and Lithuania, led by Sąjūdis, an anti-communist and anti-Soviet independence movement, announced its renewed independence in March 11, 1990. Lithuania was a number one Soviet republic to launder sol, though Soviet forces unsuccessfully tried until August 1991 to suppress this secession, including an incident at Vilnius' TV Tower in January 1991 that resulted in the death of many Lithuanian civilians. A endure Russian troops left Lithuania in August 31, 1993 — even earliest than victims within East Germany.
In February 4, 1991, Iceland became the number one united states to recognize Lithuanian independence, & Sweden the first to open an embassy in the united states. A United States of America never recognized a Soviet claim to Lithuania or even the more 2 Baltic republics.
Lithuania joined a United Nations on September 17, 1991. In May 31, 2001, Lithuania became the 141st member of the World Trade Organization. Since 1988, Lithuania has sought closer ties sustaining a West, so in January 4, 1994, it became the number one of the Baltic States to apply for NATO membership. In November 21, 2002, NATO invited Lithuania to start membership negotiations, & in March 29, 2004, it became a to the full & equal NATO member. In February 1, 1998, it became an Associate Member of the EU, and in April 16, 2003, it signed the EU Accession Treaty. 91% of Lithuanians backed EU membership around the referendum held in May 11, 2003 and in May 1, 2004, Lithuania joined the European Union.
Politics
Independent article: Politics of Lithuania
a Lithuanian head of state is the president, who is elected directly for the 5-season term. A president functions when a commander-within-chief & oversees foreign & security policy. On a approval of the parliament, he appoints the prime minister and on the latter's nomination, appoints the rest of the cabinet, as well as a total of more top civil servants & a judges for 100% courts, including a Constitutional Court (Konstitucinis Teismas).
A unicameral Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has 141 members that are elected to 4-month terms. Just about half of the members of this legislative body come elected around only constituencies (71), & the more half (Lxx) are elected inside a countrywide vote by proportional representation. The person must receive at least 5% of the national vote to become represented in the Seimas.
Administrative division
Independent article: Administrative division of Lithuania
Lithuania consists of Decade counties (Lithuanian: apskritys, singular - apskritis), both known as when their chief city. A counties come subdivided into Sixty municipalities (occasionally municipalities come historically known as "district municipalities", & so shortened to "district"; others come known as "city municipalities", occasionally shortened to "city", or even allowing upright the title of city; & a few come just only known as "municipalities") (look at: List of municipalities of Lithuania). A municipality is the first unit.
From each one municipality has its have elective government. It used to be that, a election of municipality councils occurred when each triad years, however nowadays pass off each iv years. A council elects a mayor of the municipality & extra expected personnel (big municipalities develop big councils and more officials). A municipality councils as well appoint elders to the administrative division (little municipalities don't keep around elderships, though). Taken together, a municipalities consist of complete D elderships. This administrative section was created inside 1994 & modified inside 2000. There exists presently the proposal that would involve city manager & elders to become elected within straight elections per public.
A whole of Lithuania is partitioned into counties, which are then ruled by officials ("Rulers of Apskritis") world health organization come sent per central government. These officials assure that a municipalities operate based on data from a laws of Lithuania & a constitution. It don't, nonetheless, keep close at h& material powers vested within a children, and there has been the proposal to reduce the total of counties because of the little total of municipalities fall into every ruler's jurisdiction.
a single proposal is to produce a freshly administrative unit comprised of iv lands, the boundaries of which would exist as determined per ethnographic regions of Lithuania. An additional projected guide is to expand a counties and so that there would exist as 5 altogether, for each one depending around one of a 5 big cities.
As well look at: Counties of Lithuania, List of municipalities of Lithuania, Elderships
Geography
A big & virtually all thickly settled of the Baltic states, Lithuania has around One c klick of arenaceous coastline, of which simply astir 38 kilometre faces a open Baltic Sea. Lithuania's major caring-a water system port of Klaipėda lies at the narrow mouth of Kuršių marios (Curonian Lagoon), a shallow lagune extending south to Kaliningrad. A independent flow of any stream, a Nemunas, and a select few of its affluent carry international transport vessels.
A Lithuanian landscape is glacially flat, except for morainic hills in a western highl& and eastern upland that come there are no higher than 300 m, using the greatest point existence observed at Juozapinės at 292 m. A terrain features many streams, lakes, and wells throughout, Lake Vištytis) for example, lakes, & the mixed forward zone covers 30% of the united states. A climate lies between maritime & continental, by having needing changed, moderate winters & summers. Based on data from occasionally geographers, Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, lies a few kilometres south of the geographical centre of Europe.
Lithuania consists of the as a consequence historical and cultural regions:
Economy
Inside 2003, anterior to joining a European Union, Lithuania experienced a greatest economic rate of growth amongst everthing candidate & member countries, reaching Eighter from decatur.8% in the third quarter. Inside 2004, the Sestet.6% incubation inside GDP reflected telling economic development. Before 1998, Lithuania was a Baltic state that conducted the virtually all trade by using Russia; however, a 1998 Russian fiscal crisis forced a united states to orient toward a West.
Lithuania has since gained membership of the World Trade Organization, and joined a European Union on May 1, 2004. Based on data from officially promulgated numbers, accession to the EU reduced antecedently high unemployment to 10.6% within 2004, although a bit of argue that this has been prompted per high rate of emigration from Lithuania that has occurred since it joined the EU. Lithuania has about completed a privatization of its large, state-owned utilities. A Litas, the national currency, has been pegged to the Euro since February 2, 20Two at the rate of EUR 1.00 = LTL 3.4528, and Lithuania is expected to switch to the Euro in 2006, thus becoming one of the first of the new EU members to do so.
Although Lithuania's economy is beyond any doubt growing, several population however sleep in abject impoverishment & a situation doesn't come out to exist as improving. An urban elite group is currently extremely seeable, when little seems to own changed for the united states's unfortunate. Based on datthe from a report published per US Department of State in June 2005, the minimum earnings has non changed since June 1998 & stands at $107.50 by a year, swell following the impoverishment threshold. A typical salary stands at $336.8 by the year [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5379.htm 1]. Such as more countries in the region (Estonia, Latvia and Russia) Lithuanithe has also adopted a flat rate of tax rather than a progressive scheme. Even so, at 33% of income, a revenue enhancement rate is substantially higher than that of its neighbours & a select few indicate that this can be an additional factor influencing expatriation [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1549075,00.html 2].
Demographics
83.5% of a Lithuanian people come ethnic Lithuanians world health organization speak the Lithuanian language (one of two living members of the Baltic language group), which is the official language of the state. Many sizable minorities survive, like Poles (7%), Russians (5%), and Belarusians (1.5%).
Poles come a big minority, mostly concentrated around south-east Lithuania (a Western Vilnius region). Russians come the 2nd big minority, concentrated mostly within the cities & comprising a majority in Visaginas; they besides be the big minority inside Vilnius and Klaipėda.
Because of the Soviet occupation, virtually all older humans & occasionally members of the immature people however see Russian. Virtually all schools teach English (for even instance German) as a number 1 foreign language, however students might as well survey Russian, German, or, inside a bit of schools, French. Although there are however a few schools that teach Russian as a primary language.
A predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, but Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam and Karaism (an ancient offshoot of Judaism represented by an extended-standing community around Trakai) also survive when minority religions.
Culture
Lithuanians abroad
Miscellaneous topics
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Martyrs of Lithuania Catholic Parish An introduction to this parish in Domeikava, Lithuania. Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church Interested in establishing a sister-parish relationship with another parish or possibly an ecumenical relationship. Lapes, Lithuania. |
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