History of Russians in Lithuania
Encyclopedia
First small early East Slavic settlements in what is now Lithuania
date back to late medieval ages when the first proto-Russian
merchants and craftsmen began to permanently reside in several Lithuanian towns. In the late 17th century they were joined by many Russian Old Believers
who settled in eastern Lithuania, escaping religious persecution in Russia
.
The second, larger, influx of Russians followed the annexation of Lithuania by the Russian Empire
during the Partitions of Poland
in the late 18th century. Under Russian rule, power in the region remained primarily in the hands of the Lithuanian nobility, but some administrative jobs were gradually taken over by Russians, who also settled in cities such as Vilnius
and Kaunas
. Also after the uprising of 1863
in Poland some estates had been confiscated from the local nobility and given to Russian officials. Many of the Russians who migrated to Lithuania were soldiers, sailors, and merchants.
Most of the present-day Russians in Lithuania are migrants from the Soviet era and their descendants. Following the terms of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
, the Soviet Union
occupied and annexed Lithuania, Latvia
, and Estonia
in 1940. After Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, the three countries quickly fell under German control. Many Russians, especially Communist party members who had arrived in the area with the initial annexation, retreated to Russia; those who fell into German hands were treated harshly, many were murdered.
As the war drew to a close, the Soviet Union resumed its occupation of the Baltic states in 1944-1945. Western democracies did not recognize the Soviet occupation
, and each Baltic state maintained a government in exile
.
Immediately after the war, Joseph Stalin
carried out a major resettlement
and de facto Russification
campaign in what were now the three Baltic Soviet republics. The Russians, along with a smaller number of other Soviet ethnic groups, who migrated to the Baltic were mostly factory workers who settled in major urban areas, as well as military personnel stationed in the region in significant numbers due to the border location of the Baltic States within the Soviet Union. Many military retirees chose to stay in the region, which featured higher living standards compared to most of Russia.
After Stalin's death in 1953, the government of the Lithuanian SSR
, led by the "communist nationalist" Antanas Sniečkus
, objected to the resettlement policies and managed to slow down the influx of Russians by letting Lithuanians fill some of the higher party positions. The flow of immigrants did not stop entirely, and there were further waves of Russian workers who came to work on major construction projects, such as power plants.
In Latvia and Estonia, less was done to stop the Russian immigration. By 1989 Russians made up 30.3% of the population in Estonia, while in Latvia, ethnic Latvians
made up just 52% of the population. In contrast, at the last Soviet census in 1989, only 9.4 percent of Lithuania's population were ethnic Russians, with a few more percent comprising other Soviet nationalities.
Russians who reside in Lithuania live mainly in urban areas. In Vilnius they make up 13% of the population, and 28% in Klaipėda
. Kaunas has just 4.4% ethnic Russians. The town of Visaginas
was built for workers at the Ignalina nuclear power plant
and therefore has an ethnic Russian majority (56%); it was built despite Antanas Sniečkus
being against it. Until 1992 the city was called Sniečkus.
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
date back to late medieval ages when the first proto-Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
merchants and craftsmen began to permanently reside in several Lithuanian towns. In the late 17th century they were joined by many Russian Old Believers
Old Believers
In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...
who settled in eastern Lithuania, escaping religious persecution in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The second, larger, influx of Russians followed the annexation of Lithuania by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
during the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
in the late 18th century. Under Russian rule, power in the region remained primarily in the hands of the Lithuanian nobility, but some administrative jobs were gradually taken over by Russians, who also settled in cities such as Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
. Also after the uprising of 1863
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
in Poland some estates had been confiscated from the local nobility and given to Russian officials. Many of the Russians who migrated to Lithuania were soldiers, sailors, and merchants.
Most of the present-day Russians in Lithuania are migrants from the Soviet era and their descendants. Following the terms of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, was an agreement officially titled the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union and signed in Moscow in the late hours of 23 August 1939...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
occupied and annexed Lithuania, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
in 1940. After Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, the three countries quickly fell under German control. Many Russians, especially Communist party members who had arrived in the area with the initial annexation, retreated to Russia; those who fell into German hands were treated harshly, many were murdered.
As the war drew to a close, the Soviet Union resumed its occupation of the Baltic states in 1944-1945. Western democracies did not recognize the Soviet occupation
Occupation of Baltic Republics
The occupation of the Baltic states refers to the military occupation of the three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union under the auspices of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on 14 June 1940 followed by their incorporation into the USSR as constituent republics, unrecognised...
, and each Baltic state maintained a government in exile
Government in exile
A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usually operate under the assumption that they will one day return to their...
.
Immediately after the war, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
carried out a major resettlement
Resettlement
Resettlement:*can refer to voluntary or involuntary human migration*can be a euphemism for forced migration*can be a euphemism for population transfer...
and de facto Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
campaign in what were now the three Baltic Soviet republics. The Russians, along with a smaller number of other Soviet ethnic groups, who migrated to the Baltic were mostly factory workers who settled in major urban areas, as well as military personnel stationed in the region in significant numbers due to the border location of the Baltic States within the Soviet Union. Many military retirees chose to stay in the region, which featured higher living standards compared to most of Russia.
After Stalin's death in 1953, the government of the Lithuanian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...
, led by the "communist nationalist" Antanas Sniečkus
Antanas Snieckus
Antanas Sniečkus was First Secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party from August 1940 to January 22, 1974.- Biography :Antanas Sniečkus was born in 1903, in the village of Būbleliai, near Šakiai. During the First World War, his family fled to Russia where he observed the Russian revolution of 1917...
, objected to the resettlement policies and managed to slow down the influx of Russians by letting Lithuanians fill some of the higher party positions. The flow of immigrants did not stop entirely, and there were further waves of Russian workers who came to work on major construction projects, such as power plants.
In Latvia and Estonia, less was done to stop the Russian immigration. By 1989 Russians made up 30.3% of the population in Estonia, while in Latvia, ethnic Latvians
Latvians
Latvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
made up just 52% of the population. In contrast, at the last Soviet census in 1989, only 9.4 percent of Lithuania's population were ethnic Russians, with a few more percent comprising other Soviet nationalities.
Russians who reside in Lithuania live mainly in urban areas. In Vilnius they make up 13% of the population, and 28% in Klaipėda
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
. Kaunas has just 4.4% ethnic Russians. The town of Visaginas
Visaginas
Visaginas is a city with municipal rights in eastern Lithuania, situated near the country's biggest lake, Drūkšiai. Its administrative boundaries are in the process of being defined. The Vilnius–Daugavpils railway runs alongside the town, providing convenient communication with Vilnius and...
was built for workers at the Ignalina nuclear power plant
Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant
The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is a closed two-unit RBMK-1500 nuclear power station in Visaginas, Lithuania. It was named after the nearby city of Ignalina...
and therefore has an ethnic Russian majority (56%); it was built despite Antanas Sniečkus
Antanas Snieckus
Antanas Sniečkus was First Secretary of the Lithuanian Communist Party from August 1940 to January 22, 1974.- Biography :Antanas Sniečkus was born in 1903, in the village of Būbleliai, near Šakiai. During the First World War, his family fled to Russia where he observed the Russian revolution of 1917...
being against it. Until 1992 the city was called Sniečkus.
Further reading
- Popovski, Vesna (2000). National Minorities and Citizenship Rights in Lithuania, 1988-93. N.Y.: Palgrave. ISBN 0333794680