IS LITHUANIAN NATION ON VERGE OF DISAPPEARANCE?

RIA Novosti ^ | 2005-04-12

[lizol]

Eastern European ping list

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[GeekDejure]

What? No Islamofacist hack jobs running rampant in Lithuania ???

[tom h]

Well, no wonder. I have several theories. First, two many ethnic Russians live there, and they do not share the Lithuanian identity. After Stalin finally got hold of Lithuania after WWII, the Soviets deliberately moved ethnic Russians to Lithuania in an attempt to change the demographic mix. I think the ethnic Russian percentage of the population is over 50%. The Soviets did the same in Estonia and Latvia but to a lesser extent.

Second, the boundaries of the country moved several times during the 20th century. So a Lithuanian farm in 1914 might have become a Polish farm in 1919, a German farm in 1939, a Soviet farm in 1945, and today might even be a Ukrainian farm. Talk about loss of national identity, or even cynicism about national identity!

Third -- there are no national resources in the current Lithuania and there is no capital available for investment. No wonder that the poor people want to emigrate.

[dagnabbit]

Same problem in Latvia and Estonia.

[xsmommy]

we are going extinct!

[sergey1973]

"First, two many ethnic Russians live there, and they do not share the Lithuanian identity. After Stalin finally got hold of Lithuania after WWII, the Soviets deliberately moved ethnic Russians to Lithuania in an attempt to change the demographic mix. I think the ethnic Russian percentage of the population is over 50%. "

Wrong. The number of Ethnic Russians is 8.7% according to CIA World Fact Book. Ethnic Lithuanians are more then 80% of the total population.

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/lh.html

[dfwgator]

Resurrect the Commonwealth!

[sergey1973]

Also how "too many ethnic Russians" (8.7% of population as I mentioned) make ethnic Lithuanians want to leave Lithuania ? Do they force Lithuanians out of Lithuania at a gunpoint ? FYI, there are ethnic Russians who lived in Lithuania for many generations long before Stalin. Lithuania was a part of Russian Empire since 1830's and there were ties between Polish Lithuanian kingdom and Moscow Rus/Russian Empire before that.

In Latvia and Estonia the percentage of ethnic Russians/Russian Speakers is higher than in Lithuania (about 30% in each country). Many of them were born in Latvia and Estonia after Stalin, but they were not allowed to claim Latvian and Estonian citizenship after Latvia and Estonia became independent in 1991 because of the laws passed by parlament that those Russians who were born in Latvia and Lithuania to parents who moved there under Soviet Times, must pass a citizenship test in Latvian and Estonian respectively.

[tom h]

Thanks for correcting me -- Latvia is the Baltic country with 50% Russians, not Lithuania. But the general assessment is the same. And if you do a few google searches you'll find that in the major cities, Russians comprise 20-30% of the population and Russians + Poles can comprise more than 50%. Also, the Soviets no doubt had a major troop presence in Lithuania until the 1993 withdrawal, of 50,000 I think.

So-called "Lithuania Minor," which is technically part of Russian territory but is basically the same land, contains 1 million Russians and no doubt this too has an impact on Lithuanian sentiments.

[GOP_1900AD]

I am having a "past great empires reformed" moment.... ;)

How about recreating the Polish - Lithuanian Federation?

[GOP_1900AD]

Great minds think alike? ....;)

[Malesherbes]

I hope the Lithuanians overcome this. I believe their ancient and highly inflected language is the closest in Europe to the original Indo-European ancestor. If nothing else, perhaps language could create the fundamental national bond. Europe will be much poorer if its smaller entities disappear.

[wildandcrazyrussian]

Remember the Lithuanian Empire reached all the way to the Black Sea in 1450! Borders always change.

[sergey1973]

The current wave of Lithuanian immigration has nothing to do with %pct of Russians in Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia. They immigrate because they don't see much opportunity for themselves in Lithuania and they move to more prosperous Western European Countries (i.e. Germany, UK, etc.) The same immigration waves are now coming out of Poland and East Germany.

[sergey1973]

-:)))) I doubt anyone would want to re-draw the borders once again -:)))) You can't go twice into the same river.

[pbear8]

I hope not, my pastor is there right now going through the KGB archives.

[FierceDraka]

One mention of the words "social justice" and I tend to ignore the rest.

Ever notice that any concept that begins with the word "social" ends up being pretty much worthless?

[jwh_Denver]

Really, am I supposed to care about this?

[Thommas]

How about recreating the Polish - Lithuanian Federation?

This is probably the best solution to the evaporating country of Lithuania. The people are such an intermingled group (my grandfather swore he was Polish, but he was born in Wilnus) that to preserve what identity and culture that remains might just require a permanent bond with their brother/sister nation of Poland. Good luck and prosperity to the Lugans.