Posted on 02/16/2008 9:46:17 AM PST by Grzegorz 246
(VILNIUS) - European Union newcomer Lithuania on Saturday celebrated the 90th anniversary of The Act of Independence, that re-established Lithuanian state after more than a century of Russian occupation.
"Today is a special day, we look at it with pride, it inspires us with fortitude," Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said at a special ceremony in parliament in the capital Vilnius.
"It was exactly 90 years ago, when the Lithuanian nation achived the right to freely create its future and to build its own state" Adamkus added.
Lithuania, which emerged as a state in the 13th century, was the largest country in Europe in the 14th century. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania covered present day Ukraine and Belarus, as well as parts of Russia and Poland.
It entered in a union with Poland in 1569, which was finally destroyed by its neighbours in 1795, with most of Lithuanian territory taken over by the Russian empire.
Lithuania's Independance Act, declared on February 16, 1918 came as a result of World War One, which saw Russia yield to Germany after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Lithuania's neighbours Latvia and Estonia, as well as Ukraine and Belarus also regained their statehood at around the same time. But all three Baltic states were subsequently absorbed by the Soviet Union, which had invaded them as part of the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact.
The three states only recovered their independence with the Soviet collapse in 1990.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who attended Saturday's celebrations in Vilnius's central Cathedral Square, said the European Union and NATO should pay more attention to the views of the Baltic states and Poland on relations with the East.
Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Latvia's Valdis Zatlers were also present.
"We have many times have been forced to prove our right to exist, prove to ourselves and to the rest of the world. But we have done so and have done so magnificently", Ilves said.
"We have every reason to be proud, to be proud of ourselves and our countries."
BTTT
90 years of independence?
I guess they occupied the USSR.
> 90 years of independence? <
The point is that Lithuania gained its status as an independent nation in 1918. And although they were occupied by the Soviets from 1939 until 1990, they were still recognized by the U.S. and many other countries as an independent nation for the entire time.
The same was true for Lativia and Estonia. For all three nations, their Legations (Embassies) in Washington DC never closed, and their diplomats were always accorded fully accredited diplomatic status by the USA.
Lithuania's Independance Act, declared on February 16, 1918 came as a result of World War One, which saw Russia yield to Germany after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Lithuania's neighbours Latvia and Estonia, as well as Ukraine and Belarus also regained their statehood at around the same time.
The maps I have seen of interwar Europe look like this, without an independent Ukraine or Belarus (even called Byelorussia or White Russia): http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/euro1935.htm
> The maps I have seen of interwar Europe look like this, without an independent Ukraine or Belarus <
Correct. They had been absorbed by the USSR shortly after they gained independence, and — rightly or wrongly — they were no longer regarded by the international community as indedpendent countries (at least until the farce of their being granted separate U. N. seats when the latter was formed).
On the contrary, during the interwar period, even the USSR recognized Lativia, Lithuania and Estonia as independent, sovereign nations. Then after the Soviets took them over in 1939, most of the non-communist world still recognized the three Baltic states as independent countries.
What’s more, the USA never treated the Soviet takeover as legally valid, meaning that we considered the Baltics to be fully sovereign, independent countries continuously from 1939 until 1990 — whereas we didn’t give that same status to Ukraine and Belarus until the USSR broke apart in 1991.
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