Sovetskaya Litva found itself free at the same time as the fall of Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, what change allowed both of the actions to happen?
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Sovetskaya Litva Sovetskaya Litva (literally: "Soviet Lithuania"; Russian: Советская Литва ) was a Russian-language daily newspaper published in the Lithuanian SSR. In tandem with the Lithuanian-language "Tiesa", it was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Lithuania, the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, and the Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR. After the restoration of Lithuania's independence in 1990, the newspaper became an independent daily under the name Echo Litvy (literally: "Echo of Lithuania"; Russian: Эхо Литвы ). Its circulation was 79,000 copies in 1981, 26,000 copies in 1993, and 12,000 copies in 1997. It discontinued publication in 2001 due to financial difficulties.
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Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR The Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR (Lithuanian: "Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausioji Taryba" ; Russian: Верховный Совет Литовской ССР , "Verkhovnyy Sovet Litovskoy SSR") was the supreme soviet (main legislative institution) of the Lithuanian SSR, one of the republics comprising the Soviet Union. The Supreme Soviet was established in August 1940 when the People's Seimas declared itself the provisional Supreme Soviet. According to the constitution it was very similar to modern democratic parliaments: it was elected every four (later five) years and had the power to create, amend and ratify the constitution, laws, and treaties and appoint officials in the Council of Ministers (the executive branch). However, in reality the elections were staged, the Soviet had very little actual power and carried out orders given by the Communist Party of Lithuania (CPL). The situation changed in 1988, when the Lithuanians began seeking independence from the Soviet Union. The political power shifted from CPL to the Soviet, which adopted a number of important constitutional amendments and laws, paving the way for the independence. The first free elections were held in February 1990 and were won by pro-independence Sąjūdis. During its first session the Supreme Soviet adopted the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania and renamed itself the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania.
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Litvin In historical context, Litvin (Belarusian: літвін, ліцвін , "litvin", "litsvin"; Russian: литвин , "litvin", Ukrainian: литвин , "lytvyn"; Polish: "Litwin" ) referred to Slavic people identifying themselves with the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
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Guardians of the Laws Guardians of the Laws or Guard of Laws (Polish: "Straż Praw" ) was a short-lived supreme executive governing body of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth established by the Constitution of May 3, 1791. It was abolished, together with other reforms of the Constitution, after the Polish defeat in the summer of Polish–Russian War of 1792.
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Ukrainian parliamentary election, 1990 The first relatively free parliamentary election held in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR) took place in several stages, from March 4 to March 18, 1990. The elections were held to elect deputies to the republic's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. Simultaneously, elections of local provincial ("oblast'") councils also took place in their respective administrative divisions.
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Lithuanian presidential election, 1993 Presidential elections were held in Lithuania on 14 February 1993. This was the first presidential election under the new Constitution of Lithuania of October 1992 and since the declaration of independence in March 1990. Algirdas Brazauskas, the former first secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania and the then-current leader of the Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania (DLPL), won with over 60% of the vote. The runner up was Stasys Lozoraitis, an independent candidate endorsed by the Sąjūdis movement and other political parties.
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Polish–Lithuanian War The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius, and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny. The conflict was largely shaped by the progress in the Polish–Soviet War and international efforts to mediate at the Conference of Ambassadors and later the League of Nations. There are major differences in Polish and Lithuanian historiography regarding treatment of the war. According to Lithuanian historians, the war was part of the Lithuanian Wars of Independence and spanned from spring 1919 to November 1920. According to Poland, the war included only fighting over the Suwałki Region in September–October 1920 and was part of the Polish–Soviet War.
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Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (Russian: Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР , "Verkhóvnyj Sovét SSSR") was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments. It elected the Presidium serving as the collective head of state of the Soviet Union, formed the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Court, and appointed the Procurator General of the Soviet Union.
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Government of Vladimir Lenin Under the leadership of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik Party seized power in the Russian Republic during a coup known as the October Revolution. Overthrowing the pre-existing Provisional Government, the Bolsheviks established a new administration, the Council of People's Commissars ("Sovnarkom"), with Lenin appointed as its governing chairman. Ruling by decree, Lenin’s Sovnarkom introduced widespread reforms confiscating land for redistribution among the peasantry, permitting non-Russian nations to declare themselves independent, improving labour rights, and increasing access to education.
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Laisvė Laisvė (Freedom) was a Lithuanian-language radical political newspaper published in the United States of America from 1911 to 1986. The privately owned paper was originally associated with the American Lithuanian Socialist Union, forerunner of the Lithuanian Socialist Federation of the Socialist Party of America. After the 1919 split of that organization into Socialist and Communist wings, "Laisvė" became an organ of the Communist Party of America. The paper was one of the most influential and longest-running radical Lithuanian language newspapers in the USA, issued daily from 1919 through 1958.
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Act of Tilsit The Act of Tilsit (Lithuanian: "Tilžės aktas" ) was an act, signed in Tilsit by 24 members of the National Council of Lithuania Minor (Lithuanian: "Mažosios Lietuvos tautinė taryba" ) on November 30, 1918. Signatories demanded unification of Lithuania Minor and Lithuania Proper into a single Lithuanian state. This would mean detaching the northern areas of East Prussia, inhabited by Prussian Lithuanians, from the German Empire.
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Civil Code of Lithuania Lithuanian Civil Code from 18 July 2000 ("Lietuvos Respublikos civilinis kodeksas, LR CK") is Civil Code of Lithuania. It came into effect on January 1, 2000, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project. The Drafting Group of the new Lithuanian Civil Code established by the Parliament "Seimas" in 1990. Prof. Valentinas Mikelėnas was the Head of the Drafting Group in 1991.
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Referendums in Lithuania There have been twelve referendums in Lithuania since it declared independence from the Soviet Union on March 11, 1990. Because of strict requirements only four referendums were successful. Older Lithuanian laws required that more than a half of all registered voters (not a half of voters who participate) would vote in support of a proposal for it to become a binding obligation to the government. In 2002, this requirement was lowered to one third of all registered voters.
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Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence (Estonian: "Vabadussõda" , literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the White Russian Northwestern Army, Latvia, and the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Western Front offensive and the aggression of the "Baltische Landeswehr". It was fought in connection with the Russian Civil War during 1918–1920. The campaign was the struggle of Estonia for its sovereignty in the aftermath of World War I. It resulted in a victory for the newly established state and was concluded in the Treaty of Tartu.
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Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic (Latvian: "Latvijas Sociālistiskā Padomju Republika" , LSPR) was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the Latvian War of Independence. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economic, and military backing of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik government in the Russian SFSR. The head of government was Pēteris Stučka.
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Soviet occupation of the Baltic states (1944) The Soviet Union occupied most of the territory of the Baltic states in its 1944 Baltic Offensive during World War II. The Red Army regained control over the three Baltic capitals and encircled retreating Wehrmacht and Latvian forces in the Courland Pocket where they held out until the final German surrender at the end of the war. The German forces were deported and the leaders of Latvian collaborating forces were executed as traitors . After the war, the Soviet Union reestablished control over the Baltic territories in line with its forcible annexations as communist republics in 1940.
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People's Government of Lithuania The People's Government of Lithuania (Lithuanian: "Liaudies vyriausybė" ) was a puppet cabinet installed by the Soviet Union in Lithuania immediately after Lithuania's acceptance of the Soviet ultimatum of June 14, 1940. The formation of the cabinet was supervised by Vladimir Dekanozov, deputy of Vyacheslav Molotov and a close associate of Lavrentiy Beria, who selected Justas Paleckis as the Prime Minister and acting President. The government was formed on June 17 and, together with the People's Seimas (parliament), transitioned independent Lithuania to a socialist republic and the 14th republic of the Soviet Union thus legitimizing the Soviet occupation of Lithuania. The People's Government was replaced by the Council of People's Commissars of the Lithuanian SSR on August 25. Similar transitional People's Governments were formed in Latvia (Prime Minister Augusts Kirhenšteins supervised by Andrey Vyshinsky) and Estonia (Prime Minister Johannes Vares supervised by Andrei Zhdanov).
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The Barricades The Barricades (Latvian: "Barikādes" ) were a series of confrontations between Latvia and forces loyal to the Soviet Union in January 1991 which took place mainly in Riga. The events are named for the popular effort of building and protecting barricades from 13 January until about 27 January. Latvia, which had declared restoration of independence from the Soviet Union a year earlier, anticipated that Soviet Union might attempt to regain control over the country by force. After attacks by the Soviet OMON on Riga in early January, the government called on people to build barricades for protection of possible targets (mainly in the capital city of Riga and nearby Ulbroka, as well as Kuldīga and Liepāja). Six people were killed in further attacks, several were wounded in shootings or beaten by OMON. Most victims were shot during the Soviet attack on the Latvian Ministry of the Interior on January 20. One other person died in a building accident reinforcing the barricades. Casualties among Soviet loyalists are considered likely, but the exact number remains unknown. A total of 15,611 people have registered as having been participants of the Barricades.
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Supreme Soviet of the National Economy Supreme Soviet of the National Economy, Superior Soviet of the People's Economy, Vesenkha (Высший Совет Народного Хозяйства, ВСНХ, "Vysshiy sovet narodnogo khozyaystva", VSNKh) was the superior state institution for management of the economy of the RSFSR and later of the Soviet Union. There were two institutions with this name, at different times, 1917–1932 and 1963–1965,
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Government of Lithuania Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Lithuanian: "Lietuvos Respublikos Vyriausybė" ) is the cabinet of Lithuania, exercising executive power in the country. Among other responsibilities, it executes laws and resolutions of the parliament, the Seimas, and the decrees of the President, manages state property and, together with the President, executes the foreign policy of the country. The Government also has the right of legislative initiative, puts together the state budget and presents it to the Seimas for approval.
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The Holocaust in Lithuania The Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Lithuania resulted in the near total destruction of Lithuanian Jews (Litvaks), living in "Generalbezirk Litauen" of Reichskommissariat Ostland within the Nazi-controlled Lithuanian SSR. Out of approximately 208,000-210,000 Jews, an estimated 190,000–195,000 were murdered before the end of World War II (wider estimates are sometimes published), most between June and December 1941. More than 95% of Lithuania's Jewish population was massacred over the three-year German occupation — a more complete destruction than befell any other country affected by the Holocaust. Historians attribute this to the massive collaboration in the genocide by the non-Jewish local paramilitaries, though the reasons for this collaboration are still debated. The Holocaust resulted in the largest-ever loss of life in so short a period of time in the history of Lithuania.
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History of the Soviet Union The "History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union" reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" are synonymous in everyday vocabulary, when referring to the foundations of the Soviet Union, "Soviet Russia" refers to the few years after the October Revolution of 1917, but before the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922.