the Republic of Lithuania

REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

GENERAL INFORMATION

Official name: Republic of Lithuania.

Short name: Lithuania.

Location: The country is located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and borders the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation, Poland, Belarus and Latvia.

Area: 65,300 square kilometres.

Population: According to the Lithuanian Government’s Department for Statistics, the January 1, 2017 population estimate was 2,849 million. Ethnic composition: Lithuanians, 86.7 percent; Poles, 5.6 percent; Russians, 4.8 percent; Belarusians, 1.3 percent, Ukrainians, 0.7 percent. Other insignificant ethnic groups include Jews, Germans, Tatars, Latvians, Roma, etc., with each accounting for not more than 0.1 percent of the population. And 1.2 percent did not state their ethnicity. The non-Lithuanian population mostly lives in large cities (Russians), as well as in the Trakai and Vilnius districts (Poles). 

Capital: Vilnius (Population: 533,600). Other major cities include Kaunas (292,700), Klaipeda (151,200), Siauliai (101,200) and Panevezys (91,600).

Administrative divisions: Ten counties consisting of 60 self-governing district and city municipalities.

Official language: Lithuanian.

Religion: Lithuania is a multi-faith state officially recognising nine religions: the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Reformist Church, the Orthodox Christian Church, the Old Believer Church, Judaism, Sunni Islam and Karaite Judaism. Most Lithuanian citizens are Roman Catholics.

Currency: The euro, introduced on January 1, 2015.

National state symbols: The Lithuanian national flag is a rectangular cloth with three equal stripes: an upper yellow stripe, a green one in the middle and red below.

The emblem depicts a silver armoured knight on a white horse, raising a sword in his right arm against a red heraldic shield.

The national anthem is called the National Hymn. Its text and music were composed by Vincas Kudirka.

National holiday: February 16, the Day of Reinstating the Lithuanian State in 1918.

Holidays and commemorative days: Lithuania has about 40 holidays and commemorative days, including January 1, Lithuanian Flag Day and New Year; January 13, Freedom Defenders’ Day; March 11, Day of Reinstating Lithuania’s Independence; June 14, Day of Sorrow and Hope; June 15, Day of Occupation and Genocide; July 6, State Day; December 24-26, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, etc.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

Political system: Lithuania is a unitary democratic state and a parliamentary republic. The current Constitution was approved during the October 25, 1992 referendum.

Head of state: Under articles 77 and 78 of the Constitution’s Chapter 6, the President is elected for a period of five years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot for not more than two presidential terms. Dalia Grybauskaitė, who is not affiliated with any political party, has been serving as President of Lithuania since July 12, 2009. On May 25, 2014, she was elected for a second term, and inaugurated on July 12, 2014.

Supreme legislative authority: The unicameral Seimas (Parliament) consists of 141 deputies, elected for a period of four years on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot under Article 55 of the Constitution’s Chapter 5 and under a mixed majority-proportional system. Seventy deputies are elected by party ballots, and 71 are elected at single-constituency districts. Elections are held on the second Sunday of October, in the last year of the old-convocation Seimas’ tenure. The next parliamentary elections are to be held in October 2020. Viktoras Pranckietis from the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union is the Speaker of the Seimas.

Main political parties represented in the Seimas of Lithuania:

Ruling coalition (69 deputies): 57 from the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (Chairman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram%C5%ABnas_Karbauskis" title="Ramūnas Karbauskis">Ramūnas Karbauskis) and 12 who have left the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania;

The opposition (58 deputies): 31 from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Union_%E2%80%93_Lithuanian_Christian_Democrats" title="Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats">Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats (Chairman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielius_Landsbergis" title="Gabrielius Landsbergis">Gabrielius Landsbergis); 13 from the Liberal Movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remigijus_%C5%A0ima%C5%A1ius" title="Remigijus Šimašius">Remigijus Šimašius), seven from the Order and Justice movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remigijus_%C5%BDemaitaitis" title="Remigijus Žemaitaitis">Remigijus Žemaitaitis) and seven from the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Action_of_Poles_in_Lithuania" title="Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania">Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania/Union of Christian Families (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdemar_Toma%C5%A1evski" title="Valdemar Tomaševski">Valdemar Tomaševski) has eight deputies, is not affiliated with the ruling coalition but has not sided with the opposition either;

Mixed group (Six Seimas members who have not joined any parliamentary party);

Irina Rozova, a representative of the Russian Alliance, a political organisation representing the Russian-speaking minority, is a member of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_Action_of_Poles_in_Lithuania" title="Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania">Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania/Union of Christian Families.

Supreme executive authority: The Government of Lithuania is headed by the Prime Minister who is appointed and dismissed by the President, with the approval of the Seimas. The Prime Minister appoints members of the Government and submits a list to the President for approval. On November 22, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saulius_Skvernelis" title="Saulius Skvernelis">Saulius Skvernelis from the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union was appointed Prime Minister.

The Government of Saulius Skvernelis started working on December 13, 2016.

HISTORY

A relatively integral Lithuanian state was established in the early 13^th century. Since the early 14^th century, it was called the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia, with West Russian being its national language. The https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" title="Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Rzeczpospolita, was established by the Union of Lublin in 1569. During the third partition of Rzeczpospolita in 1795, most Lithuanian territories were ceded to Russia.

In the summer and autumn of 1915, during World War I, German forces occupied almost all of Lithuania. In September 1917, the Lithuanian Taryba (Council) was established in Vilno, now Vilnius, with the assistance of and under the control of the Government of Germany. On February 16, 1918, members of the Lithuanian Taryba (Council) declared the Lithuanian state’s independence. On July 12, 1920, Soviet Russia recognised the independence of the Lithuanian state under the Moscow Treaty and its right to the Vilno Region that was liberated by the Red Army and reoccupied by Poland in October 1920.

On October 10, 1939, the Soviet Union and Lithuania signed a treaty on ceding the city of Vilno and the Vilno Region to the Republic of Lithuania. Under the treaty, Soviet military bases were established in Lithuania. On June 15, 1940, the Government of Lithuania accepted the Soviet Government’s ultimatum, and additional Red Army units were deployed in the country. In July 1940, the people of Lithuania elected members of the People’s Seimas. On July 21, 1940, members of the Seimas proclaimed the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. On August 3, 1940, the Supreme Soviet (Parliament) of the USSR approved the Seimas’ request and accepted Lithuania as a member of the Soviet Union. The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic received some districts of Belarus with a predominantly Lithuanian population. In 1950, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued its decree on establishing the Klaipeda Region as part of the Lithuanian SSR. In 1945, that area, as well as some other North Prussian territories, was ceded to the USSR at the Potsdam Conference. Before 1950, the Lithuanian SSR administered the Klaipeda Region.

Sąjūdis, also called the Reform Movement of Lithuania, was established in 1988 and received the majority of seats during the February 1990 elections to the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR. On March 11, 1990, the new Supreme Soviet of Lithuania declared the republic’s independence. On July 29, 1991, the treaty on the basic principles of interstate relations between the RSFSR and the Republic of Lithuania was signed in Moscow, and this document entered into force in May 1992. On September 6, 1991, the State Council of the USSR recognised the independence of the Republic of Lithuania.

SOCIOECONOMIC SITUATION

In 2015, Lithuanian GDP grew by 1.7 percent, reaching 37.33 billion euros at current exchange rates. In 2016, the country’s GDP increased by 2.2 percent to total 38.56 billion euros.

In 2016, Lithuania’s foreign trade turnover fell by 1.9 percent on the previous year, at47.4 billion euros.

The  main exporters to Lithuania  include Russia (13.5 percent), Latvia (9.9 percent), Poland (9.1 percent) and Germany (7.7 percent). Main importers include Russia (14.4 percent of total volume), Germany (12.1 percent), Poland (10.8 percent) and Latvia (8 percent).

In January-September 2016, the volume of accumulated foreign direct investment decreased by 4.2 percent to 12.8 billion euros, with per-capita volumes amounting to 4,482 euros. Major investors include Sweden (19.5 percent), the Netherlands (12.5 percent), Germany (10.2 percent), Norway (7 percent) and Poland (6.3 percent).

EU member-countries account for 82.6 percent of foreign direct investment, with CIS countries making up 2.3 percent.

In January-September 2016, Lithuanian foreign direct investment volumes fell by 8.3 percent to 2.2 billion euros. This was a decrease on the previous year’s figure of 2.4 billion euros. The national breakdown is as follows: the Netherlands, 21.2 percent; Latvia, 14.9 percent; Poland, 14 percent; Cyprus, 12.3 percent, Belarus, 3.9 percent. EU member-countries account for 1.9 billion euros or 90.2 percent of private Lithuanian investment, with CIS countries making up 8.9 percent.

Finance: According to the Lithuanian Government’s Department for Statistics, in 2016, gold and foreign currency reserves increased from the previous year’s 1.98 billion euros to 2.43 billion euros. The country’s 15.5 billion euro public debt accounts for 40.2 percent of its GDP.

The Lithuanian banking sector is part of the EU financial system. Scandinavian banks, including SEB bankas, Swedbank and DNB bankas lead the way in terms of bank asset volumes, with 6.63 billion euros, 6.36 billion euros and 4 billion euros, respectively. Their share of bank assets is 75.9 percent (74 percent in 2015).

Social sector: As of January 1, 2017, the minimum wage was 380 euros and the basic pension,255 euros, with an average national monthly income of 616 euros net. (The 2015 net income was 555 euros).

The people of Lithuania continued to emigrate throughout 2016, with 55,000 people leaving the country last year, according to the Lithuanian Government’s Department for Statistics. In 2015, 46,500 people left the country. In the past ten years, Lithuania, according to various estimates, has lost up to one-third of its economically active population. From 1990 through to early 2017, the population of the Republic of Lithuania decreased from 3.7 million to 2.8 million.

Unemployment has fallen to 8 percent from 9.3 percent in 2015 but levels among young people have increased from 13.3 percent in 2015 to 14.6 percent in early 2017. In 2016, inflation was recorded as 1.7 percent. According to official statistics, in 2016, 16 percent of the urban population, as well as 25.5 percent of rural residents, lived below the official poverty line.

FOREIGN POLICY

The Republic of Lithuania maintains diplomatic relations with 181 states. Its foreign diplomatic missions include 40 embassies, nine missions to international organisations, eight consulates general and three consulates.

Lithuania is actively involved in the work of various international organisations, including the OSCE (since 1991), the UN (since 1991), the Council of the Baltic Sea States (since 1992), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (since 1992), the International Monetary Fund (since 1992), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (since 1992),  the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (since 1992), the Council of Europe (since 1993), the Baltic Council of Ministers (since 1994), the World Trade Organisation (since 2001), the EU (since 2004) and NATO (since 2004).

In 2009-2010, Lithuania presided over the Council of the Baltic Sea States, in 2011, over the OSCE, and in the second half of 2013, over the Council of Europe. In 2014-2015, Lithuania was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. In that capacity, Lithuania headed the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, as well as committees for sanctions against the Central African Republic and Yemen. The country was also a member of the contact group for Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, Vilnius co-authored draft UN Security Council resolutions on establishing a special tribunal to investigate the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash in Ukraine (July 29, 2015) and on recognising acts of genocide in Srebrenica (August 8, 2015). The Russian delegation vetoed both resolutions.

In March 2016, Vilnius applied for associate membership of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). 

The country’s foreign policy focuses on strengthening strategic partnership within the framework of NATO and the EU.

As an EU member, Lithuania takes a radical anti-Russia position and supports continued sanctions against Moscow for its alleged “annexation” of Crimea and for allegedly “unleashing a war” in Donbass. It is particularly active in working with focal states on the EU’s Eastern Partnership programme, primarily with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. Lithuania advocates accelerated improvement of energy security by: diversifying power suppliers; quickly leaving the Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (BRELL) power grid; connecting to the grid’s European equivalent via Poland; and by implementing provisions of the Third Energy Package.   

Vilnius’ leadership flatly rejects the idea of establishing EU armed forces, perceiving them as an alternative to NATO that would weaken Washington’s role in European affairs.

Lithuania has so far failed to honour its obligations on the migration front and to receive 1,105 refugees from the Middle East and North Africa before the end of this year.

As a NATO member, the Vilnius leadership advocates all-out efforts to strengthen collective defence that would guarantee the state’s territorial integrity from “Eastern aggression.” The Lithuanian side persistently calls for an expansion of NATO’s military presence on its territory, and the replacement of rotational deployment with a permanent arrangement. 

In 2017, a multinational reinforced tactical battalion team was established in the Republic of Lithuania under the supervision of Germany. This was to implement decisions made at the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw. The team consists mainly of 450 German service personnel, and its total strength is about 1,000 officers and men.

In September 2017, the international unit of the NATO mission to patrol the air space of the three Baltic states, stationed at Zokniai Air Base near Siauliai, was rotated as planned. Four Polish Air Force F-16 fighters were replaced with seven US Air Force F-15C fighters. They will be deployed from September through December.

Lithuania is involved in several international missions and operations under UN, NATO and EU auspices, including: NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan; a UN mission to provide assistance to Afghanistan; the anti-piracy Operation ATALANTA involving EU navies; Operation Sophia to combat companies and individuals transporting illegal immigrants; a mission to support NATO troop movements in Kosovo; an EU mission in Mali; another EU mission in the Central African Republic; a NATO air-defence mission in Turkey; as well Operation Inherent Resolve, involving forces of the US-led coalition in Iraq.

In 2011, Lithuania was Acting OSCE President. The country advocated the organisation’s expanded field operations. It also supports the redeployment of an OSCE mission to “united Georgia” and Belarus.

The Republic of Lithuania takes a tough anti-Russia line on the Ukrainian issue, describing Russian actions as “armed aggression against Kiev” and “support for separatists in Donbass.”  According to the Lithuanian side, this “threatens the territorial integrity” of Ukraine. While perceiving Russia as a party to the conflict, Lithuania insists that Moscow unfailingly honour the Minsk Agreements.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

On September 6, 1991, the State Council of the USSR passed its resolution recognising the independence of the Republic of Lithuania. Russia and Lithuania established diplomatic relations on October 9, 1991.

The legal framework of bilateral cooperation hinges on eight interstate, 34 inter-governmental and 28 interagency treaties and agreements. The most important documents include the Treaty on the Basic Principles of Interstate Relations between the RSFSR and the Republic of Lithuania, which was signed in Moscow on July 29, 1991, and came into force in May 1992. Also of particular significance are the Treaty on the Russia-Lithuania Interstate Border, and the Treaty on the Demarcation of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf in the Baltic Sea, both of which were signed on October 24, 1997, in Moscow, before coming into force in  August 2003.

Russian-Lithuanian political contacts have been “frozen” on the initiative of Vilnius over the past few years, because of the Lithuanian leadership’s position on the Ukrainian crisis. The work of governmental, regional and non-governmental cooperation mechanisms has been suspended. This includes the Russian-Lithuanian Inter-Governmental Commission and its working groups, the Russian-Lithuanian Council for Long-Term Cooperation between Regional and Local Authorities in the Russian Federation’s Kaliningrad Region and the Republic of Lithuania, and the Business Council. No headway has been made in expanding the legal framework and addressing topical issues of sustaining the Kaliningrad Region and maintaining its infrastructure, with the blame for this going to the Lithuanian side.

In late 2016, bilateral trade decreased by 13.9 percent ($2.92 billion) over 2015, with exports and imports falling by 14.9 percent ($2.5 billion) and 7.6 percent ($0.4 billion), respectively. Exports fell when Russia curtailed deliveries of mineral raw materials and chemicals. Reduced imports were primarily caused by a Russian ban on food deliveries from the EU. Russia posted a $2.1 billion foreign trade surplus.

Russian-Lithuanian trade turnover began to expand in late August 2017. It increased by 11.2 percent on the same period of 2016 and reached $1,886.4 billion. Russian exports to the Republic of Lithuania increased by 9.4 percent, reaching $1,578.1 billion, with imports from Lithuania soaring by 21.4 percent to $308.3 million. Russia posted a $1,269.8 billion trade surplus.

According to the Department of Statistics of the Republic of Lithuania, Russia, which remains the country’s largest foreign trade partner, accounted for 13.9 percent of its foreign trade on January 1, 2017, as well as for 13.6 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2017.

In January-December 2016, Russia primarily exported fuel and energy products, with these accounting for about 72 percent of the total value of Russian deliveries to Lithuania.

The Central Bank of Lithuania estimates that the volume of accumulated direct Russian investment in Lithuania in 2016 had increased by 10.5 percent on the previous year, reaching 265.5 million euros. This accounted for two percent of foreign direct investment, with Russia ranking 12^th among investor countries. Lithuanian investment in Russia over the same period increased by 4.2 percent and  totalled 82.7 million euros (3.6 percent of overall Lithuanian investment abroad, with Russia ranking seventh among countries receiving Lithuanian investment).

Regarding Russia-Lithuania regional cooperation, Vilnius prioritises partnership with the Russian Federation’s Northwestern and Central federal districts, including the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, the republics of Tatarstan and Udmurtia, and the Kaliningrad and Kirov regions.

The Kaliningrad Region’s location determines its close economic cooperation with the Republic of Lithuania and plays a special role in l regional ties.

The continued prosecution of veterans of Soviet and Russian armed forces and law enforcement agencies by Lithuanian courts creates a negative political background to bilateral relations. Those involve charges on such counts as “genocide,” “the forcible resettlement of the Lithuanian people,” “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity.” The trial of defendants in the “January 13, 1991 case” remains a serious irritant in bilateral relations. The same is true of Russian citizen Konstantin Nikulin, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a “premeditated murder of seven persons and for attempting to murder one more person” at the customs post in Medininkai on July 31, 1991. At that time, Mr. Nikulin was a member of the Riga Special Police Squad of the Soviet Interior Ministry.

EDUCATION, SCIENCE, CULTURE, MEDIA OUTLETS

On January 1, 2016, Lithuania had 1,193 primary and secondary schools, including 30 Russian-language schools (14,005 students), according to the Ministry of Education and Science. In all, the country’s primary and secondary schools have 335,202 students.

The higher education system includes 23 universities with 93,719 students. Lithuania has 14 public and nine private universities. Under plans for reorganising local institutions of higher education, the country is to retain up to five public universities by 2025.

The Republic of Lithuania has its own Academy of Sciences that has signed cooperation agreements with 25 foreign research organisations, including the Russian Academy of Sciences. The country also has 20 research institutes, including seven private institutes and 13 state-owned research agencies.

Lithuania has 13 state-owned theatres, including the Russian Drama Theatre in Vilnius, the only one which offers mainly Russian-language productions, as well as 104 museums and about 2,500 libraries. The country also has five national parks. In total, the country has 20,400 cultural landmarks, with the state protecting 6,000 of them.

Old Vilnius, the Curonian Spit, the Kernave Archeological Site and the Struve Geodetic Arch are included in UNESCO’s Cultural and Natural Heritage lists.

The country has 222 newspapers and 550 magazines with a total annual circulation of 150.2 million copies (97.7 million and 52.5 million copies, respectively).There are  four Russian-language republican newspapers, including the Litovsky Kuryer, Obzor, Pensioner, and Express Nedelya weeklies, as well as several regional newspapers.

Lithuania has four state-owned, 12 commercial and 22 regional television channels, as well as 50 radio stations, including the Russian-language Russkoye Radio-Baltia and Raduga in Klaipeda. Cable television networks broadcast the Russian-language First Baltic Channel featuring programmes of Russia’s First Television Channel, RTR-Planeta, NTV-Mir, REN-TV Baltia, TVC, Dozhd, etc. The state-owned LRT Kultura channel broadcasts a number of Russian-language news panoramas, including Novosti (News), Seychas v mire (Current Developments in the World), and Russkaya ulitsa (Russian Street). The country’s cable television network receives numerous Russian and Baltic channels created on their basis.     

The main wire services include the Baltic News Service (BNS) and Elta. The Russian-language delfi.lt, baltnews.lt and L24.lt/ru websites are highly popular. The website of the Sputnik Lithuania wire service that publishes materials in the Russian and Lithuanian languages continues to expand.

THE COMPATRIOTS

Ethnic minorities account for 13.3 percent of Lithuania’s population. Russians make up 4.8 percent of the country’s population and are second to the Polish ethnic group. There are also other non-titular ethnic groups. The Russians and the Tatars, the largest local ethnic groups, have the status of ethnic minorities. Lithuania has granted citizenship to all of its residents under the 1989 Citizenship Law. Therefore 89 percent of Russian compatriots have Lithuanian citizenship, with 10.6 percent (17,500) having Russian citizenship.

Vilnius is moving towards assimilating the country’s ethnic minorities; this policy is actively facilitated by amendments to education legislation, which state clearly that all humanities shall only be taught in the Lithuanian language, and that national-language exams will be standardised for representatives of all ethnic groups. The number of Russian-language schools therefore continues to decrease, with a simultaneous increase in the number of subjects being taught in the Lithuanian language. Specialised international organisations and other representatives are seriously concerned over the continuing legal vacuum regarding efforts to regulate the status of ethnic minorities, and also over manifestations of national intolerance in Lithuanian society.