Introduction: Lithuania

Flag Description three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), green, and red; yellow symbolizes golden fields, as well as the sun, light, and goodness; green represents the forests of the countryside, in addition to nature, freedom, and hope; red stands for courage and the blood spilled in defense of the homeland.

Lithuanian lands were united under MINDAUGAS in 1236; over the next century, through alliances and conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine.

By the end of the 14th century Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in 1386 led the two countries into a union through the person of a common ruler.

In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until 1795 when its remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries. Lithuania regained its independence following World War I but was annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and many other countries.

On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first of the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993. Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into Western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004.

Geography ::LITHUANIA

Location:	Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Latvia and Russia
Geographic coordinates:	56 00 N, 24 00 E
Map references:	Europe
Area:	total: 65,300 sq km land: 62,680 sq km water: 2,620 sq k
Area - comparative: Land boundaries:	slightly larger than West Virginia total: 1,574 km border countries: Belarus 680 km, Latvia 576 km, Poland 91 km, Russia (Kaliningrad) 227 km
Climate:	transitional, between maritime and continental; wet, moderate winters and summers
Terrain:	lowland, many scattered small lakes, fertile soil
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Aukstojas 294 m
Natural resources:	peat, arable land, amber
Land use:	arable land: 44.81% permanent crops: 0.9% other: 54.29% (2005)
Environment - current issues:	contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at military bases
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	fertile central plains are separated by hilly uplands that are ancient glacial deposits

People and Society ::LITHUANIA

Nationality:	noun: Lithuanian(s) adjective: Lithuanian
Ethnic groups:	Lithuanian 84%, Polish 6.1%, Russian 4.9%, Belarusian 1.1%, other or unspecified 3.9% (2009)
Religions:	Roman Catholic 79%, Russian Orthodox 4.1%, Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) 1.9%, other or unspecified 5.5%, none 9.5% (2001 census).

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital:

Vilnius

geographic coordinates: 54 41 N, 25 19 E

time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

10 counties (apskritys, singular - apskritis); Alytaus, Kauno, Klaipedos, Marijampoles, Panevezio, Siauliu, Taurages, Telsiu, Utenos, Vilniaus

Independence

11 March 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 6 July 1253 (coronation of Mindaugas, traditional founding date), 1 July 1569 (Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 16 February (1918); note - 16 February 1918 was the date Lithuania declared its independence from Soviet Russia and established its statehood; 11 March 1990 was the date it declared its independence from the Soviet Union

Constitution: adopted 25 October 1992; last amended 13 July 2004

Legal system: civil law system; legislative acts can be appealed to the constitutional court

International law organization participation:

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE (since 12 July 2009)

Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister

Elections:

president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 May 2009 (next to be held in May 2014); prime minister appointed by the president on the approval of the Parliament

election results: Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE elected president; percent of vote - Dalia GRYBAUSKAITE 69.1%, Algirdas BUTKEVICIUS 11.8%, Valentinas MAZURONIS 6.2%, others 12.9%; Andrius KUBILIUS' government approved by Parliament 83-40 with 5 abstentions

Legislative branch:

unicameral Parliament or Seimas (141 seats; 71 members elected by popular vote, 70 elected by proportional representation; members to serve four-year terms)

elections: last held on 12 and 26 October 2008 (next to be held in October 2012)

election results: percent of vote by party - TS-LKD 19.7%, TPP 15.1%, TT 12.7%, LSDP 11.7%, DP+J 9%, LRLS 5.7%, LCS 5.3%, LLRA 4.8%, LVLS 3.7%, NS 3.6%, other 8.7%; seats by faction - TS-LKD 44, LSDP 26, TPP 16, TT 15, LRLS 11, DP+J 10, LCS 8, LLRA 3, LVLS 3, NS 1, independent 4; note - seats by faction as of 25 January 2011 - TS-LKD 45, LSDP 24, TT 18, LCS and TPP 13, LRLS 13, Christian Party 10, DP 10, unaffiliated 7, vacant 1; note - TS-LKD, LRLS, LCS and TPP form the ruling coalition

Judicial branch:

Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; judges for all courts appointed by the president

International organization participation:

Australia Group, BA, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National anthem:

name: "Tautiska giesme" (The National Song)

lyrics/music: Vincas KUDIRKA

note: adopted 1918, restored 1990; the anthem was written in 1898 while Lithuania was a part of Russia; it was banned from 1940 to 1990

Ports and terminals:

Klaipeda

oil terminals: Butinge oil terminal

List of official holidays in Lithuania:

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Naujieji metai
February 16	Day of Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania (1918)	Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo diena
March 11	Day of Restitution of Independence of Lithuania (from the Soviet Union, 1990)	Lietuvos nepriklausomybės atkūrimo diena
First Sunday and Monday of spring with full moon	Easter	Velykos	Commemorates resurrection of Jesus
May 1	International Labor Day	Tarptautinė darbo diena
First Sunday in May	Mother's Day	Motinos diena
First Sunday in June	Father's Day	Tėvo diena
June 24	St. John's Day [Christian name], Day of Dew [original pagan name]	Joninės, Rasos	Celebrated according to mostly pagan traditions. (aka: Midsummer Day, Saint Jonas Day)
July 6	Statehood Day	Valstybės (Lietuvos karaliaus Mindaugo karūnavimo) diena	Commemorates coronation of the first king, Mindaugas
August 15	Assumption Day	Žolinė (Švč. Mergelės Marijos ėmimo į dangų diena)
November 1	All Saints' Day	Visų šventųjų diena
December 25 and December 26	Christmas	Šv. Kalėdos	Commemorates birth of Jesus

Other observances:

January 13 - Day of Freedom Defenders: a memory day for victims of January Events
March 4: Saint Casimir's Day, on the anniversary of the death of Saint Casimir, the patron saint of Lithuania
June 14: Mourning and Hope day, for remembrance of whose who were exiled to Siberia as part of Soviet genocide in Lithuania. The June 14th remarks the first operation Priboi in 1941.
August 23: Black Ribbon day - a memory day for the victims of totalitarian regimes.

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Cultural life

Lively cultural events, concerts and festivals take place all year round, all over the country. Lithuanians are big fans of music of all kinds - this was, after all, the scene of the Singing Revolution - and the country is full of choirs, symphonic and chamber orchestras, theatre companies, contemporary dance troupes and opera and ballet artists. Annual festivals of classical music such as the Vilnius Festival, the St. Christopher's Festival and the Pažaislis Festival are internationally acclaimed.

Jazz enjoys widespread popularity and every year jazz fans and musicians take part in international jazz festivals in Klaipėda(www.jazz.lt), Kaunas (www.kaunasjazz.lt), Vilnius (www.vilniusjazz.lt), Nida (www.nidajazz.lt) which attract internationally known names.

Lithuanian performers are also known beyond the borders, for example the lovely soprano Violeta Urmana and the conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius. Plays with the characteristic direction of Rimas Tuminas, Oskaras Koršunovas and Eimuntas Nekrošius keep delighting audiences at international theatre festivals around the world.

Lithuanians have managed to retain authentic customs and traditions which often have clear connections with paganism. The Shrovetide tradition of chasing away the winter, marked by crowds of people wearing grotesque masks of devils, witches and other characters is merry and noisy both in the cities and in the countryside.

Magical Midsummer night urges everyone to take part in the old pagan ritual of singing and dancing around bonfires, make spells using herbs and play games that have been played at this time of year for many centuries. Both this and Statehood Day, which marks Mindaugas' coronation on 6 July 1253, is at its liveliest in Kernavė, Lithuania's first capital. The Days of Living Archaeology in Kernavė are also extremely popular, when you can watch how foods were prepared centuries ago, how fur, skins and amber were processed, how ironstone was melted. Sword-fights are also spectacular.

In Vilnius one of the loveliest traditions is the Kaziukas Fair and street market, attracting craftsmen and artisans from all over Lithuania and turning the whole of Pilies Street and beyond into an old-fashioned bazaar. This colourful evet is a great chance to buy special souvenirs and watch the skillful wood, metal and textile craftspeople at work. Lively musicians play merry folk melodies and taverns treat their guests to tasty local beer.

Folk songs are a very important part of Lithuania's culture and heritage. Song and dance festivals are hugely popular and have been internationally acclaimed, the biggest of which is the Lithuanian Song and Dance Festival, which has been put on the UNESCO list of verbal heritage masterpieces. It takes place every 4 years and attracts thousands of participants and audiences from all over the country and abroad.

Check out the detailed calendar of events taking place in Lithuania at www.LithuanianTravel.com or Vilnius at http://www.vilnius-events.lt/

For opera and ballet, classical music and theater schedules, go to www.opera.lt, www.filharmonija.lt andwww.teatras.lt.

Colleges and Universities of Lithuania