Republic of Lithuania
LITHUANIA. Republic of Lithuania
A state in the northwest of Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Area — 65.2 thousand km². Capital - Vilnius (553 thousand), other major cities: Kaunas (374 thousand), Klaipeda (190 thousand), Šiauliai (146 thousand), Panevėžys (119 thousand). Administrative-territorial division - 10 counties. Population - 3,428 thousand (2005), including Lithuanians - 83.5%, Poles - 6.7%, Russians - 6.3%, Belarusians - 1.2%, Ukrainians - 0.7%. Official language - Lithuanian. Religion - the majority of the population practices Catholicism. Currency - litas.
Has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established on October 9, 1991).
National holiday - February 16 - Day of the Restoration of Lithuanian Statehood (1918).
Lithuania is a presidential republic. The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, adopted by referendum on October 25, 1992, is in effect. The head of state is the president (V. Adamkus was elected on July 12, 2004), elected by citizens based on universal equal direct suffrage by secret ballot for a term of 5 years.
The highest legislative body is the Seimas (unicameral parliament - 141 deputies; the chairman since November 2004 - A. Paulauskas) elected for a term of 4 years on a mixed basis (71 deputies - from single-member districts by a majority system, 70 - from party lists). Elections were held in October 2004. According to the election results, 8 political parties are represented in the Seimas, with 7 factions registered: Labour Party - 40 deputies; "Homeland Union" - 26 deputies; Social Democratic Party of Lithuania - 22 deputies; Union of Liberals and Centrists - 19 deputies; Union of Peasant Parties and the New Democracy Party, which includes 2 representatives of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania - 11 deputies; "New Union" (social-liberals) - 11 deputies; Liberal Democrats - 9 deputies; 3 independent deputies.
The executive power is exercised by the president together with the government headed by the prime minister (the current cabinet, formed in December 2004, is led by A. Brazauskas). The government is a coalition (Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, "New Union", Labour Party, Union of Peasant Parties and the New Democracy Party).
Political parties and public organizations. There are 38 registered parties and political organizations in Lithuania. The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (SDPL) traditionally represents the left spectrum of political forces. It has existed in its current organizational structure since January 27, 2001. The chairman is A. Brazauskas.
The Labour Party represents the political center. It was registered on November 25, 2003. The chairman is V. Uspaskich. "New Union" (social-liberals) is a centrist party. It was registered on June 12, 1998. The chairman is A. Paulauskas. The Union of Liberals and Centrists is a party of right-center orientation. It was registered in June 2003. The chairman is A. Zuokas. "Homeland Union" is a party of right orientation. It was registered on May 23, 1993. The chairman is A. Kubilius. The Union of Peasant Parties and the New Democracy Party is a party of left-center orientation. The chairman is K. Prunskiene. The Liberal Democratic Party of Lithuania represents the political center. It was established in March 2002. The chairman is V. Mazuronis. The Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania is a party of left-center orientation. It was registered on October 21, 1994. The chairman is V. Tomaszewski.
About 400 trade unions are registered, most of which are part of 4 major associations: Trade Union Center, Trade Union Association, Labour Federation, and Workers' Union.
A relatively unified Lithuanian state was formed by the early 13th century. From the early 14th century, it was called the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Rus. In 1569, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed through the Union of Lublin. During the third partition of the Commonwealth in 1795, the main part of Lithuanian lands was ceded to Russia.
During World War I, in the summer and autumn of 1915, almost the entire territory of Lithuania was occupied by German troops. In September 1917, with the assistance and under the control of the German government, the Lithuanian Taryba (Council) was formed in Vilnius, which proclaimed the independence of the Lithuanian state on February 16, 1918. The Provisional Workers' and Peasants' Government, established in December 1918, announced the overthrow of the previous government and Taryba and proclaimed the Lithuanian Soviet Republic. On the territory occupied by the Red Army, the Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed. After the advance of German troops in August 1919, the Red Army units left Lithuania. On July 12, 1920, Soviet Russia recognized the independence of the Lithuanian state under the Moscow Treaty.
On October 10, 1939, a treaty was signed between the USSR and Lithuania on the transfer of the city of Vilnius and the Vilnius region to the Republic of Lithuania and mutual assistance. According to the treaty, Soviet military bases were established on the territory of Lithuania. On June 15, 1940, additional contingents of Soviet troops were introduced into Lithuania.
In July 1940, elections to the People's Seimas were held. On July 21, 1940, the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed, and on August 3, 1940, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR approved the admission of Lithuania into the USSR. From 1941 to 1945, it was occupied by German-fascist troops. It was fully liberated by the Red Army in January 1945.
In October 1988, the Movement for Restructuring in Lithuania ("Sąjūdis") was created, which aimed to restore Lithuania's independence. On November 24, 1990, elections to the Supreme Soviet were held, in which "Sąjūdis" won the majority of seats. On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Lithuania adopted the Act on the Restoration of the Independent Lithuanian State, and in May 1990, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Lithuania. In a referendum (February 1991), 90.5% of participants voted for the independence of democratic Lithuania (recognized by the USSR State Council on September 6, 1991).
Lithuania is a state with an industrial-agrarian economy. The main part of GDP (up to 65%) is generated in the service sector, while the share of the real sector of the economy is about 30%.
The main industries are: oil (18% of total industrial production), food (17%), electric power (11%), chemical (8%), electronics (6%), machine engineering (4%), textile (4%), furniture (3%).
In Lithuania's agriculture (meat-dairy livestock, sugar beet, potato, vegetable cultivation), up to 20% of the working-age population is employed. The share of agriculture in the GDP structure decreased over 10 years from 11.5% to 5.6%.
The share of the transport sector in the GDP structure is 12.1%. Lithuania has a sufficiently developed transport network. The length of railways is 2,900 km, and of roads - 45,000 km. The main sea port is Klaipeda. Since 1986, a ferry service has been operating between Klaipeda and Mukran (Germany). Vilnius Airport is connected to more than 65 cities in Russia and other CIS countries, as well as several foreign capitals.
In 2004, the internal wholesale and retail trade sector accounted for about 20% of GDP. The foreign trade turnover amounted to 18.75 billion euros, of which exports were 8.05 billion euros and imports were 10.7 billion euros. The foreign trade deficit increased to 2.65 billion euros. The main export items are: mineral products - 19.5%, textile materials and products made from them - 14.1%; imports: mineral products - 18.3%, machinery and equipment - 18.3%. The main foreign trade partners are: Russia, Germany, Latvia.
The volume of accumulated foreign direct investments in Lithuania as of January 1, 2005, amounted to 4.489 billion euros. Among the main investors in the Lithuanian economy are Denmark (15.8%), Sweden (15.4%), Germany (9.6%), and Russia (8.7%).
The largest universities: Vilnius University, Vytautas Magnus University, Vilnius Technical University, Vilnius Pedagogical University, Kaunas University of Technology, Kaunas Medical Academy, Klaipeda University.
About 800 printed publications. Leading daily newspapers: "Lietuvos rytas" (in Lithuanian - 55 thousand copies), "Respublika" (in Lithuanian - 40 thousand, in Russian - 12 thousand), "Vakaro žinios" (in Lithuanian - 50 thousand).
The Lithuanian Telegraph Agency "ELTA" was founded in 1919. There are 4 national and 27 regional television companies operating, broadcasting 10 nationwide and 34 local radio stations.
