About Lithuania

Main information

Climate: moderate with considerable temperature variations. Summer is warm (av. Jul +20C), winter, lasting from December to mid March, can be very cold, however usually it is quite temperate (av. Jan -5C). Rainfall are distributed throughout the year.

Time: GTM + 2 (GTM + 3 from April to November).

Teritory and Population: Lithuania - 65 300 sq.km, 3,48 mln, capital - Vilnius (pop.554000)

Official Language: Lithuanian, it belongs to Indo-Europian language group.

Nationalities: in Lithuania 80% Lithuanian, 10% Russian, 7% Polish.

Religion: in Lithuania 80% of population are Roman Catholics.

Telephone: code for Lithuania +370, emergency call - 112.

Credit cards are accepted in most major hotels, restaurants and shops.

Currency - Litas (1 EUR=3,45 LT)

Nature in Baltic States is better preserved than in most Western countries. They stand out in Europe for their biodiversity. They are home to over 1000 species of plants. Millions of migrating water and coastal birds pass Baltics every year. Its a land of rolling hills and gentle plains, sparkling lakes and rivers, green meadows, swamps and forests, full of wildlife, white sandy beaches.

Food and Entertainment: the cuisine varies from local traditional food to international and gourmet dishes, presenting Europian, Asian, American and even African menus. Products are fresh and natural, food is good, tasty and relatively cheap.

Geography

Lithuania is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea and borders Latvia on the north, Belarus on the east and south, and Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia on the southwest. It is a country of gently rolling hills, many forests, rivers and streams, and lakes. Its principal natural resource is agricultural land.

History

The Liths, or Lithuanians, united in the 12th century under the rule of Mindaugas, who became king in 1251. Through marriage, one of the later Lithuanian rulers became the king of Poland (Ladislaus II) in 1386, uniting the countries. In 1410, the Poles and Lithuanians defeated the powerful Teutonic Knights at Tannenberg. From the 14th to the 16th century, Poland and Lithuania made up one of medieval Europe's largest empires, stretching from the Black Sea almost to Moscow. The two countries formed a confederation for almost 200 years, and in 1569 they formally united. Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland in 1772, 1792, and 1795. As a consequence, Lithuania came under Russian rule after the last partition. Russia attempted to immerse Lithuania in Russian culture and language, but anti-Russian sentiment continued to grow. Following World War I and the collapse of Russia, Lithuania declared independence (1918), under German protection.
The republic was then annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. From June 1941 to 1944, it was occupied by German troops, with whom Lithuania served in World War II. Some 240,000 Jews were massacred in Lithuania during the Nazi years. In 1944, the Soviets again annexed Lithuania.
The Lithuanian independence movement reemerged in 1988. In 1990, Vytautas Landsbergis, the non-Communist head of the largest Lithuanian popular movement (Sajudis), was elected president. On the same day, the Supreme Council rejected Soviet rule and declared the restoration of Lithuania's independence, the first Baltic republic to take this action. Confrontation with the Soviet Union ensued along with economic sanctions, but they were lifted after both sides agreed to a face-saving compromise.
Lithuania's independence was quickly recognized by major European and other nations, including the United States. The Soviet Union finally recognized the independence of the Baltic states on Sept. 6, 1991. UN admittance followed on Sept. 17, 1991. Successful implementation of structural and legislative reforms in Lithuania attracted greater direct foreign investments by the mid-1990s.
In late 2002, Lithuania was accepted for membership in the EU and NATO, and it joined both in 2004. In Jan. 2003 Rolandas Paksas defeated the incumbent, Valdas Adamkus, in the presidential election. It was a surprising upset, given that Adamkus had helped bring about his country's entry into NATO and the European Union. In April 2004, President Paksas was removed from office after his conviction for dealings with Russian mobsters. It was Lithuania's worst political crisis since independence from the Soviet Union. In July 2004, Valdas Adamkus was again elected president.