Cultural Anthropology paper

Lithuania Culture, a literature review

1

Lithuania Culture, a literature review

Fredrick Dent

Cultural Anthropology

7/30/22

Background information

According to Vaičaitis, (10,2006) The Baltic Sea nation of Lithuania is a

small one with a large Roman Catholic population. Russia's Kaliningrad area of Kaliningrad

shares a north-south border with Latvia, Belarus, and Poland. Most of Lithuania's land is

Lithuania Culture, a literature review 2

farmland or woodland, making it a relatively flat country. It covers an area of 24,200 square

miles, 62,680 square kilometers (Pranskevičiūtė, 20-21). One of Europe's final frontiers for

Christianization, Lithuania was a somewhat backwards society. When Jogaila, Grand Duke

of Lithuania, accepted Poland's crown in 1385, he vowed to subject his nation to Catholic

baptism. The Catholic Church in Lithuania grew to be the largest and most prominent

religious body as a result of the centuries-long unification of Lithuania and Poland. Polish-

Lithuanian territory was divided in 1795, and most of present-day Lithuania was handed over

to Russian control (Pranskevičiūtė, 21-22). In 1918, Lithuania was re-established as a

sovereign state. The Soviet Union seized it in 1940, and it remained one of the Soviet

Union's 15 republics until 1990. The Lithuanian parliament has been a parliamentary

democracy since the country's reunification in 1990. 2004 saw its admission to the NATO

alliance and the European Union. (Pranskevičiūtė, 22)

Lithuania’s Language use

The official language of the country is Lietuvi kalba. To put it simply, Lithuanian belongs to

a group of Baltic languages that also includes Latvian and the extinct Yotvingian and Old

Prussian dialects (Grincevičienė, 142-143) Ancient Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit influence can

still be seen in its vocabulary. It wasn't until the 19th century that Lithuanian became a

standard language because Polish (and occasionally other languages) had been used as the

official language from the 13th century (Grincevičienė, 143-144). The Lithuanian language

was all but extinct by the 17th century, with the exception of a few rural peasants. Russian

was introduced and supported among Lithuanians after 1795, when both Lithuania and

Poland ceased to exist as independent states (Sinochkina,89-88). It was illegal to print or

teach in Lithuanian between 1864 and 1904. However, during Lithuania's years of

Lithuania Culture, a literature review 3

independence (1918–40), the European nationalist movement inspired a rebirth of

Lithuanian. Because Russian was restored in 1940, the majority of Lithuanians nowadays can

speak the Russian language (Sinochkina,90). Lithuanian reclaimed its status as the country's

official language in 1988. As a result, Lithuanian is widely spoken today. Along with

Russian and Lithuanian, Polish is a common second language here. In addition to English

and German, there are many additional languages spoken in the world today. Dohrn,

(Verena.155)

Religion

More than seven out of ten Lithuanians (77 percent) are Roman Catholics.

Religious instruction was prohibited in schools during the Soviet occupation, which forced

many clerics to close their doors and face repression (Roháč, Dalibor.210). Many people

secretly opposed the tyranny by erecting crosses on the Hill of Crosses, where they were free

to worship as they saw fit. Once a pagan center of worship, the Hill of Crosses was

transformed into a place of Christian pilgrimage and prayer (Blagniene,112). A resurgence of

crosses in 1961, 1973 and 1975 despite Soviet efforts to bulldoze and burn them eventually

wore down the Soviets. It was in 1990 that the Catholic Church was restored to prominence

and religious freedom was granted (Blagniene,108-110). On his 1993 visit to Poland, Pope

John Paul II held a Mass on the Hill of Crosses, where he brought the clergy up to date on the

liturgy. The country is home to a wide range of religious groups, including Christians,

Muslims, and Jews. Some Lithuanians continue to follow the ancient pagan religion of their

country. Multi-religious people in Lithuania have coexisted peacefully for a long time.

(Blagniene,108)

Lithuania Culture, a literature review 4

I hope with this review that you know see that I am becoming an Expert in Lithuania.

Understanding the differences in how they operate makes it so I can understand the

differences in our family, too.

Most of my resources are educationally found or from reputable resources, so they are really

good. I also have some “personal perspective” ones here.

Lithuania Culture, a literature review 5

References

Vaičaitis, Vaidotas A. "The Republic of Lithuania." Constitutional Law of 10 (2006).

Pranskevičiūtė, Rasa, and Tadas Juras. "Acting in the underground: Life as a Hare Krishna

Devotee in the Soviet Republic of Lithuania (1979–1989)." Religion and Society in

Central and Eastern Europe 7.1 (2014): 3-22.

Grincevičienė, V., & Klimka, L. (2017). Dimensions of citizenship and nationality in the area

of comprehensive education: experience of the Republic of Lithuania. Multicultural

Studies, (1), 141-153.

Sinochkina, Birute. "The Russian language of the Lithuanian Republic as reflected in mass

media discourse 1." The Soft Power of the Russian Language. Routledge, 2019. 89-

107.

Dohrn, Verena. "State and Minorities: The First Lithuanian Republic and SM Dubnov’s

Concept of Cultural Autonomy." The vanished world of Lithuanian Jews. Brill, 2004.

155-173.

Roháč, Dalibor. "" It is by unrule that Poland stands": institutions and political thought in the

Polish-Lithuanian Republic." The Independent Review 13.2 (2008): 209-224.

Blagniene, Renata. "Republic of Lithuania. The Information Analysis Department of the

Lithuanian Seimas." Parliamentary Libraries and Research Services in Central and

Eastern Europe. KG Saur, 2012. 108-113.