republic · Poland, Lithuania and Russia
Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940)
Origins
On 16 February 1918 the Council of Lithuania in Vilnius, chaired by Antanas Smetona, declared independence at a session presided over by Jonas Basanavicius. After a brief attempt at the Kingdom of Lithuania (1918), it fought Soviet, Bermontian and Polish forces. When Poland seized Vilnius in 1920, Kaunas became the temporary capital.
Rule and society
The constitution of 1922 created a parliamentary republic under presidents Aleksandras Stulginskis and Kazys Grinius. Land reform broke up great estates, and dairy and flax exports grew. Lithuania took Klaipeda in 1923. In December 1926 a military coup restored Smetona as president, and he ruled in an authoritarian, nationalist style until 1940.
Decline and legacy
In 1939 Lithuania lost Klaipeda to Nazi Germany and regained Vilnius from the USSR. In June 1940 the Soviet Union occupied the country, and a staged parliament proclaimed the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. Smetona fled abroad.
Lineage
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- Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940) was conquered by Soviet Union1940 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940). In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-lithuania-1918-1940
- MLA
- “Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940).” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-lithuania-1918-1940. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940).” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-lithuania-1918-1940.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940)’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-lithuania-1918-1940 (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻