The Republic of Lithuania, 1918–1940

• On 16 February 1918, the Council of Lithuania proclaimed the restoration of an independent democratic state with Vilnius as its capital.
• The peace treaty with Soviet Russia, signed on 12 July 1920, recognized Lithuania’s independence; Polish troops occupied Vilnius on 9 October that year.
• The first nationwide elections were held in 1920. The Constituent Assembly convened in Kaunas.
• On 1 August 1922, Lithuania adopted a permanent constitution; the litas was introduced as its currency that same year.
• Following the uprising in January 1923, the Klaipėda Region, including the city of Klaipėda, came under Lithuanian control and received autonomous rights in 1924.
• The coup of 17 December 1926 ended parliamentary democracy; the parliament was dissolved in 1927.
• In March 1939, Lithuania was forced to cede the Klaipėda Region to Germany. In October, Vilnius returned to Lithuania under a treaty with the Soviet Union, which also provided for Soviet military bases.
• The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania on 15 June 1940. This brought the first independent republic to an end.

On 16 February 1918, the Council of Lithuania proclaimed the restoration of an independent democratic state. At the time, the country was still under German occupation. The declaration designated Vilnius as the capital and left the final design of the state’s political system to a democratically elected constituent assembly. The text of the Act of Independence on the Lithuanian Parliament’s website reproduces the declaration and explains its political context.

A proclamation alone did not create a stable administration. In the years that followed, Lithuania’s political representatives had to establish government bodies and defend the new state’s room for maneuver in a contested region. The peace treaty with Soviet Russia in July 1920 was an important diplomatic step: Russia recognized Lithuania’s independence. But the actual borders and control of individual territories remained disputed. The story goes back further: the Union of Lublin united Poland and Lithuania in a common state, whose partitions altered the political map before Russian rule. The history of the country under Russian rule before 1918 shows just how profoundly political affiliations had already changed.

The declaration of independence designated Vilnius as the capital, but after its occupation on 9 October 1920, the city lay outside Lithuania’s administration. The government therefore operated from Kaunas, where government institutions had already been relocated in 1919. Kaunas was not simply a permanent replacement capital; it was the political center of a republic that did not relinquish its claim to Vilnius. Visitors can explore this period with a tour of Kaunas’s sights and urban development; the historic sites in Vilnius also help explain why the city was so important to both sides.

The Constituent Assembly, known in Lithuanian as the Seimas, convened in Kaunas in 1920. In the republic’s early years, the country was shaped by several elected parliaments. On 1 August 1922, the assembly adopted a permanent constitution, establishing the state’s institutions and limiting executive power. That same year, Lithuania introduced the litas. A national currency and a constitutional system made state independence tangible in everyday life, from public offices to trade.

The republic was also not a socially homogeneous nation. Alongside the Lithuanian-speaking majority, Jewish, Polish, German-speaking, and other communities lived in the country. The parliaments of the time reflected different political interests and included representatives of minorities. For a closer look at Jewish communities, their culture, and their history, see the overview of Jewish history in Lithuania. Those wishing to visit historic sites and collections across the country can find further guidance in the guide to museums in Lithuania.

While Lithuania was vying for Vilnius, another opportunity opened up in the west: access to the Baltic Sea via the Klaipėda Region. An uprising took place there in January 1923, after which Lithuanian forces took control of the region and the port city of Klaipėda. An international agreement in 1924 confirmed the region’s incorporation into Lithuania, while granting it special autonomous rights. Klaipėda was therefore part of the state, but had its own regional institutions. Today, the Old Town and sights in Klaipėda offer a chance to explore the port city’s location and its changing cultural influences.

The new arrangement did not last. In March 1939, Germany demanded the cession of the Klaipėda Region; following the treaty of 22 March, German troops entered the region the next day. A few months later, the situation in the east shifted again. On 10 October 1939, Lithuania signed a so-called mutual assistance pact with the Soviet Union. Lithuania regained the city of Vilnius and parts of the surrounding region, but had to allow Soviet troops into the country. The Lithuanian army entered Vilnius on 28 October. Thus, regaining the long-claimed capital did not mean that state sovereignty had been fully restored.

The democratic development of the 1920s was not straightforward. On 17 December 1926, a military coup overthrew the elected government. President Kazys Grinius was forced to resign; Antanas Smetona took over the presidency and ruled in an increasingly authoritarian manner. The Seimas was dissolved in 1927. New elections were not held until 1936, and the powers of the subsequent parliament were severely limited. The 1928 constitution further strengthened the position of the president. In assessing the republic, it is therefore important to distinguish between the parliamentary democracy of 1920 to 1926 and the authoritarian state that followed.

The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania on 15 June 1940. This ended the first independent republic as a functioning state. The subsequent occupation regimes, resistance, and restoration of statehood in 1990 belong to a different chapter of Lithuania’s history of occupation and regained independence. The central picture of the years 1918 to 1940 is divided: Lithuania established its own institutions in a short time and developed a diverse public life, but had to contend with unresolved border disputes and mounting pressure from its neighbors.

When did Lithuania declare its independence?

On 16 February 1918, the Council of Lithuania signed the declaration restoring an independent democratic state. The practical establishment of state institutions continued to develop in the years that followed.

Why was Kaunas the provisional capital?

After the Polish occupation in October 1920, Lithuanian authorities could no longer administer Vilnius. The government therefore operated from Kaunas, where key institutions had been located since 1919.

When did Lithuania get a constitution and its own currency?

The Constituent Assembly adopted a permanent constitution on 1 August 1922. The litas was introduced that same year.

How did the borders change in the 1920s and 1930s?

From October 1920, Vilnius remained under Polish control, while Klaipėda came under Lithuanian control in 1923 and was granted autonomous rights in 1924. In 1939, Lithuania was forced to cede Klaipėda to Germany; that same year, Vilnius returned to Lithuania in connection with a treaty with the Soviet Union.

When did the first Republic of Lithuania end?

The Soviet Union occupied Lithuania on 15 June 1940. The occupation ended the first independent republic; the subsequent incorporation into the USSR and later period of occupation are covered separately.