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 of 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 was granted 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 was returned under a treaty with the Soviet Union, which also provided for Soviet military bases.
• On 15 June 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania. This brought the first independent republic to an end.

The Council of Lithuania proclaimed the restoration of an independent democratic state on 16 February 1918. At the time, the country was still under German occupation. The declaration designated Vilnius as the capital and left the final form of the state 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 could not create a stable administration. In the years that followed, Lithuania’s political representatives had to establish public authorities and defend the new state’s ability to act 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 particular territories remained disputed. The story goes further back: the Union of Lublin united Poland and Lithuania in a common state, whose partitions changed the political map before Russian rule. The country’s history under Russian rule before 1918 shows how profoundly political affiliations had already changed.

The independence declaration designated Vilnius as the capital, but after its occupation on 9 October 1920, the city lay outside Lithuanian administration. The government therefore operated from Kaunas, where government institutions had already been relocated in 1919. Kaunas was not simply a permanent replacement capital, but the political center of a republic that did not abandon its claim to Vilnius. Visitors can explore this period on a tour of Kaunas’s attractions and urban development; the historic sites in Vilnius also help explain why the city mattered so much 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 institutions of the state and limiting executive power. That same year, Lithuania introduced the litas. A national currency and a constitutional order made statehood tangible in everyday life, from public offices to trade.

The republic was 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 a range of political interests and also included minority representatives. 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 in different regions can find additional guidance in the section on museums in Lithuania.

While Lithuania was vying for Vilnius, another opportunity arose in the west: access to the Baltic Sea through 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 its incorporation into Lithuania, while granting the region special autonomous rights. Klaipėda was thus part of the state, but had its own regional institutions. Today, the old town and attractions in Klaipėda offer a chance to explore the port city’s location and its changing cultural influences.

The new order did not last. In March 1939, Germany demanded that Lithuania cede the Klaipėda Region; following the treaty of 22 March, German troops entered the area the next day. A few months later, the situation in the east changed 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. Regaining the long-claimed capital did not, therefore, mean a full restoration of state sovereignty.

The democratic development of the 1920s was not a straight path. 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 governed in an increasingly authoritarian manner. The Seimas was dissolved in 1927. Elections were not held again until 1936, and the powers of the later parliament were severely restricted. The 1928 constitution further strengthened the position of the president. When assessing the republic, it is therefore important to distinguish between the democratic parliamentary system of 1920–1926 and the authoritarian state that followed.

On 15 June 1940, the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania. This ended the first independent republic as a functioning state. The subsequent occupation regimes, resistance, and restoration of independence in 1990 belong to a separate chapter of Lithuanian history: occupation and the recovery of independence. The central picture of the years 1918 to 1940 remains twofold: Lithuania established its own institutions in a short time and developed a diverse public life, but had to contend with unresolved border disputes and growing 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 over the following years.

Why was Kaunas the provisional capital?

Lithuanian authorities could not administer Vilnius after its occupation by Poland in October 1920. The government therefore operated from Kaunas, where central institutions had been based since 1919.

When did Lithuania get its constitution and its own currency?

On 1 August 1922, the Constituent Assembly adopted a permanent constitution. 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 was returned 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 the later occupation period are covered separately.