Wayzata World Factbook 1995/World Factbook - 1995 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1995).iso/mac/text/Build/orig BACKGR/BNOT0067.TXT

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National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : ST BNOTES LITHUANIA
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994

AGENCY      : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PROGRAM     : BACKGROUND NOTES
TITLE       : Background Notes - LITHUANIA

Source key      : ST
Program key     : ST BNOTES
Update sched.   : Occasionally
Data type       : TEXT
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941018
Keywords 3      :
Keywords 3      : | LITHUANIA

BACKGROUND NOTES:  LITHUANIA
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Official Name:
Republic of Lithuania


PROFILE

Geography
Area:  65,200 sq. km. (26,080 sq. miles); about the size of West
Virginia.

Cities:  Capital--Vilnius (pop. 592,500).  Other cities--Kaunas
(430,000); Klaipeda (206,000); Siauliai (148,000); Panevezys
(129,000).

Terrain:  Lithuania's fertile, central lowland plains are
separated by hilly uplands created by glacial drift.

Climate:  With four distinct seasons, the climate is humid
continental, with a moderating maritime influence from the Baltic
Sea.


People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective--Lithuanian(s).

Population:  3.8 million.

Growth rate:  -0.4%.  Infant mortality--13/1,000.

Ethnic groups:  Lithuanian 80%, Russians 10%, Poles 7%,
Belorussians 1.7%, Ukrainians 1.2%.

Religions:  Catholic (85%), Russian Orthodox.

Languages:  Lithuanian (official).  Russian and Polish also are
spoken by a large minority.

Education:  Years compulsory--9.  Literacy--99%.

Health:  Infant mortality rate--18/1,000.  Life expectancy--66
years male, 76 female.   Work force (1.9 million):
Industry--33%.  Science/Education/Culture--14%.
Construction--13%.  Agriculture/Forestry--8%.  Health care--7%.
Transportation/Communications--7%.  Trade and Government--10%.


Government
Type:  Parliamentary democracy.

Constitution:  1992.

Branches:  Executive--popularly elected president (chief of
state); prime minister (head of government).  Legislative--Seimas
(parliament--141 members, 4-year term); Judicial--Supreme Court.


Administrative subdivisions:  11 cities, 44 rural districts.
Principal political parties/coalitions:

Democratic Labor Party (75 seats); Landowners Union (0 seats);
Social Democrats (8 seats); Union of Poles (4 seats); "Homeland
Concord" Sajudis (26 seats); Christian Democrats (17 seats);
Nationalist Union (4 seats); Democratic Party (2 seats);
Political Prisoners (1 seat); Independence Party (1 seat);
Christian Democratic Union (1 seat); Greens (0 seats);
Independent (1 seat).

Suffrage:  Universal at 18.

Flag:  Horizontal tricolor:  yellow, green, red.


Economy
GDP:  $2.5 billion.

Real GDP growth:  -17%.

Per capita GDP (at 1992 prices):  $732.

Natural resources:  Peat, potential for exploiting moderate oil
and gas deposits offshore and on the coast.

Agriculture/forestry (19% of GNP): Products--cattle, milk and
dairy products, cereals, potatoes.

Manufacturing (58% of GNP):  Products--Technological instruments,
energy, textiles and footwear, machinery and spare parts,
chemicals, food processing, wood/paper/pulp products.

Trade:  Exports--$1 billion:  building materials (36%), services
(15%), chemicals (14%), foodstuffs (14%), consumer goods (9%).
Imports--$1 billion: chemicals (52%), heavy machinery (17%);
fuels, metals, minerals (13%).  Major partners--Russia (45%),
Belarus (13%), Germany (10%), Ukraine (6%).

Exchange rate (July 1994):  3.8 litai=U.S. $1.





PEOPLE
The name "Lietuva," or Lithuania, might be derived from the word
"lietava," for a small river, or "lietus," meaning rain (or land
of rain).  Lithuanian still retains the original sound system and
morphological peculiarities of the prototypal Indo-European
tongue.  Between A.D. 400 and 600, the Lithuanian and Latvian
languages split from the Eastern Baltic (Prussian) language
group, which subsequently became extinct.  The first known
written Lithuanian text dates from a hymnal translation in 1545.
Written with the Latin alphabet, Lithuanian has been the official
language of Lithuania again since 1989.  The Soviet era had
imposed the official use of Russian, so most Lithuanians speak
Russian as a second language while the resident Slavic populace
generally speaks Russian as a first language.

Lithuanians are neither Slavic nor Germanic, although Polish and
Germanic colonization and settlement in the 1300s left cultural
and religious influences.  This highly literate society places
strong emphasis upon education, which is free and compulsory
until age 16.  Most Lithuanians and ethnic Poles belong to the
Roman Catholic Church, but a sizeable minority are Russian
Orthodox.

Enduring several border changes, Soviet deportations, a massacre
of its Jewish population, and postwar German and Polish
repatriations, Lithuania has maintained a fairly stable
percentage of ethnic Lithuanians (from 84% in 1923 to 80% in
1993).  Lithuania's citizenship law and constitution meet
international standards, guaranteeing universal human and civil
rights.


HISTORY
The earliest evidence of inhabitants in present-day Lithuania
dates back 12,000 years.  About 5,000 years ago, a culture known
to archaeologists as "the cord-ware culture" spread over a vast
region of Eastern Europe, between the Baltic Sea and the Vistula
River in the west and the Moscow-Kursk line in the east.  Merging
with the indigenous population, they gave rise to the Balts, a
distinct Indo-European ethnic group whose descendants are the
present-day Lithuanian and Latvian nations and the now-extinct
Prussians.

The first written mention of Lithuania occurs in A.D. 1009,
although many centuries earlier the Roman historian Tacitus
referred to the Lithuanians as excellent farmers.  Spurred by the
expansion into the Baltic lands of the Germanic monastic military
orders (the Order of the Knights of the Sword and the Teutonic
Order), Duke Mindaugas united the lands inhabited by the
Lithuanians,  Samogitians, Yotvingians, and Couranians into the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the mid-13th century.  In 1251,
Mindaugas adopted Catholicism and was crowned King of Lithuania
on July 6, 1253; a decade later, civil war erupted upon his
assassination until a ruler named Vitenis defeated the Teutonic
Knights and restored order.

During 1316-41, Vitenis' brother and successor, Grand Duke
Gediminas, expanded the empire as far as Kiev against the Tartars
and Russians.  He twice attempted to adopt Christianity in order
to end the GDL's political and cultural isolation from Western
Europe.  To that purpose, he invited knights, merchants, and
artisans to settle in Lithuania and wrote letters to Pope John
XXII and European cities maintaining that the Teutonic Order's
purpose was to conquer lands rather than spread Christianity.
Gediminas' dynasty ruled the GDL until 1572.  From the 1300s
through the early 1400s, the Lithuanian state expanded eastward.
During the rule of Grand Duke Algirdas (1345-77), Lithuania
almost doubled in size and achieved major victories over the
Teutonic and Livonian Orders.  However, backed by the Pope and
the Catholic West European countries, the Orders intensified
their aggression.

During this period, Kestutis (Grand Duke in 1381-82)
distinguished himself as the leader of the struggle against the
Teutonic Order.  The ongoing struggle precipitated the 1385 Kreva
Union signed by Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania (ruled in 1377-81
and 1382-92) and Jadwyga,  Queen of Poland. Upon their marriage,
he became King of Poland.  A condition of the union was
Lithuania's conversion to Christianity (in 1387).  This
intensified Lithuania's economic and cultural development and
oriented it toward the West.  The conversion invalidated claims
by the Teutonic Order and temporarily halted its wars against
Lithuania.

Lithuania's independence under the union with Poland was restored
by Grand Duke Vytautas.  During his rule (1392-1430) the GDL
turned into one of the largest states in Europe, encompassing
present-day Belarus, most of Ukraine, and the Smolensk region of
western Russia.  Led by Jogaila and Vytautas, the united
Polish-Lithuanian army defeated the Teutonic Order in the Battle
of Tannenberg (Gruenwald or Zalgiras) in 1410, terminating the
medieval Germanic drive eastward.

The 16th century witnessed a number of wars against the growing
Russian state over the Slavic lands ruled by the GDL.  Coupled
with the need for an ally in those wars, the wish of the middle
and petty gentry to obtain more rights already granted to the
Polish feudal lords drew Lithuania closer to Poland.  The Union
of Lublin in 1569 united Poland and Lithuania into a commonwealth
in which the highest power belonged to the Sejm of the nobility
and its elected King, who was also the Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Mid-16th-century land reform strengthened serfdom and promoted
the development of agriculture, owing to the introduction of a
regular three-field rotation system.

The 16th century saw a rapid development of agriculture, growth
of towns, spread of ideas of humanism and the Reformation, book
printing, the emergence of Vilnius University in 1579, and the
Lithuanian Codes of Law (the Statutes of Lithuania), which
stimulated the development of culture both in Lithuania and in
neighboring countries.

In the 16th-18th century, wars against Russia and Sweden weakened
the Polish-Lithuanian Republic.  The end of the 18th century saw
three divisions of the commonwealth by Russia, Prussia, and
Austria; in 1795 most of Lithuania became part of the Russian
empire.  Attempts to restore independence in the uprisings of
1794, 1830-31, and 1863 were suppressed and followed by a
tightened police regime, increasing Russification, the closure of
Vilnius University in 1832, and the 1864 ban on the printing of
Lithuanian books in traditional Latin characters.

Because of his proclamation of liberation and self-rule, many
Lithuanians gratefully volunteered for the French army when
Napoleon occupied Kaunas in 1812 during his catastrophic invasion
of Russia.  After the war, Russia imposed extra taxes on Catholic
landowners and enserfed an increasing number of peasants.

A market economy slowly developed with the abolition of serfdom
in 1861.  Lithuanian farmers grew stronger, contributing to an
increase in the number of intellectuals of peasant origin, which,
in turn, led to the growth of a Lithuanian national movement.  In
German-ruled Lithuania Minor (Konigsberg or Kalinin-grad),
Lithuanian publications were printed in large numbers and then
smuggled into Russian-ruled Lithuania.  The most outstanding
leaders of the national liberation movement were J. Basanavicius
and V. Kudirka.  The ban on the Lithuanian press finally was
lifted in 1904.

During World War I, the German army occupied Lithuania in 1915,
and the occupation administration allowed a Lithuanian Conference
to convene in Vilnius in September 1917.  The conference adopted
a resolution demanding the restoration of an independent
Lithuanian state and elected the Lithuanian Council, a standing
body chaired by Antanas Smetona

In 1919 and 1920, Lithuania fought what is known as its war for
independence against three factions:  the Red Army, which in 1919
controlled territory ruled by a Bolshevist government headed by
V. Kapsukas; the Polish army; and the Bermondt army, composed of
Russian and German troops under the command of the Germans.
Lithuania failed to regain the Polish-occupied Vilnius region.

In the Moscow Treaty of July 12, 1920, Russia recognized
Lithuanian independence and renounced all previous claims to it.
The Seimas (parliament) of Lithuania adopted a constitution on
August 1, 1922, declaring Lithuania a parliamentary republic, and
in 1923 Lithuania annexed the Klaipeda region, the northern part
of Lithuania Minor.

By then, most countries had recognized Lithuanian independence.
After a military coup on December 17, 1926, Nationalist Party
leader Antanas Smetona became President and gradually introduced
an authoritarian regime.

Lithuania's borders posed its major foreign policy problem.
Poland's occupation (1920) and annexation (1922) of the Vilnius
region strained bilateral relations, and in March 1939 Germany
forced Lithuania to surrender the Klaipeda region (after World
War II, the Nuremberg trials declared the treaty null and void).
Radical land reform in 1922 considerably reduced the number of
estates, promoted the growth of small and middle farms and
boosted agricultural production and exports, especially of
livestock.  In particular, light industry and agriculture
successfully adjusted to the new market situation and developed
new structures.

The interwar period gave birth to a comprehensive system of
education, with Lithuanian as the language of instruction and the
development of the press, literature, music, arts, and theater.
On August 23, 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact pulled Lithuania
under German domination until the Soviet-German agreement of
September 28, 1939, brought Lithuania under Soviet domination.
Soviet pressure and a complicated international situation forced
Lithuania to sign an agreement with the U.S.S.R. on October 10,
1939, by which Lithuania was given back the city of Vilnius and
the part of Vilnius region seized by the Red Army during the
Soviet-Polish war; in return, some 20,000 Soviet soldiers were
deployed in Lithuania.

On June 14, 1940, the Soviet Government issued an ultimatum to
Lithuania, demanding the formation of a new Lithuanian Government
and permission to station additional Red Army troops. Lithuania
succumbed to the Soviet demand, and 100,000 Soviet troops moved
into the country the next day.

Arriving in Kaunas, the Soviet Government's special envoy began
implementing the plan for Lithuania's incorporation into the
U.S.S.R.  On June 17, the alleged People's Government, headed by
J. Paleckis, was formed; one month later, parliamentary elections
were held, whereupon Lithuania was proclaimed a Soviet Socialist
Republic on August 3.

Totalitarian rule was established, Sovietization of the economy
and culture began, and Lithuanian state employees and public
figures were arrested and exiled to Russia.  During the mass
deportation campaign of June 14-18, 1941, about 7,400 families
(12,600 people) were deported to Siberia without investigation or
trial; 3,600 people were imprisoned; and over 1,000 were
massacred.

Lithuanian revolt against the U.S.S.R. soon followed the outbreak
of the war against Germany in 1941.  Via Radio Kaunas on June 23,
the rebels declared the restoration of Lithuania's independence
and actively operated a provisional government, without German
recognition, from June 24 to August 5.  Lithuania became part of
the German occupational administrative unit of Ostland.  People
were repressed and taken to forced labor camps in Germany.  The
Nazis and local collaborators deprived all Lithuanian Jews of
their civil rights and massacred about 200,000 of them.  Together
with Soviet partisans, supporters of independence put up a
resistance movement to deflect Nazi recruitment of Lithuanians to
the German army.

Forcing the Germans out of Lithuania by 1944, the Red Army
re-established control, and Sovietization continued with the
arrival of communist party leaders to create a local party
administration.  The mass deportation campaigns of 1941-52 exiled
30,000 families to Siberia and other remote parts of the Soviet
Union.  Official statistics state that over 120,000 people were
deported from Lithuania during this period, while Lithuanian
sources estimate the number of political prisoners and deportees
at 300,000.

In response to these events, thousands of resistance fighters
participated in unsuccessful guerilla warfare against the Soviet
regime from 1944 to 1953.

In attempted integration and industrial development, Soviet
authorities encouraged immigration of other Soviet workers,
especially Russians.

Until mid-1988, all political, economical and cultural life was
controlled by the Lithuanian Communist Party (LCP).  First
Secretary Antanas Snieckus ruled the LCP during 1940-74.  The
LCP, in turn, was responsible to the Communist Party of the
U.S.S.R.

Lithuanians comprised only 18% of total party membership in 1947
and continued to represent a minority until 1958; by 1986, they
made up 70% of the party's 197,000-strong body.  During the
Khrushchev thaw in the 1950s, the leadership of the LCP acquired
limited independence in decision-making.

The political and economic crisis that began in the U.S.S.R. in
the mid-1980s also affected Lithuania, and Lithuanians as well as
other Balts offered active support to Gorbachev's program of
social and political reforms.

Under the leadership of intellectuals, the Lithuanian reform
movement Sajudis was formed in mid-1988 and declared a program of
democratic and national rights, winning nationwide popularity.
On Sajudis' demand, the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet passed
constitutional amendments on the supremacy of Lithuanian laws
over Soviet legislation, annulled the 1940 decisions on
proclaiming Lithuania a part of the U.S.S.R., legalized a
multi-party system, and adopted a number of other important
decisions.

A large number of LCP members also supported the ideas of
Sajudis, and with Sajudis support, Algirdas Brazauskas was
elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the LCP in
1988.  In December 1989, the Brazauskas-led LCP split from the
Soviet Union's Communist Party and became an independent party,
renaming itself  the Lithuanian Democratic Labor Party in 1990.

In 1990, Sajudis-backed candidates won the elections to the
Lithuanian Supreme Soviet.  On March 11, 1990, its chairman,
Vytautas Landsbergis, proclaimed the restoration of Lithuanian
independence, formed a new cabinet of ministers headed by
Kazimiera Prunskiene, and adopted the Provisional Fundamental Law
of the state and a number of bylaws.

The U.S.S.R. demanded revocation of  the act and began employing
political and economic sanctions against Lithuania as well as
demonstrating military force.  On January 10, 1991, Soviet
authorities seized the central publishing house and other
premises in Vilnius and unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the
elected government by sponsoring a local "National Salvation
Committee."  Three days later the Soviets forcibly took over the
TV tower, killing 14 civilians and injuring 700.

During the national plebiscite on February 9, over 90% of those
who took part in the voting (76% of all eligible voters) voted in
favor of an independent, democratic Lithuania.  Led by the
tenacious Landsbergis, Lithuania's leaders continued to seek
Western diplomatic recognition of its independence.  Soviet
military-security forces continued forced conscription, seized
buildings, attacked customs posts, and sometimes killed customs
and police officials.

During the August 19 coup against Gorbachev, Soviet military
troops took over several communications and other government
facilities in Vilnius and other cities but returned to their
barracks when the coup failed.  The Lithuanian Government banned
the Communist Party and ordered confiscation of its property.

Despite Lithuania's achievement of complete independence,
sizeable numbers of Russian forces remained on its territory.
Withdrawal of those forces was one of Lithuania's top foreign
policy priorities.  Lithuania and Russia signed an agreement on
September 8, 1992, calling for Russian troop withdrawals by
August 31, 1993.   These have been completed in full, despite
unresolved issues such as the question of Russian military
transit to and from the Kaliningrad enclave.


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
For over a year after independence, political life was fettered
by an unclear delineation of powers between parliament and
government.  Political polarization increased, and name
recognition played a much more significant role in politics than
party affiliation.  Sajudis remained part of an unofficial ruling
coalition with two other politically right-wing parties, but
rivalries were heightened by personally divisive political
attacks and bureaucratic gridlock.

In an effort to reduce the size and recalcitrance of a government
bureaucracy allegedly impeding reform, in April 1992 then-Prime
Minister Vagnorius unsuccessfully attempted to enact a measure
permit-ting the dismissal of former Communist Party members and
of those unwilling to enforce government decrees.  Two deputies
and a minister unsuccessfully tendered resignations in support of
Vagnorius, but the rest of the cabinet wrote a letter to
President Landsbergis complaining of the Prime Minister's
confrontational governing style.  Vagnorius, in turn,
unsuccessfully submitted his resignation effective in May.

With the failure of the May 23 referendum on establishing a
permanent office of the president (based on the French model),
President Landsbergis threatened to resign.  Right-wing
parliamentarians boycotted legislative sessions to delay attempts
to form a quorum and successfully forestalled Vagnorius'
resignation until mid-June, when a quorum passed a no-confidence
motion.  Aleksandras Abisala, another Landsbergis favorite,
became the new Prime Minister.

A constitution was approved by 53% of eligible voters (85% of
those who actually voted) in an October 2, 1992, referendum.  The
results of the October 25 and the November 15 runoff elections
handed the Democratic Labor Party (LDP), headed by former
Communist Party boss Algirdas Brazauskas, a plurality of votes
and a clear majority of parliamentary seats.

Subsequent presidential elections on February 14, 1993, gave
Brazauskas victory over a non-LDP coalition led by independent
candidate Stasys Lozoraitis, Lithuania's former ambassador to the
U.S.  Economic mismanagement and collapse, fueled by chronic
energy shortages and political factionalism, played a decisive
role in the election results.

The Seimas (parliament), a unicameral legislative body, is the
highest organ of state authority.  It initiates and approves
legislation sponsored by the prime minister.  The prime minister
has full responsibility and control over his cabinet.

National Security
Lithuania's defense system is based upon the Swedish-Finnish
concept of a rapid response force composed of a mobilization base
and a small group of career professionals.  The defense ministry
is responsible for combat forces, border control, customs, civil
defense, search/rescue, and intelligence operations.  The army
consists of three battalions of 850 troops each, and there is a
mandatory one-year active-duty draft period.  Alternative service
for conscientious objectors is available.  The navy and coast
guard use patrol boats and small Russian frigates for coastal
surveillance; the air force operates 30 planes used for
reconnaissance and border patrol.

The 5,400 border guards fall under the interior ministry's
supervision and are responsible for border protection and
passport and customs duties and share responsibility with the
navy for smuggling/drug trafficking interdiction.  A special
security department handles VIP protection and communications
security.  The "SKAT," or national guard, consists of over 700
professionals and 5,000 volunteers.

Key Government Officials
President--Algirdas Brazauskas
Prime Minister--Adolfas Slezevicius
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Povilas Gylys

Lithuania maintains an embassy in the United States at 2622 16th
Street, Washington, DC 20009 tel:  [phone].


ECONOMY
The Soviet era brought Lithuania intensive industrialization and
economic integration into the U.S.S.R., although the level of
technology and state concern for environmental, health, and labor
issues lagged far behind Western standards.  Urbanization
increased from 39% in 1959 to 68% in 1989.  From 1949 to 1952,
the Soviets abolished private ownership in agriculture,
establishing collective and state farms.  Production declined and
did not reach pre-war levels until the early 1960s.  The
intensification of agricultural production through intense
chemical use and mechanization eventually doubled production but
created additional ecological problems.

Industry is Lithuania's largest economic sector.  It is being
privatized, and most small firms are now under private ownership.
Large industries, accounting for the bulk of Lithuania's capital
investment, are still mainly under state control. Food-processing
and light industries dominate, but furniture, footwear, and
textile manufacturing are important.

Machine industries (tools, motors, computers, consumer durables)
account for over one-third of the industrial work force but
generally suffer from outdated plants and equipment.  In
agriculture, Lithuania produces cattle, hogs, and poultry for
export.  The principal crops are wheat, feed grains, and rye.
Farm production dropped in 1992 as a result of difficulties with
agricultural privatization and poor weather.

The transportation infrastructure is adequate.  Lithuania has one
ice-free seaport with ferry services to German ports.  There are
operating commercial airports with scheduled international
services at Vilnius and Kaunas.  The road system is good, but
border crossings may be difficult due to inadequate border
facilities at checkpoints with Poland. Telecommunications have
improved greatly since independence as a result of heavy
investment.  The banking/financial sector is weak but improving.

Lithuania had a slightly negative trade balance in 1993.  Its
main trading partners are Eastern Europe and the New Independents
States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union.  The main categories of
imported products are energy, vehicles for transport and
machinery.  Exports consist mainly of machinery and food
products.  Trade with Western countries rose from 8% of the total
in 1992 to over 24% in 1993.

Although gross domestic product (GDP) accounts comparable to
Western figures are not yet fully available, real GDP has been
declining since 1990.  In 1992, it fell by about 40% and
continued to fall this year, albeit at a less dramatic rate.
Inflation is also high due to price deregulation and higher costs
of imported energy and other inputs from the traditional
suppliers in the NIS.  The consumer price index rose by 1,200% in
1992, and monthly retail price increases in 1993 have been
generally above 10%.  This year, however, there are indications
of improvement.  The spread of private sector activity, not
always reflected in national accounts statistics, is creating
productive jobs and boosting consumer spending.  Also, the
introduction in mid-1993 of a stable national currency has
stimulated investment.

The government focuses its efforts on stabilizing the economy,
taking measures to secure supplies of energy and other vital
inputs, providing a social safety net to alleviate the worst
consequences of the economic depression, and combating economic
crime.  It has enacted legislation providing a reasonably
transparent and favorable regulatory regime for private
investment.

In 1993, Lithuania exported $16 million in goods to the U.S. and
imported $57 million, much of the latter being agricultural
commodities under concessional programs.  U.S.-Lithuanian firms
registered 235 of 3,674 foreign joint ventures, and of $115
million in total foreign investment, the U.S. holds a $35 million
share.

Over 55,000 private, personally owned companies now exist in
Lithuania, including an additional 19,000 corporations and 600
foreign-controlled businesses.  To date, the state privatization
agency has privatized 3,800 companies.  State companies are now
authorized to sell up to 50% of their shares for hard currency
without cabinet approval, and many of more than 20 commercial
banks offer a full range of international banking services.
Monthly inflation remains in the single digits, and the new
currency remains stable.  Lithuania recorded a trade surplus in
1992 and has discussed creation of six "free economic zones"
offering tax, customs, and tariff breaks for foreign investors.


FOREIGN RELATIONS
Lithuania became a member of the United Nations on September 18,
1991, and participates in a number of its organizations and is a
signatory to other international agreements.  It also is a member
of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the
North Atlantic Cooperation Council, and the Council of Europe.
Lithuania is unaffiliated directly with any political alliance
but welcomes further cooperation and integration with NATO, the
European Union, and other Western organizations.

Lithuania maintains embassies in the United States, Sweden,
Finland, the Vatican, Belgium, Denmark,  France, Germany, Poland,
United Kingdom, and Venezuela.  It also operates missions in
Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Czech Republic, Italy, Ukraine, and in
New York City, to the United Nations and a consulate.  Honorary
consuls are located in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Iceland,
South Korea, Greece, Norway, Philippines, and in the United
States in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Lithuania's liberal citizenship law has substantially eased
tensions with its neighbors.  Lithuania's suspension of two
strongly ethnic Polish district councils on charges of blocking
reform or disloyalty during the August 1991 coup had cooled
relations with Poland, but bilateral cooperation has markedly
increased with the holding of elections in those districts and
the signing of a bilateral friendship treaty.  A long-standing
border dispute with Belarus is being negotiated.

U.S.-Lithuanian Relations
The United States established diplomatic relations with Lithuania
on July 28, 1922.  U.S. representation accredited to Lithuania
served from the legation in Riga, Latvia, until May 31, 1930,
when a legation in Kaunas was established.  The Soviet invasion
forced the closure of the legation in Kaunas on September 5,
1940, but Lithuanian representation in the United States has
continued uninterrupted for over 70 years.  The U.S. never
recognized the forcible incorporation of Lithuania into the
U.S.S.R. and views the present Government of Lithuania as a legal
continuation of the interwar republic.  Lithuania has enjoyed
most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment with the U.S. since December
1991.  Through 1993, the U.S. has committed over $66 million to
Lithuania's economic and political transformation and to address
humanitarian needs.  Food grain and feed grain assistance totals
$46 million of this figure.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--vacant
Economic Officer--John Stepanchuk Political Officer--Algis
Avizienis
Administrative Officer--Matthew Johnson
Consular Officer--Steven Wangsness
AID Director--John Cloutier
Public Affairs Officer--Victor Sidabras

The U.S. embassy in Lithuania is located at Akmenu 6, Vilnius
tel. [phone].





TRAVEL NOTES
Customs:  Lithuanian tourist visas still may be obtained at
Western road border crossings and at Vilnius Airport, but the
U.S. Embassy strongly recommends that all visitors obtain visas
from the Lithuanian Embassy in Washington DC (or in major Western
European capitals) before departure. The Embassy and its
Consulates charge a $25 visa processing fee. Polish border
crossings have expanded and improved, but one can expect delays.
Visitors are encouraged to register at the U.S. Embassy. Latvian
visas are also valid for entry into Lithuania.

Duty-free items include humanitarian aid, foreign currency and
securities, goods and valuables unsuitable for consumption, and
items temporarily brought into Lithuania and brought back without
"reworking or processing."  Besides internationally banned or
regulated items requiring special permission, 10-25% percent
duties and restrictions are imposed on a number of imports and
exports, particularly alcohol, tobacco, foodstuffs and nonferrous
metals.  The government has lifted restrictions on the export of
hard currency.

Climate and clothing:  Vilnius's climate is temperately
continental, with seasons of almost equal length.  Summers are
pleasant, but winters inland are very cold and snowy.

Health:  Medical care does not meet Western standards, facing a
severe shortage of basic medical supplies, including disposable
needles, anesthetics, and antibiotics.  Bring personal
medication.  Sometimes heat and hot water are unavailable because
of the occasional disruption of energy supplies.  Raw fruits and
vegetables are safe to eat, but avoid drinking unpasteurized milk
and tapwater.

Transportation:  SAS, LOT, Malev, Swissair, Austrian Air,
Lithuanian Airlines and Lufthansa provide service between Vilnius
Airport and European cities. Two trains depart daily for Warsaw
without crossing into Belarus, but take 12 hours.  A bus line
connects Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. Bus and taxi services
within the capital and its environs are good. Taxis are
inexpensive and available at stands or may be ordered by phone.
Rental cars are available. Gasoline prices are reaching market
rates, and rationing is in effect.

Telecommunications:  Improved telephone and telegraph services
are readily available at standard international rates.  Vilnius
is 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Tourist attractions:  Over 550,000 tourists visited Lithuania in
1989. As Europe's geographic epicenter, Vilnius is the leading
attraction, featuring beautiful Baroque churches and estates, 16
museums, fortress towers, and historic medieval castles nearby in
Trakai and Medininkai. The seaside resorts of Palanga and Kursiu
Nerija are famous for clean beaches and natural sand dunes.
Ethnographic parks and museums depicting Lithuanian life through
the centuries abound, as do scenic national preserves.  Historic
churches and castles dating to Lithuania's Great Power era are
also readily accessible.

Currency, Weights and Measures:  The national currency, the
litas, is convertible with major Western monies, but some vendors
still accept Western cash for purchases.  Major credit cards can
be used primarily at large banks and Western hotels in Vilnius,
but traveler's checks are rarely accepted yet.  Lithuania uses
the metric system.





Further Information

These titles are provided as a general indication of material
published on this country.  The Department of State does not
endorse unofficial publications.

Gordon, Harry.  The Shadow of Death: The Holocaust in Lithuania.
Lexington:  University Press of Kentucky, 1991.

Jurgela, Constantine R.  History of the Lithuanian Nation.  New
York: Lithuanian Cultural Institute.

Kantautas, Adam, and Kantautas, Filomena.  A Lithuanian
Bibliography:  A Checklist of Books and Periodicals Held by the
Major Libraries of Canada and the United States.  Edmonton:
University of Alberta Press, 1975; supplement 1980.

Kaslas, Bronis J.  The U.S.S.R.-German Aggression Against
Lithuania.  New York:  Robert Speller & Sons, 1973.

Koncius, Joseph B.  Vytautas the Great:  Grand Duke of Lithuania.
Miami:  The Franklin Press, 1964.

Olcott, Martha Brill.  "The Lithuanian Crisis."  Foreign Affairs
(Summer 1990), 30-46.

Olesczuk, Thomas A.  Political Justice in the Soviet Union:
Dissent and Repression in Lithuania, 1967-1987.  New York:
Columbia University Press/East European Monographs, 1988.

Remeikis, Thomas.  Opposition to Soviet Rule in Lithuania,
1945-1980.  Chicago:  Institute for Lithuanian Studies Press,
1980.

Rodgers, Mary M., and Streissguth, Tom, eds.  Lithuania:  Then
and Now.  Minneapolis:  Lerner Publications Company, 1992.

Senn, Alfred Erich.  Lithuania Awakening Berkeley:  University of
California Press, 1990

Silbajoris, Frank R.  "Lithuania: A Question of Identity."  Cross
Currents, 10 (1991), 31-38.

Urdzins, Andrejs and Vilks, Andris, editors.  The Baltic States:
A Reference Book.  Vilnius:  Encyclopedia Publishers, 1991.

Williams, Roger, ed.  Baltic States:  Insight Guides.  Boston:
Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1993.

For information on economic trends, commercial development,
production, trade regulations, and tariff rates, contact the
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,
Washington, DC 20230 at [phone], or any Commerce
Department district office.  For information on business
opportunities, call the Commerce Department's East European
Business Information Center at [phone].





Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of
Public Affairs -- Office of  Public Communication -- Washington,
DC -- August 1994 -- Managing Editor:  Peter A. Knecht -- Editor:
Peter Freeman

Department of State Publication 10196 -- Background Notes Series
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.