Lithuania

B

Education

Lithuania has an adult literacy rate of nearly 100 percent, reflecting the high value the country places on universal education. State-run educational institutions provide free education at all levels. A number of private schools were established after the end of the Soviet era. Vilnius University (founded in 1579), located in Vilnius, is the most prestigious institution of higher learning. The Vytautas Magnus University (1922) is located in Kaunas. Klaipėda University was established in Klaipėda, along the Baltic coast, in 1991.

C

Arts and Culture

Lithuanian culture is noted for its vibrant oral tradition, consisting of folktales, legends, proverbs, and dainos (ancient songs). The country’s national literature began with the long poem Metai (“The Seasons”), by Lutheran pastor Kristijonas Donelaitis, written in the 18th century and published posthumously in 1818. Another early literary landmark is the poem Anykščiu šilelis (The Anykščiai Pine Forest), written in 1858 and 1859 by Antanas Baranauskas. For the last four decades of the 19th century the Russian tsar, concerned with nationalist uprisings, banned printing in the Lithuanian language.

Outstanding figures of the modern period of Lithuanian literature include the poet and dramatist Jonas Mačiulis, usually known by his pen name, Maironis; and Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, whose three-volume novel Altorišešely (In the Shadows of Altars, 1933) is a highly personal study of the life of a young priest that can also be read as an allegory of early 20th-century Lithuanian society. One of the principal post-World War II writers is the poet and playwright Justinas Marcinkevičius, who used a dramatic trilogy, Mindaugas, Mažvydas, and Katedra, to present an original interpretation of the interaction between the individual and society in Lithuanian history.

Later 20th-century Lithuanian writers include the playwright Kazys Saja and the poets Tomas Venclova and Judita Vaičiūnaitė. When the Soviet regime forced Venclova to emigrate in the 1970s, he moved to the United States and taught at Yale University. See Lithuanian Literature.

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Lithuania holds many folk festivals each year, characterized by folk music and colorful traditional costumes. Other cultural events include ballet, theater, and opera performances. The Lithuania Chamber Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic, and the Lithuanian State Symphony are headquartered in Vilnius. A major jazz festival is held annually in the capital. The Kaunas Chamber Orchestra and the Kaunas State Choir perform in Kaunas. Lithuania has several major museums, including the National Museum of Lithuania (founded in 1855) and the Lithuanian Art Museum (1940), both in Vilnius.

Sports are very popular in Lithuania, especially basketball. Lithuanians were often top players on Soviet national teams. Some prominent Lithuanian players have played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), including Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis. Lithuania won three straight Olympic bronze medals in basketball from 1992 to 2000. Other popular sports include soccer, cycling, tennis, and skiing.

IV

Economy of Lithuania

Lithuania had a primarily agricultural economy before the USSR annexed the country in 1940. In the next 50 years the Lithuanian economy was fully integrated into the Soviet system. The Soviets abolished private ownership in agriculture, replacing it with collective or state farms. The Soviets also forced rapid urbanization by relocating workers from other parts of the USSR to Lithuania, where they staffed massive factories to produce industrial goods for the entire Soviet bloc.

The switch to a market economy in the early 1990s was abrupt and difficult. The rapid reestablishment of trade relationships following independence sent the Lithuanian economy into a recession. The gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the value of all goods and services, decreased sharply every year until 1994. Agricultural production dropped, while price deregulation and higher costs for imported energy produced massive inflation. Yet by the mid-1990s, Lithuania’s economy ranked among the better performing of those economies transitioning from the Soviet centrally planned system to a free-market system. However, economic recovery did not begin until the early 2000s. The country’s entry into the European Union (EU) in 2004 spurred economic growth.

Lithuania’s GDP in 2007 was $38.3 billion, the largest of the Baltic states. Industry, which began expanding after the initial contraction following independence, contributed 33 percent of GDP. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing together produced 5 percent. The broad services sector, which includes trade and financial activities, produced 62 percent.

A country without abundant natural resources, Lithuania possesses a highly skilled workforce and a developed infrastructure. Its strategic location is a principal economic asset, with an ice-free port on the Baltic Sea and a rail and highway system connecting it with Russia, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, and other parts of Eastern Europe.

A

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

After Lithuania regained independence, the government began to return large state farms and collectives to private ownership. Lithuania has a large rural population and the agricultural sector continues to employ a large number of workers, although agriculture supplies only a small percentage of the country’s GDP. That percentage dropped steadily after independence, but EU membership was expected to give a boost to agriculture and food exports. Livestock breeding and dairy farming are the dominant agricultural activities in Lithuania. The principal crops are potatoes, grains such as barley and wheat, and sugar beets. The cutting and processing of timber plays an important role in the economy. The Lithuanian commercial fishing fleet catches mackerel, sardines, and herring.

B

Manufacturing and Mining

Manufacturing increased in economic importance after Lithuania regained independence, and the proportion it contributed to the country’s GDP rose. Many of the manufactured goods are produced for export. The most important products manufactured in Lithuania are processed foods, petroleum products, textiles and clothing, and forest products, especially wood, paper, and furniture.

Lithuania has large reserves of peat, which, after extraction, is sold for fuel and exported as a mulching product. The country also has significant supplies of materials used in construction, including limestone, gravel, and clay. Lithuania has small oil reserves. More important to its economy are pipelines that carry crude oil from Russia to Butinge, a port on the Baltic Sea, for export to Europe. A large petroleum refinery located near Butinge, at Mazeikiai, also contributes significantly to Lithuania’s economy.

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