Lithuania

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 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.

Contemporary Lithuanian writers include the playwright Kazys Saja and the poets Tomas Venclova and Judita Vaičiūnaitė. The Soviet regime forced Venclova to emigrate in the 1970s, and he moved to the United States. Lithuanian Literature.

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 Kaunas State Choir, and the Lithuanian State Symphony perform large concerts at the modern Opera and Ballet Theater, located in Vilnius. A major jazz festival is held annually in the capital. Lithuania has several major museums, including the National Museum of Lithuania (founded in 1855) and the Lithuanian Art Museum (1940), both located 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

Lithuania had a primarily agricultural economy before the USSR annexed the country in 1940. In the next 50 years the communists fully integrated Lithuania into the Soviet system. They 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 depression. The gross domestic product (GDP), which measures 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 ranked among the better performing economies of those transitioning from the old Soviet system to a free market. By the early years of the 21st century the economy was more than 80 percent privatized.

Lithuania’s GDP in 2005 was $25.6 billion, the largest of the Baltic states. Industry, which began expanding after the initial contraction following independence, contributed 34 percent of GDP. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing together produced 6 percent. The broad services sector, which includes trade and financial activities, produced 61 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 and Fishing

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 is an important economic activity. The Lithuanian commercial fishing fleet catches mackerel, sardine, and herring.

B

Mining and Manufacturing

The most important products manufactured in Lithuania, based on total value, are processed foods, petroleum products, textiles, clothing, and beverages. Mineral resources include large reserves of peat and materials used in construction such as limestone, gravel, and clay. There is potential for offshore tapping of oil and natural gas reserves.

Lithuania has a well-developed system for generating power, allowing it to export electricity. In 2003 the country produced 83 percent of its electricity in the Ignalina nuclear plant, 15.22 percent in thermal facilities burning petroleum products, and 2 percent in hydroelectric facilities. Lithuania supplies gas and electricity to the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia.

C

Trade and Currency

Russia is Lithuania’s main trading partner for both imports and exports. Other leading buyers of Lithuanian goods are Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Poland. Additional countries supplying imports include Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark, and France. The leading exports are textiles, transportation equipment, mineral fuels and metals, and consumer goods; the leading imports include mineral products, machinery, and vehicles. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia established a Baltic free trade area for agricultural goods in the late 1990s.

Lithuania is a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). In May 2004 the country officially joined the European Union, along with fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia.

Lithuania replaced the Russian ruble with its former national currency, the litas, in 1993. Originally fixed to the United States dollar, the litas rate was linked to the euro, the monetary unit of the European Union (EU), in 2002.