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Lithuania, officially theRepublic of Lithuania, is a country in theBaltic region ofEurope. It is one of threeBaltic states and lies on the eastern shore of theBaltic Sea, bordered byLatvia to the north,Belarus to the east and south,Poland to the south, and the Russiansemi-exclave ofKaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with amaritime border withSweden to the west. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 (25,200 sq mi), and has a population of 2.9 million. Its capital and largest city isVilnius; other major cities includeKaunas,Klaipėda,Šiauliai andPanevėžys.Lithuanians are thetitular nation, belong to the ethnolinguistic group ofBalts, and speakLithuanian.
For millennia, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by variousBaltic tribes. In the 1230s, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time byMindaugas, who formed theKingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Subsequent expansion and consolidation resulted in theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, which by the 14th century was the largest country in Europe. In 1386, the grand duchy entered into ade factopersonal union with theCrown of the Kingdom of Poland. The two realmswere united into thePolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569, forming one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. The commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, until neighbouring countriesgradually dismantled it between 1772 and 1795, with theRussian Empire annexing most of Lithuania's territory.
Towards the end ofWorld War I, Lithuaniadeclared independence in 1918, founding the modern Republic of Lithuania. InWorld War II, Lithuania was occupiedby the Soviet Union, thenby Nazi Germany, before beingreoccupied by the Soviets in 1944.Lithuanian armed resistance to the Soviet occupation lasted until the early 1950s. On 11 March 1990, a year before the formaldissolution of the Soviet Union, Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to break away when itproclaimed the restoration of its independence. (Full article...)

Theliberum veto (Latin for "freeveto") was a parliamentary device in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a form ofunanimity voting rule that allowed any member of theSejm (legislature) to force an immediate end to the current session and to nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting eitherSisto activitatem! (Latin: "I stop the activity!") orNie pozwalam! (Polish: "I do not allow!"). The rule was in place from the mid-17th century to the late 18th century in the Sejm's parliamentary deliberations. It was based on the premise that since all of thePolish–Lithuanian noblemen were equal, every measure that came before the Sejm had to be passed unanimously. Theliberum veto was a key part of the political system of the Commonwealth, strengthening democratic elements and checking royal power and went against the European-wide trend of having a strong executive (absolute monarchy).
Many historians hold that theliberum veto was a major cause of the deterioration of the Commonwealth political system, particularly in the 18th century, when foreign powers bribed Sejm members to paralyze its proceedings, causing foreign occupation, dominance and manipulation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and its eventual destruction in thepartitions.Piotr Stefan Wandycz wrote that the "liberum veto had become the sinister symbol of old Polish anarchy". In the period of 1573–1763, about 150 sejms were held, about a third failing to pass any legislation, mostly because of theliberum veto. The expressionPolish parliament in many European languages originated from the apparent paralysis. (Full article...)

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| Public holidays in Lithuania | |||
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| Date | English name | Local name | Remarks |
| 1 January | New Year's Day | Naujųjų metų diena | |
| 16 February | Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania (1918) | Lietuvos valstybės atkūrimo diena | |
| 11 March | Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania (1990) | Lietuvos nepriklausomybės atkūrimo diena | |
| Moveable Sunday | Easter Sunday | Velykos | Commemorates resurrection of Jesus. The first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March. |
| The day afterEaster Sunday | Easter Monday | Antroji Velykų diena | |
| 1 May | International Workers' Day | Tarptautinė darbo diena | |
| First Sunday in May | Mother's Day | Motinos diena | |
| First Sunday in June | Father's Day | Tėvo diena | |
| 24 June | St. John's Day / Day of Dew | Joninės / Rasos | Celebrated according to mostly pagan traditions (Midsummer Day,Saint Jonas Day). |
| 6 July | Statehood Day | Valstybės (Lietuvos karaliaus Mindaugo karūnavimo) ir Tautiškos giesmės diena | Celebrates the 1253 coronation ofMindaugas, the firstKing of Lithuania, and thenational anthem ofLithuania. |
| 15 August | Assumption Day | Žolinė (Švenčiausios Mergelės Marijos ėmimo į dangų diena) | Also marked according to pagan traditions, celebrating the goddessŽemyna and noting the mid-August as the middle between summer and autumn. |
| 1 November | All Saints' Day | Visų šventųjų diena | Halloween is increasingly popular and is also informally celebrated on the eve (31 October). |
| 2 November | All Souls' Day | Mirusiųjų atminimo (Vėlinių) diena | |
| 24 December | Christmas Eve | Kūčios | |
| 25 and 26 December | Christmas | Kalėdos | Commemorates birth of Jesus. |
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