.jpg)
TheGreat Seimas of Vilnius (Lithuanian:Didysis Vilniaus Seimas, also known as theGreat Assembly of Vilnius, theGrand Diet of Vilnius, or theGreat Diet of Vilnius) was a major assembly held on December 4 and 5, 1905 (November 21–22, 1905O.S.) inVilnius, Lithuania, then part of theRussian Empire, largely inspired by theRussian Revolution of 1905. It was the first modern national congress in Lithuania and dealt primarily not with the social issues that sparked the revolution, but with national concerns.[1] Over 2,000 participants took part in the Seimas. The assembly made the decision to demand wide politicalautonomy within the Russian Empire and achieve this by peaceful means. It is considered an important step towards theAct of Independence of Lithuania, adopted on February 16, 1918, by theCouncil of Lithuania, as theSeimas laid the groundwork for the establishment of an independent Lithuanian state.[2]
Lithuania had been part of theRussian Empire since thepartitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. After the unsuccessfuluprising of 1863, Lithuania was subjected toRussification policies: theLithuanian press ban was initiated, schools were required to teach in the Russian language,Roman Catholics could not hold positions in government institutions and could own only limited amounts of land, andpolitical rights were restricted. However, these measures did not stop theLithuanian National Revival, and a sense of the Lithuanian national identity continued to grow. The first Lithuanian political parties, theSocial Democratic Party of Lithuania andLithuanian Democratic Party, included goals of political autonomy for Lithuania within the Russian Empire in their basic program.[3]
After the events ofBloody Sunday in January 1905 sparked a revolution in Russia,TsarNicholas II was forced to make concessions. In April 1905 a decree guaranteed complete freedom of religion, and even allowed religious studies to be conducted in native languages.[4] The most important decree, theOctober Manifesto, was announced on October 30 (October 17 O.S.), 1905. It guaranteed many political rights, including the right to form political parties and organizeconvocations.[4] This decree formed the legal basis for the assembly in Vilnius. The October Manifesto also announced the intent to hold elections to the Russian Parliament (Duma), and the Lithuanian organizers used this as an official pretext for the Seimas: they claimed that the Lithuanians needed to prepare themselves for this election.[5]
Historians disagree about who initiated the idea of organizing a national assembly. Some creditJonas Basanavičius, while others argue forJonas Kriaučiūnas.[6] The organizational activities were largely taken on by theLithuanian Christian Democrats and byVilniaus žinios, a moderate newspaper owned byPetras Vileišis.[4]Vilniaus žinios was the first legal Lithuanian-language daily newspaper to appear after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted on May 7, 1904; it was quite popular and its circulation soon reached 6,000 copies.[7] On October 31 (October 18 O.S.), 1905 a fifteen-member organizational committee, chairman Jonas Basanavičius and secretary Jonas Kriaučiūnas, was given the task of convening the assembly. They published an appeal or a manifest to the Lithuanian people on November 11 (October 29 O.S.) inVilniaus žinios.[8] The appeal, signed by the chairman and the secretary, aroused much interest in the public. Invitations were extended to all persons who would be elected as representatives by their communities atvolosts, and to all other educated people interested in the future of the Lithuanian state. At the end of the appeal there was an eight-point agenda to be discussed at the Seimas. It did not include the question of Lithuanian autonomy.[9]
On November 15 (November 2 O.S.), a controversial memorandum was adopted by the organizational committee and sent toSergei Witte, Prime Minister of the Russian Empire. It was signed by only four people: Jonas Basanavičius, who was the primary author,Donatas Malinauskas,Juozapas Ambraziejus, andMečislovas Davainis-Silvestraitis.[10] It consisted of an introduction, which briefly summarized thehistory of Lithuania, and ten points of demands and declarations. The first point was the most controversial: it declared thatKovno,Grodno,Vilna,Suwałki Governorates and parts ofCourland Governorate were historically Lithuanian and that the Poles, Jews, Russians, and other groups in those areas were merely invaders, who had arrived in the recent past.Belarusians were called "Slavicized Lithuanians".[11] The last point in the memorandum, asking that the title ofGrand Duke of Lithuania not be disregarded in the Tsar's documents, also drew criticism.[10] Other points demanded Lithuanian autonomy, equal rights to all nationalities and social classes, full political and religious freedom, free universal education in the Lithuanian language, the introduction of the Lithuanian language to government institutions, and the attachment of the Suwałki Governorate not to Poland but to autonomous Lithuania.[11] Many of these demands were echoed by the Seimas.
Those parts of the memorandum that demanded Lithuanian autonomy and protested the possible attachment of Suwałki Governorate to an autonomous Poland were reprinted in the Russian publicationPravitel'stvennyi Vestnik on November 23 (November 10 O.S.). The Russian government sought to demonstrate that granting autonomy to both Poland and Lithuania would be complicated, and would probably exacerbate national conflicts.[5] On November 26 (November 13 O.S.) the memorandum was also reprinted inVilniaus žinios. It was heavily criticized by non-Lithuanians for its position on minorities and by Lithuanians for making demands on behalf of the Lithuanian nation without waiting for the Seimas' resolutions.[10]
On December 4 (November 21 O.S.), about 2,000 people arrived in Vilnius; half of them were officially elected as delegates by their local communities.[4] Because no standard elections procedures were offered, the process of selecting the representatives varied greatly. Despite irregularities, it was the first election in the history of Lithuania.[3] People fromAukštaitija were most active, while participation fromSamogitia andSuvalkija was somewhat lower. Some of the delegates came from areas that are now part ofPoland andLatvia, as well as from areas that were then within the lands of theGerman Empire (Lithuania Minor). As a result, a wide variety of communities, political groups, government layers, social classes, and organizations were represented.[1] This parliament may have been the first in Europe to include women—there were seven female delegates.[12]
It took two hours of intense discussion to elect thepresidium of the Seimas. Jonas Basanavičius, officially nonpartisan, was elected as the chairman andSteponas Kairys, leader of theSocial Democrats, was chosen as vice-chairman.[5] Other members wereAntanas Smetona, priestPranciškus Būčys, and Juozas Stankūnas; the secretaries wereLiudas Gira,Pranas Klimaitis, andJuozas Gabrys-Paršaitis.[3] The organizational committee proposed a rather academic agenda geared toward cultural issues for the assembly; this initial agenda was vetoed by the delegates.[8] They adopted a new schedule that was more political and highlighted two main goals: holding hearings on the current situation in Lithuania, and deciding which political demands should be submitted to the Tsarist authorities.[4] A major portion of the first day's proceedings was devoted to reports presented by delegates from rural areas. The content of these reports was repetitious and did not carry much weight. The most important question was that of Lithuanianautonomy.
There were rumors that some Russian politicians were seriously considering granting autonomy toPoland, and that Polish activists wished to incorporate Lithuanian lands into their autonomous region, calling on the historic tradition of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[5] In light of these rumors, the demands of the delegates were much more radical than were expected. Most demanded autonomy in ethnographic Lithuanian lands along with any border areas that would decide to join. The region would be governed by a democratically electedSeimas in Vilnius and bound by federal ties with neighboring lands.[8] The "ethnographic Lithuanian lands" at issue were not clearly defined, but resistance to tsarist authorities was to be organized inKovno,Grodno, andVilna Governorates; special attention was given toSuwałki Governorate.[13] The Seimas' resolution, adopted on the second day, explicitly stated that Lithuanians from Suwałki Governorate had decided to join the fight for autonomous Lithuania. This was largely an attempt to prevent the potential Polish autonomous region from claiming Suwałki, then part ofCongress Poland, for itself.[5] The election to Seimas was to be universal, equal, direct andsecret; all persons were to be grantedsuffrage without regard to sex, religion, or nationality.[13] If the election had taken place, it would have been the first in Europe where women were granted an equal right to vote.[12]
This demand was far-reaching and required transformation of the empire into a federal state, placing Lithuania on a par with theGrand Duchy of Finland within the Russian constitutional system.[2] Heated discussions continued on the means to achieve this transformation. Some argued for armed resistance, but were reminded that the previous uprisings in1831 and1863 had failed. Others suggestedpeaceful and passive resistance: refusing to pay taxes,boycotting products from monopolistic companies (mostly those selling alcoholic beverages), not allowing children to attend Russian schools, evading drafts into theImperial Russian army, and organizing factory worker strikes.[4] The delegates, who were mostly small farmers, also discussed land reform, demanding that all land would be confiscated from large landlords and distributed to those who actually cultivated it.[3] However, no conclusions in that area were reached as there was a perception that any resolution on land reform would encourage the peasants to rise against their landlords as it was happening in other parts of the Russian Empire.[10]
At the end of the second day, the Seimas adopted a four-paragraph resolution.[8] The first paragraph declared that the Tsarist government was Lithuania's most dangerous enemy. The second paragraph demanded autonomy; the third outlined the means towards this goal that were deemed acceptable. The resistance was to be peaceful and passive. The fourth and final paragraph demanded that children be taught in their native language by teachers chosen by the people.[8] The Seimas, unlike the 1917Vilnius Conference, did not attempt to elect an institution that could carry out these resolutions and act as a Lithuanian government.[5] After the Seimas, rural areas were left on their own without central guidance. After the resolution was adopted by the Seimas, near midnight, Jonas Basanavičius read aloud his proposal to include an attachment condemning Polish ecclesiastical authorities forPolonization via the suppression of the use of the Lithuanian language in theVilnius diocese's churches.[8] The church matters had not been discussed during the sessions, but the majority agreed to the proposal by a show of hands. Because the attachment was not fully discussed, Social Democrats did not consider it officially adopted.[10]
During the night from December 5 to December 6, Petras Vileišis printed 36,000 copies of the resolution for distribution.[10] After the assembly, notorious for its loud, lengthy and intense debates, the delegates returned to their communities and started to carry out its resolutions. The old Russian administrations were replaced in 125 out of the 280 volosts (82 in Kaunas, 33 in Suvalkai, and 10 in Vilnius Governorates).[6] These communities elected their own representatives, organized their own schools where classes were taught in the Lithuanian language, andstopped paying taxes.[14] While the first Russian responses were disorganized and confused, the authorities soon marshaled their armed forces and returned the situation back to normal. The process was relatively peaceful; there were only a few clashes between armed groups of peasants and Tsarist military forces. Unlike in neighboringLatvia orEstonia, peasants did not rise against their landlords.[1] A number of the most prominent activists of this movement were arrested and sent toSiberia.[15]
TheLithuanian Democratic Party andErnestas Galvanauskas used the Seimas as an opportunity to organize thePeasant Union, which largely represented the interests of large and mid-size farmers.[5] The Union helped spread the influence of the Seimas into the countryside.[10] A few days after the Seimas, Jonas Basanavičius founded the Lithuanian National Democratic Party (Lithuanian:Tautiškoji lietuvių demokratų partija), the first nationalistic party in Lithuania.[16]
The plan for autonomy was not accomplished at this time, but the Seimas was an important development in the Lithuanian bid for independence. It consolidated efforts, spearheaded the organization of political parties, strengthened national conscience, and energized the rural populace. The assembly resolutely rejected ideas to restore the oldGrand Duchy of Lithuania and for the first time voiced the demands for autonomy. Many of the political and religious rights that were granted by theOctober Manifesto were retained. A number of agricultural, educational, scientific, literary and artistic societies emerged.[2]
 | History |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elderships | |||
| Government | |||
| Transport | |||
| Education | |||
| Landmarks | |||
 |
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
.svg) |
| ||
 |
| ||