Tiesa (English:truth) was the official daily newspaper in theLithuanian SSR. Established in 1917, the newspaper soon became the official voice of theCommunist Party of Lithuania. After the Lithuanian victory in theLithuanian–Soviet War, the party and the newspaper were outlawed inLithuania. Thereafter, it was first printed in exile and later illegally inKaunas.Tiesa survived irregular publishing schedules, frequent relocations, staff changes, and other difficulties and, after theSoviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940, became the official daily of the new communist regime. At its peak, its circulation exceeded 300,000 copies. After thecollapse of the Soviet Union,Tiesa lost its official status and its circulation shrank. The publication was discontinued in 1994.
The first issue ofTiesa was published by theLithuanian section of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (bolsheviks) inPetrograd on April 12, 1917. In October 1917,Tiesa became the official newspaper of the Lithuanian section. From April to December 1918, it was published inMoscow. By December 12, 1918, 91 issues ofTiesa were published.[1]
In March–April 1919, five issues of the newspaper were published inVilnius, the proclaimed capital of the short-livedLithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. It was the official newspaper of theCommunist Party (Bolsheviks) of Lithuania and Belorussia. When Poland captured Vilnius during theVilna offensive,Tiesa evacuated and was printed with interruptions inRaseiniai,Kaunas,Königsberg,Bellshill andSmolensk as the official newspaper of theCommunist Party of Lithuania.[1] In March 1926, it settled more permanently in Kaunas, thetemporary capital of Lithuania. The communist party was outlawed in Lithuania, thereforeTiesa had to be printed illegally. There were 157 issues published in Kaunas.[1]
| Year | Circulation[2] |
|---|---|
| 1917 | 3,000 |
| 1927 | 1,500 |
| 1941 | 40,000 |
| 1955 | 200,000 |
| 1970 | 258,000 |
| 1980 | 276,000 |
| 1987 | 311,000 |
| 1990 | 241,000[1] |
| 1994 | 50,000[1] |
After theSoviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940,Tiesa was legalized and became a daily. It appeared first asLiaudies balsas (June 16–25) but soon recovered its historical name. It continued to be the official outlet of the Communist Party of Lithuania until theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The newspaper was reestablished in Moscow in February 1942. There, 85 issues were published until July 1944.[1] In August 1944, after the Soviet victory inVilnius offensive, the newspaper relocated to Vilnius. Once again, it became a daily. From August 1945, in addition to being the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Lithuania,Tiesa was also the official voice of the communist government, specifically theSupreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR and theCouncil of Ministers of the Lithuanian SSR.[1] It had permanent correspondents in Moscow and New York. In 1967,Tiesa received theOrder of the Red Banner of Labour.[2]
After the first freeparliamentary elections in February 1990, Lithuaniadeclared independence from the Soviet Union.Lietuvos aidas became the official newspaper of theSupreme Council – Reconstituent Seimas. The Communist Party of Lithuania reorganized itself into theDemocratic Labour Party of Lithuania (LDDP).Tiesa followed suit and became the newspaper of the LDDP. In 1992,Tiesa became a privately owned publication. On July 1, 1994, it was discontinued and replaced by dailyDiena (English:day). The last issue ofDiena was published in 1996.[1]
Tiesa was dedicated to communist ideology. It advocatedsocialist revolution and criticized other political parties.[3] It reported on the activities of the Communist Party of Lithuania and its organizations, and published their programs, resolutions, statements and manifestos.Tiesa also reported on world and Lithuanian news, analysing stories through a communist point of view. The newspaper also published stories on the life of workers, peasants and soldiers. Occasionally it also published fiction, mostly poems.[3]
The editors-in-chief were:[2]