Lithuania

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Lithuania is a country located in Eastern Europe between Latvia and Russia and bordering the Baltic Sea. Latvia is to the north, Belarus on the south and east, and Russia and Poland on the south and west.

Lithuania has a total area of 65,200 square kilometers — slightly larger than the state of West Virginia. The land is low and very fertile, and there are many navigable rivers and lakes. It is the largest of the Baltic states.

Lithuania is a republic, and the capital is Vilnius. The official name is Republic of Lithuania. Its former name was Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.

In the 14th century Lithuania was the largest state in Europe, having extended control over most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. It united with Poland in 1386 under a common ruler, formally uniting in 1569 as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After that commonwealth dissolved two centuries later, it was partitioned by surrounding countries. Being independent following World War I, it was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It was the first of the Soviet republics to declare independence from the USSR, on March 11, 1990, but its independence was not recognized by Moscow until September of 1991, following the attempted coup against the Gorbachev regime in Moscow on August 19, 1991.

The population of Lithuania is 3,555,179 (July 2009 est.). The largest ethnic group is Lithuanian (83.4 percent), followed by Polish (6.7 percent), Russian (6.3 percent), and other or unspecified (3.6 percent), as of the 2001 census. Languages spoken are Lithuanian (official), Russian, Polish and other (unspecified). Religions are Roman Catholic (79 percent), Russian Orthodox (4.1%), Protestant (including Lutheran and Evangelical Christian Baptist) (1.9 percent) and other. Lithuania is not Slavic or Germanic, but its culture has been influenced by Poland, Germany and Russia.

Of the Baltic countries, Lithuania has done the most trade with Russia, but is increasingly trading with the West, and belongs to the European Union, as do its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia. Its industries include agriculture, machinery, and amber jewelry.

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