Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic

Lithuania, 1940–1990. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. During World War II, the previously independent Republic of Lithuania was occupied by the Red Army on 16 June 1940, in conformity with the terms of the 23 August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and established as a puppet state on 21 July. On 18 May 1989, the Lithuanian SSR declared itself to be a sovereign state, though still part of the USSR. On 11 March 1990, the Republic of Lithuania was re-established as an independent state, the first Soviet Republic to leave Moscow and leading other states to do so.

Seat of power: Vilnius

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

The exact number of crosses is unknown, but estimates put it at about 55,000 in 1990 and 100,000 in 2006.
It is a major site of Catholic pilgrimage in Lithuania.
Lithuania considered the Soviet occupation and annexation illegal and, like the other two Baltic States, claimed state continuity.
Between 1941 and 1944, the German invasion of the Soviet Union caused its de facto dissolution.

Picture

Hill of Crosses is a site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania.

Image: Pudelek (Marcin Szala), CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.