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Lithuania’s history begins in the Stone Age, when two different groups arrived, one from modern Poland and one from modern Denmark. In about 2000 BC, they were overrun in by a Balt people, ancestors of modern Lithuanians. Like Latvia to the north, Lithuania became part of the Amber Road and traded with Greece and Roman during the classical period.
In the late twelfth century, Christian Europe began to try to convert the region. In 1193, Pope Celestine III called for a crusade against the northern pagans, which resulted in the seizure of Livonia (today’s Estonia and Latvia) by German crusader knights and Danish troops. Lithuanian leader Mindaugas cleverly sought to avoid the crusaders by converting to Catholicism, but he was assassinated in 1263 by nobles who wished to remain pagan. Subsequent leaders continued to hold a united Lithuania, but could not always hold off the crusader orders that threatened to descend from Riga (in modern Latvia).
Finally, in search of the protection an alliance would afford, Grand Duke Jogaila married Crown Princess Jadwiga of Poland in 1386. Jogaila converted to Christianity and was named King of Poland in addition to Grand Duke of Lithuania, beginning an alliance that lasted 400 years. In the 1400s, Lithuania began a golden age of prosperity and expansion. Together with Poland, they stretched their reach east and south, creating an empire that included parts of modern Russia, Ukraine, and Slovakia.
With the outbreak of the Livonian War in 1558, Poland and Lithuania became embroiled in the fighting to their north, eventually gaining parts of modern Latvia. During the height of the conflict, the two countries decided to formalize their alliance with the 1569 Union of Lublin. Polish was eventually adopted as the official language, but as a Grand Duchy, Lithuania kept its own laws, army, and treasury.
Lithuania's territories and wealth did not go unnoticed by Russia. In 1772, the Commonwealth was weakened enough that Russia partitioned it. The Polish revolted in 1830; the Lithuanians were with them. In an attempt to divide and conquer, Russia cracked down on all aspects of Polish heritage in Lithuania—books could only be printed using the Cyrillic alphabet, speaking Polish was banned, and Catholic churches were closed and replaced with Russian Orthodox churches.
During World War II, Russia first used Vilnius, and then the rest of the country, to station troops against the advancing German line. With the German conquest of Poland and the arrival of 150,000 Russian soldiers in 1940, Lithuania became the front line between the two giant powers. Although briefly occupied by the Nazis, the country was reclaimed by the Russians shortly before peace was declared. Afterwards it was absorbed into the U.S.S.R. The Lithuanians immediately resisted. This resulted in a particularly oppressive retaliation—between 1944 and 1952, over 29,923 families were deported to Siberia.
On March 11, 1990, Lithuania declared itself an independent republic. The Soviets responded with an economic blockade, but gave in on Sept. 6, 1991. Lithuania joined the EU in 2004 and hopes to switch to the euro in 2013.