Tag Archives: Study in Lithuania

Lithuania, a republic on the Baltic Sea, in the Baltic States, a flat land rich in lakes with hills in the east and west. In the economy, industry leads the way, especially mechanical engineering, metal processing and electrical engineering. The majority Catholic population consists mainly of Lithuanians (83%) as well as Poles (6%) and Russians (5%). According to COUNTRYAAH, Lithuania is a nation in Northern Europe, the capital city of which is Vilnius. The latest population of Lithuania is 2,722,300. MYSTERYAROUND: Lists and descriptions of main religions and beliefs in Lithuania, including religion demographics and statistics on Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc.
Story: Around the beginning of the 9th century, the Baltic Lithuanians took possession of the area. In 1240 the Lithuanian principalities were united to form the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, whose ruler also acquired the Polish royal crown through marriage in 1386 (personal union with Poland; Christianization of Lithuania). From the 14th century, Lithuania formed a large empire to which large parts of Russia and the Ukraine belonged. In the Battle of Tannenberg (Masuria), the united Polish-Lithuanian army defeated the Teutonic Order in 1410. In 1569 Lithuania was united with Poland in the Realunion and in 1795 came with the 3rd Polish partition to Russia. In 1918 the independent Republic of Lithuania was established, which was annexed to the Soviet Union by military force in 1940. In 1991 Lithuania declared its independence. In 2004 it joined the European Union. 
In the presidential elections on December 22nd, 2002/5. 1. In 2003 Paksas was able to prevail surprisingly against Adamkus. Accusations made against Paksas that some employees were in contact with the Russian mafia and the Russian secret service sparked a serious domestic political crisis and were confirmed by a parliamentary committee of inquiry; the impeachment proceedings initiated against Paksas in December 2003 ultimately led to his dismissal on April 6, 2004. In the early presidential elections in June 2004, Adamkus was again able to standenforce (assumed office on July 12). In the parliamentary elections in October 2004, the left-wing populist Labor Party (DP), which was only founded in 2003 and led by the Russian-born entrepreneur Viktor Uspaskich (* 1959), emerged as the strongest force, but failed to gain a majority; in December 2004, a center-left government again led by Brazauskas was constituted. After the collapse of the coalition at the end of May 2006 (five members of the DP cabinet resigned as a result of investigations into the party in a financial scandal), the Brazauska government resigned; The Minister of Finance Zigmantas Balčytis (* 1953) was then acting head of government on June 1, 2006. On July 4th, 2006 the parliament elected Gediminas Kirkilas (* 1951, LSDP) as Prime Minister; he formed a minority government (in office since July 18, 2006). On July 15, 2008, Parliament decided to abolish compulsory military service.

Marked by a mood of protest against the established parties, the parliamentary elections on October 12 and 26, 2008 led to a further upswing of the populist parties. The LSDP, led by the previous head of government Kirkilas, fell back to fourth place with 11.7% of the vote. The winner of the election was the conservative TS-LKD (19.7%) of the former Prime Minister Kubilius, followed by the new Party of the People’s Resurrection (TPP), supported by stars of the entertainment industry, and the TT of President Paksas, who was ousted in 2004. Cubilius formed a center-right coalition with the TT and the Liberals and was sworn in as the new head of government on December 12, 2008. A referendum held at the same time as the elections, with which the continued operation of the Ignalina nuclear power plant beyond 2009, was to be enforced, failed because the turnout was too low. After moderate growth in 2008, Lithuania suffered a dramatic economic slump in early 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis. Unemployment soared to 14% in the middle of the year (2008: 5.6%). The government had to embark on an unpopular austerity course. Protests, some of which were violent, were directed in January 2009 against government spending cuts in the public sector. On May 17, 2009 she became the previous EU budget commissioner D. Grybauskaitė elected new President. It received 69% of the valid votes and thus prevailed in the first ballot. As an independent candidate, she was able to set herself apart from the major political parties.