The public debt ratio in 2016 fell to 40 % of GDP, to match with forty two.7 in 2015 (earlier than global finance crisis – 15 percent of GDP in 2008). The protection ministry is responsible for combat forces, search and rescue, and intelligence operations. The 5,000 border guards fall under the Interior Ministry’s supervision and are responsible for border protection, passport and customs duties, and share responsibility with the navy for smuggling and drug trafficking interdiction.

Although the blockade lasted for seventy four days, Lithuania did not renounce the declaration of independence. However, hundreds of Lithuanian families risking their lives also protected Jews from the Holocaust. Israel has recognized 893 Lithuanians (as of 1 January 2018) as Righteous Among the Nations for risking their lives to avoid wasting Jews in the course of the Holocaust. On 17 December 1926, a navy coup d’état occurred, ensuing in the alternative of the democratically elected authorities with a conservative authoritarian authorities led by Antanas Smetona.

Prehistory

Whereas, Respublika and Vakaro Zinios are tabloid magazines. English language magazine publications are translated into Lithuanian for local consumers. On October 1, 1932, the Department of Physical Education and Sports was based. The department supports Lithuanian athletics and promotes bodily education.

Lithuanian language

The other Baltic State countries are Estonia and Latvia. Lithuania was the last country in Europe to be transformed to Christianity.

Several famous Lithuania-associated architects are notable for their achievements in the subject of architecture. Vilnius is taken into account as a capital of the Eastern Europe Baroque. Vilnius Old Town that is filled with astonishing Baroque church buildings and different buildings is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a mix lithuania women of Classicism, Sentimentalism and Romanticism, the Lithuanian literature of the primary half of the nineteenth century is represented by Maironis, Antanas Baranauskas, Simonas Daukantas and Simonas Stanevičius. During the Tsarist annexation of Lithuania within the 19th century, the Lithuanian press ban was applied, which led to the formation of the Knygnešiai (Book smugglers) motion.

For centuries, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea had been inhabited by various Baltic tribes. In the 1230s, the Lithuanian lands had been united by Mindaugas and the Kingdom of Lithuania was created on 6 July 1253. During the 14th century, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the largest country in Europe; present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and components of Poland and Russia were the territories of the Grand Duchy. With the Lublin Union of 1569, Lithuania and Poland shaped a voluntary two-state private union, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth lasted more than two centuries, till neighbouring international locations systematically dismantled it from 1772 to 1795, with the Russian Empire annexing most of Lithuania’s territory.

Ethnic composition of Lithuania

Soviet troopers killed 14 folks and injured lots of. A giant part of the Lithuanian inhabitants participated in the January Events.

Unit No. 1 was closed in December 2004, as a condition of Lithuania’s entry into the European Union; Unit No. 2 was closed down on 31 December 2009. Proposals have been made to construct a new – Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania. However, a non-binding referendum held in October 2012 clouded the prospects for the Visaginas project, as 63% of voters said no to a brand new nuclear energy plant. Lithuanian Railways’ primary network consists of 1,762 km (1,095 mi) of 1,520 mm (four ft eleven.eight in) Russian gauge railway of which 122 km (seventy six mi) are electrified.

Kavli Prize laureate Virginijus Šikšnys is understood for his discoveries in CRISPR field – invention of CRISPR-Cas9. On common, greater than ninety five% of all foreign direct investment in Lithuania comes from European Union countries.

The Livonian Brothers have been defeated throughout it and their additional conquest of the Balts lands were stopped. The battle inspired rebellions among the Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, Oeselians, tribes previously conquered by the Sword-Brothers. Some thirty years’ price of conquests on the left bank of Daugava were misplaced.

As of 2019, the number of seats within the European Parliament allotted to Lithuania was eleven. Ordinary elections take place on a Sunday on the same day as in different EU countries.

Catholicism has been the principle faith since the official Christianisation of Lithuania in 1387. The Catholic Church was persecuted by the Russian Empire as part of the Russification policies and by the Soviet Union as part of the general anti-spiritual campaigns. During the Soviet period, some clergymen actively led the resistance against the Communist regime, as symbolised by the Hill of Crosses and exemplified by The Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania. There is now Compulsory Health Insurance for Lithuanian residents. There are 5 Territorial Health Insurance Funds, masking Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys.

Initially inhabited by fragmented Baltic tribes, in the 1230s the Lithuanian lands had been united by Mindaugas, who was crowned as King of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. After his assassination in 1263, pagan Lithuania was a goal of the Christian crusades of the Teutonic Knights and the Livonian Order.

The supporters of Sąjūdis joined motion’s groups all over Lithuania. On 23 August 1988 an enormous rally took place at the Vingis Park in Vilnius. The event, led by Sąjūdis, was a human chain spanning about 600 kilometres (370 mi) across the three Baltic capitals—Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn.