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89-665: The Lithuanian press ban was enacted in 1864 to facilitate the Russification after the failed Uprising of 1863 . Lithuanian texts in the traditional Latin alphabet were strictly forbidden, while Lithuanian texts in the Cyrillic alphabet were encouraged and sponsored by the Tsarist government . Lithuanians starter publishing Lithuanian texts in East Prussia and smuggling the publications into Lithuania. The villagers of Garšviai learned about

178-411: A blind eye to the book smuggling activities. On 16 February [ O.S. 4 February] 1894, Bielinis, Bružas, and Ūdra transported two cartloads worth of Lithuanian publications. Near Raseiniai , about 55 kilometres (34 mi) from the border, they were stopped by a constable. They lost three horses, two carts, and more than 4,000 Lithuanian publications. According to the official report by

267-413: A booklet on dream interpretation . The police was more lenient and tolerant of non-political texts, i.e. religious, agricultural, educational texts and fiction works. Other texts, including all periodicals, were often deemed to be anti-Tsarit and could subject people to harsh prison sentences and exile. In 1894, Justinas Kulikauskas purchased a small hand-operated printing press via Martynas Jankus so that

356-514: A committee to work on publishing Lithuanian books in Cyrillic. The committee had four members: the Polish librarian Stanisław Mikucki from Warsaw , Russian Jonas Kerčinskis , a Lithuanian Catholic priest who had converted to Eastern Orthodoxy , Antanas Petkevičius , and the well-known Lithuanian educator and publisher Laurynas Ivinskis . Ivinskis soon withdrew from the committee. The first such book

445-704: A failure of bank where he held his savings, resulted in Paukštys' bankruptcy. In November 1897, Vienybė lietuvninkų was sold to Paukštys' relatives, but the new editor Petras Mikolainis  [ lt ] continued its secular and nationalist ideology. After the Lattimer massacre of mine workers in September 1897, socialist ideas became more popular and Mikolainis, in collaboration with Jonas Šliūpas , published numerous socialist articles in Vienybė lietuvninkų . In January 1901,

534-458: A full ban on all publications and demanding that censorship committees enforce it without hesitation. A week later the order was extended to the entire Empire by Pyotr Valuev , Minister of the Interior. In 1866, the ban was further extended to include all academic books. Despite its strict and widespread enforcement, none of the ban's supporting measures were ever actually codified into law. The ban

623-445: A higher proportion of older people than younger had received formal education: of persons age 30 to 39, 61.87% had experienced some level of formal education, compared to only 54.68% of persons aged 10 to 19. After the ban was lifted, printing presses and their supporting social and cultural infrastructure needed to be established. The first issue of a Lithuanian newspaper after the ban, Vilniaus žinios , appeared on 23 December 1904;

712-495: A larger transport. The publications were then distributed to various local smugglers and resellers. Some of them would arrive to Garšviai, while members of the society would deliver packets to others. They covered an area in central Lithuania approximately between Žeimelis , Krakės , Kavarskas , Užpaliai , and Nemunėlio Radviliškis , though some publications reached Kaunas , Mitau ( Jelgava ), Riga , Hrodna , Saint Petersburg , Moscow , even United States. The society marked up

801-640: A much simplified logo that retained only the coat of arms of Lithuania and remained unchanged for about ten years. In mid-1910s, the newspaper adopted a new logo that returned the handshake, but this time with a rising sun over the East River . In 1899, the newspaper adopted letters č and š instead of Polish cz and sz, particularly for serialized texts, but it took until 1904 to fully adopt this new orthography . The newspaper published news from Lithuania (both republished from other newspapers and original stories by its own correspondents), from United States, from around

890-428: A murderer and stopped Ūdra on the road. They found 30.5 rubles, two letters that discussed book smuggling, 166 religious images, and a book of Lithuanian songs. Ūdra was arrested and the case carefully investigated. He managed to warn Ladukas, but when the police searched Ūdra's home they found invoices for sold periodicals, Ūdra's notebook with names, addresses, and amounts owed, several books and religious images. Ladukas

979-559: A printing press at his palace , commissioned in 1904. During this period 4,734 Lithuanian-language titles in the Latin alphabet were published in Lithuania and abroad. After Lithuanian independence was established, the rate of publication increased steadily; 16,721 book titles were printed from 1918 to 1939. Between 1925 and 1939, about 800 to 900 book titles were printed annually. A standard Lithuanian orthography and grammar were established during

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1068-533: A small bank. They each invested $ 1,000 (equivalent to $ 33,911 in 2023) in hopes of a profit, but Pajaujis left within a few months. Initially, the newspaper advocated Catholic ideas and unity among Polish and Lithuanian immigrants in the historic tradition of the old Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (cf. Polish-Lithuanian identity ). It was a response to anti-clergy and anti-Polish Lietuviškasis balsas published by Jonas Šliūpas in New York. Vienybė lietuvninkų

1157-571: A socialist. The popularity of socialism increased with the Russian Revolution of 1905 . Širvydas became editor of Kova  [ lt ] , official newspaper of the newly established Lithuanian Socialist Party of America  [ lt ] , and was replaced by Juozas Baltrušaitis in April 1905. While Šliūpas, Širvydas, and Baltrušaitis were all socialists, there were disagreements on division of funds and on who should represent Lithuanians at

1246-750: A society that collected $ 5 (equivalent to $ 170 in 2023) per month from its members and paid for the contributions, firstly for those who lived in Lithuania. Milukas resigned as editor in August 1893 when he decided to complete his studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary . He was replaced by priest Juozas Petraitis. He published articles on the liberation of Lithuania from the Russian Empire , but avoided getting involved in political disagreements among Lithuanian Americans . He became ill and died in May 1895. The new editor Juozas Ališius-Ališauskas lasted only four months. He

1335-534: A thousand subscribers and up to 4,000 total readers. After a conflict with Paukštys, Bačkauskas resigned in April 1888 and established his own newspaper Saulė  [ lt ] in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania . Bačkauskas was replaced by Antanas Turskis. In August 1889, priest Aleksandras Burba  [ lt ] arrived to Plymouth to establish the Lithuanian parish of St. Casimir. Under his influence,

1424-478: A translation of a history of Europe by Edward Augustus Freeman , etc. Works of fictions were mostly collections of songs. Educational category was mostly various brochures by Petras Vileišis. The society also purchased unsold calendars, ripped off pages with dates, and used the remaining text as a bonus or a thank-you gift. Agricultural texts were mostly various supplements printed by Ūkininkas and brochures by Petras Vileišis. The society also purchased 765 copies of

1513-642: The Great Seimas of Vilnius , which took place in November 1905, was now able to issue its announcements and publications in Lithuanian. The publishing houses of Martynas Kukta , Saliamonas Banaitis , and the Society of Saint Casimir in Kaunas were responsible for many of the publications issued between the end of the ban in 1904 and the restoration of Lithuanian independence in 1918. The businessman Petras Vileišis installed

1602-647: The International Socialist Congress in Amsterdam . Such concerns overshadowed Lithuanian topics, such as the lifting of the Lithuanian press ban in April 1904. In May 1907, Širvydas returned as editor and relocated the newspaper from Plymouth, Pennsylvania to Brooklyn, New York . After the failure of the Russian Revolution of 1905 , the socialist moods subsided and Vienybė lietuvninkų returned to Lithuanian nationalism. It represented nationalism, or

1691-627: The Program of Restoration of Russian Beginnings ( Lithuanian : Rusų pradų atkūrimo programa ). Its stated goals were to: On 22 May 1864, Tsar Alexander II approved this program. A few days later Muravyov issued an administrative order that forbade printing Lithuanian language textbooks written in the Latin alphabet. This order was developed into a comprehensive ban on 6 September 1865, by Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman , Muravyov's successor. Kaufman issued an order to six neighboring governorates declaring

1780-482: The Rietavas area; between 1853 and 1863, just before the ban, the number of literate persons rose from 11,296 to 24,330. The subsequent ban is thought to have contributed to illiteracy in 19th-century Lithuania. In the wake of the ruling, parish schools were closed. A shortage of teachers led to the closure of a number of state schools as well, in spite of population growth. Parents began to withdraw their children from

1869-846: The Vologda Governorate . Domarkas was confined to the Kretinga Monastery for six months while Trūsas received one year in prison. They then were prohibited from living in the Northwestern , Southwestern , or Privislinsky Krais and placed under police supervision for five years. Ūdra served his prison sentence at the Panevėžys Prison and was then exiled to Churapcha east of Yakutsk . He returned to Lithuania in 1902. He first lived in Suwałki and then returned to his native Garšviai where he collaborated with Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas , who at

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1958-476: The Catholic Church, the barriers that had earlier prevented commoners from entering the priesthood were eased. A closer relationship developed between the educated clergy, who were increasingly of ethnic Lithuanian stock, and their parishioners, including a sympathy with their wish to use the Lithuanian language. The emerging national movement sought to distance itself from both Polish and Russian influences, and

2047-514: The Cyrillic alphabet, and loyalty to the Latin alphabet was also a symbolic loyalty to Catholicism. Attempts were made to circumvent the ban by using Gothic script . However, that was also banned in 1872. A number of problems arose with the various Lithuanian-Cyrillic orthographies, which were all criticized as ill-adapted to the Lithuanian language. Within Russia, the ban was opposed by scholarly, liberal, and pro-democratic groups, which served to mitigate

2136-636: The Empire, largely in Lithuania Minor ( East Prussia ), and in the United States. Knygnešiai (Lithuanian book smugglers) smuggled illegal books and periodicals across the border. The number of such publications kept increasing despite strict sanctions and persecution of the activists. The ban created a well-defined and organized opposition to Russian rule and culture—the opposite of its original intent. The Lithuanian historian Edvardas Gudavičius has described

2225-583: The Garšviai village, but they defended Ūdra and claimed they knew nothing about any book smuggling ring. Kazanauskas, while chatting to his guard, admitted to book smuggling and about the existence of the Garšviai Book Smuggling Society. The case was transferred to the police district chief ( ispravnic ) in Panevėžys , but it (perhaps due to a bribe) lingered without further action for about a year. It

2314-488: The Latin alphabet with Cyrillic was first elaborated by the well-known Pan-Slavist Alexander Hilferding in his 1863 book Lithuania and Samogitia . The first experiments with the conversion of Lithuanian writings into Cyrillic were conducted by a Lithuanian linguist, Jonas Juška . He showed some samples of adapted texts to both Muravyov and Kornilov in February 1864. However, Juška discontinued his work and Kornilov formed

2403-591: The Lithuanian peasantry were distanced from the Polonized nobility and the Catholic Church , Lithuanians would naturally come under Russian cultural influence, as they had allegedly been during previous eras. The Russian politician Nikolai Miliutin wrote that "Russian letters will finish that which was begun with the Russian sword." On 13 May 1863, Tsar Alexander II of Russia appointed Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov as

2492-779: The Ministry of Justice and the Tsar. On 29 May [ O.S. 17 May] 1895, the Tsar confirmed the sentence of two years in prison and three years of exile to the Vologda Governorate . He served the time in the Kresty Prison . Russians long sought to enlist the help of the Prussian police in combating the book smuggling. Baron von Nolde, commander of the Russian border troops in Tauragė, asked Prussian police officer Witschel for help. On 18 April [ O.S. 6 April] 1895, Andrius Bielinis,

2581-425: The Russian government shifted its attention to eliminating the illegal publications. The Russian Ministry of Education issued a report in May 1898 recommending that the press ban be repealed. The report stated that the ban had produced adverse and unforeseen results, including the development of Lithuanian nationalism. Other Russian officials had opined that the interests of the Russian state would be better served by

2670-597: The attention of the Ministry of Justice as it was receiving alarming news about the increased number of anti-government texts being distributed in the Kovno Governorate and ordered to fully investigate and prosecute Bružas. His case was wrapped up in less than a month, and the police did not determine his ties to the Garšviai Society. Since he was accused of anti-government actions, his sentence needed to be confirmed by

2759-524: The ban as a test of the concept of Lithuania: had there been no resistance, the language would have become a historical footnote. The first book published in print in the Lithuanian language was Lutheran Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas in 1547. Other milestone publications included Daniel Klein 's Grammar in 1653, a publication of the Bible in 1735, and the first work of imaginative literature, Kristijonas Donelaitis ' Metai ( The Seasons ), in 1818. During

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2848-480: The ban was illegal. The outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904 contributed to the Russian government's perception that its minorities needed to be accommodated. The ban was officially lifted on 24 April 1904. Public and private education in Lithuanian was adversely affected by the press ban. The level of pent-up demand for schooling in the 19th century is illustrated by the increase in literacy in

2937-482: The ban's legal basis were made, and the use of this venue intensified at the end of the 19th century, along with an increasing number of letters, petitions, and protests from Lithuanians. In 1902 and 1903, the Russian Supreme Court reversed two press ban convictions that had been brought against Antanas Macijauskas and Povilas Višinskis . The court's decisions stated that the original executive decree creating

3026-688: The ban, despite the fact that the co-ordination of this process, involving competing dialects, was forced to take place in several countries. The ban is widely felt to have stimulated the Lithuanian national movement, rather than discouraging it. In 2004, the 100th anniversary of the ban's end was noted in UNESCO 's events calendar, and the Lithuanian Seimas declared the "Year of the Lithuanian Language and Book." Vienyb%C4%97 lietuvnink%C5%B3 Vienybė lietuvninkų (literally: Lithuanian Unity)

3115-747: The border, local peasants to carry the bags across the border, and then hire more carts to transport the books deeper into Lithuania. This transport system was frequently organized by Antanas Bružas who had a legal permit to cross the Prussia–Russia border. At one time, the society could smuggle about 15 bags of publications that cost some 400 rubles to purchase. According to memoirs of Sakalauskas, he transported two carts worth of publications almost monthly, but there are not enough surviving records to determine at least an approximate number of trips taken to Prussia. The society accepted subscriptions for Lithuanian periodicals and smuggled them regularly without waiting for

3204-467: The bundles to the police. The police investigated the incident and questioned Ūdra and Lalukas, but did not search Ūdra's house. The police learned about Bielinis, who could no longer live with Ūdra, but could not determine his last name. Six days after the bundles were turned in, the police intercepted a letter addressed to Ūdra in which he was asked to deliver eight issues of Varpas and Lithuanian books. On 18 July, six policemen searched Ūdra's home. Ūdra

3293-617: The change to Cyrillic. After the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century, significant portions of Lithuania and Poland were incorporated into the Russian Empire . The uprising of 1863, seeking to re-establish the Commonwealth, convinced many Russian politicians that Polish cultural and political influence was the main obstacle hindering the Russification of Lithuania. They believed that if

3382-473: The clergy as a "godless" publication, the newspaper suffered financial difficulties but the popularity of socialist ideas surged in the aftermath of the Lattimer massacre of mine workers in September 1897 and during the Russian Revolution of 1905 . After the failure of the revolution, the socialist moods subsided and Vienybė lietuvninkų returned to Lithuanian nationalism. The newspaper relocated to Brooklyn, New York , in May 1907. It represented nationalism, or

3471-532: The constable, he stopped the carts randomly and the three men ran away before he could clearly see their faces. According to an account published by the Vienybė lietuvninkų , the constable was alerted by a local noble. Bružas escaped, while Bielinis and Ūdra bribed the constable 70 rubles to let them go. A similar report was published in Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga – these reports were too open and obvious making it more difficult for book smugglers to bribe policemen in

3560-576: The future and helping the police to identify the three men in 1895. The police investigate the newspaper reports of a bribe and concluded that it was nothing more than a smear and revenge campaign against the constable. On 26 April [ O.S. 14 April] 1894, Nikodemas Škutas, a neighbor of Ūdra, accidentally found two bundles of Lithuanian publications. A veteran of the Imperial Russian Army , Škutas disapproved anti-government publications and, despite various pleas and threats, turned in

3649-545: The governor general of the Vilna Governorate . His duties included both suppression of the uprising, and implementation of the Russification policy. Because the situation was perceived as critical, Muravyov was temporarily granted extremely wide powers. Muravyov and Ivan Petrovich Kornilov , the newly appointed director of the Vilnius educational district, prepared a radical long-term Russification program that became known as

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3738-519: The illegal press around 1882 when they received some Lithuanian books through Jonas Venckavičius who then worked in Saint Petersburg . Ūdra headed Venckavičius' urging to help with the distribution of the illegal press and searched for contacts with existing book smugglers. He was visited by Jurgis Bielinis and they agreed to cooperate. They recruited others, including Juozas Neteckis, Vincas Kazanauskas, Juozas Sakalauskas, Jonas Račiūnas. Around 1885,

3827-399: The men contributed 200 rubles each to purchase larger quantities of books. Its bookkeeping was handled by Adomas Lalukas and members likely used a Polish brochure on how to organize and run a society. The society had about nine true members (those who contributed to its capital) and many collaborators who in one way or other helped to smuggle, hide, and distribute the publications or shelter

3916-424: The men did not cooperate with the investigation and tried to implicate only those who would not suffer police persecutions, e.g. Jurgis Dilkus who died a month earlier or Justinas Kulikauskas who had emigrated to the United States. The police did not locate Jurgis Bielinis and he avoided the trial. The others were tried for the possession and distribution of anti-government literature. The court in Vilnius suggested

4005-579: The minor nobility, especially in the Samogitian region. Several factors contributed to its subsequent revival: the language drew attention from scholars of the emerging science of comparative linguistics ; after the abolition of serfdom in the Russian Empire in 1861 , social mobility increased, and Lithuanian intellectuals arose from the ranks of the rural populace; and language became associated with identity in Lithuania, as elsewhere across Europe. Within

4094-526: The new editor. Milukas, a former student at the Sejny Priest Seminary , fled to United States to avoid the Tsarist police for violating the Lithuanian press ban . He was more steady and consistent editor, supporting both Catholic ideas and Lithuanian nationalism. He wanted to pay the newspaper contributors for their submissions to improve the quality and to attract more talent. To that end, he established

4183-679: The newspaper dropped its support of the Polish–Lithuanian union in favor of the Lithuanian National Revival . Turskis did not support this new ideology and was replaced by Juozas Andziulaitis-Kalnėnas  [ lt ] , the last editor of Aušra , in early 1890. Andziulaitis' views were much closer to Šliūpas' and the newspaper supported his Lithuanian Scientific Society established in 1889 in Baltimore . The newspaper also adopted more modern Lithuanian orthography and changed

4272-483: The newspaper hired new editor Jonas Mačys-Kėkštas  [ lt ] who published more of works of fiction and managed to increase the circulation. However, it did not change its political orientation – Lithuanian nationalism mixed with socialist and anti-Catholic ideas. After Mačys-Kėkštas death in December 1902, Mikolainis returned for less than a year. He was replaced by Juozas Otonas Širvydas  [ lt ] ,

4361-411: The newspaper suffered financial difficulties and was bought out by Širvydas. It changed publishing frequency to twice a month and was reorganized as Vienybė  [ lt ] , which continued to be published until 1985. Initially, the newspaper had only four particularly large (72 by 54 centimetres or 28 by 21 inches) pages. It was one of the first commercial Lithuanian newspapers – about 40% of

4450-413: The newspaper towards democratic and even socialist ideas, publishing articles on workers' movement and critique of Catholic priests. He also published articles on literary and academic topics, which were of little interest to the poorly educated readers. The number of subscribers decreased from about 900 to 200. Therefore, Andziulaitis was dismissed in May 1892. Burba invited Antanas Milukas to become

4539-508: The newspaper. Burba established Valtis and accused Paukštys of mishandling parish funds. At the same time, SLKA decided to establish purely Catholic Tėvynė  [ lt ] . Therefore, the newspaper lost its Catholic character and began publishing articles on more liberal topics, including on capitalist exploitation and on the elections in the United States . Burba and other priests attacked such "godless" publication. The shift turned away subscribers and advertisers and, combined with

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4628-484: The old Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . It was a response to anti-clergy and anti-Polish Lietuwiszkasis Balsas published by Jonas Šliūpas in New York. Under the influence of priest Aleksandras Burba  [ lt ] , the newspaper dropped its support of the Polish–Lithuanian union in favor of the Lithuanian National Revival and Lithuanian nationalism. Around 1896, the newspaper started shifting away from Catholicism towards liberalism and socialism . Attacked by

4717-539: The other of the United States ). Editor Andziulaitis-Kalnėnas reduced the format to 33 by 25 centimetres (13.0 in × 9.8 in) and increased the number of pages to 12. He added a plain cover page that could be easily discarded so that at the end of the year all the issues could be combined into a book. Therefore, only the first issue of the year had a proper front page. In 1893, the newspaper adopted an elaborate logo that combined Lithuanian, American, and Lithuanian American symbolism. In 1896, editor Kaunas adopted

4806-461: The police with a list of new names to investigate. The police questioned 24 people and determined additional members of the Garšviai Society – Jurgis Bielinis, Antanas Bružas, Kazys Domarkas, and Jonas Trūsas. The police was also able to determine the identities of the three men who were stopped near Raseiniai in February 1894. The police, however, did not find enough evidence against Juozas Ūdra and Kavoliūnas and their charges were dropped. In general,

4895-461: The police, the most popular books were religious prayer books (Jankus did not print much religious texts), historical and cultural texts, and fiction works. Religious texts were very popular and in high demand and the society could charge a larger mark up. Historical and cultural texts included works of Jonas Basanavičius , Konstancja Skirmuntt , Maironis , Petras Vileišis , a history by Simonas Daukantas that Bielinis finished and published in 1897,

4984-657: The police. Juozas Sakalauskas visited Garšviai in spring 1896. The police, informed by neighbor Škutas, arrived to investigate. Sakalauskas escaped, but his horses led the police to his home in Viduklė . He was arrested and sentenced to three years of exile in Mogilev . He returned to Lithuania in 1899 and continued book smuggling – even after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted in 1904, he continued to traffic in anti-government revolutionary texts. Lithuanian press ban The Lithuanian press ban ( Lithuanian : spaudos draudimas )

5073-492: The presence of a legal Lithuanian press that could be censored. During the years of the ban, 3,047 people (829 smugglers , 859 distributors, and 1,359 persons possessing banned books) were arrested in connection with the ban. Anti-Russian sentiment and distrust of the tsarist authorities had arisen after the 1863 revolt. The ban was also perceived as a threat to the Catholic Church; the Eastern Orthodox Church used

5162-725: The publication of about 2,500 book titles in the Lithuanian Latin alphabet. The majority of these were published in Tilsit , a city in East Prussia , although some publications reached Lithuania from the United States . A largely standardized written version of the language was achieved by the turn of the twentieth century, based on historical and Aukštaitijan (highland) usages; the letters č and š were taken from Czech orthography. The widely accepted Lithuanian Grammar , by Jonas Jablonskis , appeared in 1901. A number of challenges to

5251-523: The publications. Since there was no direct evidence, the men were released. Tilsit publishers and traders became scandalized and sued Witschel for lost profits who served nine months in prison. The Russian police investigated Bielinis. They spent a lot of effort tracking down Teodoras Nekrašas whose identity papers Bielinis used in Prussia and searched Bielinis' birthplace in Purviškiai I  [ lt ] , but

5340-484: The punishments. The organized resistance to the ban, both legal and illegal, was largely initiated by bishop Motiejus Valančius , who petitioned the government to exempt prayer books from the ban. He then moved towards sponsoring the illegal flow of books from outside Lithuania . The period from Valančius's death in 1875 to 1883 saw the establishment of the Lithuanian-language newspaper Auszra (The Dawn), and

5429-446: The resistance at this time is associated with bishop Antanas Baranauskas . The resistance intensified towards the end of the 19th century, after another major newspaper, Varpas (The Bell), edited by Vincas Kudirka , was established in 1889. Between 1891 and 1893, 31,718 publications were confiscated and destroyed; between 1900 and 1902 this number increased to 56,182, reflecting their increased flow. The period from 1890 to 1904 saw

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5518-588: The sentences which were lengthened by the Ministry of Justice and the Tsar in October 1896. Ūdra was sentenced to two years in prison and five years of exile in east Siberia. Bružas received additional two years of exile. They faced additional sentences for the publications confiscated near Raseiniai in February 1894, but the police decided to drop the matter in October 1897. They already faced the strictest sentences given to Lithuanian book smugglers. Kazanauskas and Labukas received two years in prison and five years of exile in

5607-500: The setbacks of the Russo-Japanese War in early 1904 brought about a loosened Russian policy towards minorities. Under the ban, it was illegal to print, import, distribute, or possess any publications in the Latin alphabet. Tsarist authorities hoped that this measure, part of a larger Russification plan, would decrease Polish influence on Lithuanians and would return them to what were considered their ancient historical ties with Russia. However, Lithuanians organized printing outside

5696-457: The smuggled publications by about 50%, though prices varied based on publication and number of resellers. Many of the sales were made on account with promises to repay the full balance later while the society suffered losses due to police activities (bribes to policemen and loss of confiscated property). Overall, book smuggling was not a very profitable activity and Ūdra was known to have personal debts while other members became beggars. Occasionally,

5785-498: The smugglers. In total, historian Antanas Tyla registered 54 people as members or collaborators. The society was likely led by Bielinis (nicknamed Minister) with Ūdra as his right-hand man. The society had several caches of publications in nearby villages. The largest was at the farm of Jurgis Dilkus in Baibokai  [ lt ] . It also contained records of the society, but they were destroyed after arrests started in 1895. The society

5874-528: The society also received financial donations or earned money from other activities (e.g. escorting emigrants to the Prussian boarder). The most popular periodicals were Ūkininkas and Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga , though it also distributed Vienybė lietuvninkų published for Lithuanian Americans and Lietuwißka Ceitunga for Prussian Lithuanians . In total, the society distributed about 17 different Lithuanian periodicals. Based on surviving invoices by Martynas Jankus and lists of confiscated books by

5963-539: The society could print its own proclamations. It was brought to Garšviai, but police searches and arrests did not allow to operate it. Bielinis took the press to Gripkeliai  [ lt ] where he published a single issue of his newspaper Baltasis erelis (The White Eagle). For almost a decade, the society had no serious trouble with the police. Just Bielinis was caught and beaten by Prussian boarder patrols around 1891. Local police constable in Naujamiestis turned

6052-488: The space was devoted to advertising. As a supporter of the union with Poland, the newspaper used Polish alphabet and Lithuanian texts were full of Polonisms. Under editor Turskis, newspaper's logo featured a handshake under a cross – a clear symbol of Polish–Lithuanian unity in the Catholic faith. The logo was replaced to show the handshake above the historical coat of arms of Lithuania surrounded by two flags (one unknown and

6141-538: The spelling of its name from Wienibe Lietuwniku to Vienybe Lietuvniku . The shift also caused a split within SLA – Paukštys decided to leave SLA and establish the Lithuanian Catholic Alliance of America ( Lithuanian : Susivienijimas lietuvių katalikų Amerikoje or SLKA) in 1890. Vienybė lietuvninkų became the official newspaper of SLKA, while SLA adopted Saulė published by Bačkauskas. Andziulaitis steered

6230-418: The state schools, since they were associated with the policy of Russification; students were not allowed to speak Lithuanian among themselves, and a discouraging atmosphere was created by the system of searches, inspections, and spying. Many students were schooled at home or in small secret groups instead, although this practice also resulted in sanctions. A census of the Kovno Governorate in 1897 showed that

6319-494: The third middle road between two main political camps – conservative clergy and liberal socialists. In the last eight years, the editors changed particularly frequently. The newspaper supported the Lithuanian National League of America ( Lithuanian : Amerikos lietuvių tautinė sandara ) and, during World War I, continuously urged donations to its relief fund aiming to support war-torn Lithuania. Around 1918–1919,

6408-508: The third middle road between two main political camps – conservative clergy and liberal socialists. It continued to be published until January 1921 when it was reorganized into Vienybė  [ lt ] , which continued to be published until 1985. The first issue was published on 10 February 1886 in Plymouth, Pennsylvania by two Lithuanian businessmen Juozas Paukštys, owner of several grocery stores, and Antanas Pajaujis, owner of an inn and

6497-492: The time served as a priest in Vadaktėliai  [ lt ] and Sidabravas and edited Tėvynės sargas . Bružas was exiled to Olyokminsk . He briefly returned to Lithuania in 1902 and later lived in Russia. Kazanauskas and Labukas served their prison sentences in the Kresty Prison . Kazanauksas was exiled to Solvychegodsk and Arkhangelsk . Upon his return to Lithuania, he illegally tutored children in Lithuanian. Labukas

6586-405: The use of the Lithuanian language was seen as an important aspect of this movement. According to the bibliographer Vaclovas Biržiška , between 1800 and 1864, when the press ban was enacted, 926 book titles were published in the Lithuanian language using its Latin alphabet. The orthography of the language was not standardized; this problem was used by the Russian authorities as a rationale for

6675-664: The world (mostly Europe), and from Lithuanian Americans (including reports on Lithuanian parishes and societies). It also published works of fiction and more academic texts. Literary works included dramas by Aleksandras Fromas-Gužutis , poetry by Pranas Vaičaitis , the translated poem Grażyna by Adam Mickiewicz , short story by Maria Rodziewiczówna , and the play William Tell by Friedrich Schiller . More academic texts included history of Lithuania by Simonas Daukantas and Culture and Press by Emil Löbl . These large serialized texts were often later published as separate books. The newspaper helped organize protests in response to

6764-638: The years of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , which lasted from 1569 to 1781, the Polish language gained ground as the written lingua franca of greater Lithuania, although the Prussian areas of Lithuania Minor continued to issue publications in Lithuanian. At the beginning of the 19th century, use of the Lithuanian language was largely limited to Lithuanian rural areas, apart from its use in Prussia; it was, however, retained by some members of

6853-495: The younger brother of Jurgis Bielinis, was stopped by Witschel in Tilsit (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast ) after he bought 2,754 publications and hired a local to transport them to the Prussia–Russia border. Bielinis with the purchased books was transported to Plikiškė  [ lt ] at the border, handed over to the Russian police, and detained in Tauragė. The next day, Witschel handed over three other Lithuanian men, but without

6942-412: Was a Lithuanian-language weekly newspapers published in the United States from February 1886 to January 1921. Established by two Lithuanian American businessmen in Plymouth, Pennsylvania , the newspaper changed its editors and political orientation frequently. Initially, it was a conservative pro-Catholic newspaper that supported unity among Polish and Lithuanian immigrants in the historic tradition of

7031-566: Was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet in force from 1865 to 1904 within the Russian Empire , which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-language publications that used Cyrillic were allowed and even encouraged. The concept arose after the failed January Uprising of 1863, taking the form of an administrative order in 1864, and was not lifted until 24 April 1904. The Russian courts reversed two convictions in press ban cases in 1902 and 1903, and

7120-492: Was a primer intended for use in the new Russian schools that were replacing the Lithuanian parish schools. It appeared during the summer of 1864. The committee also published a prayer book , a calendar, and other religious literature. About 55 Lithuanian-Cyrillic titles were published during the 40 years of the ban; about half of these were published during its first decade. Seeing that the Lithuanian people were unwilling to accept these books, even when they were offered for free,

7209-517: Was arrested. The police also searched the homes of Vincas Kavoliūnas and Juozas Ūdra, cousin and brother of Ūdra, respectively, but found only five religious books and one issue of Ūkininkas . The police found the earlier case against Ūdra which due to police negligence lingered with the police district chief ( ispravnic ) in Panevėžys for a year. The police combined the cases and launched an investigation against five men – Ūdra brothers, Ladukas, Kavoliūnas, and Kazanauskas. The notebook of Ūdra provided

7298-484: Was based in Ūdra's home where Bielinis and Ladukas lived for a few years. Bielinis, Ūdra, and others purchased publications mainly from the press of Otto von Mauderode  [ lt ] in Tilsit (his invoices did not survive) and much less from Martynas Jankus in Bitėnai (his invoices survived). They often walked to East Prussia on foot which took about two weeks. Then they needed to hire carts to transport books to

7387-451: Was dismissed after printing a complaint from Lithuanian workers in Boston who accused a Catholic priest of stealing their funds. He was also accused of inappropriate behavior (shouting at press workers and abusing alcohol). He was replaced by Jonas Kaunas  [ lt ] in November 1895. He was not particularly religious and pushed out Burba, who continued to have significant influence on

7476-443: Was enforced based solely on administrative orders and the tsar's approval. When the special temporary powers of the governor general were revoked in 1871, these administrative orders lost any legal value. From that point on the ban had no legal basis, but it was still strictly enforced. At first the Russian authorities encouraged and sponsored the publication of Lithuanian-language works in the Cyrillic alphabet. The idea of replacing

7565-488: Was exiled to Yaransk and returned to Lithuania in 1900 where he worked as a tailor. Domarkas was sent to the Pskov Governorate . He returned to Lithuania in 1902 and lived in Židikai until his death. After these arrests, the society was liquidated though individual members continued book smuggling activities. Jurgis Bielinis successfully evaded capture and gained a reputation of a folk hero for his ability to outsmart

7654-434: Was not home at the time, but the police caught Vincas Kazanauskas who had a bag of 30 books and 34 periodicals. The search turned up 54 issues of Vienybė lietuvninkų , 407 issues of Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga , two letters by Ūdra's brother from United States in which he discussed the book smuggling, an illegal lottery ticket for an alarm clock, and other miscellaneous items. The next day, the police questioned eleven men of

7743-608: Was resumed only after Ūdra's arrest in June 1895. In November 1894, Antanas Bružas brought seven bundles of various publications to his home in Zaltriškiai  [ lt ] . An anonymous informant alerted the police which found the bundles with 1,735 publications. He was initially fined 9,45 rubles, but then the police found out that 959 of these publications were anti-Tsarists. Bružas was imprisoned in February 1895 in Tauragė . The case caught

7832-519: Was the official newspaper of the Lithuanian Alliance of America ( Lithuanian : Susivienijimas lietuvių Amerikoje or SLA). Its first editor was Domininkas Tomas Bačkauskas  [ lt ] , who previously worked as an assistant editor of Polish newspaper Ojczyzna in Buffalo, New York . Bačkauskas established a section of humor and satire that became very popular and the newspaper had about

7921-599: Was unable to establish his connections to the Garšviai Society. Since Bielinis carried a number of anti-government publications, including a booklet on the Kražiai massacre , he was sentenced to a year in prison and five years of exile in the Vologda Governorate. On 25 June [ O.S. 13 June] 1895, Ūdra traveled from Debeikiai via Anykščiai to Troškūnai to attend a parish festival of Anthony of Padua and meet other book smugglers. The police searched for

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