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111-754: At the time of the Emancipation reform of 1861 , there were no credit facilities available to landowners. The State Bank of the Russian Empire (predecessor of the Central Bank of Russia ) was founded in 1862 but did not deal in mortgages. A new law was passed in May 1872 which allowed the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire to approve new banks with less than 5 million rubles in capital. That greatly simplified approval procedures as new banks no longer needed approvals from

222-675: A revolving door and a white marble dual staircase. In the Lithuanian SSR , the building was used by the Gosbank (State Bank of the Soviet Union) and has served as the headquarters of the Bank of Lithuania since Lithuania's declaration of independence in 1990 . The bank offered loans to income-producing manor owners (about 70–80% of total loans) or property owners in cities. Long-term loans were paid not in cash, but in mortgage bonds which provided for

333-408: A construction boom which later resulted in a bust. From 1901 to 1907, the bank auctioned 659 urban properties but managed to sell only 452 and suffered 2 million rubles in losses. There were no restrictions of Catholic nobles or Jews on acquiring urban properties. In 1902, to reign in the perceived abuses, the government limited urban loans to 30% of outstanding loans. Despite the losses and regulations,

444-445: A fee. The third measure was that the serfs must pay the land-owner for their allocation of land in a series of redemption payments, which in turn, were used to compensate the landowners with bonds. The government would advance 75% of the total sum to the land-owner, and then the peasants would repay the government, plus interest, over forty-nine years. The government finally cancelled these redemption payments in 1907. The legal basis of

555-400: A few minutes for him to be overcome by the smoke. Julius tried to return into the burning building to save his father but was forced out by the smoke and fire. Smetona was found lying on the kitchen floor on the second floor of Julius' flat. He was not burned. Firefighters took Smetona outside and he was rushed to hospital by ambulance. He died before arriving. The official record said that

666-412: A fixed annual interest to their holders. Initially, that interest was 6%. Twice a year, the borrowers had to pay the interest to mortgage bondholders plus a 1% administrative fee to the bank. This fee was lowered several times and in the 1900s it was 0.25% for manor owners and 0.5% for city residents. The loans were provided for only up to 60% of the appraised value of the mortgaged real estate. The terms of

777-704: A handful who refused were prohibited from attending any other school. The students sent petitions to Pope Leo XIII and Ivan Delyanov , Minister of National Education . Smetona and two others, Jurgis Šlapelis  [ lt ] and Petras Vaiciuška , managed to secure an audience with Delyanov, who allowed the Lithuanians to pray in Latin and the expelled students to continue their education. Smetona did not return to Jelgava and finished up at Gymnasium No. 9 in Saint Petersburg . Upon graduation in 1897, Smetona entered

888-433: A history of Lithuania and on his memoirs. As Smetona was busy on his writing, he paid little attention to the fact that the heating system in his son's house needed repair and was becoming dangerous. On 28 October 1943, Smetona wrote: The night before yesterday coal fumes made me dizzy. I could not think clearly. Now I have completely recovered. On 9 January 1944, a fire broke out in the house. Smetona's son Julius noticed

999-914: A history of Lithuania by Maironis . After graduating in 1893, according to his family's wishes, he passed his entrance examinations for the Samogitian Diocesan Seminary in Kaunas . However, he felt no great calling for priesthood and enrolled at the Jelgava Gymnasium in Latvia . This was a cultural hub of the Lithuanian National Revival and attracted many future leaders in Lithuanian culture and politics, including Juozas Tūbelis and Vladas Mironas who later became Smetona's political companions. In particular, Lithuanian language and culture

1110-561: A local leader murdered a large number of uprising peasants in the village of Bezdna. When the incident was over, the official report counted 70 peasants dead and another 100 wounded. After further investigation, and trial of some members of the uprising, five peasants were found guilty of "agitation" and not uprising. That said, several different instances did take the form of an uprising. In Congress Poland and in northern Russia peasants became both free and landless (batraks), with only their labour to sell, while in other areas peasants became

1221-488: A local man led Smetona, his bodyguard and adjutant across the shallow Liepona stream. With Smetona already on the other side, his family managed to convince border guards to let them through at about 6 am. On the German side, Smetona was met by Heinz Gräfe  [ de ] , a Gestapo officer. Via Königsberg , the refugees were moved to a hunting lodge near the Święcajty  [ pl ] (Schwenzait) lake in

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1332-482: A quarter of the land, free. It was called pauper's allotment ( bednyatskiy nadel ). Many reform-minded peasants believed the manifesto's conditions were unacceptable: "In many localities the peasants refused to believe that the manifesto was genuine. There were troubles, and troops had to be called in to disperse the angry crowds." The land-owners and nobility were paid in government bonds, with their debts deducted. The bonds soon fell in value. The management skills of

1443-543: A third of it had to be invested in Russian government bonds or deposited with the State Bank of the Russian Empire. Investment income from Russian government bonds and 5% of annual profit were transferred to this reserve capital. From 1883, newly issued shares were required to be sold at a premium over the nominal face value to build up the reserve. The bank achieved the required reserve level (4.8 million rubles) in 1904. From 1899,

1554-469: Is better to abolish serfdom from above, than to wait for that time when it starts to abolish itself from below. I ask you to think about the best way to carry this out The liberal politicians who stood behind the 1861 manifesto— Nikolay Milyutin , Alexei Strol'man and Yakov Rostovtsev —also recognized that their country was one of a few remaining feudal states in Europe . The pitiful display by Russian forces in

1665-638: The Serpa Pinto , arriving in Rio de Janeiro on 14 February. He was met by local officials and Lithuanian emigrants, and had a meeting with Getúlio Vargas , the president of Brazil. Smetona departed Brazil on 26 February. On 9 or 10 March 1941, Smetona and his wife arrived in New York on the SS Argentina . He was greeted by about 30 American journalists and photographers as well as Lithuanian-American representatives. He

1776-723: The Church of St. Raphael the Archangel in Vilnius. From his very first days in Vilnius, Smetona became involved in the activities of various Lithuanian nationalist groups, and joined the Lithuanian Democratic Party , which he represented in the Great Seimas of Vilnius . He was later elected to its Presidium . In 1904 and 1907, he was on the staff of the Lithuanian newspaper, Vilniaus žinios (The Vilnius News). In 1905–1906, he edited

1887-454: The Crimean War left the government acutely aware of the empire's weaknesses. Eager to grow and develop industrial and therefore military and political strength, they introduced a number of economic reforms. It was optimistically hoped that after the abolition the mir would dissolve into individual peasant land owners and the beginnings of a market economy. Alexander II , unlike his father,

1998-560: The Klaipėda Revolt of January 1923, in the Memelland , which had been separated from Germany, he was made commissioner there on 20 February, but, due to disagreements with Prime Minister Ernestas Galvanauskas , he resigned from his post. In November 1923, authorities imprisoned Smetona for several days for publishing an article by Augustinas Voldemaras in Vairas . Between 1923 and 1927, he

2109-593: The Lithuanian Diplomatic Service , ambassadors and diplomats who continued to represent pre-occupation Lithuania . They hoped to establish a government-in-exile via the National Committee chaired by former prime minister Ernestas Galvanauskas . Smetona saw no need for such a committee and criticized the choice of Galvanauskas. The diplomats were not receptive to Smetona – he had no funds, authority or political influence. Nevertheless, Smetona signed

2220-691: The Lithuanian Society for the Relief of War Sufferers . In the summer of 1916, Antanas Smetona, together with other Lithuanians from Vilnius, presented a memorandum to the German Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front , in which they demanded the right of the Lithuanian nation to have an independent State. On 6 September 1917, he started printing the newspaper, Lietuvos Aidas (Lithuania's Echo), working as its publisher and its editor-in-chief. In

2331-576: The Masurian Lake District . On 17 August, Smetona received permission to relocate to Berlin, where he settled on the Rankestraße  [ de ] . There, he was carefully supervised and allowed to communicate only with Lithuanian representative, Kazys Škirpa . The Germans did not allow him to make any political moves so as not to upset the Soviet Union. It was clear that Smetona's presence

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2442-512: The Russian Revolution of 1905 , the bond price dropped to 68 rubles. After the revolution, the market recovered and in early 1913 Vilnius Land Bank had 146.5 million rubles worth of mortgage bonds outstanding. In 1913 they traded at an average of 86 rubles. According to banking regulations, the bank could lend not more than 10 times its capital. Therefore, as lending increased every year, new shares had to be issued almost annually. Up to 1902,

2553-663: The Scandinavian countries, soliciting loans for the cause of Lithuanian independence. On 4 April 1919, the State Council of Lithuania elected Smetona the first president of the Republic of Lithuania. On 19 April 1920, the Constituent Assembly elected Aleksandras Stulginskis President. Not re-elected to Seimas, from 1921 to 1924, he edited several periodicals, including Lietuvos balsas , Lietuviškas balsas and Vairas . After

2664-571: The State Council or the Tsar . However, Finance Minister Mikhail Reytern was afraid that a rapid expansion of the banking network could cause banks to fail. He prohibited the establishment of new banks in cities where one already existed and limited the number of banks to two per province. Therefore, entrepreneurs hurried to establish new banks in various regional centers. In total, eleven land banks were established in 1871–1873. Their initial combined equity

2775-407: The skhod ( sel'skii skhod ), appointed an elder ( starosta ) and a 'clerk' ( pisar ) to deal with any external issues. Although there were many regional differences and customs, peasants within a mir in central Russia shared land and resources. The strips were periodically redistributed within the villages to produce level economic conditions. The land however, was not owned by the mir ; the land

2886-425: The "well-to-do" serfs, along with previously free peoples, were able to purchase land as private property. While early in the reforms the creation of local government had not changed many things about Russian society, the rise in capitalism drastically affected not only the social structure of Russia, but the behaviors and activities of the self-government institutions. With new, capitalistic ideals, local government

2997-557: The 1934 devaluation of the U.S. dollar . In the post-war years, the bank raised its capital only twice, in 1925 and 1928, but continued to keep its annual dividend high at 8% to 13%. It continued to pay the annual dividend even during the Great Depression . However, its lending volume in 1930 was only 23% of pre-war lending. In 1935, the bank organized an auction for 160 urban properties and 447 rural properties encompassing approximately 400,000 hectares (990,000 acres) of land. In 1936, it

3108-663: The Evangelist . Bishop Edward F. Hoban officiated. Smetona was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland . His wife Sofija died in Cleveland on 28 December 1968. The couple were survived by their daughter, Marija Danutė Smetonaitė (1905–1992), son Julius Rimgaudas Smetona (1913–1974) and Julius' sons, Anthony Algirdas Smetona (1939–2012), Juozas Smetona (1940–1996) and Vytautas Julius Smetona (born 1955). In 1975, Smetona's remains were moved from Cleveland's Knollwood Cemetery mausoleum to

3219-566: The German government and actively repressed suspected communists. For example, in 1934, the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania approved an order to the counties commandants to "severely punish all those who insult the German Government in any way, as well as those who deliberately agitate against Lithuanian Jews; to suppress the activity of all those Jewish organizations which appear to be under Communist cover or succumb to Communist influence". "The Poles stole Lithuanian history, now

3330-714: The Lithuanian Learned Society, the Vilniaus aušra (The Dawn of Vilnius), and Rytas (The Morning) education societies, the Rūta Art Society and many other societies, and taught the Lithuanian language at Vilnius schools. In 1914, he started publishing Vairas (The Rudder), a new bi-weekly magazine. During the First World War , he was the first vice-chairman, and later chairman, of the Central Committee of

3441-402: The Russian government amongst individuals within the community. Due to the community's ownership of the land, as opposed to the individual's, an individual peasant could not sell his portion of the land to go work in a factory in the city. A peasant was required to pay off long-term loans received by the government. The money from these loans was given to the primary landowner. The land allotted to

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3552-474: The Russians are trying to steal it, we have to catch those thieves by the hand and show them in a real light to the entire world." — Antanas Smetona. Smetona was a leader of the 1926 coup d'état that deposed President Kazys Grinius . He once again became president on 19 December that year (two others briefly held the office during the coup, which began on 17 December, before Smetona was formally restored to

3663-569: The Soviet Union in 1990, it has taken the position that Merkys' takeover of the presidency was illegal and unconstitutional, since Smetona never formally resigned. Lithuania thus does not recognize Merkys or Paleckis as legitimate presidents, and contends that all subsequent actions leading up to the Soviet annexation were ipso facto void. "I do not want to bolshevize Lithuania with my own hands." — Antanas Smetona, about his motives to leave Lithuania when his request for military resistance against

3774-536: The Soviets was rejected as impossible. On the morning of 15 June, just after the government decided to accept the Soviet ultimatum, Smetona made hasty preparations to flee the country. He was accompanied by his wife, his son and daughter and their spouses and children, Kazys Musteikis , former minister of defense, and two presidential adjutants. Smetona departed Kaunas at about 3 pm that day. They stopped in Kybartai on

3885-402: The appraised real estate value. The outstanding loans grew from 5 million rubles in 1874 to 148.8 million in 1912. Correspondingly, mortgaged properties grew from 148 manors (approx. 192,700 dessiatins of land) in 1874 to 12,480 manors (approx. 4,135,200 dessiatins or approx. 45,000 km (17,000 sq mi)) in 1914. Already by 1895, 15% of all privately owned land in the Russian Empire

3996-424: The bank continued to lend to city residents and the outstanding loans amounted to 35.9 million and represented 2,891 properties in 1915. The mortgage bonds were a way for the bank to raise funds. The bonds, nominal value 100 rubles, were sold to the public by the borrower or the bank. The bank guaranteed redemption of the bonds with its capital and the mortgaged property. A market developed for these bonds. Initially,

4107-479: The bank foreclosed and sold a record 55 manors in auctions. The share of urban borrowers kept slowly increasing to about 30% of all loans but those were riskier loans. The share of loans to merchants, who were mostly Jewish, was particularly low – just 2.2% in 1889 when the average of other banks was 13.5%. A big jump in urban loans was seen in 1892 due to the agricultural crisis (from 8 million to 13.4 million). These loans helped industrialisation , but were blamed for

4218-672: The bank had a second special reserve to cover investment losses. Due to requirements of keeping capital invested (mostly stocks of railway companies and Russian government bonds), the bank suffered significant losses (10.4 million rubles) in 1900–1905. Vilnius Land Bank returned to its old headquarters in Vilnius, now part of the Second Polish Republic , in 1920 and continued to issue mortgages and mortgage bonds. The bond interest rates varied between 4.5%, 5%, 8% and 10%. The bonds were denominated both in Polish złoty and in U.S. dollars until

4329-449: The bank issued 33,700 additional shares (nominal value 250 rubles). The shares were first offered to existing shareholders who often bought majority of the new shares using their annual dividends. In 1896, Vilnius Land Bank had third largest capital among land banks after Moscow and Kharkiv banks. In 1898, Vilnius Land Bank had a profit of 1.6 million rubles, second largest after Moscow Land Bank (1.9 million). In 1912–1914, Vilnius Land Bank

4440-448: The board were Adam Alfred Plater (32 years; chairman in 1900–1908), Józef Montwiłł (27 years), Nikolay Zubov (26 years; chairman in 1872–1898), and Paweł Piotr Kończa (26 years; chairman in 1909/1910–1915). In addition to salary and dividends, board members received an annual bonus which averaged 11,881 rubles in 1892–1902. The number of employees grew from 45 in 1885 to 131 in 1915. They received annual salary increases and bonuses. Among

4551-459: The border with Nazi Germany. Smetona and Musteikis attempted to summon the 9th Infantry Regiment from Marijampolė to protect them and to offer at least symbolic resistance to the Red Army , but the regiment was stopped by a delegation sent from Kaunas to retrieve the president. Smetona decided to cross the border without delay, but Lithuanian border guards would not allow him to pass. Around midnight,

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4662-413: The change to the Russian economy post-reform was the huge growth in non-gentry private landownership. While the gentry land-holdings fell from 80% to 50%, the peasant holdings grew from 5% to 20%. Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona ( Lithuanian: [ɐnˈtǎːnɐs sʲmʲɛtoːˈnɐ] ; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician who served as

4773-493: The constitution. Before leaving the presidential palace , Smetona said: "I do not want to make Lithuania a bolshevik country with my own hands." He believed that by leaving the country, he would be in a position to do more for the country by leading a government in exile rather than become a Soviet puppet. He firstly fled to Germany with his family. Shortly afterwards, the Smetonas fled to Switzerland . A day after Smetona left

4884-408: The country, Merkys announced that he had deposed him and was now president himself. Two days later, Merkys was pressured into appointing the more pliant Justas Paleckis as prime minister and resigning. Paleckis then became acting president, and was used as a puppet to oversee the final stages of Lithuania's incorporation into the Soviet Union a month later. Since Lithuania declared independence from

4995-441: The design of its headquarters and received 17 submissions. The chosen design by architect Vikentijus Gorskis, who was also an employee of the bank, was for a two-floor building with a basement symmetrically designed in the neoclassical and neorenaissance style. The construction started in fall 1889 and was completed by spring 1891. The interior boasted a rich decor, which was restored to its original state in 1994–1997. The building

5106-404: The emancipation of the serfs on private estates and of the domestic (household) serfs. Serfs were granted the full rights of free citizens, gaining the rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own a business. The Manifesto also permitted peasants to buy the land from the landlords. Mir communities had the power to distribute the land given to newly freed serfs by

5217-457: The emancipation took place later, in 1864, and on much better terms for the nobles than in Russia. State-owned serfs (those living on and working Imperial lands) were emancipated in 1866. Just prior to 1861 Russia had three main categories of peasants: Only those who were owned privately were considered serfs . They comprised an estimated 38% of the population. As well as having obligations to

5328-449: The employees were several prominent Lithuanian politicians and activists, including Antanas Smetona , Mykolas Biržiška , and Jurgis Šaulys . In 1887, the bank purchased a plot of land along the St. George Avenue (present-day Gediminas Avenue ). It measured 702 square Russian fathoms (one Russian fathom is about 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in)). The bank held an architectural competition for

5439-512: The faculty of law of the University of Saint Petersburg . He was more interested in history and languages, but knew that as a Catholic his choices were limited to priest, lawyer, or doctor if he wanted to work in Lithuania. Saint Petersburg, with a direct railway connection to Lithuania, was becoming a Lithuanian cultural center. Smetona joined and chaired a secret Lithuanian student organization. He

5550-535: The fire was caused by an overheated furnace. Some believe, however, that due to Smetona's continued political activities, the fire was started by the Russian Intelligence Service (called the NKGB at the time). With no evidence turning up in the subsequent years to substantiate that claim, it is, however, doubtful. On 13 January, the funeral of President Smetona took place at Cleveland's Cathedral of St. John

5661-446: The fire while on the first floor. Above him, in the attic suite, Smetona and his wife Sofija spotted the smoke seeping in under the door. Sofija opened the door and she and Smetona began descending the stairs. Smetona, apparently decided that he could not go outside without a coat – he was recovering from the flu and was to give a talk in the coming weeks – and without saying anything to his wife, returned to get his fur coat. It took just

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5772-541: The first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 as a de facto dictator until the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940. Referred to as the "Leader of the Nation" during his presidency, Smetona is recognised as one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II , and a prominent ideologist of Lithuanian nationalism and the movement for national revival. Smetona

5883-769: The first issue of the newspaper, Smetona wrote that the most important goal of the Lithuanian nation was the re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian state. Between 18 and 22 September 1917, he participated in the Lithuanian Conference in Vilnius, and was elected chairman (1917–1919) of the Council of Lithuania (later Council of the State ). On 16 February 1918, Antanas Smetona signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania . Between December 1918 and March 1919, he lived primarily in Germany and

5994-606: The fourth class of gymnasium. In summer 1891, he attempted to gain admission to the Liepāja Gymnasium as his brother Motiejus worked in a factory in Liepāja . He was refused and instead applied to the Palanga Pro-Gymnasium, which had no age restrictions. Smetona was an exemplary student (one of the top two students) and received a tuition waiver. As a superintendent of a student dormitory, he also received free housing and

6105-451: The full rights of free citizens, including rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own a business. The Manifesto prescribed that peasants would be able to buy the land from the landlords. Household serfs were the least affected: they gained only their freedom and no land. The serfs were emancipated in 1861, a process which took place following a speech given by Tsar Alexander II on 30 March 1856. In Georgia ,

6216-420: The land-owners were generally poor. Some Mir's did not enter the land redemption process at all, remaining as temporarily obligated peasants under their former owners until an 1881 decree made redemption compulsory. In 1883, concerned by rising levels of tax arrears, the government made a 13% cut (varying by commune, as a national average) to payment rates to combat the problem. Despite newly acquired freedom,

6327-459: The life of a serf remained grim in many aspects. Household serfs benefited the least, gaining their freedom, but no land. Many bureaucrats believed that these reforms would bring about drastic changes that would only affect the "lower stories" of society, strengthening the autocracy. In reality, the reforms forced the monarch to coexist with an independent court, free press, and local governments—all operating differently and more freely than they had in

6438-450: The long-term loans varied over the years. Initially, the loans for manor owners were offered for 43.5, 48.67, or 54.5 years. More terms were added later, the longest being 66.17 years. The loan terms for city residents were shorter: initially up to 27.5 years and later up to 38.33 years. Most borrowers (more than 80% in 1912–1914) opted for the longest possible loans. Short-term loans, for one to three years, were available only for up to 10% of

6549-556: The loss of Memel that members of the Lithuanian political opposition were appointed to his cabinet to try recovering credibility and domestic stability. Smetona's government was cautious about industrialisation, as its support base lay in the dominant rural population. As dictator, Smetona did nothing to encourage direct foreign investment, which remained extremely limited throughout his time in office. Nonetheless, during Smetona's dictatorship, Lithuania did advance economically: industrial output – mainly directed to domestic demand – when he

6660-480: The majority land-owners in their province(s). The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto affected only the privately owned serfs. The state-owned serfs were emancipated in 1866 and were given better and larger plots of land. The reforms changed the Russian economy. The individuals who led the reform favored an economic system similar to that in other European countries, which promoted the ideas of capitalism and free trade. The reformers aimed to promote development and to encourage

6771-404: The majority shareholders. In 1905, Komar  [ ru ] family owned 403 shares, Plater family owned 714 shares, Protasewicz family owned 330. The bank was governed by a 5-member board elected for three years. The initial five members included four founders, namely Giuliani, Zubov, Wittgenstein, and Mikhailovsky. Up to 1915, about 20 people served on the board. The longest serving members of

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6882-507: The market price fluctuated between 81 and 93.25 rubles. Due to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) , the price dropped to 78 rubles. When prices rebounded and stabilized at 92–96 rubles, Russian government ordered to lower the interest rate to 5% in 1886. In 1895, the bonds traded at 99–102 rubles and the government lowered the interest to 4.5%. In 1900, among Russian land banks, only Moscow Land Bank had more outstanding mortgage bonds. During

6993-408: The nation. In 1938, a third constitution was enacted that retained the general authoritarian character of the 1928 document, and declared that political power in the state was "indivisible." The regime repeatedly arrested and imprisoned members of the already-banned Communist Party – as with almost all interwar European dictatorships, the claimed threat of Communism was the source of its legitimacy and

7104-439: The ownership of private property, free competition, entrepreneurship, and hired labor. This they hoped would bring about an economic system with minimal regulations and tariffs, thus a more "laissez-faire" economy. Soon after the reforms there was a substantial rise in the amount of production of grain for sale. Because of this there was also a rise in the number of hired laborers and in farm machinery. Furthermore, an indicator of

7215-488: The participants of anti-Jewish physical attacks or smashing of Jews windows (the culprits were punished with fines , imprisoned or even sent to hard labor prisons). Moreover, the Government of Lithuania also did not tolerate anti-Jewish attacks and severely punished their participants, especially activists. Consequently, Jews were widely sympathetic towards Smetona and his rule. However, his regime did not tolerate insults of

7326-406: The past. This new form of local government involved in each area an assembly called a zemstvo . In regards to new localized government, the reforms put in place a system where the landowners were now able to have more of a say within their newly formed "provinces". While this was not the direct intent of the reforms, it was evident that this significantly weakened the idea of the autocracy. Now,

7437-514: The peasants freedom but not any land. The tsar and his advisers, mindful of 1848 events in Western Europe, were opposed to creating a proletariat and the instability this could bring. But giving the peasants freedom and land seemed to leave the existing land-owners without the large and cheap labour-force they needed to maintain their estates and lifestyles. By 1859 however, a third of their estates and two-thirds of their serfs were mortgaged to

7548-462: The presidency). He designated Augustinas Voldemaras as prime minister. One year later, he dissolved parliament and on 15 May 1928, with the approval of the government, he promulgated a new constitution with more extensive presidential powers. In 1929, he removed Voldemaras and assumed dictatorial powers. He was re-elected president in 1931 and 1938, both times as the sole candidate. He remained in office until 15 June 1940. Smetona's constitution vested

7659-551: The president with both executive and legislative powers when the Seimas was not in session. The Seimas was not reconvened until the 1936 Lithuanian parliamentary election ; for the next decade, Smetona ruled by decree, without a parliament, making his regime on paper one of the most arbitrary in the world. Even when the Seimas was reconvened, it was composed entirely of Smetona's adherents; Smetona thus effectively retained all governing power in

7770-399: The recently freed serfs did not include the best land in the country, which remained in the hands of the nobility. The implementation of land settlement varied over the vast and diverse territory of the Russian Empire, but typically a peasant had rights to buy out about half of the land he cultivated for himself. If he could not afford to pay it off, he would receive a half of the half, i.e.,

7881-411: The reform was the Tsar 's Emancipation Manifesto of 3 March [ O.S. 19 February] 1861, accompanied by the set of legislative acts under the general name Regulations Concerning Peasants Leaving Serf Dependence ( Russian : Положения о крестьянах, выходящих из крепостной зависимости Polozheniya o krestyanakh, vykhodyashchikh iz krepostnoi zavisimosti ). This Manifesto proclaimed

7992-748: The regime executed the original leadership five days after coming to power. However, despite propaganda that Communists were a "non-Lithuanian force invading the country", they continued to operate underground with growing membership and it is known today that their leaders were ethnically Lithuanian. In 1935, Smetona suffered a blow when farmers in south-east Lithuania organised a strike and refused to sell their products. Reprisals led to five deaths and 456 farmers being arrested. This exacerbated long-standing tensions within his regime between hardliners arguing for more rigid authoritarian control over Lithuanian life, and moderates who wanted liberalisation. These difficulties, however, were already becoming overshadowed by

8103-671: The regime. Lithuania was occupied by the Soviets in 1940 as a consequence of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. After the USSR presented an ultimatum to Lithuania in June of that year, Smetona proposed armed resistance against the Soviets. but most of the government and army commanders believed that the country was not capable of effective resistance with Soviet troops stationed inside Lithuania . On 15 June, Smetona turned his presidential duties over to Prime Minister Antanas Merkys on an interim basis, according to

8214-414: The same landowners to pay their "labor payments", they often neglected their own fields. Over the next few years, the yields from the peasants' crops remained low, and soon famine struck a large portion of Russia. With little food, and finding themselves in a similar condition as when they were serfs, many peasants started to voice their disdain for the new social system. On one occasion, on 12 April 1861,

8325-612: The so-called Kybartai Act – a backdated document supposedly written in Kybartai before his exile. The Act dismissed Antanas Merkys and appointed Stasys Lozoraitis as both prime minister and acting president. This controversial document was never used in practice. Smetona departed Bern for Lisbon in January 1941. He stayed in Monte Estoril at the Pensão Zenith . He left for Brazil aboard

8436-497: The state or noble banks. This was why they had to accept the emancipation. To 'balance' this, the legislation contained three measures to reduce the potential economic self-sufficiency of the peasants. Firstly a transition period of two years was introduced, during which the peasant was obligated as before to the old land-owner. Secondly large parts of common land were passed to the major land-owners as otrezki ("cut off lands"), making many forests, roads and rivers accessible only for

8547-426: The state, they also were obliged to the landowner, who had great power over their lives. The rural population lived in households ( dvory , singular dvor ), gathered as villages ( derevni ; a derevnya with a church became a selo ), run by a mir ('commune', or obshchina in official terms). Imperial Russia had around 20 million dvory , forty percent of them containing six to ten people. The mir assembly,

8658-434: The struggling nobles, protecting local Polish landed nobility and attracting ire of Russian regulators. Russification policies called for a two-thirds land ownership by Russians and prohibited Catholic gentry and Jews from purchasing land. Therefore, there were very few land sales (as nobles could not repurchase the land later on) and auctioning foreclosed land was one of the few ways for Russians to acquire it. In 1905–1906,

8769-536: The threat of Nazi Germany. Smetona's regime was the first in Europe to put Nazis on trial: as early as 8 February 1934, action was taken against Nazis in the Memel region , which was autonomous within Lithuania. The Smetona regime trial of Ernst Neumann and Freiherr von Sass (July 1934 to March 1935) was the first attempt anywhere to bring Nazis to justice, and saw 76 Hitlerites imprisoned and four sentenced to death – though this

8880-602: The weekly Lietuvos ūkininkas (The Lithuanian Farmer). In 1907, Smetona and the Rev. Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas established a venture to print the newspaper Viltis (The Hope), and started publishing and circulating it. In Viltis , Smetona advocated national unity. He was also one of the incorporators of the Aušra (Dawn) company for the publishing of Lithuanian books, a member of the Lithuanian Mutual Aid Society of Vilnius ,

8991-1134: Was 13.5 million rubles. Vilnius Land Bank was approved on 9 August 1872 and began operations in December. It was founded by the same group of people who founded the Vilnius Private Commercial Bank. It was established by the largest landowners in the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Peter Wittgenstein, son of Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg , Nikolay Zubov  [ lt ] of Zubov family, Adam Alfred Plater ), Russian nobles ( Anatoly Baryatinsky  [ ru ] , Nikolai Levashov ), Russian politicians (Nicolas de Benardaky, Boris Obukhov  [ ru ] , Colonel Vladimir Giuliani (Владимир Юрьевич Джулиани), General Pyotr Pavlovich Durnovo ), bankers from Saint Petersburg ( Joseph Günzburg , Leon Rosenthal, I. Gonzaga-Pavlichinsky (И. Л. Гонзаго-Павличинский)), engineer Konstantin Mikhailovsky , and others. The founders raised 1.2 million rubles in capital (down from initial plans of 1.5 million). It

9102-599: Was able to support himself by providing private lessons. Three other future signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania attended the Pro-Gymnasium at the same time: Steponas Kairys , Jurgis Šaulys , and Kazimieras Steponas Šaulys . As Palanga was close to East Prussia , it was easier to obtain Lithuanian literature, which was banned by the Tsarist authorities . Smetona began reading Lithuanian periodicals and books, including

9213-867: Was allotted the territory of the Northwestern Krai and Pskov Governorate . It held monopolistic privileges in Vilnius , Kaunas , and Grodno Governorates until 1886 when St. Petersburg – Tula Land Bank was allowed to operate in these territories as well. In the Vitebsk , Minsk and Mogilev Governorates , the bank competed with the Moscow Land Bank. In the 1870s, the largest shareholders were business people from Saint Petersburg, including Vladimir Giuliani (665 shares or 14%) and Leon Rosenthal (600 shares or 12.5%), while local nobles Zubov and Plater only had 30 shares each. The ownership later shifted with local nobles becoming

9324-663: Was an assistant professor at the University of Lithuania – at first in the chair of art theory and history and later at the department of philosophy. He lectured on ethics, ancient philosophy and Lithuanian linguistics. In 1932, he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. at the Vytautas Magnus University . Smetona participated in the activity of the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union that had staged the Klaipėda Revolt, which gave him greater name-recognition. More than once, he

9435-535: Was born on 10 August [ O.S. 28 July] 1874 in the village of Užulėnis , Kovno Governorate , Russian Empire , to a family of farmers, Jonas Smetona and Julijona Kartanaitė – former serfs of the Taujėnai Manor , which belonged to the Radziwiłł family . Researcher Kazimieras Gasparavičius has traced Smetona's patrilineal ancestry to Laurentijus who was born around 1695 and lived near Raguva . Smetona

9546-464: Was commuted to life imprisonment. By 1938, however, Memel was becoming a difficult issue for a regime spending a quarter of its budget on defence and expensive army modernisation, and the Nazis were able to win 26 of 29 seats in elections. The following year, Smetona surrendered Memel to Hitler and declared a state of emergency – he never lost his distaste for Hitler and Nazism, having been so discredited by

9657-806: Was elected to its central board. Between 1924 and 1940, he was the vice-chairman of the board of the International Bank. Smetona was known for his tolerant stance towards Jews and his radical opponents nicknamed him as "Jewish King". Under Smetona's rule in Lithuania, not a single anti-Jewish law was passed and high-ranking Lithuanian officials, including ministers, did not publicly say anti-Jewish statements. Smetona considered Jews not as foreigners, but as Lithuanian citizens of foreign nationality and himself acted against antisemitic acts with his statements which were later followed by actions of governmental institutions (e.g. censorship). The Lithuanian courts, war commandants, Lithuanian Police Force severely punished

9768-737: Was escorted to The Pierre hotel, where an evening function with about 400 guests was held on 13 March. Since Smetona was a private individual in the United States, the gathering did not include any members of U.S. organizations. They lived temporarily at the Embassy of Lithuania in Washington, D.C. , but their relationship with representative Povilas Žadeikis was tense. Smetona then lived in Pittsburgh and Chicago before settling in Cleveland in May 1942 with his son's family. While in exile, he began work on

9879-566: Was imprisoned in Vyborg Castle , but managed to secure acquittal and graduate that spring. After his graduation from university in 1902, he moved to Vilnius and worked at the Vilnius Land Bank until 1915. He became an active participant in Lithuanian cultural life and, up until becoming president in December 1926, devoted substantial amounts of time and effort to the Lithuanian press. Two years later, he married Sofija Chodakauskaitė in

9990-521: Was in Russian due to the Lithuanian press ban . This was his dying father's request. His mother hoped that Smetona would become a priest. After graduation in 1889, Smetona wanted to continue his education, but gymnasiums admitted pupils only up to the age of 12 and he was already 15 years old. Therefore, he was forced to study privately in Ukmergė in order to catch up and be able to pass examinations to enter

10101-527: Was insufficient for Lithuanian needs and in summer 1900 Jonas Jablonskis set to work on his Lithuanian grammar. He was assisted by Avižonis, Žemaitė , and Smetona, though Smetona mostly edited works of Bishop Motiejus Valančius . The grammar was published in 1901 and became a fundamental work in establishing the standard Lithuanian language. In early 1902, the police began investigating a network of Lithuanian book smugglers and raided Smetona's room where they found several prohibited Lithuanian publications. He

10212-517: Was largely restored once Russia took over in 1815. Serfdom was abolished in governorates of Estonia in 1816, in Courland in 1817, and in Livonia in 1819. In 1797, Paul I of Russia decreed that corvee labor was limited to 3 days a week, and never on Sunday, but this law was not enforced. Beginning in 1801, Alexander I of Russia appointed a committee to study possible emancipation, but its only effect

10323-458: Was later succeeded by Steponas Kairys . He also joined a Lithuanian choir led by Česlovas Sasnauskas , organist at the Church of St. Catherine . Smetona was exposed to socialist ideas and even read Marx's Capital , but resolutely rejected them. He was expelled from the university, imprisoned for two weeks, and deported to Vilnius for participating in the February 1899 student protests . It

10434-539: Was low (just 0.8% or 434,000 rubles in 1890), but increased sharply during economic downturns. In the early 1890s, due to an agricultural crisis (caused by international trends as well as the Russian famine of 1891–92 ) and a tariff war with Germany, the default rate increased to 1.9 million rubles in 1895 and 2.9 million rubles or 3.8% in 1898. The defaults increased during the Russian Revolution of 1905 and were 4.1 million rubles in 1907. The bank offered many forms of relief to

10545-509: Was mortgaged to land banks and Vilnius Land Bank commanded a 4% share. The average manor size dropped showing that the loans were taken out by smaller nobles and, in some cases, well-to-do peasants. The bank was very conservative in its lending practices, often using very low valuations of mortgaged properties for which it faced criticism and pressure both from the shareholders and the clients. The average loan per dessiatin increased from 12.4 rubles in 1874 to 28.6 rubles in 1913. The default rate

10656-517: Was not desirable. On 4 September, Smetona officially petitioned the Embassy of the United States in Berlin for U.S. visas. The request was granted, but only on condition that while Smetona was in the U.S., he would not be considered the leader or representative of any state or government. It was a humiliating condition, but Smetona accepted it and left for Bern, Switzerland on 18 September. Musteikis stayed in Berlin. In Bern, Smetona met with members of

10767-532: Was not responsible for the rules and regulations dictating how the new market would operate. If there was a positive of this movement towards localized government, from the autocracy's point of view; it was (as Petr Valuev put it): the zemstvo would "provide activity for the considerable portion of the press as well as those malcontents who currently stir up trouble because they have nothing to do". The serfs of private estates received less land than they needed to survive, which led to civil unrest. The redemption tax

10878-723: Was openly promoted by the linguist, Jonas Jablonskis , teacher of Greek, with whom Smetona developed a close professional relationship. Jablonskis visited Smetona's native village collecting data on Lithuanian dialects. Smetona met his future wife, Sofija Chodakauskaitė , through Jablonskis who recommended him as tutor for her brother. In autumn 1896, the administration of the Jelgava Gymnasium forced Lithuanian students to recite their prayers in Russian while Latvian and German students were allowed to use their native languages. Smetona and other students refused and were expelled. Most later agreed to pray in Russian and were re-admitted, but

10989-454: Was overthrown by the Soviet invasion was twice what it had been before the coup that brought him to power, and the country's transport network had been greatly improved by the construction of railways from Šiauliai to Klaipėda and from Kaunas to the south and north-east. In contrast, Smetona was more generous in support for the agricultural sector, which at the time provided almost all of Lithuania's exports despite occasionally protesting against

11100-620: Was ranked the 8th largest private bank in Poland in terms of capital (6.3 million złoty); at the time, it had total assets of 114 million złoty. Aleksander Meysztowicz was chairman of the bank for most of the interwar period (1918–1926, 1932–1939). Emancipation reform of 1861 The emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia , also known as the Edict of Emancipation of Russia, ( Russian : Крестьянская реформа 1861 года , romanized :  Krestyanskaya reforma 1861 goda – "peasants' reform of 1861")

11211-404: Was shared with the Vilnius Private Commercial Bank, established in 1873. In 1910, the building was expanded by adding two avant-corps in the inner yard. At the same time, the building was connected with a newly built concert hall (present-day Lithuanian National Drama Theatre ) and a residential building creating a complex architectural assemble. In 1928, the vestibule was reconstructed to include

11322-424: Was so high that the serfs had to sell all the grain they produced to pay the tax, which left nothing for their survival. Landowners also suffered because many of them were deeply in debt, and the forced selling of their land left them struggling to maintain their lavish lifestyle. In many cases, the newly freed serfs were forced to "rent" their land from wealthy landowners. Furthermore, when the peasants had to work for

11433-459: Was the eighth of nine children. His parents were hardworking people who managed to double their inherited 5 hectares (12 acres). His father was literate and Smetona learned to read at home. Smetona's father died in 1885 when Smetona was only 11 years old and, despite financial difficulties, a year later Smetona – the only of his siblings – was sent to the primary school in Taujėnai where instruction

11544-466: Was the first and most important of the liberal reforms enacted during the reign of Emperor Alexander II of Russia . The reform effectively abolished serfdom throughout the Russian Empire . The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto proclaimed the emancipation of the serfs on private estates and of the domestic (household) serfs. By this edict more than 23 million people received their liberty. Serfs gained

11655-577: Was the first time Smetona visited the city, the historical capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and it left a deep impression on him. A month later, he was allowed to return to the university. In 1898, Smetona and his roommate, Vladas Sirutavičius  [ lt ] , using a mimeograph , printed about 100 copies of a brief Lithuanian grammar written by Petras Avižonis based on the German-language writings of Friedrich Kurschat . This grammar

11766-447: Was the legal property of the 100,000 or so landowners ( pomeshchiks , an equivalent of " landed gentry ") and the inhabitants, as serfs, were typically not allowed to leave the property where they were born. The peasants were duty-bound to make regular payments in labor and goods. It has been estimated that landowners took at least one third of income and production by the first half of the nineteenth century. The need for urgent reform

11877-520: Was the second largest, after the Bank Handlowy w Warszawie , among Polish banks in terms of capital. The annual dividend grew from 4.35% in 1873, 8% in 1874, and 14.0–14.9% in 1878–1885, to 16% in 1896–1900. The dividends dipped to 13.12% in 1904. The bank took great care to keep the dividend high and consistent, cutting bonuses for board members and even reducing bank's capital in a bad year. The capital grew to 10.6 million rubles in 1913–1914. This capital

11988-413: Was to prohibit the sale of serfs without their families. Beginning in 1825, Nicholas I of Russia expressed his desire for emancipation on many occasions, and even improved the lives of serfs on state properties, but did not change the condition of serfs on private estates. My intention is to abolish serfdom ... you can yourself understand that the present order of owning souls cannot remain unchanged. It

12099-405: Was used to provide short-term loans and any excess was required to be invested in Russian government bonds. The bank was also required to have a reserve capital which could be used to cover losses, guarantee 8% annual dividend, or timely payment of interest on mortgage bonds in case of a borrower's default. The reserve capital had to be at least a third (later half) of its stock capital and at least

12210-499: Was well understood in 19th-century Russia. Much support for it emanated from universities, authors and other intellectual circles. Various projects of emancipation reforms were prepared by Mikhail Speransky , Nikolay Mordvinov , and Pavel Kiselyov . However, conservative or reactionary nobility thwarted their efforts. In Western guberniyas serfdom was abolished early in the century. In Congress Poland , serfdom had been abolished before it became Russian (by Napoleon in 1807), but it

12321-446: Was willing to deal with this problem. Moving on from a petition from the Lithuanian provinces, a committee "for ameliorating the condition of the peasants" was founded and the principles of the abolition considered. The main point at issue was whether the serfs should remain dependent on the landlords, or whether they should be transformed into a class of independent communal proprietors. The land-owners initially pushed for granting

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