Tauta (literally: nation) was a Lithuanian-language newspaper published by the Party of National Progress in Kaunas, Lithuania from 19 November 1919 to 5 November 1920. It was a four-page (occasionally two-page) newspaper published once or twice a week. In total, 65 issues appeared. [1]
It was organized and established by Vytautas Petrulis who was also the editor of the first nine issues published in 1919. In 1920, the editorial work was taken over by a commission, which included Liudas Noreika . From March 1920, or the 12th issue, it was edited by priest Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas who was invited by Antanas Smetona to move from Vilnius to Kaunas. [2] Tumas and Smetona had previously worked on Viltis (Hope), which formed the early outlines of the ideology of the Party of National Progress and later the Lithuanian Nationalist Union. [2] [3]
Tauta published articles on political, cultural, economic, social, and similar topics. Its contributors included Jonas Pranas Aleksa, Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė, Jonas Jablonskis, Martynas Yčas, Petras Klimas, Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, Pranas Mašiotas, Stasys Šilingas, Juozas Tūbelis, Augustinas Voldemaras. [1]
In April 1921, Tauta was replaced by Lietuvos balsas (Voice of Lithuania), edited by Antanas Smetona. [1] As he was particularly critical of the government, the publications were closed one after another by the government censors. [4] Using a loophole in the law, they would establish a new publication under a slightly different name. Thus Lietuvos balsas turned into Lietuvių balsas (Voice of the Lithuanians; November–December 1921) which became Tautos balsas (Voice of the Nation), Tėvynės balsas (Voice of the Fatherland), and eventually Krašto balsas (Voice of the Country; October 1922 – June 1923). In September 1923, they briefly revived the pre-war Vairas (Helm). [5]
Antanas Smetona was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician who served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1926 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 ideologists of Lithuanian nationalism and the movement for national revival.
Vladas Mironas was a Lithuanian Catholic priest and politician. He was one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania and served as the Prime Minister of Lithuania from March 1938 to March 1939.
Saliamonas Banaitis was a Lithuanian printer, politician, and businessman. He was one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania in 1918.
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Juozas Tumas also known by the pen name Vaižgantas was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and an activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. He was a prolific writer, editor of nine periodicals, university professor, and member of numerous societies and organizations. His most notable works of fiction include the novel Pragiedruliai and the narrative Dėdės ir dėdienės about the ordinary village folk.
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Tiesa was the official daily newspaper in the Lithuanian SSR. Established in 1917, the newspaper soon became the official voice of the Communist Party of Lithuania. After the Lithuanian victory in the Lithuanian–Soviet War, the party and the newspaper were outlawed in Lithuania. Thereafter, it was first printed in exile and later illegally in Kaunas. Tiesa survived irregular publishing schedules, frequent relocations, staff changes, and other difficulties and, after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940, became the official daily of the new communist regime. At its peak, its circulation exceeded 300,000 copies. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tiesa lost its official status and its circulation shrunk. The publication was discontinued in 1994.
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Lietuvos ūkininkas was a weekly Lithuanian-language newspaper published between 1905 and 1940. It was published by and reflected the political views of the Lithuanian Democratic Party, Peasant Union, and Lithuanian Peasant Popular Union. Its printing and daily operations were managed by its long-time publisher Felicija Bortkevičienė. It was a liberal publication geared towards the wider audience of less educated farmers and peasants. In 1933, its circulation was 15,000 copies. When Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, the newspaper was nationalized and replaced by Valstiečių laikraštis.
Viltis was a Lithuanian-language newspaper published in Vilnius in 1907–1915 and 1991–1994. The newspapers was established in October 1907 by Antanas Smetona and Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas. It promoted unity among Lithuanians attempting to bring together conservative Catholic clergy and more liberal intelligentsia. The newspaper concentrated on cultural matters as opposed to politics or news reports. It was supported by the clergy, but it was not a religious newspaper. Eventually, the clergy grew dissatisfied with the secular and moderate tone and Smetona left in 1913 to establish a separate newspaper Vairas. The intellectuals around Viltis became known as viltininkai and formed an early embryo of the Lithuanian Nationalist Union, the ruling party in Lithuania in 1926–1940. Viltis was discontinued due to World War I. It was briefly resurrected in the early 1990s by the Lithuanian Nationalist Union.
Vairas was a Lithuanian-language political and cultural newspaper published by Antanas Smetona and the Lithuanian Nationalist Union, the ruling party in Lithuania in 1926–1940. It was published three separate times. Vairas was first established in January 1914 when Smetona departed Viltis; it was discontinued due to World War I. The newspaper was briefly revived in September 1923 when Smetona and Augustinas Voldemaras harshly criticized their political opponents and the Lithuanian government. Due to the anti-government rhetoric, their newspapers were closed by state censors one after another, but they would quickly establish a new newspaper under a new title. Vairas was closed in February 1924. The newspaper was reestablished as a cultural magazine in 1929 with the backing of the authoritarian regime of Smetona. In 1939, it became a weekly political magazine that pushed an agenda of radical nationalism and openly sympathized with National Socialism. The magazine was discontinued after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in June 1940.
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