Lithuania

Description

Lithuania is often portrayed as a small nation-state that has survived against the odds of history: together with Estonia and Latvia, it won independence at the end of the First World War, lost it to the Soviet Union in 1939–40, regained it in 1990–1, and joined NATO and the EU in 2004, angering the Kremlin. But Lithuania’s rich and complex history stretches back much further than these events, and much further than many realise.

In the fourteenth century, Europe’s last pagan dynasty ruled a vast empire stretching from forests on the Baltic shores to the steppes north of the Black Sea. Forging a remarkable, liberty-based union with the Kingdom of Poland, for 400 years the Grand Duchy of Lithuania blocked Moscow’s pretensions to rule all of Rus’, particularly Belarus and Ukraine. Yet it was in competition with Poles, and under Russian imperial rule, that the modern ethnic Lithuanian nation emerged in the nineteenth century.

This is a lively and accessible history of a fascinating country that was once much larger than it is today; a land where, for centuries, peoples and communities—including Belarusians, Ukrainians, Germans, Poles, Russians, Jews, Karaites and Tatars—lived together in concord and discord.

Reviews

‘As turmoil in the East puts Lithuania centre-stage, there is no better introduction to its fascinating history than this incisive, authoritative and highly entertaining combination of narrative and analysis.’ — Tim Blanning, author of The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648–1815

‘Europe’s geographical centre is located near Vilnius—perhaps its historical centre, too. Butterwick’s excellent account of Lithuania’s Empire, Commonwealth with Poland and subjugation to Russia, and now its proud independence once again, illuminates the complex story of a whole continent.’ – Charles Clarke, former Home Secretary and editor of Understanding the Baltic States

‘A concise and highly readable history of this unfairly neglected yet fascinating area, with its rich variety of ethnicities and cultures. Butterwick explores the layered complexities with a master’s touch, both authoritative and light, and refreshingly unpartisan. A remarkable achievement.’ — Adam Zamoyski, author of Poland: A History

‘It is difficult to understand the arc of history in Eastern Europe without understanding Lithuania. Butterwick’s excellent book explains centuries of its past, from the pre-Christian era, through prosperous and bitter times, to the present day.’ — Dan Kaszeta, author of The Baltic States in the Second World War

Author(s)

Richard Butterwick is Professor of Polish-Lithuanian History at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London; Principal Historian of the Polish History Museum; and Chairholder of the European Civilization Chair in the College of Europe in Natolin, Warsaw. His books include the award-winning The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795.