NATIONALCOMMUNITIESIN LITHUANIA

FACTS FIGURES

ACTIVITIES

RUSSIANS IN LITHUANIA

DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL MINORITIES UNDERTHE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA Raugyklos str. 25-102, LT-01140 VilniusTel. (+370) 219 48 04E-mail: info@tmde.ltwww.tmde.lt www.facebook.com/TMdepartamentas

Printed by UAB „Baltijos kopija“Kareivių str. 13 B, LT-09109 Vilnius

Edition 200 copies

© Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, 2019© UAB „Baltijos kopija“, 2019

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DEMOGRAPHYRussians are the second largest national community in Lithuania. According to the 2011 Population and Housing Census, Russians numbered 176 913 people, comprising 5,8% of the Lithuanian population.

Russians are mostly concentrated in Vilnius, Klaipėda, Kaunas, Visaginas. A fairly large number of Russians also live in the districts of Rokiškis, Zarasai, Ignalina, Jonava, Švenčionys, which have traditional Old Believer communities.

Russian population by municipality, 2011

% Russians Population, totalTotal in Lithuania 5,8 176 913 3 043 429Alytus County 1,3 1 973 157 766Alytus City Municipality 1,2 725 59 964Alytus District Municipality 0,6 157 28 167Druskininkai Municipality 2,7 594 21 803Lazdijai District Municipality 0,8 190 22 455Varėna District Municipality 1,2 307 25 377Kaunas County 3,3 19 784 608 332Birštonas Municipality 0,7 33 4 626Jonava District Municipality 8,2 3 827 46 519Kaišiadorys District Municipality 2,6 876 33 786Kaunas City Municipality 3,8 11 913 315 993Kaunas District Municipality 1,8 1 564 85 998Kėdainiai District Municipality 2,2 1 171 54 057Prienai District Municipality 0,7 217 29 859Raseiniai District Municipality 0,5 183 37 494Klaipėda County 10,4 35 265 339 062Klaipėda City Municipality 19,6 31 872 162 360Klaipėda District Municipality 3,1 1 586 51 308Kretinga District Municipality 0,8 311 41 345Neringa Municipality 4,4 114 2 570Palanga City Municipality 2,8 433 15 732Skuodas District Municipality 0,6 130 20 591Šilutė District Municipality 1,8 819 45 156

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Marijampolė County 0,7 1 099 161 649Kalvarija Municipality 0,7 86 12 056Kazlų Rūda Municipality 0,9 115 13 235Marijampolė Municipality 0,8 499 61 366Šakiai District Municipality 0,4 117 32 488Vilkaviškis District Municipality 0,7 282 42 504Panevėžys County 2,3 5 660 250 390Biržai District Municipality 0,8 236 28 171Kupiškis District Municipality 1,7 344 20 251Panevėžys City Municipality 2,4 2 434 99 690Panevėžys District Municipality 1,2 472 39 011Pasvalys District Municipality 0,6 167 28 378Rokiškis District Municipality 5,8 2 007 34 889Šiauliai County 2,7 8 039 301 686Akmenė District Municipality 2,5 574 23 307Joniškis District Municipality 1,3 332 26 173Kelmė District Municipality 1,4 460 32 412Pakruojis District Municipality 0,6 146 23 745Radviliškis District Municipality 2,8 1 186 42 389Šiauliai City Municipality 4,1 4 512 109 328Šiauliai District Municipality 1,9 829 44 332Tauragė County 0,7 723 110 059Jurbarkas District Municipality 0,5 151 30 186Pagėgiai Municipality 1,6 156 9 500Šilalė District Municipality 0,3 74 26 520Tauragė District Municipality 0,8 342 43 853Telšiai County 1,4 2 184 152 078Mažeikiai District Municipality 2,3 1 331 58 242Plungė District Municipality 0,5 195 38 151Rietavas Municipality 0,4 31 8 691Telšiai District Municipality 1,3 627 46 994Utena County 12,4 18 905 152 004Anykščiai District Municipality 2,4 701 28 668Ignalina District Municipality 8,3 1 528 18 386Molėtai District Municipality 2,5 521 20 700Utena District Municipality 2,3 990 43 275Visaginas Municipality 51,9 11 724 22 585Zarasai District Municipality 18,7 3 441 18 390

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Vilnius County 10,3 83 281 810 403Elektrėnai Municipality 5,9 1 463 24 975Šalčininkai District Municipality 5,4 1 858 34 544Širvintos District Municipality 2,1 365 17 571Švenčionys District Municipality 13,3 3 702 27 868Trakai District Municipality 8,3 2 849 34 411Ukmergė District Municipality 3,5 1 415 40 055Vilnius City Municipality 11,9 63 991 535 631Vilnius District Municipality 8,0 7 638 95 348

RUSSIAN POPULATION IN LITHUANIA, 2011

MUNICIPALITIES WITH THE LARGEST RUSSIAN POPULATION

Visaginas KlaipėdaCity

ZarasaiDistrict

ŠvenčionysDistrict

VilniusCity

IgnalinaDistrict

TrakaiDistrict

JonavaDistrict

VilniusDistrict

KaunasCity

Alytus County1 973

Kaunas County19 784

Klaipėda County35 265

Marijampolė County1 099

Panevėžys County5 660

Šiauliai County8 039

Tauragė County723Telšiai County

2 184Utena County18 905

Vilnius County83 281

RUSSIAN POPULATION IN LITHUANIA, 2011

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EDUCATIONIn the academic year 1798–1799 the teaching of Russian was introduced to the curriculum of Vilnius Principal School, as Vilnius University was called back then. In 1803, the Department of Russian Language and Literature was established at Vilnius University.

In 1940, the Department of the Russian Language (later – Department of Russian Philology and Intercultural Communication) was opened at Vilnius Pedagogical University (later – Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences). The lecturers of the department did not only provide training to the teachers of Russian language and literature but also taught Russian to the students of all faculties and study programmes. After Vilnius Pedagogical University was renamed into Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, the department went on functioning. In 2018, Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences became an integral part of Vytautas Magnus University.At present, the study programme of Russian Philology is offered by Vilnius University.

The education of national minorities in their mother tongue creates condi-tions for Lithuanian Russians to preserve and nurture their identity.

Photo from the Archive of Vilnius Sofia Kovalenskaya Gymnasium

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During the school year 2018–2019 there were 48 institutions of general education in the country with Russian as the language of instruction (4 primary schools, 16 Basic (lower secondary) schools, 6 progymnasiums and 22 gymnasiums), of which there were 26 schools with Russian as the language of instruction, 10 schools with Lithuanian and Russian as the languages of instruction, 7 schools where classes were held in Russian and Polish languages, and 5 schools with Lithuanian, Russian and Polish as the languages of instruction. 13 952 pupils in these schools took classes in Russian.

SCHOOLS WITH RUSSIAN AS THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

Stulpelis1 Primary schools

Basic secondary schools

Progymnasiums

Gymnasiums

Institutions of general education, total

Kaunas City 1 1Klaipėda City 1 2 4 3 10Šalčininkai District 1 1 2Šiauliai City 1 1Švenčionys District 1 1Trakai District 1 1Vilnius City 3 13 9 25Vilnius District 4 4Visaginas City 2 1 3Total 4 16 6 22 48

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Primary schools Basic secondary schools Progymnasiums Gymnasiums Institutions of general education, total

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7; 15 %

5; 10 %

Russian Lithuanian and Russian Russian and Polish Lithuanian, Russian and Polish

SCHOOLS WITH RUSSIAN AS THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION BY MUNICIPALITY (SCHOOL YEAR 2018–2019)

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STATE SCHOOL-LEAVING (MATURA) EXAMINATION IN LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

During the examination in Lithuanian language and literature all pupils must complete the same assignments, but lower literacy and style re-quirements apply to the pupils from the schools providing education in the language of national minorities.

The above difference in evaluation only applies during the transitional pe-riod 2013–2020.

In 2016, the evaluation criteria for the pupils from national minority schools became more stringent considering:

z longer duration of learning Lithuanian language; z results of the state school-leaving (matura) examination.

To pass the examination, pupils could make not more than:

In schools with Lithuanian as the language of instruction

In schools with a minority language as the language of instruction

6 grammar and lexis mistakes 14 grammar and lexis mistakes

16 spelling mistakes 27 spelling mistakes

14 punctuation mistakes 14 punctuation mistakes

21 expression and style mistakes 29 expression, style and logic mistakes

In 2018, to pass the examination, pupils had to get 30% of points in as-signments.

The examination was taken by 18 339 pupils (18 525 in 2017), of whom 1 892 pupils were enrolled in the schools with a minority language as the language of instruction (966 in 2017).

The examination was passed by 91.25% of all the pupils (88.94% in 2017), of whom:

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RESULTS OF THE STATE SCHOOL-LEAVING (MATURA) EXAMINATION IN LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN GYMNASIUMS WITH

RUSSIAN AS THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION, 2018

Number of school-leav-

ers taking the examination

Failed

Re-ceived 16–35 points

Re-ceived 36–85 points

Re-ceived 86–100 points

IN GYMNASIUMS WITH RUSSIAN AS THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION

Kaunas Alexander Pushkin Gymnasium 27 7 14 6 0

Klaipėda Aitvaras Gymnasium 48 17 21 8 2

Klaipėda Žaliakalnis Gymnasium 39 10 22 6 1

Šalčininkai Santarvė Gymnasium 1 0 1 0 0

Vilnius District Valčiūnai Gymnasium 3 2 0 1 0

Vilnius Juventa Gymnasium 47 13 18 16 0

Vilnius Santara Gymnasium 64 15 25 20 4

Vilnius Sofia Kovalevskaya Gymnasium 66 21 33 12 0

Vilnius Vasily Kachalov Gymnasium 76 11 32 29 4

Vilnius Žara Gymnasium 14 1 5 8 0

Visaginas Atgimimas Gymnasium 20 9 9 2 0

IN GYMNASIUMS WITH LITHUANIAN AND RUSSIAN AS THE LANGUAGES OF INSTRUCTION

Klaipėda Adult Gymnasium 7 1 5 0 1

Visaginas Verdenė Gymnasium 23 0 5 17 1

z 91.61% of the school-leavers were from the schools with Lithuanian as the language of instruction (89.50% in 2017);

z 78.50% of the school-leavers were from the schools providing training in minority languages (80.74% in 2017; 87.87% in 2016).

Out of all the school-leavers from the schools providing training in minori-ty languages, who took the examination, 0.84% received the evaluation of 100 points (0.43% in 2017).

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NON-FORMAL EDUCATION

IN GYMNASIUMS WITH POLISH AND RUSSIAN AS THE LANGUAGES OF INSTRUCTION

Ferdynand Ruszczyc Gymnasium, Rudamina, Vilnius District 23 14 7 1 0

Konstanty Parczewski Gymnasium, Nemenčinė, Vilnius District 21 2 11 7 1

Marina Mizhigurskaya Private Gymnasium 5 1 4 0 0

Michał Baliński Gymnasium, Jašiūnai, Šalčininkai District 11 4 7 0 0

St. Raphael Kalinowski Gymnasium, Nemėžis, Vilnius District 26 6 10 10 0

Stanislovas Rapolionis Gymnasium, Eišiškės, Šalčininkai District 13 5 5 3 0

Trakai Gymnasium 12 7 3 2 0

Vilnius Adult Education Centre 12 6 4 2 0

Vilnius Joachim Lelewel Engineering Gymnasium 11 1 9 1 0

Žeimena Gymnasium, Pabradė, Švenčionys District 12 3 8 1 0

Picture taken by Džoja Gunda Barysaitė

Data of the National Examination Centre, Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, 2018.

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In order to teach the native Russian language and to get to know the na-tional culture, traditions and history, four Saturday and Sunday schools function in Alytus, Kėdainiai and Vilnius.

Russian Sunday School has been operating in Vilnius under the auspices of the Lithuanian Russian Culture Fund since 2000. The school is headed by Tatjana Michniova. From 16 to 20 pupils under 16 years old are enrolled to school every year. Children get an opportunity to learn Russian and to attend the classes of Russian art. During the classes learners get to know the history of Lithuania and the historical development of the Russian cultural heritage. The school cooperates with Vilnius University, Vilnius Ateities School, Alytus Russian Saturday School, Eišiškės Stanislovas Rapolionis Gymnasium.

Alytus Russian Saturday School is a branch of Alytus Russian Culture Association Malachit. The school was founded in 2002. Since its establishment the school has been led by Nadiežda Krakovskaja. About 20 children attend the school every year. Children do not only learn Russian and culture but also participate in sightseeing tours, festivals of Lithuanian national minorities. The school cooperates with Kaunas German Community, Kaunas Armenian Community, Alexander Pushkin Literary Museum, Kaliningrad Orthodox Gymnasium.

Russian Sunday School at Alytus Non-formal Education Centre To- lerancija was founded in 2016. It is headed by Nina Šutova. The school offers lessons on Russian and culture for beginners and advanced learners. The school’s activities and children’s non-formal education are funded from the sources of the so called ‘basket’ of non-formal children’s education. Nineteen pupils between the ages of 8 and 13 are enrolled in the school. The school cooperates with the schools of the city and district of Alytus, Kaunas Slavic Aesthetic Education Centre. The school’s learners participate in the festivals of Sunday schools of Lithuanian national minorities, sightseeing tours, Alytus City festivals every year.

Kėdainiai Saturday (Sunday) School was opened in 2005 and functions as a structural unit of the nursery-kindergarten Aviliukas. The purpose of the school is to maintain the ethno-linguistic viability of the national minority, to satisfy the specific educational, ethnic-cultural expression and socialisation needs of national minority children, youth and adults. Children and adults learn their mother tongue, their nation’s history, religion, and ethnic culture. Since 1 September 2015, the Saturday (Sunday) Russian school has been headed by teacher Vilija Maksimec.

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CULTURE

Lithuania was home to quite a number of prominent Russian figures of cul-ture, science and politics. In 1884, Grigory Pushkin, the son of poet Alexander Pushkin, who married the daughter of Russian Transport Minister Melnikov, moved to Markučiai Manor in 1884. He also brought his father’s items, which are still stored at the museum. Markučiai Manor currently houses Alexander Pushkin Literary Museum. The museum ensemble consists of the central res-idential building of Markučiai Manor built in 1868 (now – the building of Al-exander Pushkin Literary Museum), the family cemetery of Grigory Pushkin and his wife Varvara, and St. Varvara’s Chapel built in 1906. The monument to poet Alexander Pushkin created by sculptor Bronius Vyšniauskas and ar-chitect Vytautas Nasvytis in 1955 (moved from Sereikiškės park in 1992) is an important element of the ensemble and a decoration of Markučiai park. The museum library houses over 1 500 units of publications. Their consid-erable part is dedicated to Pushkin’s life and works, his family members and contemporaries; there are also many literary criticism and research works and publications devoted to promoting the poet’s memory in Lithuania and abroad. The museum archive stores the documents on Markučiai Manor and the manor life dating to the times of Varvara and Grigory.

In 1866–1912, the Vilnius Drawing School, which provided training to a number of famous artists, was led by painter Ivan Trutnev.

According to the data of the Lithuanian census of 1923, the number of Russians in Lithuania (without Vilnius and Klaipėda region) amounted to 50 460 people, comprising 2.5% of the country’s population. Russians

Alexander Pushkin Literary Museum in Markučiai Manor. Photo from the Museum Archive.

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were mainly concentrated in Kaunas City as well as the counties of Zarasai, Rokiškis, Kaunas, Utena and Ukmergė. In terms of religion, most Russians belonged to Old Believer (63%) or Orthodox (36%) communities. In the 1930s there were 53 Old Believer churches and 31 Orthodox parishes in the country. The great majority of Russians (82%) lived in the countryside and were engaged in agriculture. Kaunas City was home to a small com-munity of Russian intellectuals represented by teachers, scientists, military officers, lawyers, doctors, and members of other professions. The intellec-tuals made a substantial contribution to the development of science and culture in the country. A group of prominent Russian professors worked at Vytautas Magnus University: historian and philosopher Lev Karsavin, law-yer Alexander Yashchenko, financier Nikolai Pokrovsky, literary historian Mykolas Banevičius (Podshibiakin), engineer Platonas Jankauskas, etc. The State Theatre helped to reveal the talent of ballet master Nicolas Zverev, ballet dancer Vera Nemchinova, scenographer Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, opera director and singer Teofan Pavlovsky and other artists. The private Russian Gymnasium of Kaunas Teachers’ Society, which organised the Rus-sian Culture Day, drama performances, Russian folk music concerts and other festivals, became the major hub of Russian education and culture in the country. In 1933–1940, an amateur Russian drama theatre troupe led by director Vladimir Bastunov, which was located in Kaunas, staged

A moment from the festival Pokrovskije kolokola. Photo from the Archive of the Centre of Folklore and Ethnography of the Lithuanian National Minorities.

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plays based on Russian classical literature. About 30 Russian public organ-isations (political, economic, cultural-educational, charity, religious, sport) were founded in interwar Lithuania.

The stars of the Russian theatre – Vera Komisarzhevskaya and Vasily Kochalov – also have connections with Lithuania. Teofan Pavlovsky served as the chief director of the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre for many years. Outstanding artists of Russian descent also made the history of the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre: singer Elena Chudakova, dancers Viacheslav Nikolaev, Valery Fadeyev, Olga Fedosova, Anatoly Obukhov and a number of other artists. Russian-born Lithuanian jazz musicians Olegas Molokojedovas, Leonidas Šinkarenka and others are well known in the world. In 2016, jazz trio – Vladimiras Tarasovas, Vladimiras Čekasinas and Viačeslavas Ganelinas (the latter is a member of the Jewish community) – received the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Award. Russian romances can be heard in the concerts of Liuba Nazarenko, Society Melos. The band Lemon Joy and its leader Igoris Kofas, Andrius Mamontovas, the band Biplan, other performers of pop music, rock and other genres have a wide audience of their dedicated fans.

Traditional festivals and cultural events are already very popular in the country. The international folklore festival Pokrovskije kolokola, the Inter-national Russian Sacred Music Festival, the cycle of events Dialogue of Cul-tures are among such events. The international creative camps-technique development courses Tradition organised by the Centre of Folklore and Ethnography of the Lithuanian National Minorities are held in Lithuania every year. The colourful and polyphonic opening concert was attended by over one hundred participants from the folklore ensembles of children, youth and adults, their leaders and recognised folklore professionals from Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and elsewhere. The camps offer technique development courses, present the latest techniques of working with folklore ensembles; round-table discussions, seminars, creative lab-oratories, the reviews of unique documentary films from various folklore expeditions, the evenings of folk dances as well as the concerts of folklore ensembles are held. The partners of the summer international creative camps-technique development courses Tradition are the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilnius City Municipality.

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Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania. Photo by Michalas Janušanecas

Pavel Vasiliev, an outstanding actor of Saint Petersburg Imperial Alexan-drinsky Theatre, founded the first permanent troupe of the Russian The-atre in Vilnius in December 1864. Back then the theatre belonged to the Governor General and used to receive a subsidy every year. On 8th January 1864, a document concerning the regulation of the theatre’s activities was adopted. Prince Shakhovskoy-Strezhnev and Count Ozharovsky became the theatre’s honorary sponsors. In 1865, the Rules for the Actors of the Vilnius Theatre were issued. The first season was opened on 6th December 1864 with a joint play based on Nikolai Polevoy’s Tangled Affair and Grand-father of the Russian Fleet.

At present, the Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania is engaged in active creative work. Not only the residents of Vilnius and other Lithuanian cities but also Russian and Polish audiences can see its plays. The theatre parti- cipates in the World Theatre Olympics, shows its plays in various festivals in Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Belarus, and Israel.

The theatre was situated in Jogailos street in Vilnius for many years (not even the building is left today). In the mid-1980s the theatre was moved to J. Basanavičiaus street, where it is located to this day. The building of the theatre is an architectural monument.

RUSSIAN DRAMA THEATRE OF LITHUANIA

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The theatre has presented over 400 premieres since 1946. The Russian Drama Theatre is currently the only professional theatre in Lithuania stag-ing plays in the Russian language.

On 11 January 2019, to promote the cultural life of national communities and to make it more varied as well as to spread the knowledge about na-tional cultures in society, the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania concluded a cooperation agreement.

FINANCING OF CULTURAL PROJECTS

The Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania provides funding to traditional and newly organised events of non-governmental organisations by announcing tenders for the funding of cultural projects of national minorities. The associations, charity and support foundations and public establishments registered in the procedure established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania are eligible to submit their tenders for partial funding.

In 2016–2019, the Department of National Minorities under the Govern-ment of the Republic of Lithuania allocated EUR 290 550 for the partial funding of the cultural projects implemented by Russian non-governmen-tal organisations.

CULTURAL HERITAGE AND RELIGIONRussians moved to Lithuania during different periods and in several stag-es. It is believed that the Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva was construct-ed in Vilnius on demand of Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas’ first wife Ma-ria (a Vitebsk princess). In 1350, Algirdas contracted the second marriage with Uliana of Tver, who was a devoted Christian and promoted Orthodoxy in Lithuania. With her support, the Orthodox church was built in Trakai and

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The theatre has presented over 400 premieres since 1946. The Russian Drama Theatre is currently the only professional theatre in Lithuania stag-ing plays in the Russian language.

On 11 January 2019, to promote the cultural life of national communities and to make it more varied as well as to spread the knowledge about na-tional cultures in society, the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania concluded a cooperation agreement.

FINANCING OF CULTURAL PROJECTS

The Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania provides funding to traditional and newly organised events of non-governmental organisations by announcing tenders for the funding of cultural projects of national minorities. The associations, charity and support foundations and public establishments registered in the procedure established by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania are eligible to submit their tenders for partial funding.

In 2016–2019, the Department of National Minorities under the Govern-ment of the Republic of Lithuania allocated EUR 290 550 for the partial funding of the cultural projects implemented by Russian non-governmen-tal organisations.

CULTURAL HERITAGE AND RELIGIONRussians moved to Lithuania during different periods and in several stag-es. It is believed that the Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva was construct-ed in Vilnius on demand of Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas’ first wife Ma-ria (a Vitebsk princess). In 1350, Algirdas contracted the second marriage with Uliana of Tver, who was a devoted Christian and promoted Orthodoxy in Lithuania. With her support, the Orthodox church was built in Trakai and

Orthodox Church of St. Paraskeva in Vilnius. Photo of the Department of National Minorities

the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity was constructed in Vilnius. In the reign of Algirdas, the Church of Transla-tion of the Holy Relics of St. Nicholas the Won-derworker and the Holy Mother of God was built in the Lithuanian capi-tal. The Orthodox faith was also promoted by Grand Duchess Elena, the wife of Lithuanian Grand Duke Alexander. The Church of Annunci-ation of the Blessed Vir-gin Mary and, according

to some sources, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius were built on her initiative. In the 15th–early 16th centuries some of ethnic Russian lands and their inhabitants were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Though politically dependent on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Russian lands preserved their cultural traditions. In the second half of the 16th century the Grand Duchy of Lithuania saw the influx of noble dukes, religious oppo-nents to Orthodox believers, free-thinkers and peasants from Russia, whereas in the 17th–18th centuries, there was a wave of townspeople, crafts-men and merchants. In the 15th century Russian merchants were frequent guests in Vilnius where they had the warehouses of their merchandise. Un-til the 17th century the Russian migration to Lithuania was not massive but it was continuous.

In the aftermath of the ecclesiastical reform in Russia initiated by Patriarch Nikon in the middle of the 17th century, the Old Believers started moving to Lithuania on a mass scale. In the 18th century large and well-organised communities of the so called Bezpopovtsy and Popovtsy Old Believers settled in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. After 1772, up to 180 000 Russian Old Believers of various denominations comprising one of the largest ethnic-confessional minorities lived in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The nobility-ruled Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth viewed the Old Believers as free people, Russian refugees seeking for refuge, religious dissidents. In the 18th century the Old Believer denomination of the Bezpopovtsy developed

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Klaipėda Old Believer Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God. Photo by Potašenka

their writings and literature. The culture of the Old Believers already witnessed a modernist orientation and the emergence of new literary genres: public sermons, historical narrative, biography, eyewitness notes, etc. The Old Believer cemetery with a wooden chapel in Degučiai, Zarasai district, which has functioned since the late 18th century, is a necropolis of the Old Believers, which serves as the place of eternal rest for priests, merchants, patrons.

Owing to historical circumstances, Lithuania was part of the Russian Em-pire and the USSR for as many as 166 years during the past centuries. The state policy undertaken by the tsar in the 19th century led to the new wave of Russian migration to Lithuania. Af-ter the uprisings of 1831 and 1863 an active Russification policy was intro-duced in Lithuania. The participants of the uprisings were deported and replaced with Russian colonists who were moved to Lithuania. Despite the bans and persecutions imposed by the government until 1905, Russian Old Believers repaired their old and built new churches on the present territory of Lithuania – there were at least 56 of them at the start of the 20th century. Between 1883 and 1905, the Old Believers built a brick church with Russian and neoclassical features in Vilnius, which has been the spiritual cen-tre of the Lithuanian Old Believers ever since.

During the Soviet period many people from various republics of the Soviet Union, including Russia, arrived in Lithuania. After Lithuania restored its independence, a small immigration remained. The Russian national minority has preserved its authentic culture and language, and actively participates in the country’s cultural, public and political life. The Russian community seeks to preserve its religious, national and cultural heritage and to create the new one. Klaipėda Mary the Patroness and St. Michael Orthodox Church (architect Dmitriy Borunov from Penza, Russia) was constructed from 2000 to 2005. After 1990, the Old Believers built several new churches in Zarasai, Utena, Šiauliai. In the period 2012–2016, the church complex with the Church of the Assumption and St. Michael (architect Vytenis Mazurkevičius) was constructed in Klaipėda.

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Most Russians are Orthodox and Old Believers. Lithuanian residents who consider themselves Orthodox account for 125.2 thousand (4.1%), whereas 23.3 thousand (0.8%) people identify themselves as Old Believ-ers. After independence was restored, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania returned the property and churches to the believers. Reli-gious communities are supported every year. There are about 56 active Orthodox and 61 Old Believer communities in Lithuania. There are Rus-sian Orthodox monasteries and convents, religious public organisations in Vilnius; religious press and literature is published. Orthodox and Old Believers celebrate Christmas, Palm Sunday, Easter and other religious holidays according to the Julian calendar. On Easter, Orthodox believers gather around the table where consecrated food is served in the early morning, after the resurrection of Christ – eggs, which have to be as red as possible, as they symbolise the blood of Christ, sweets and paskha, the main Easter dish. The Easter table is always decorated with the yeast-risen bread known as kulich, which must be towering and round-shaped.

LITERATURE

Russian literature occupies a special place in the cultural life. Various fables, tragedies and dramas, poems, novellas and short stories, sketches and memoirs were created. They all make up a rich library of Russian literature.

Several authors are noteworthy: Austrian-born Pavel Kukolnik, Vasily von Rotkirch, a descendant from a line of German knights, Saint Petersburg-born Alexander Navrotsky, Alexander Zhirkevich, a descendant from the nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, writer and journalist Arkady Buk-hov, celebrities of the Russian literary life in interwar Vilnius: Vy-acheslav Bogdanovich and Doro-fei Bokhan, poets Vasily Selivanov and Konstantin Olenin.

Since 2008 the National Society of the International Writers and Publicists Association led by Lev Mesengiser has been working in Lithuania. The

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society organises creative meetings, forums, festivals for Russian-writing writers and publicists Baltic Gamayun. The almanac Stupeni (Steps) is one of the most popular publications of the society. The public establishment Planeta Vvkure publishes the Russian literary almanac Litera every year. Derzhavin’s Russian Literary Club is active in Kaunas. The club publishes Kaunas Literary Almanac in which the authors writing in Russian have an opportunity to publish their works. The above publications are supported by the Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

MEMORABLE DAYS

6 June is the Russian Language Day. The date was chosen in honour of the great Russian poet Alexan-der Pushkin as it coin-cides with his birthday.

12 June is celebrated as Russia Day.

LANGUAGERussian belongs to the sub-group of East Slavic languages within the In-do-European language family. It is the most widely spoken Slavic language. Ukrainian and Belarusian languages are closest to Russian, but other Slavic languages (Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Serbian) are also rather similar, because the Slavic languages were less differentiated over time than, for example, Germanic languages. The Russian language is most widely used in East-ern Europe and Asia. According to different estimates, Russian is used by 300–320 million people as the mother tongue or as the second language. Russian is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

Photo by Vladimiras Moraras

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DISHES Russian cuisine offers a wide variety of bakery goods: cakes and pastries, bagels, cookies, flour pancakes, etc. Pancake cakes, dumplings, crepe-like pancakes are made from unleavened dough. Tea occupies an important place in Russian national cuisine. In Russia tea-drinking evolved into a separate culture with its specific vessels, such as samovar. Tea is usually served with sugar; sometimes it is sweetened with jam. In earlier times there was a custom to pour tea into a small plate and sip from it.

MEDIAPRESS INTERNETWeeklies:• Litovskij Kurjer • Obzor

Magazines: • Ekspres Nedelia, • Pensioner

Regional weeklies:• Šalčia • Švenčenskij kraj • Žeimenos krantai

Visaginas newspaper V každyj dom

• www.ru.delfi.lt

• www.nedelia.lt

• www.obzor.lt

• www.kurier.lt

• www.rusradio.lt

• http://www.orthodoxy.lt/

• www.starover.lt

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RADIO AND TELEVISION

The Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) broadcasts current affairs and news programs in Russian: “Rusų gatvė” (Russian Street), “Dabar pasaulyje” (Now in the World) and the radio information program aired daily. LRT also re-broadcasts the news programs aired by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. An educational religious program about Orthodox history, traditions and culture “Krikščionio žodis” (Christian’s Word), is broadcasted on LRT Plius every second Saturday, at 10 a.m. Russkoje radijo Baltija, a Russian radio station, which broadcasts news and music, and Raduga, a Russian radio station, which offers popular news and chanson music, are also available in Lithuania.

POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

During the National Revival the activists of national minority organisations contributed to the activities of the Reform Movement of Lithuania Sąjūdis. Vladimiras Jarmolenka and Eugenijus Petrovas were elected deputies of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania (Reconstituent Seimas). They were also the signatories to the Act of 11 March.

Professor Natalija Kasatkina, who is regarded as the pioneer of research on the adaptation of national minorities in Lithuania, deserves a special mention for her active political and public activities. During the National Revival she was an active participant of the Sąjūdis Movement and received the Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania.

The Russian Public Organisations Coordination Council of Lithuania led by Chairperson of the Lithuanian Russian Culture Fund Tatjana Michniova operates in Lithuania. During the National Revival it organised meetings in order to promote the loyalty of Russian intellectuals in the endeavour to restore the independent state of Lithuania.

Lithuanian Russians are also active in the political domain. Two Russian political parties function in Lithuania – Lithuanian Russian Union and Political Party Russian Alliance.

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Member of Political Party Russian Alliance Irina Rozova serves in the Elec-toral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance Political Group of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania during the 2016–2020 term of office.

In the 2019 Elections to Municipal Councils Political Party Russian Alliance entered into coalition with Electoral Action of Poles entitled Christian Fam-ilies Alliance. The coalition won 54 mandates in the elections. Romualda Poševeckaja got a mandate in Vilnius City Municipality, Olegas Bykovas and Vladimiras Ikonikovas won mandates in Visaginas Municipality, and Tatjana Markova received a mandate in Vilnius District Municipality. The members of Public Election Committee Titov and Justice, Viačeslavas Tito-vas and Jurijus Šeršniovas, got two mandates in Klaipėda City Municipality.

PUBLIC ORGANISATIONS

Active and versatile cultural activities are pursued by 57 public organisations in Lithuania. They are situated countrywide and engage in cultural, educational, sports, children and youth-oriented activities in the attempt to preserve the Russian culture as part of the Lithuanian culture with professional contemporary forms of urban culture – theatre, original music, art. The Russian Cultural Centre, one of the earliest Russian non-governmental organisations in Lithuania operating since 1988, has already organised a wide variety of cultural and educational events in the restored state of Lithuania. Mstislav Dobuzhinsky Russian Culture and Aesthetic Development Centre, which functioned in Kaunas from 1989 to 2018, was well known for its activities. Russian cultural centres can be found in a number of Lithuanian cities and districts. Their key purpose is to promote the traditions and customs of the Russian culture and to spread the knowledge about them in society. The centres provide an opportunity to communicate in the mother tongue, celebrate religious holidays, hold parties, and literary evenings. The members of the centres are also active participants in the events taking place countrywide.

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Alytus Russian Culture Association MalachitChairperson Nadiežda Krakovskaja

Lithuanian Russian Nobility CommunityChairperson Irina Zavadskaja

Association of Russian Romance Lovers in Lithuania MelosChairperson Valentina Kalinčeva

Alytus Cultural Centre of National MinoritiesChairperson Gintas Babrauskas

Lithuanian Russian Community of Culture and Education SvietlicaChairperson Galina Kuzmina

Seniors Association Poiushchie SerdtsaChairperson Lilija Riumina

Alytus Vocal Studio Association Gluosnelės Chairperson Liubovė Illarionova

Lithuanian Russian Culture Fund Chairperson Tatjana Michniova

Slavic Aesthetic Education CentreChairperson Elena Berežok

Ensemble Igraj, BajanChairperson Zinaida Boženkina

Lithuanian Russian MeetingChairperson Liudmila Riabenko

Slavic Mercy FoundationChairperson Olga Gorškova

Association Alytus Non-formal Education Centre Tolerancija Director Nina Šutova

Society of Teachers of Lithuanian Russian SchoolsChairperson Ela Kanaitė

Slavic Traditional Music SchoolChairperson Irena Zacharova

Association Baltijos lyraChairperson Snežana Novikova

Lithuanian Russian Meeting Kaunas Club Nadežda Chairperson Elena Suodienė

Šiauliai Russian Cultural CentreChairperson Nadežda Bessarab

Folklore Association VečioraChairperson Marija Serbriakova

Lithuanian Russian Meeting Ivuška, Rokiškis branch Chairperson Sergejus Melnikovas

National Society of the International Writers and Publicists AssociationPresident Levas Mesengiseris

Association Slavų vainikasChairperson Tatjana Dvilevič

Russian Public Organisations Coordination Council of LithuaniaExecutive Secretary Tatjana Michniova

Public Establishment Klaipėda Special School-Multifunctional Centre SvetliačiokDirector Marina Korinevskaja

Baltic Russian Creative Resources Chairperson Pavelas Lavrinecas

Lithuanian Children’s Creative Association MūzaChairperson Jurijus Antonovas

Public Establishment ŠypsokisChairperson Svetlana Šipurova

Derzhavin’s Russian Literary ClubChairperson Galimas Sitdykovas

Association of Culture and Education of Lithuanian Old Believers Chairperson Vasilijus Degteriovas

Vilnius City Children and Youth Theatre Association Žaliasis žibintas Chairperson Zoja Radzivilova

Jonava Slavic ClubChairperson Svetlana Berezneva

Lithuanian Slavic Youth OrganisationChairperson Aleksandras Vybornis

Vilnius Russian Folklore CentreChairperson Nikolajus Zaharovas

Kaunas Russian Cultural Centre Mokslas-ŠviesaChairperson Tatjana Vilčinskienė

Lithuanian Orthodox Educational Society Živoj kolosChairperson Irina Arefjeva

Vilnius Russian Music Society Rusų klasikaChairperson Tatjana Rinkevičienė

Kaunas Russian Community Chairperson Vyacheslav Afonin

Marijampolė Club MozaikaChairperson Galina Ovčiarova

Vilnius Russian School Teachers SocietyPresident Viktorija Šalkovskaja

Kėdainiai Russian Cultural Club SusitikimaiChairperson Vilija Maksimec

Art Gallery Aukštaitijos ežeraiDirector Galina Udovenko

Vilnius Children’s Club DarijaChairperson Liudmila Nikolskaja

Klaipėda Russian Community Lada Chairperson Svetlana Vasičkina

Panevėžys City Russian Cultural CentreChairperson Valentina Vatutina

Visaginas City Russian Community SadkoChairperson Ilja Churakovas

Klaipėda Volunteer Russian Cultural Association Otečestvo Chairperson Tamara Lochankina

Literary Association of Russian-writing Poets and Writers in Lithuania Ls LogosChairperson Vladimiras Koltsovas

Public Organisation Muzikos svetainėChairperson Tatjana Filatova

Club DesiderijaChairperson Liudmila Chorošilova

Radviliškis Russian Cultural CentreChairperson Vera Jasinskaja

Public Organisation Mūsų dialogasChairperson Larisa Dmitrijeva

Club Draugų vakarasChairperson Vladimiras Zegulinas

Russian Cultural CentreChairperson Natalja Kapočė

VPublic Organisation Rusų centras Chairperson Vladimiras Charitonovas

Klub veteranov truda DružbaChairperson Larisa Jesaulenko

Russian Poetry and Theatre Lovers Community Sąskambis Chairperson Olegas Zachavenkovas

Public Establishment Rusų namai Chairperson Vladimiras Charitonovas

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