1945-1991






Lithuania since 1991



With the disintegration of the USSR in December 1991, Lithuanian independence was a political fact. When Boris Yeltsin established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a successor to the USSR in 1991-1992, the three Baltic Republics stayed outside of it.
Lithuania joined the UN in 1991, the Council of Europe in 1993, NATO and the EU in 2004. Lithuania joined the Coalition of the Willing in 2003, dispatched a nominal force of 50 soldiers who serve under Polish command until 2007.
In October 1992 Lithuania implemented a currency reform, replacing the Rouble by the Talonas, and in June 1993 the Talonas by the Lita. Lithuania remained dependent on exports to Russia for years. In 1995 two Lithuanian banks folded, causing an economic crisis. In 1998 Lithuania was affected by the collapse of the Russian Rouble. The country then reoriented her economy on the world market.
Despite the economic difficulty, democracy in Lithuania has proven stable.
The Lithuanian basketball team won the European Championship in 2003.








EXTERNAL
LINKS 		Timeline Lithuania, from BBC News
Country Studies, Lithuania, from Library of Congress
Article Sport in Lithuania, from Wikipedia
History, from Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications
Article Vilnius International Airport, from Wikipedia
History of Vilnius, from Wikipedia
History of Klaipeda since 1945, from Wikipedia
History of Kaunas, from Wikipedia
Article Economy of Lithuania, from Wikipedia
Lithuania, from Global History of Currencies
DOCUMENTS World Statesmen : Lithuania
Lithuania, from Population Statistics, at Univ. Utrecht
Election Results, from Psephos (since 1997), from IFES Election Guide (since 1998), from Elections and Electoral Systems (links)
REFERENCE Article Lithuania, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1992 pp.435, 645, 1993 pp.445, 655, 1994 pp.444, 656, 1995 pp.439, 656, 1996 pp.437, 656, 1997 pp.446, 654, 2002 pp.459, 660 [G]
Article : Lithuania, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1992-1993 pp.900-902, 1993-1994 pp.895-898, 1994-1995 pp.889-892, 1995-1996 pp.885-889, 1996-1997 pp.834-838, 1997-1998 pp.847-852, 1998-1999 pp.907-913, 2000 pp.1034-1040, 2001 pp.1010-1016, 2002 pp.1052-1057, 2003 pp.1054-1059, 2004 pp.1060-1065, 2005 pp.1066-1072, 2006 pp.1067-1073 [G]
Entry : Travel Warning - Lithuania, pp.542-543, in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2000, Supplement [G]
Entry : Republic of Lithuania, Cabinet p.61, Background Notes : Lithuania, pp.832-839, in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2003 [G]
Entry : Lithuania, pp.664-669 in : IMF, International Financial Statistics Yearbook 2001 [G]
Article : Baltic Republics, in : Americana Annual 1993 pp.130-131, 1994 pp.130-131 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on October 24th 2006, last revised on March 14th 2007

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