Republic of Central Lithuania Republika Litwy Środkowej (Polish) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920–1922 | |||||||||||
| Anthem: Rota | |||||||||||
 Territory of the Republic of Central Lithuania (green). | |||||||||||
| Status | Puppet state of the Second Polish Republic | ||||||||||
| Capital | Vilnius | ||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Central Lithuanian | ||||||||||
| Government | Republic | ||||||||||
| Commander-in-chief | |||||||||||
• 1920–1922 | Lucjan Żeligowski | ||||||||||
| Chairman | |||||||||||
• 1920–1921 (first) | Witold Abramowicz | ||||||||||
• 1921–1922 (last) | Aleksander Meysztowicz | ||||||||||
| Legislature | Sejm | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | ||||||||||
| 12 October 1920 | |||||||||||
| 24 March 1922 | |||||||||||
• Incorporation into Poland | 18 April 1922 | ||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
• Total | 13,490 km2 (5,210 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| Currency | Polish mark | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | |||||||||||
54°30′N 25°45′E / 54.500°N 25.750°E The Republic of Central Lithuania (Polish: Republika Litwy Środkowej, Lithuanian: Vidurio Lietuvos Respublika), commonly known as the Central Lithuania, and the Middle Lithuania (Polish: Litwa Środkowa, Lithuanian: Vidurinė Lietuva, Belarusian: Сярэдняя Літва, romanized: Siaredniaja Litva), was an unrecognized short-lived puppet state of Poland, that existed from 1920 to 1922.[1] It was founded on 12 October 1920, after successful Żeligowski's Mutiny, during which the volunteer 1st Lithuanian–Belarusian Division under command of general Lucjan Żeligowski seized the Vilnius Region that Lithuania made claims to.[2] It was incorporated into Poland on 18 April 1922.
Vilnius, the historical capital of Lithuania, had majority Polish-speaking population with Lithuanian-speaking population of only 2–3%.[3] Therefore, the Polish authorities decided that the region should belong to the newly-established Polish state and attempted to implement this idea using military force, ignoring the Curzon Line and taking advantage of the fact that victorious Poles after the Battle of Warsaw were advancing to the East against the Bolsheviks in the Polish–Soviet War. Poles believed that for this reason they should grab as much mixed areas as deemed possible as well as to protect the Catholic, predominantly Polish-speaking population in disputed areas, thus because of the colossal military outnumbering, Lithuania could not stand a chance to maintain the control of the region. This led to the renewal of Polish–Lithuanian War, where the so-called Żeligowski's Mutiny, secretly ordered by Józef Piłsudski was a part of the military operation, fully supported and backed on flanks by the Polish army, and consequently to the establishment of the so-called Republic of Central Lithuania.[3]
The republic had features of a state administration, but actually was an imitation of a sovereign state which repressed Lithuanian organizations, education, censored and suspended Lithuanian publications.[4] After a variety of delays, a disputed election took place on 8 January 1922, and the territory was annexed by Poland. Several years later the Polish leader Józef Piłsudski confirmed that he personally ordered Żeligowski to stage a mutiny.
The Polish–Lithuanian border in the interwar period, was recognized by the Conference of Ambassadors of the Entente[5][6] and the League of Nations.[7] It was not recognized by Kaunas-based Republic of Lithuania[8] until the Polish ultimatum of 1938 in March, when Lithuania acknowledged the status quo of so-called demarcation line, but the newest edition of the Constitution of Lithuania in May 1938 one more time named Vilnius the capital of Lithuania. In 1931, an international court in The Hague stated that the Polish seizure of the region had been a violation of international law, but there were no political repercussions.[7]
- ^ Senn, Alfred Erich (1964). "On the State of Central Lithuania". Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. 12 (3). Franz Steiner Verlag: 366–374. JSTOR 41042359. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Čepėnas, Pranas (1986). Naujųjų laikų Lietuvos istorija, vol. II (in Lithuanian). Chicago: Dr. Griniaus fondas. ISBN 5-89957-012-1.
- ^ a b Rauch, Georg von (1974). "The Early Stages of Independence". In Gerald Onn (ed.). The Baltic States: Years of Independence – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 1917–40. C. Hurst & Co. pp. 100–102. ISBN 0-903983-00-1.
- ^ Nanevič, Beata (2004). "Imitavusi valstybę: "Vidurio Lietuvos" (1920-1922) vidaus politika". Darbai ir dienos (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 12 February 2023.
- ^ Phipps, Eric; Romano Avezzana; Raymond Poincaré; Maurycy Zamoyski; M. Matsuda (1923). Decision taken by the conference of ambassadors regarding the eastern frontiers of Poland (PDF). League of Nations. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
- ^ League of Nations, Treaty Series. Vol. 15. League of Nations. 1923. pp. 261–265.
- ^ a b Miniotaitė, Gražina (1999). "The Security Policy of Lithuania and the 'Integration Dilemma'" (PDF). NATO Academic Forum: 21. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
- ^ The Vilna problem. London: Lithuanian Information Bureau. 1922. pp. 24–25.