Viltis (newspaper)

Viltis (literally: hope) 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.[1] Viltis was discontinued due to World War I. It was briefly resurrected in the early 1990s by the Lithuanian Nationalist Union.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference jakstas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).