The Workers' Group of Lithuania[a] (Lithuanian: Lietuvos darbininkų kuopa) was a front organization of the Communist Party of Lithuania that participated in the elections to the First and Second Seimas of Lithuania in 1922 and 1923. Members of this group became known as Kuopininkai ("groupers").[2]
The Communist Party and various communist organizations were outlawed in Lithuania. Therefore, to participate in the elections, a new political group was created. The Workers' Group received roughly 5% of the vote and five of its candidates were elected to the First Seimas. They were obstructive and destructive, and the press openly referred to them as "Bolshevik agents".[3]
The First Seimas was deadlocked and was dismissed in March 1923. The counterintelligence section of the General Staff of the Lithuanian Army issued an order to arrest members of the Workers' Group in April 1923. About 200 people were arrested, and 92 of them tried by a military court. The court proceedings started after three years, only after the left-wing victory in the elections to the Third Seimas of Lithuania. All defendants were acquitted and released on 12 June 1926. The following day, communists organized a rally that almost turned into a riot. It caused a scandal in Lithuania and was presented as a major threat to Lithuania and its military by the conservative press.
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