1/14 An interesting article about Lithuania Minor in the Rossiskaja Encyclopedia, Lithuanian Echo
Doctor Algirdas Matulevičius
Historian, encyclopedist, member of the Lithuanian Union of Journalists
Universal is allowed in Moscow Rossiskaya encyclopedia (Russian encyclopedia) Article published in Volume 17 (2010) Lithuania Malaya (Small Lithuania). I note that even the Royal (Königsberg, Kaliningrad) most researchers attribute to Lithuania Minor. Comprehensive and objective, in other words, without any politicization, ideologisation. Muscovites are “not afraid” and do not shy away from Lithuania Minor as an ethno-territorial, ethnocultural, ethno-national land of indigenous Lithuanians. Small Lithuania, Prussian Lithuania (Klein Litauen, Preussisch- Litauen) has been mentioned in Prussian German historiography since the 16th century. the collapse of the aggressive German or secular peaceful Duchy of Prussia in 1517; with the beginning of the Reformation in Prussia (the spread of Lutheranism). In order to distinguish between Lithuania and Lithuania, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or Lithuania Minor, the Dukes of Prussia, from 1701. kings always used the term to address Lithuanians in their native language Lithuania Minor, Prussia Lithuania or just Lithuania (Lithuania). That has been the case for centuries. That terminal also spread to Polish, Russian (Malaya Lithuania, Pruskaja Lithuania), in the historiography of English, Flemish and other countries and countries. After all, Lithuanians (from the 19th century they were also called Lithuanian Lithuanians) until the 18th century. beginning of the period, 1709-1711. The Great Fever and the Great German Colonization, in the most Lithuanian Lithuanian province (Province of Lithuania; Klaipėda, Ragainė, Tilžė and Įsrutis counties) accounted for over 90% of the total population. Eventually, the acculturation and assimilation of Lithuanians took place, and since the 19th century. The second half – and forced Germanization. They opposed it in every way, in 1923. there was a winning uprising.
Article In the Rossiskaya encyclopedia fragments
As far as I know, the editorial board of the Russian encyclopedia is mostly staffed by honest scientists: doctors, professors, academics.
I have been working in the Lithuanian encyclopedia for 43 years; we, the encyclopedists, interacted with the Muscovites. I learned to be honest, to try to tell and write historical truth – even during the years of Soviet occupation (with mandatory exceptions to Sovietism). We respect (some even love) a cultured, civilized, highly creative Russian nation. There is just no need to hurt small nations in power. Let us remember the wisdom of Lenin.
It is a pity that some of Kaliningrad’s figures, ideologues and otherwise small writers, who are terribly afraid, hate even the term of Lithuania Minor. There was no such thing as Lithuania Minor. Some Lithuanian investigators are interrogated, despised, and the Russian authorities have banned the main part of Lithuania Minor from the Krasnodar region (Kaliningrad region). For example, I told many Lithuanian excursions about the culture of that country, the high culture created, the treasures of Lithuanian literature that were not created or later (due to the brutal national oppression of Tsarist imperialist Russia) by the Lithuanians. It is a wonder how developed civilization existed in such a small (and therefore Lithuania Minor) region of Prussia.
There are also literate, honest, objective personalities in Kaliningrad (for example, a Russian writer, a public figure who wrote books about the country, a tolerant Boris Bartfeld, a Lithuanian public figure, a poet, a poem-epic of the genius Kristijonas Donelaitis Year, Translator of Martynas Liudvikas Gediminas Rėza’s activities and works into Russian (a book about Rėza was published in Russian by B. Bartfeldas; K. Donelaitis is waiting for the queue) Rūta Daujotaitė – Leonova. Or Algaudė Bukontienė, Liucija and Jonas Glinskiai, a long-time teacher of the Lithuanian language and ethnoculture faculty (20 years ago; he was removed from the position of a teacher a few years ago and expelled from the Kaliningrad region). Lithuania was awarded the Order of Merit R. Daujotaitė-Leonova For merits to Lithuania. There are more lights – the ring of intelligence. Aleksas Bartnikas, President of the Lithuanian Teachers’ Association of the Kaliningrad Region, Anupras Gauronskas, a longtime priest (first established in the Catholic Parish Church of the Holy Family in Königsberg, later in Tilsit)Sovietsk) pastor; for merit and awarded the Order of Catholicism in the Kaliningrad region For merits to Lithuania). Over 20 Lithuanian-Russian Catholic parishes were established in the Kaliningrad region. Sigitas Šamborskis has been taking care of Lithuanians in the Königsberg region since the proclamation of Independence in Lithuania. Like some other researchers and lovers of Lithuania Minor, they cannot travel to the Kaliningrad region. This is happening in an era when the borders of states, countries and nations are open in Europe. Unfortunately, the Kaliningrad government expelled most Lithuanian language teachers from the country (followed by the destruction of the Nazi German execution of Nazi Germany).
It seems to me that some representatives of the Russian authorities are treating us so unfriendly because they live in a foreign country and fear that Lithuania wants to “take back” and “seize” the former Lithuania Minor in the Kaliningrad region. Think on your own, the colonists today. He probably wants to get drunk in Moscow, and he thinks more soberly there. Truth, not propaganda from Soviet times, prevails.
On that occasion, I want to share fond memories. While studying the history of Vilnius University (1961–1966), I began to study the events of the Lithuanian national movement in the 19th century. at the end of the 20th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, the struggle of the actors of Greater and Lesser Lithuania and their liberation against the charism of the Russian Empire and the regime of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Imperial German Empire. I used the university research library spec. documents in the fund; At that time, almost no one could (forbid) or avoided the research of the very important material of national liberation, the correspondence of the fighters, especially the foundation of the Patriarch of Lithuania Minor Martynas Jankus (protected part of it). And today I am grateful to have received permits from the rector of the university prof. Acad. Jonas Kubilius and President of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. Juozas Matulis (seems to be the only such high title in Soviet Lithuania at that time). I used manuscripts like St. The pattern. I have read reports at student scientific conferences at various USSR universities: Moscow, Odessa, Kiev, Novosibirsk, Tartu, News, and Vilnius. True, I was the chairman of the Local History Club of the Faculty of History and Philology and the Vice-Chairman of the entire university club. Around 1964. At the Lomonosov University in Moscow, after the conference, I was placed among the researchers, and the report was well received. 1965 after my speech at the University of Novosibirsk, one of its leaders, Chairman of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Acad. Alexei Okladnikov praised the report and said: I nam, siberian, očen važnyj nacionalnyj vopros (And for us Siberians, the national issue is important). I received many important scientific books (I gave them to the rector of my university and the dean of the faculty). Students Muscovites, Leningradians, Kievians joked: Etot pribalt vsie podarki uvioz (This Baltic took all the presents). Acad. A. Okladnikov asked to convey his sincere wishes to the world-famous archaeologist ethnologist prof. Birutė Marija Gimbutienė. He emphasized that he was corresponding with her – Moscow was not “afraid”. We know that in the Soviet era, friendship with the citizens of capitalist countries was forbidden or at least avoided. But these are Siberians, hardened people (remember Boris Yeltsin). After all, most Siberian soldiers in 1941. At the end of the 19th century, Nazi Germany was “repulsed” by Moscow. Importantly, it was the first period of “warming” under the rule of Nikita Khrushchev in the USSR, after condemning the crimes of Stalinism and Stalin’s own cult of personality. The second period of “warming” was in the era of Gorbachev and Yeltsin. These two periods of “warming” were the seeds of democracy, but unfortunately Russia later became an autocratic, dictatorial state where human rights are completely violated. We expect the great and old civilization of Russia to make Russia a democratic state and an example even to the West. This is important not only for Europe but for the whole world. Peaceful greatness is a very important value for humanity.
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