Lithuanian national renaissance

Lithuanian National Revival, alternatively Lithuanian National Awakening (Lithuanian: Lietuvių tautinis atgimimas), was a period of the history of Lithuania in the 19th century at the time when a major part of Lithuanian-inhabited areas belonged to the Russian Empire (the Russian partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). It was expressed by the rise of self-determination of the Lithuanians that led to formation of the modern Lithuanian nation and culminated in the re-establishment of an independent Lithuanian state. Most active participants of national revival were Vincas Kudirka, Jonas Basanavičius and others. The period largely corresponded to the rise of romantic nationalism and other national revivals of the 19th century Europe.

The revival was predated by a short period of early 19th century known as the "Samogitian revival" led by students of Vilnius University Simonas Daukantas and Simonas Stanevičius among others. Most recent Lithuanian national revival may be linked to the late 20th century developments also known as the Singing Revolution.

Due to a long period of common Polish-Lithuanian statehood and nationality, and the Russian Empire's policy of Russification, many of the Lithuanian nobles in the 19th century had become Polonized and the language was generally used only by the poor and by the middle classes; some of the latter tended to use Polish as a status symbol for social advancement. Lithuanian was generally a spoken language and was not considered prestigious enough for written usage; it was, however, retained by some members of the minor nobility, especially in the Žemaitijan region. The language was not yet standardized; its grammar varied greatly from region to region in form of Aukštaitijan and Samogitian dialects and their sub-dialects. There were even expectations that the Lithuanian language would become extinct, as the eastern territories within what is modern-day Lithuania and northwestern Belarus became increasingly Slavicized, and many people used Polish or Belarusian in their daily lives. At the beginning of the 19th century, use of the Lithuanian language was largely limited to Lithuanian rural areas; the only area where Lithuanian was considered suitable for literature was German-controlled Lithuania Minor in East Prussia. Even here, an influx of German immigrants threatened the native language and Prussian Lithuanian culture.

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