Varpas

Varpas (literally: The Bell) was a monthly Lithuanian-language newspaper published during the Lithuanian press ban from January 1889 to December 1905. Because its publication was illegal in Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, it was printed in Tilsit (current Sovetsk) and Ragnit (current Neman) in German East Prussia and smuggled into Lithuania by the knygnešiai (book smugglers). Varpas, with circulation of about 500–1,000, played a pivotal role in the Lithuanian National Revival. Tautiška giesmė, one of poems by founder and editor Vincas Kudirka written to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Varpas, became the Lithuanian national anthem. Editorial staff of Varpas later started two more specialized publications: more practical Ūkininkas (The Farmer, 1890–1905) for less educated peasants and apolitical Naujienos (News, 1901–1903) for general public.

After the first national Lithuanian newspaper Aušra ceased publication in 1886 due to financial difficulties, activists sought to either revive or replace Aušra. A group of Lithuanian students in Moscow organized publication of short-lived Šviesa, a monthly pro-Catholic newspaper that failed to satisfy liberal activists. Lithuanian students in Warsaw, led by Vincas Kudirka, Jonas Gaidamavičius, and Juozas Adomaitis-Šernas, organized society Lietuva (Lithuania). The society first thought of reviving secular Aušra, but decided against it as it could have resurrected disputes with the clergy. Thus in January 1889 appeared a brand new newspaper Varpas. It attempted to unite liberal, socialist, and Catholic fractions of the Lithuanian National Revival. Despite various difficulties (financial strains, delivery through underground knygnešiai network) it lasted longer than any other Lithuanian periodical of the period.Varpas played an important role forming ideas of Lithuanian nation and standardizing Lithuanian language. For example, in 1890 Kudirka published recommendations regarding Lithuanian orthography: he suggested to replace common "sz" and "cz" borrowed from Polish with new "š" and "č" borrowed from Czech. Both new letters are now integral part of standard Lithuanian.

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