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.Viltis was discontinued due to World War I. It was briefly resurrected in the early 1990s by the Lithuanian Nationalist Union.

The newspapers was established in October 1907. It filed the void of Lithuanian-language newspapers in Vilnius as Vilniaus žinios was discontinued due to financial difficulties in March 1907.Antanas Smetona, an intellectual who previously edited Vilniaus žinios, and Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas, a priest who previously edited Tėvynės sargas, formed a partnership in hopes of uniting Lithuanians. They hoped to bring together the conservative clergy and the more liberal intelligentsia (known as pirmeiviai) to combat Polonization, particularly in the mixed Vilnius Region. Smetona was the responsible editor setting newspaper's ideology while Tumas-Vaižgantas handled the business and the finances. They established a trust company, supported initially by 179 subscribers – mostly members of the clergy – who contributed 100 rubles each, to finance the operations. It was the first Lithuanian newspaper set up this way.

...
Wikipedia