Teritoriniai administraciniai pokyčiai Vilniaus krašte: 1939 m. spalis – 1941 m. pirmoji pusė
Territorial Administrative Changes in Vilnius Region: October 1939 Through to the First Half of 1941

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the problem of territorial administrative changes in the eastern part of Lithuania in 1939–1940. The focus of this article is on the late 1939–1940 administrative division of the Vilnius Region returned to Lithuania, the population’s attitude towards the territorial division, the efforts of the Lithuanian representatives regarding the recovery of the remaining Lithuanian areas in Belarus (Švenčionys, Dieveniškės and Marcinkonys districts), and the disclosure of the results of the negotiations. The analysis of archival documents, press and historiography allows us to state that the representatives of the Republic of Lithuania tried to resolve the issue of statehood of Lithuanian territories assigned to Soviet Belarus through diplomatic channels, taking into account the requests of “foreign” Lithuanians to connect their territories to Lithuania. However, the efforts did not yield any positive results in late 1939 through to the first half of 1940. After the occupation of Lithuania on June 15th, 1940, the administrative government of the Republican Party extended the campaign for the “recovery” of Lithuanian territories from Belarus. Political motives led to the fact that most Lithuanian settlements (in the vicinity of Švenčionys, Šalčininkai and Druskininkai) were annexed to the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR).

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