Valstybinė opozicija ir politinė krizė Lietuvoje 1940 m. okupacijos išvakarėse
State Opposition and Political Crises in Lithuania on the Eve of the Soviet Occupation in 1940

Summary/Abstract: After the military coup in 1926 Antanas Smetona gradually set up an authoritarian regime in Lithuania and restricted activities of political opposition. The organizational structure of the major Lithuanian political parties was destroyed much before they were officially prohibited in 1936. On the other hand, for some reason A. Smetona did not take drastic measures against political opposition. Formally, the leaders of the opposition were the members of J. Černius’ and A. Merkys’ governments. Therefore, in addition to political regime and its supporter the Nationalist Union, political opposition was no less important factor in the Lithuanian political life during the last days before the Soviet occupation. Since 1938, during state crises, the major opposition streams – Christian Democrats and Peasant Populists – initiated and promoted the idea of “national unity”. Due to the Polish, German ultimatums and the beginning of World War II, the opposition leaders appealed Smetona and the Nationalists to cooperate and to seek for the “national unity” collectively. Under the patriotic slogan of “national unity” the Christian Democrats and the Peasant Populists aimed to mobilize the society and to use it as a form of pressure for Smetona and the Nationalists. On the basis of “national unity”, the opposition tried to eliminate Smetona from the office, ban the Nationalist Union, and set up a new government. In the late 1930s political opposition significantly reduced the propaganda and criticism of the regime about the assumed Kulturkampf. The opposition even slowed down the permanent demand of political parties for legislation. Since the spring of 1939 the Catholics and the Populists externally supported J. Černius’ government and permitted some of their leaders to become members of the Cabinet. On the other hand, the opposition tried to unite and mobilise the society into a popular movement, later called the Patriotic Front. The aim of the Front was to unite the society despite its ideological convictions, where separate political organisations would disappear. It would mean the disappearance of the only legal political party and one of the main cornerstones of Smetona’s regime – the Nationalist Union. The next step was foreseen to the government. After the ban of the Nationalists, the opposition leaders planned to form a new government from their close political circles exclusively. The third step was anticipated for the Parliament. However, Smetona realised the aims of the opposition and slowly silenced the idea of the Patriotic Front. Up to the 1940s the opposition and the regime did not manage to find a common language because of the debatable question about the principle how the state should be governed. Smetona and the Nationalists believed that the opposition should “accept” their principles of rule.

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