Lithuanian national awakening

Due to the long period of general Polish-Lithuanian statehood and nationality, and the policy of Russification of the Russian Empire, many of the Lithuanian noblemen underwent polonization in the 19th century , and the Lithuanian language was used only by the poor and middle sections of the society, and part of the middle layers, as a rule, used Polish for your social advancement. Lithuanian was a spoken language; it was not considered prestigious enough for written use. It was preserved by a part of the petty nobility, especially in Zemaitija . The language was not yet standardized; its grammar varied significantly from region to region in the form of Aukstein and Zemaitian dialects. It was expected that the Lithuanian language would become extinct, since the eastern territories of modern Lithuania and northwestern Belarus became more Slavic ^[1] , and many used the Polish or Belarusian languages in everyday life. At the beginning of the 19th century, the use of the Lithuanian language was largely limited to Lithuanian rural areas; the only region in Lithuania where the Lithuanian language was used as a literary language was Little Lithuania , which was under the rule of Prussia . But even there, an influx of German immigrants threatened the Lithuanian language and culture of the Prussian Lithuanians . Several factors contributed to the national movement: linguistic scholars drew attention to the Lithuanian language; after the abolition of serfdom in the Russian Empire in 1861 , social mobility increased, and a class of Lithuanian intelligentsia emerged from the Lithuanian village. In the Catholic Church, the barriers that previously interfered with commoners during worship were eased. Closer relations developed between Lithuanian priests and parishioners, they were united by a desire to use the Lithuanian language ^[2] . The emerging national movement sought to distance itself from Polish and Russian influences, and the use of the Lithuanian language was seen as an important aspect of this movement ^[3] .

The development of Lithuanian national culture and national identity was hampered by a ban on Lithuanian Latin letters and a ban on Lithuanian newspapers. This was one of the repressive measures that followed the uprising of 1863 . However, printing of books in Lithuanian continued outside the Russian Empire. The national movement began among students and young people who studied at universities in the Russian Empire and foreign countries. Many of them were sons of wealthy farmers, and thus, coming from the peasant class, were less affected by polonization. The publication of Lithuanian newspapers Ausra and Varpas began , and then the publication of poems and books in Lithuanian. Issued in the United States and East Prussia , smuggled into Lithuania ^[4] . The works romanticized the past of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , portraying him as a great power with many heroes. With the Lithuanian national movement, the movement for independence began, with various organizations against Russification and Russian influence. The policy of the Russian authorities in response became tougher, and a significant part of the Catholic churches were converted into Orthodox churches, the ban on the Lithuanian press continued. However, even with newspaper censorship, Lithuanian literacy continued to increase. The percentage of Lithuanian literacy was one of the highest in comparison with other peoples of the Russian Empire, second only to Finns , Estonians and Latvians . Towards the end of the 19th century, a modern Lithuanian nation was formed. Political demands were expressed at the Vilnius Sejm , censorship of Lithuanian newspapers was canceled in 1904 .