Merkys and Urbšys then resigned; both would later be arrested and deported to Russia.[54] Paleckis assumed the presidency and appointed writer Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius as Prime Minister.[57] The People's Government included several well-known politicians and public figures to reassure the public that the new government was not a tool of Soviet occupation, but a simple replacement of the authoritarian Smetona regime.[58] Since there had been strong opposition to Smetona's rule, it was interpreted by some Lithuanians as a destruction of presidential power rather than as a loss of independence.[58]