Lithuanian is a Baltic language related to Latvian and Old
Prussian with about 3.2 million speakers in Lithuania. There are
also Lithuanian speakers in Poland, the USA, Brazil, Argentina,
Canada, the UK and Uruguay. Lithuanian first appeared in print
in the form of a catechism in 1547. The first Lithuanian
dictionary was printed during the 17th century. Between 1864 and
1904 the printing and teaching of Lithuanian was banned -
Russian, Polish, Belarusian or Latin had to be used instead.
After this ban was lifted in 1904, there was a resurgence of
Lithuanian literature. From 1918 to 1940 Lithuania was
independent and over 7,000 books in Lithuanian were published.
During the Soviet period (1940-1991), literature in Lithuania
tended to follow the socialist realist model, while Lithuanian
ex-pats wrote mainly about the culture and traditions of
Lithuania. Since 1991, when Lithuania once more gained its
independence, a large number of publications in Lithuanian has
appeared, including newspapers, magazines and sci