Outline of Lithuania
During the 14th century, Lithuania was the largest country in Europe, as present-day Belarus, Ukraine, and parts of Poland and Russia were territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. With the Lublin Union of 1569 Poland and Lithuania formed a new state: the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was finally destroyed by its neighboring countries in 1795. Most of Lithuania's territory was annexed by the Russian Empire, until the Act of Independence was signed on 16 February 1918, which declared re-establishment of a sovereign state. Between 1940 and 1945 Lithuania was occupied by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany at different times. When World War II was near its end in 1944 and the Nazis retreated, the Soviet Union reoccupied Lithuania. On 11 March 1990, Lithuania became the first Baltic republic to declare its restored independence after 50 years of Soviet occupation.
Lithuania became a full member of the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007. In 2009, Lithuania celebrated the millennium of its name.Geography of Lithuania
History of Lithuania (1219–95)
Mindaugas, the duke who governed southern Lithuania between the Neman and Neris Rivers, eventually became the founder of the state. Mindaugas is referred to as the ruler of all Lithuania in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle in 1236. The means by which he managed to acquire this title are not well known. Russian chronicles mention that he murdered or expelled various other dukes, including his relatives.
In 1236, Duke Vykintas led the Samogitian forces to victory in the Battle of Saule, where the Livonian Order suffered a catastrophic defeat. It seems that Vykintas did not receive support from Mindaugas. Vykintas' personal power grew. The Livonian Order was on the brink of collapse and was forced to become a branch of the Teutonic Knights. The combined Orders focused on the conquest of Samogitia, since only this land prevented them from consolidating their territories. The union of these aggressive powers could not have passed without notice in Lithuanian lands, and might have furthered the unification process. In about 1239 Mindaugas took over the weakened Black Ruthenia and appointed his son Vaišvilkas to govern it. During the early 1240s, Mindaugas strengthened and established his power in various Baltic lands. In 1245, Mindaugas sent his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas, the sons of Dausprungas and Vykintas, to conquer Smolensk, but they were unsuccessful. In 1249, an internal war erupted as Mindaugas sought to seize his nephews' and Vykintas' lands.