Baltic for centuries been a territory for which were often war.It is not surprising that only in the last 500 years, it has many times passed from hand to hand, and on the territory of States that are here, always inhabited by many peoples.
Lithuania is not an exception.Of course, the population of Lithuania is almost always been largely represented by the titular nation, but other nations living there permanently.Today, the situation is similar.In this article you will find information on how to change the composition and the population in the territory of that State.
Since ancient times ...
first census in this region have tried to hold back in the 13th century, but it ended almost nothing, since the data collected were very much approximate.Only in 1790 the census was carried out normal company, the results of which proved that the territory of modern Lithuania's population of about 3.6 million people.From 1812 to 1945 the population of Lithuania decreased by about 30%.
early 19th century
in 1897 was carried out another estimate of the number.Based on the results it turned out that at that time lived in Lithuania about 1,924,400 people.At the time this result was very impressive.
Oddly enough, but while in Lithuania Lithuanians themselves were not enough.Their share then was only 61.6%.In addition, the country is home to at least 13% of Jews, Poles 9%, about 5% of Russian, as well as a similar number of Belarusians and Germans.The number of Latvians was less than a half percent, and the proportion of Tatars and does not exceed the mark of 0.2%.
even more interesting by the fact that in any large city in the number of Lithuanians percentage was even lower.So, in Vilna lived no more than 41% of the Jews, at least 30% of the Poles, and the share of Russian and Belarusian was about 24%.Samih Lithuanians lived in the city no more than 2% of the total population.
in Kovno, the situation was about the same: the Jews there were about 35%, the number of Russian, Belarusians and Poles equal to 36% of Lithuanians was 6.6%.All the rest - the Germans.By the way, in Klaipeda, almost all the population was German.This is due to the fact that this part of East Prussia became part of Lithuania only in the late 18th century.Only in Suwalki province the number of the Lithuanian population reached 72%.
Notes ethnogeny
We hasten to note that at that time the process of ethnogenesis was still going by leaps and bounds: in addition to the 1.21 million Lithuanians themselves, lived in the Russian Empire, and 448,000 more zhmudinov.Without them, the indigenous population of Lithuania was only 44%.This contrasts sharply with the data populist statements of some politicians about the Baltic "secular quantitative superiority of the Lithuanian population."
early 20th century
By the early twentieth century, the situation with "indigenous" nations has worsened even more.
By 1914, the share of Russian population rose to 6%, while the number of Lithuanians dropped immediately to 54% in percentage terms.In the eastern part of the country and do their share dropped to 30%.The situation changed only after the First World War, when the country en masse emigrated over 300 thousand Russian-speaking residents.Furthermore, in those years there was a significant influx of Lithuanians from other countries, which was associated with the creation of an independent Republic of Lithuania.
Before World
In 1923, the population of Lithuania was already 2,028,971 people.Compared with 1897 the proportion of Lithuanians themselves have grown up to 84-85%.The number of Jews has decreased almost doubled, reaching 7.5% (153 473 people).Poles living in the state has 3.2%, or 65 599 people, Russian was only 2.5% (50 460 people), the number of Germans rapidly (due to deportations and terror) fell to 1.4% (29,231), Belarusians have no more than 0.2% (4421).Other nationalities in those years there were about 8771 person.
Thus, the composition of Lithuania's population at the time was very multinational.
Other changes in the national composition
in Kaunas, which became the capital of an independent republic, there were even more fundamental changes.For example, Polish and Russian, which until then were practically the backbone of the urban population, almost no (less than 8000 people).The number of Germans was 3.5%, the Jews became 27.1% (25 041 people).But the number of Lithuanians increased, amounting to 54 thousand people (59% of the population).
census in Klaipeda region, which was carried out by local authorities in 1925 showed that the number of Lithuanians do not exceed 26.6% of the total composition of the population (not more than 37 626 people).There were a lot of Germans, whose share was about 41.9% (59 337), memeltsev with their 24.2% (34 337), as well as other nationalities.
Memeltsy - who are they?
By the way, who are the memeltsy?To date, a number of prominent scientists, historians believed that this term was understood a number of different populations (!) Nations, who did not accept the independence of Lithuania, and the formation of the republic.Some historians believe that this - the descendants of Germans from East Prussia, which have not been assimilated to their land after Lithuania did not accept the language and customs of the Baltic states.
Most likely, this is true, because almost all the anthropologists say that in areas populated memeltsami, felt tremendous influence of German culture and language.Thus, counting the population in Lithuania of those years, these details should be kept in mind.It is likely that the actual proportion of the German population of these regions reached in those years to 66%, exceeding the mark of 90 thousand people.
in Vilna area had a similar situation, but in regard to the Poles.The fact that this land several times passed from Lithuania to Poland, and Poles were deliberate colonization, assuming that the maximum displacement of other nations or their assimilation (most often - by force).
Thus, in Lithuania "sample" the 20-ies of the last century Lithuanians themselves were little more than 60% of the total population of these lands.The total population of Lithuania is close to 1 million 900 thousand (beginning in 1930).
From 1939 to 1970
In 1940, Lithuania became part of the Soviet Union.It began a reverse process, when was replaced by Polish Lithuanian population.During the German occupation, the number of Polish population begins to increase again.For example, in 1942 in the Vilnius region alone, there were 309,494 Lithuanians, Poles and the number increased to 324,757 people.
the sad fate of the Jewish population.Only in Lithuania was killed 136421 people of this nationality (and this is - without a pair of regions).Survived no more than 20 thousand people.This is also evidenced by the census of 1959, by which Lithuania remained only 24,672 Jews.
German statistics of 1937 in the country totaled 157,527 persons belonging to this nationality.Thus, for the time of the German occupation had destroyed at least 175,000 Jews, and by 1941 the whole of the territory of the Lithuanian population of 225,000.
postwar agreements
in 1945-1946 were expelled from the country 178 thousand Poles.If we take the period from 1945 to 1950, from Lithuania left half of the Polish population.If we talk about re-Russification, even Lithuanian researchers admit that in Soviet times, it is very slow, slightly changing the ethnic composition of the state.For example, in 1959-1989, the number of Russian increased by only 9.4%, and part of Belarusians and Ukrainians accounted for 1.2% of the total population.
By 1991, the number of Lithuanians close to 79.6%, while the population of Lithuania was 3,666,000 people.If we talk about the general trend of the Union republics, Lithuania was almost the only example of how increasing the number of the title nation: the number of Russian even in the central regions of the RSFSR has fallen to 81%, although it was 85%.
New time
So some people in Lithuania prevailed (much) at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union?Of course, Lithuania.This simple argument Russian researchers this year already trying to convince his Baltic colleagues that no "occupation" was not.However, so far without much success.
How changed after the death of the Soviet Union the population of Lithuania?Dynamics extremely deplorable.Immediately after 1991-1993, with its territory has left more than 300 thousand Russian.If by 1991 the country's population of almost four million people, today the population has decreased almost by half!
no wonder that the people of Lithuania for 2014 is 2.9 million people.Like, it's not so little.Although there is one "but."The fact that the government end up in this number almost all Lithuanians from other EU countries, using census even Internet voting.Young people en masse leave the country, so that independent experts agree on one thing: according to unofficial data, the population of Lithuania for 2014 is a maximum of 2 million people.
likely dynamics of intense population decline will continue in the coming years.
