LITHUANIA - FACTS & FIGURES.... |
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| For the statto's amongst us, of which we are many, here are a few hard and fast facts about Lithuania: |
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| Population: |
3.5 million in Lithuania.
Capital city is Vilnius with 550,000. Second city and interwar capital of Kaunas has 380,000. |
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| Size: |
65,300 sq.m, so twice the size of Belgium |
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| Where: |
Most southerly of the three Baltic States. Vilnius is on the same latitude as Newcastle.
It shares its borders with Latvia, Belarus, Poland and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. Map... |
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| Distances: |
Vilnius is 1,075 miles from London, 639 miles from Berlin and 540 miles from Moscow |
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| Time Difference: |
2 hours ahead of UK, CET + 1hr |
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| Ethnic Groups: |
Lithuania is the least russified of the Baltic States, mainly due to its centuries long relationship with Poland.
Ethnic breakdown: Lithuanians 82%, Russians
8%, Poles 7%, Belorussians 1.4.
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| Language |
Lithuanian is part of the Indo-European language group. Russian is widely spoken. English is spoken in main cities. |
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| Currency: |
Litas. Conveniently £1 = 5 Litas |
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| National Holidays: |
| 1st January: |
New Year's Day |
| 13th January: |
Defenders' of Lithuania's Freedom Day - in 1991peaceful protestors were killed by Soviet troops. |
| 16th February: |
Independence Day - Lithuania declared its independence on this day in 1918 |
| March/ April: |
Easter |
| 1st May: |
May Day |
| 14th June: |
Day of Mourning and Hope - in 1941 Soviets began mass deportations to Siberia |
| 23rd June: |
Insurrection Day - marking the armed uprising against the Soviet occupiers in 1941 |
| 24th June: |
Midsummer Day |
| 6th July: |
State Day - coronation of Lithuania's first and only monarch, King Mindaugas in 1253. |
| 15th August: |
Feast of the Assumption - Catholic Festival |
| 23rd August: |
Black Ribbon Day - on this day in 1939 Stalin and Hitler carved up Europe. |
| 8th September: |
Nation Day - Grand Duke Vytautas was due to be crowned in 1430. He died the day before. |
| 23rd September: |
Commemoration Day for Victims of the Holocaust |
| 1st November: |
All Saints Day |
| 25th December: |
Christmas Day |
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