Communist Party of Lithuania

The Communist Party of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos komunistų partija; Russian: Коммунистическая партия Литвы, romanized: Kommunisticheskaya partiya Litvy) was a communist party in Lithuania. The party was established in early October 1918 and operated clandestinely until it was legalized in 1940 after the Soviet invasion and occupation. The party was banned in August 1991, following the coup attempt in Moscow, Soviet Union which later led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Lithuanian SSR.

Communist Party of Lithuania
Lietuvos komunistų partija
First SecretaryAntanas Sniečkus (first)
Mykolas Burokevičius (last)
Founded1 October 1918
Banned1918–1940 (first ban)
23 August 1991–present (second ban)
Succeeded byDemocratic Labour Party of Lithuania
Socialist People's Front (not legal successors)
HeadquartersVilnius
NewspaperTiesa
Youth wingLeninist Young Communist League of Lithuania
Ideology
Political positionFar-left
National affiliationCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (1940–1991)
International affiliationCommunist International (1919–1943)
Continental affiliationUCP–CPSU
Colours  Red
Party flag
Former Central Committee office of the Lithuanian Communist Party

History

The party was working illegally from 1920 until 1940. Although the party was illegal, some of its members took part in the 1922 Lithuanian parliamentary election under title "Workers Groups". It managed to gather 5.0 per cent of vote (or around 40,000 votes) and elect five members. Due to political instability, Seimas was dissolved and new elections took place in 1923. In these elections, the party lost half of its support.

In 1940 the party amalgamated with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) (CPSU). By the time of the formation of the Lithuanian SSR, the Communist Party of Lithuania (LKP) was headed by Antanas Sniečkus. In 1940, the LKP merged into the CPSU(b). The territorial organisation of the party in Lithuania was called Communist Party of Lithuania (bolshevik) (LKP (b)). In the Lithuanian territorial organisation, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the party (always a Lithuanian) was de facto ruler of the country. The second secretary for the most of Soviet era was a Moscow-appointed Russian. In 1952 the name of the old Lithuanian party, LKP, was re-adopted.

On 24 December 1989,[1] during mass protests of the Singing Revolution against the Soviet Union in Lithuania, the party declared itself independent from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. By 1990, the main body of the CPL reorganized as the Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania, which in turn by 2001 merged with Social Democratic Party of Lithuania under the latter's name; but with leadership dominated by ex-communists.

A small portion of the party remained loyal to the CPSU, and reorganized as the Communist Party of Lithuania ('on platform of Communist Party of the Soviet Union') under the leadership of Mykolas Burokevičius after the "traditional" party declared independence from its Soviet Union counterpart. The party played a major role in the January 1991 Events in Lithuania.

The Communist Party of Lithuania was eventually banned on 23 August 1991.[2]

Membership
Party membership[1]
Year Members
1930 650
1936 1,942
1940 1,741
1941 4,620
1945 3,540
1950 27,800
1955 35,500
1960 54,300
1965 86,400
1970 116,600
1975 140,200
1980 165,800

Governance

First Secretaries
Antanas Sniečkus, the leader of the Communist Party of Lithuania from 1940 to 1974.[3]
No. Picture Name

(Birth–Death)

 Took office Left office Political party
First Secretary
1 Antanas Sniečkus
(1903–1974)		 21 July 1940 22 January 1974 CPL/CPSU
— Valerijus Charazovas
acting
(1918–2013)		 22 January 1974 18 February 1974 CPL/CPSU
2 Petras Griškevičius
(1924–1987)		 18 February 1974 14 November 1987 CPL/CPSU
— Nikolajus Mitkinas
acting
(1929–1998)		 14 November 1987 1 December 1987 CPL/CPSU
3 Ringaudas Songaila
(1929–2019)		 1 December 1987 19 October 1988 CPL/CPSU
4 Algirdas Brazauskas
(1932–2010)		 19 October 1988 23 December 1989 CPL/CPSU
23 December 1989 8 December 1990 CPL (independent)
"Leading role" of the party abolished 7 December 1989
First Secretary (of pro-Moscow breakaway faction)
5 Mykolas Burokevičius
(1927–2016)		 23 December 1989 23 August 1991 CPL/CPSU

Second Secretaries
  • Icikas Meskupas-Adomas (9 February 1941 – 13 March 1942)
  • Vladas Niunka (April – 30 December 1944)
  • Alexander Isachenko (30 December 1944 – 24 November 1946)
  • Alexander Trofimov (24 November 1946 – 22 September 1952)
  • Vasily Aronov (25 September 1952 – 11 June 1953)
  • Motiejus Šumauskas (February 1954 – 24 January 1956)
  • Boris Sharkov (28 January 1956 – 27 September 1961)
  • Boris Popov (30 September 1961 – 13 April 1967)
  • Valery Khazarov (13 April 1967 – 10 December 1978)
  • Nikolay Dubenko (11 December 1978 – 17 September 1986)
  • Nikolay Mitkin (17 September 1986 – 9 December 1988)
  • Vladimir Beryozov (9 December 1988 – 1990)

Congresses
Congress Date Delegates

Voting + advisory

 Notes
1st 1–3 October 1918 34 Took place illegally in Vilnius
2nd 4–6 March 1919 159 + 10 Joint congress with the Communist Party of Byelorussia; Established the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Lithuania and Belorussia
3rd 24–29 October 1921 12 Took place illegally in Königsberg
4th 17–21 July 1924 11 + 4 Took place in Moscow; after the 5th World Congress of the Comintern
5th 5–9 February 1941 294 + 66 Took place in Kaunas; First congress after establishment of the Lithuanian SSR
6th 15–18 February 1949 471 + 74 First congress after World War II
7th 22–25 September 1952 517 + 75 Elected 9 delegates to the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
8th 16–19 February 1954 541 + 44
9th 24–27 January 1956 578 + 101 Elected 9 delegates to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
10th 12–15 February 1958 572 + 108
11th 14–16 January 1959 596 + 126 Elected 9 delegates to the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
12th 1–3 March 1960 593 + 103
13th 27–29 April 1961 688 + 119 Elected 36 delegates to the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
14th 9–10 January 1964 765 + 99
15th 3–5 March 1966 789 + 90 Elected 42 delegates to the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
16th 3–5 March 1966 748 + 47 Elected 45 delegates to the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
17th 20–22 January 1976 904 Elected 49 delegates to the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
18th 29–30 January 1981 933 Elected 42 delegates to the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
19th 24–25 January 1986 947 Elected 55 delegates to the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
20th 19 December 1989 1033 Voted to separate from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

See also

References
  1. "24.12.1989". Tagesschau (Germany). Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  2. Деятельность компартии Литвы под запретом
  3. Motyl, Alexander J. (2000). Encyclopedia of Nationalism, Two-Volume Set. Elsevier. pp. 494–495. ISBN 0080545246.
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