Republic of Central Lithuania invaded by the Soviets in summer 1920 and being forcibly incorporated into that state, and only the Polish victory derailed this plan. After the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939, Lithuania was given in accordance with the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty Vilnius, and its surroundings up to 30 kilometers, on October 10, 1939. A part of the region was given to the Belarusian SSR. Vilnius very quickly became the capital of Lithuania again. But in 1940, Lithuania was swallowed up by the Soviet Union, forced to become the Lithuanian SSR. Since the restoration of Lithuanian independence
1922 Republic of Central Lithuania general election a mere fraction of the total population (about 2–3% of the population, according to Russian 1897 and German 1916 censuses). The Lithuanians nonetheless believed that their historical claim to the city (former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) had precedence and refused to recognize any Polish claims to the city and the surrounding area. The League of Nations mediated the dispute and strongly advocated a plebiscite where the local population would vote to be incorporated either into Poland or Lithuania. However, neither Poland nor Lithuania wanted the vote. Poland had control of the territory and saw no reason to