Temporary capital of Lithuania changed hands frequently: on April 19, 1919, the city was seized by the regular Polish Army; on July 14, 1920, it was recaptured by Soviet forces. After the Soviet defeat in the Battle of Warsaw, Vilnius was handed to the Lithuanian authorities according to the Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty of July 12, 1920. Poland continued to claim the city and organized Żeligowski's Mutiny to capture it in October 1920. Polish General Żeligowski established the Republic of Central Lithuania, which was incorporated into Poland in 1922. Such situation remained until 1939. In October 1939 the Soviets transferred the city, which they captured
Capital punishment in Lithuania the criminal code but was retained in the military law (). Article 14 of the military law provided for death penalty for eight crimes, mostly directed against the state, the military, or the officials, but also included armed robbery with murder. The provisional constitution of 1920 even spoke about the abolition of the death penalty. However, Lithuania with brief interruptions remained under the martial law until November 1938 when it was lifted due to German pressure in the months before the ultimatum of March 1939. Historian Sigita Černevičiūtė counted at least 146 executions in interwar Lithuania, though records are incomplete