History of Lithuania 1920, captured Vilnius the following day, and established a short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania in eastern Lithuania on October 12, 1920. The "Republic" was a part of Piłsudski's federalist scheme, which never materialized due to opposition from both Polish and Lithuanian nationalists. For 19 years, Kaunas was the temporary capital of Lithuania while the Vilnius region remained under Polish administration. The League of Nations attempted to mediate the dispute, and Paul Hymans proposed plans for a Polish–Lithuanian union, but negotiations broke down as neither side could agree to a compromise. Central Lithuania held a general election in 1922 that was
Capital punishment in Lithuania Capital punishment in Lithuania Capital punishment in Lithuania was ruled unconstitutional and abolished for all crimes in December 1998. Lithuania is a member of the European Union and the Council of Europe and has signed and ratified Protocol 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights on complete abolition of death penalty. From March 1990 to December 1998, Lithuania executed seven men. The last execution in the country occurred in July 1995, when Lithuanian mafia boss Boris Dekanidze was put to death. In the Lithuanian SSR, the criminal code provided for death penalty in 16 articles. After the declaration of