Grand Duchy of Lithuania also re-established the permanent capital of the Grand Duchy in Vilnius, presumably moving it from Trakai in 1323; some researchers, such as Maciej Stryjkowski, claim that Navahrudak was the capital of the 13th century state. Lithuania was in an ideal position to inherit the western and the southern parts of Kievan Rus'. While almost every other state around it had been plundered or defeated by the Mongols, the hordes stopped at the modern borders of Belarus, and the core territory of the Grand Duchy was left mostly untouched. The weak control of the Mongols over the areas they had conquered
Economy of Lithuania Economy of Lithuania Lithuania is a member of the European Union and the largest economy among the three Baltic states. GDP per capita in Lithuania is highest in the Baltic states and is 63% above the world's average of $17,300. Lithuania belongs to the group of very high human development countries and is a member of WTO an OECD. Lithuania was the first country to declare independence from Soviet Union in 1990 and rapidly moved from centrally planned to a market economy, implementing numerous liberal reforms. It enjoyed high growth rates after joining the European Union along with the other