Belarusians in Lithuania Belarusians in Lithuania The Belarusian minority in Lithuania (, "biełarusy", , "byelorusy", Lithuanian: "baltarusiai" or "gudai") numbered 36,200 persons at the 2011 census, and at 1.2% of the total population of Lithuania, being the third most populous national minority. The Belarusian national minority in Lithuania has deep historical, cultural and political relations. Many famous Belarusians lived and created in Lithuania, mostly its capital Vilnius; it was in Vilnius that the first standardized Belarusian language grammar was printed in. According to the 2011 census, only 18.4% of Belarusians speak Belarusian as their mother tongue, while Russian is native for 56.3%, Polish
Centennial of the Restored State of Lithuania Centennial of the Restored State of Lithuania The Centennial of the Restored State of Lithuania marks the 100th anniversary of the Act of Independence of Lithuania which was signed on 16 February 1918. Lithuania's statehood dates to the 13th-century Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On 6 July 1253, Mindaugas was crowned as the King of Lithuania. In 1385, Lithuania joined Poland in a union that grew into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1569. Between 1772 and 1795, most of Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. Towards the end of World War I, on 16 February 1918, twenty people signed the Act