Temporary capital of Lithuania during the invasion of Poland, to Lithuania according to the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty. Since then Vilnius has been the capital of the Lithuanian SSR and then independent Lithuania. Lithuania refused to have diplomatic relations between Poland and Lithuania until the ultimatum of 1938. Railroad traffic, telegraph lines or even mail could not cross the Polish–Lithuanian border. Lithuania continued to declare Vilnius as its capital in all official documents, including the constitution. Since the city was controlled by Poland, all Lithuanian authorities were transferred to the city of Kaunas, which became the seat of the government. To reconcile reality with
Economy of Lithuania Lithuanian branches. Lithuania traditionaly has strong agricultural, furniture, textile, biotechnology and laser industries. Maxima is a retail chain operating in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Bulgaria and it is the largest Lithuanian capital company and the largest employer in the Baltic states. Girteka Logistics is a largest Europe's transport company. "Biotechpharma" is a biopharmaceutical research and development company with a focus on recombinant protein technology development. The BIOK Laboratory is a startup founded by biochemistry scientists which is the biggest producer of Lithuanian natural cosmetic products. The number of the population aged 15 years and over is 1.45 million, activity