Latvia–Lithuania relations Latvia–Lithuania relations Latvian–Lithuanian relations are bilateral international relations between Latvia and Lithuania. Latvia has an embassy in Vilnius, and Lithuania has an embassy in Riga. The ambassador to Lithuania is Hardijs Baumanis, the ambassador to Latvia is Antanas Vinkus. Both states share a long common history: Both Latvians and Lithuanians belong to the family of Baltic peoples, speakers of the Baltic languages. The territory of Latvia and Lithuania were together part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1561 and 1772 (with a brief period of Swedish rule in what is now Latvia in between). Between
Grand Duchy of Lithuania Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that lasted from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and Austria. The state was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. The Grand Duchy expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus' and other Slavic lands, including what is now Belarus and parts of Ukraine, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent, in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe. It was a multi-ethnic and