Lietuvos aidas is a daily newspaper in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. It was established on September 6, 1917 by Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...

, and became the semi-official voice of the newly formed Lithuanian government. When the government evacuated from Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

 to the temporary capital

Temporary capital of Lithuania

The temporary capital of Lithuania was the official designation of the city of Kaunas in Lithuania during the interwar period. It was in contrast to the declared capital in Vilnius , which was under Polish control from 1920 until 1939...

, Kaunas

Kaunas

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...

, it ceased publication. The newspaper was revived in 1928 and became the most popular newspaper in Lithuania, but World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 disrupted its publication. In 1990, after Lithuania declared independence from the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, the newspaper once again became the official newspaper of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania. Over the course of the decade it lost readership and was facing financial difficulties in 2007.

1917–1918

The newspaper was established in early September 1917 when Lithuania was occupied by the German Empire

German Empire

The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

. The German authorities loosened their control and granted some rights to the local population as World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 drew to a close. An openly pursued goal of annexation gave way to a more guarded policy after Germany perceived that a public relations

Public relations

Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

 backlash might occur: the Central Powers

Central Powers

The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...

 realized that the Allies

Allies of World War I

The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

 could use this annexation in their propaganda

Propaganda

Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....

 and in the upcoming peace negotiations. During this time, Lithuanians assembled the Vilnius Conference

Vilnius Conference

The Vilnius Conference or Vilnius National Conference met between September 18, 1917 and September 22, 1917, and began the process of establishing a Lithuanian state based on ethnic identity and language that would be independent of the Russian Empire, Poland, and the German Empire...

 and elected the 20-member Council of Lithuania

Council of Lithuania

The Council of Lithuania , after July 11, 1918 The State Council of Lithuania , was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between September 18 and 23, 1917. The council was granted the executive authority of the Lithuanian people and was entrusted to establish an independent...

, which was entrusted with the declaration of Lithuania's independence.

When Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...

, the newspaper's founder, became the chairman of the Council, Lietuvos aidas became the official newspaper of the Council on September 21, 1917. It was important for the Council to inform the Lithuanian people about its struggles and progress and developments on the war front, and to report other political news. Amongst its goals was the unification of all Lithuanians, irrespective of their political beliefs, in order to declare and establish an independent Lithuania. The newspaper was censored

Censorship

thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 by the Germans and was required to issue German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 translations. The German issue was titled Litauische Echo. At first the newspaper was published three times a week; after October 1, 1918 it was published daily, except for Sundays. The circulation in 1918 reached some 20,000 copies.

The newspaper usually consisted of about four pages. It published official declarations, decisions, and similar documents. Among the most famous issues is that of February 19, 1918, when the entire front page was dedicated to the Act of Independence of Lithuania

Act of Independence of Lithuania

The Act of Independence of Lithuania or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty...

. Although the majority of that issue was confiscated, the newspaper's editor, Petras Klimas

Petras Klimas

Petras Klimas was a Lithuanian diplomat, author, historian, and one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania.Klimas attended law school at the University of Moscow. After graduating, he returned to Vilnius and served on the Lithuanian Central Relief Committee. He was...

, succeeding in hiding about 60 copies. In addition to political news, Lietuvos aidas also published poems and other literary works. It featured a special supplement, Liuosoji valanda (The Free Hour), dedicated to art. Another supplement, Mūsų ūkis (Our Farm), published articles on farming and agriculture.

Antanas Smetona remained as the editor in chief

Editor in chief

An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...

, but the actual editing was performed by Petras Klimas

Petras Klimas

Petras Klimas was a Lithuanian diplomat, author, historian, and one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania.Klimas attended law school at the University of Moscow. After graduating, he returned to Vilnius and served on the Lithuanian Central Relief Committee. He was...

, Liudas Noreika, and others. The newspaper discontinued its operations on December 31, 1918, after publishing 214 issues. As Bolshevik

Bolshevik

The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

 forces took over Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

, the government had to abandon the city. After the interim government was established in Kaunas

Kaunas

Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...

, Lietuvos aidas was replaced by Lietuva (Lithuania) as the official newspaper of the Lithuanian government.

1928–1940

Lietuvos aidas was revived on February 1, 1928. It replaced Lietuva, the newspaper of Lithuanian government, and Lietuvis, the newspaper of the Lithuanian National Union. The chief editors were appointed by President Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona

Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...

 and his Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Lithuania

The Prime Minister of Lithuania is the head of the executive arm of Lithuania's government, and is chosen by the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas. The modern office of Prime Minister was established in 1990, although the official title was "Chairperson of the Council of Ministers" until 25...

. The most prominent editors were Valentinas Gustainis (1928–1932), the writer Ignas Šeinius (1932–1934), and Vytautas Alantas (1934–1939). After October 29, 1935, the paper published two editions daily, and from May 9, 1939 until the end of that year it published three daily editions (called Rytinis Lietuvos aidas, Lietuvos aidas, and Vakarinis Lietuvos aidas). These three editions were not merely re-prints or updates, but consisted of completely new material. The issues consisted of 14 to 16 pages. In 1939 the newspaper was the largest newspaper in Lithuania and its daily circulation reached 90,000 copies. The last issue, number 5544, was published on June 16, 1940, the day after the Soviet Union occupied Lithuania. Lietuvos aidas was taken over by the communists, renamed Darbo Lietuva (Working Lithuania), and continued publication for another month.

1990–2007

Lietuvos aidas was again resurrected in 1990 when Lithuania declared independence

Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania

The Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania or Act of March 11 was an independence declaration by the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted on March 11, 1990...

 from the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. The first new issue came out on May 8, 1990, during an economic blockade of Lithuania. Receiving support from Vytautas Landsbergis

Vytautas Landsbergis

Professor Vytautas Landsbergis is a Lithuanian conservative politician and Member of the European Parliament. He was the first head of state of Lithuania after its independence declaration from the Soviet Union, and served as the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas...

, it was recreated as the newspaper of the Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers of Lithuanian. The first editor was Saulius Stoma. In 2000 businessman Algirdas Pilvelis acquired most of the shares of the newspaper and became its editor. Pilvelis, a controversial figure, alienated much of the readership, and as a result Lietuvos aidas was not profitable during the early 2000s. Rumors circulated that the newspaper would declare bankruptcy due to its debts. A new newspaper, with the same name and design, appeared – the original newspaper had failed to register its name. As of February 2007, the circumstances surrounding the creation of the new Lietuvos aidas remained unclear.