Great Seimas of Vilnius

The Great Seimas of Vilnius (Lithuanian: Didysis Vilniaus Seimas), also known as the Great Assembly of Vilnius or the Great Diet of Vilnius, was a major assembly held on December 4 and 5, 1905, in Vilnius, Lithuania—then part of the Russian Empire. Largely inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1905, it was the first modern national congress in Lithuania and dealt primarily not with the social issues that sparked the revolution, but with national concerns. Over 2,000 participants took part in the Seimas. The assembly made the decision to demand wide political autonomy within the Russian Empire and achieve this by peaceful means. It is considered an important step towards the Act of Independence of Lithuania, adopted on February 16, 1918, by the Council of Lithuania, as the Seimas laid the groundwork for the establishment of an independent Lithuanian state.

Historical background

Lithuania had been part of the Russian Empire since the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century. After the unsuccessful uprising of 1863, Lithuania was subjected to Russification policies: the Lithuanian press ban was initiated, schools were required to teach in the Russian language, Roman Catholics could not hold positions in government institutions and could own only limited amounts of land, and political rights were restricted. However, these measures did not stop the Lithuanian National Revival, and a sense of the Lithuanian national identity continued to grow. The first Lithuanian political parties, the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania and Lithuanian Democratic Party, included goals of political autonomy for Lithuania within the Russian Empire in their basic program.

After the events of Bloody Sunday in January 1905 sparked a revolution in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to make concessions.