"No allies": the Lithuanian Taryba and the national minorities 1916–1918

LTPo Pirmojo pasaulinio karo tautų apsisprendimo teisės šūkis tapo neįtikėtinai populiarus. Niekas neabejojo tautų apsisprendimo teisės principo moralumu. Tačiau kartu padidėjo ir įtampa tarp atskirų tautinių grupių, ypač tautiniu atžvilgiu mišrioje Vidurio ir Rytų Europoje. Straipsnyje aptariama Lietuvos Tarybos reikšmė ir veikla jos santykio su tautinėmis mažumomis aspektu. Nuo pat pradžių Lietuvos Tarybos nusistatymas tautinių mažumų atžvilgiu problemiškas. Lietuvos atvejis negali būti laikomas unikaliu Rytų Europos kontekste. Lietuvos nepriklausomybės tėvai vargu bau išsiskyrė iš jų epochos tendencijų. Tai, kad Lietuvos Taryba atstovavo faktiškai tik lietuvius, etnocentrinė Tarybos orientacija taip pat. Tuo pat metu netrūko deklaracijų, kad bus atsižvelgta į viduramžių Didžiosios kunigaikštystės tolerancijos tradiciją, kuri naujosios Lietuvos valstybės būsianti tęsiama.Reikšminiai žodžiai: Pirmasis pasaulinis karas, 1914-1918 (Didysis karas; World War I); Rytų Europos šalys (Eastern Europe states); Tautinis judėjimas; Mažumų politika; Taryba; First World War; Eastern Europe; National movement; Minority police; Taryba.

ENThe call for ‘national self-determination' exercised enormous moral attraction during and after the First World War but at the same time also caused tensions between individual national groups, especially in ethnically mixed East Central Europe. This article examines the function and importance that the Lithuanian Taryba attached to national minorities during its existence. It illustrates the problematic attitude of the Taryba concerning the minorities from the onset. The Lithuanian example obviously cannot be seen as unique in Eastern Europe. In that respect the founding fathers of the modern Lithuanian state hardly differed from the trend of their era. [From the publication]After the WWI the slogan of the right of self-determination of nations became extremely popular and nobody doubted the morality of the principle of the right. However the situation was also accompanied with the tension between individual national groups, especially with regard to national minorities in the mixed Eastern and Central Europe. The article discusses the significance of the Lithuanian Council and its activities with regard to relations with the national minorities. The attitude of the Lithuanian Council with regard to the national minorities was problematic from the very start. The case of Lithuania cannot be considered unique in the context of the Eastern Europe. The founding fathers of the independent Lithuania most likely did not stand out from the trends of the period. The fact is that the Lithuanian Council represented only Lithuanians and its orientation was ethnocentric. However, there were plenty of declarations that the tradition of tolerance of the medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania will be continued in the new state of Lithuania.