Representation of Lithuania in the Far Eastern Republic, 1920-1922
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Kazimieras Jocis; Lietuvos užsienio reikalų ministerija; Motiejus Čepas; Sibiras; Tolimieji rytai; Tolimųjų Rytų Respublika; Čita; Chita; Far East; Far Eastern Republic; Kazimieras Jocis; Lithuania; Lithuania foreign ministry; Motiejus Cepas; Motiejus Čepas; Siberia.
ENLithuanian historiography has until now mostly focused on the relations between Lithuania and Soviet Russia/the Soviet Union; bilateral agreements and their significance were discussed; a study on Lithuanian consulates in Soviet Russia (later ñ the Soviet Union) carried out by the author of the present paper was published in 2015; the specificity of the activities of the consulate of Lithuania in Petrograd was revealed in Ukraine. The research concluded that Lithuania had its authorised representatives in Siberia who were later assigned to represent and defend the interests of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in the Far Eastern Republic. A reference to the representation of Lithuania and Lithuanians in the Far East is made in the study on the life and activities of Motiejus Čepas (it is mentioned in the study that he was the leader of the Circle of Chita Lithuanians; in 1917 he acted as a representative of Chita Lithuanians in the Lithuanian Diet (Lith. Seimas) in Petrograd; in the period of 1918-1923 he chaired the Transbaikalia Lithuanian Committee for Repatriation of Deportees; in 1921-1923 he served as a representative of the Republic of Lithuania (Motiejus Čepas)); however, specific activities of Motiejus »epas acting in the capacity of an agent and subsequently an authorised representative in Chita are not addressed in the study. A discussion on the posts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the period of 1921-1922 in the verbatim reports of the Constituent Assembly includes a mention of the Lithuanian consulate in Siberia, whereas the Lithuanian and Lithuanian American press wrote about Čepas' appointment as an authorised representative of the Republic of Lithuania in Chita. [From Introduction]
