Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters or Movement for the Struggle for Lithuanian Freedom ( lt, Lietuvos laisvės kovos sąjūdis or LLKS) was a resistance organization of the

Lithuanian partisans The Lithuanian partisans () were partisans who waged a guerrilla warfare in Lithuania against the Soviet Union in 1944–1953. Similar anti-Soviet resistance groups, also known as Forest Brothers and cursed soldiers, fought against Soviet ru ...

, waging a guerrilla war against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

in the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II was the beginning of a new era started in late 1945 (when World War II ended) for all countries involved, defined by the decline of all colonial empires and simultaneous rise of two superpowers; the Soviet Union (US ...

. The organization was established on February 10, 1949, during a meeting of all partisan commanders in Minaičiai village. Jonas Žemaitis (codename ''Vytautas'') was elected as the chairman of its presidium. On February 16, the 31st anniversary of the 1918

Act of Independence of Lithuania The Act of Independence of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Aktas) or the Act of February 16, also the Lithuanian Resolution on Independence ( lt, Lietuvos Nepriklausomybės Nutarimas), The signed document is actually titled simply '' ...

, the Union adopted a declaration proclaiming itself to be the supreme political and military authority in Lithuania. In 1996, after

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

regained independence in 1990, the

Seimas The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Seimas), or simply the Seimas (), is the unicameral parliament of Lithuania. The Seimas constitutes the legislative branch of government in Lithuania, enacting laws and amendmen ...

(parliament) recognized the declaration as an official act of the Republic of Lithuania and Žemaitis as

President of Lithuania The President of the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublikos Prezidentas) is the head of state of Lithuania. The officeholder has been Gitanas Nausėda since 12 July 2019. Powers The president has somewhat more executive authority tha ...

. The organization and the partisan war were suppressed by the Soviet security agencies by 1953.

Structure

References

Sources

External links

English translation of the Declaration of February 16, 1949
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1949 Organizations disestablished in 1953 Paramilitary organizations based in Lithuania Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic 1949 establishments in the Soviet Union 1953 disestablishments in the Soviet Union