Antanas Venclova (7 January 1906 – 28 June 1971) was a Soviet and Lithuanian politician, poet, journalist and translator.

Early life

Born in Trempiniai in

Suwałki Governorate Suwałki Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire, which had its seat in the city of Suwałki. It covered a territory of about . History In 1867, the territories of the Augustów ...

, Venclova studied Lithuanian, Russian and French at the

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) (, VDU) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known as the University of Lithuania, but ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. In 1936, he visited the Soviet Union, becoming fascinated with the Soviet system and its culture. Before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he worked as a teacher and was the editor of the procommunist journals ''

Trečias frontas ''Trečias frontas'' () was a short-lived Lithuanian literary magazine which was the official organ of the Trečiafrontininkai (Third Fronters) group. The magazine was preparing to publish its 6th and 7th issues however after the 5th issue, the mag ...

'' (Third Front) and ''Prošvaistė''. Antanas-venclova-and-petras-cvirka-1934

Politician

Following the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

of Lithuania in 1940, he was briefly appointed as Minister of Education of the

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

. He was elected as a representative to the "

People's Seimas The People's Seimas () was a puppet legislature organized in order to give legal sanction to the occupation and annexation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union. After the Soviet ultimatum in June 1940, a new pro-Soviet government was formed, known a ...

" and went to Moscow as part of the delegation requesting that Lithuania be incorporated into the Soviet Union. After the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

in 1941, he retreated with the Red Army and remained in Soviet Russia during the Nazi occupation, returning to Lithuania in 1944. In the following years, he faithfully served the Soviet government. In 1947, he received the Stalin Prize. Venclova wrote the original words for the anthem of the Lithuanian SSR and translated the lyrics of the

Soviet anthem The State Anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original ...

into Lithuanian. After

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's death, the second stanza of the Lithuanian anthem's lyrics was changed by

Vacys Reimeris Vacys Reimeris (3 August 1921, Kuršėnai – 6 February 2017, Vilnius) was a Soviet and Lithuanian poet, translator, and Honored Culture Worker of the Lithuanian SSR (1965). Biography He graduated from elementary school in Kuršėnai in 1934 and ...

to remove any mention of Stalin. Between 1954 and 1959, Venclova was Chairman of the

Lithuanian Writer's Union The Lithuanian Association for Writers () is an association for writers and poets in Lithuania, founded in 1922. It gives annual prizes and awards to talented Lithuanian writers. The Association also has its own publishing house. References Ex ...

. He died in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

in 1971 and was buried at the

Antakalnis cemetery Antakalnis Cemetery (, , ), sometimes referred as Antakalnis Military Cemetery, is an active cemetery in the Antakalnis district of Vilnius, Lithuania. It was established in 1809. Soldier burials 12 of the 14 victims of the Soviet attacks duri ...

Family

His son, the poet

Tomas Venclova Tomas Venclova (born 11 September 1937) is a Lithuanian poet, prose writer, scholar, philologist and translator of literature. He is one of the five founding members of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group. In 1977, following his dissident activities, ...

, was a prominent dissident.Дом-музей семьи Венцловы
/ref>

References

1906 births 1971 deaths 20th-century Lithuanian poets People from Kalvarija Municipality People from Suwałki Governorate Communist Party of Lithuania politicians First convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic Ministers of education of Lithuania Vytautas Magnus University alumni Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Socialist realism writers Translators of Alexander Pushkin Lithuanian literary critics Lithuanian male poets Lithuanian translators Soviet male poets Soviet propagandists Soviet translators Burials at Antakalnis Cemetery {{Lithuania-politician-stub