''Draugija'' (literally: ''society'', ''association'') was a

Lithuanian-language Lithuanian (, ) is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Baltic languages, Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the language of Lithuanians and the official language of Lithuania as well as one of t ...

magazine published in

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 1907–1914, 1919–1923, and 1937–1940. Published by the

Society of Saint Casimir The Society of Saint Casimir () was a Lithuanian society that published Lithuanian-language books and periodicals, many on Roman Catholic church and faith. Established in 1905, right after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted, the society published ...

, it focused on the issues of Lithuanian culture, literature, science, and politics and was geared towards the

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

and the Catholic clergy. It urged everyone to work on developing the

Lithuanian culture Culture of Lithuania combines an indigenous heritage, represented by the unique Lithuanian language, with Nordic cultural aspects and Catholic traditions resulting from historical ties with Poland. Although linguistic resemblances represent ...

which would distinguish the Lithuanian nation from others and believed in slow and steady cultural work. The magazine critically reviewed essentially every more substantial work of

Lithuanian literature Lithuanian literature () concerns the art of written works created by Lithuanians throughout their history. History Latin language A wealth of Lithuanian literature was written in Latin, the main scholarly language in the Middle Ages. The edi ...

, published articles to improve and standardize the Lithuanian language, discussed how to improve education, analyzed social and political issues in Lithuania, promoted

Christian democracy Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well ...

, criticized ultra-conservatives and attempted to find the proper place for the Catholic Church in modern society and science. Its issues usually had more than 100 pages and reached circulation of 1,000 copies. Its long-term editor was Lithuanian Catholic theologist and philosopher (1907–1938). In total, 213 issues were published. Its supplement for Catholic youth ''Ateitis'' (Future) edited by

Pranas Dovydaitis Pranas Dovydaitis (; 2 December 1886 – 4 November 1942) was a Lithuanian politician, Prime Minister of Lithuania, teacher, encyclopedist, editor, and professor. Biography Pranas Dovydaitis was born in Marijampolė County, Runkiai and at ...

gave rise to the Lithuanian Catholic Federation

Ateitis The Lithuanian Catholic Federation Ateitis (literally, 'future') is a youth organization in Lithuania uniting Catholic-minded schoolchildren, university students, and alumni. Members of the Ateitis Federation are known as . Name and aims The a ...

History

The

Lithuanian press ban The Lithuanian press ban () was a ban on all Lithuanian language publications printed in the Latin alphabet, in force from 1865 to 1904, within the Russian Empire, which controlled Lithuania proper at the time. Lithuanian-language publications t ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

was in effect from 1864 to 1904, thus the first Lithuanian cultural magazine '' Dirva'' was published by

Antanas Milukas Antanas Milukas (13 June 1871 – 19 March 1943) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest, book publisher, and newspaper editor working among the Lithuanian Americans. As a student at the Sejny Priest Seminary, he was involved in the publication ...

in the United States and the illegal '' Žinyčia'' established by

Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas Juozas Tumas also known by the pen name Vaižgantas (20 September 1869 – 29 April 1933) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and an activist during the Lithuanian National Revival. He was a prolific writer, editor of nine periodicals, universi ...

lasted only five issues. When the press ban was lifted in 1904, Lithuanians hurried to establish various periodicals. In July 1906, during a meeting of the newly established

for publishing Lithuanian books, it was decided to establish a new cultural magazine. It was understood that the magazine would be unprofitable due to the limited number of subscribers. The society's chairman

Adomas Jakštas Adomas is a Lithuanian language given name, the Lithuanized form of the name Adam (given name), Adam. Notable people known under this name include: *Pranas Končius (code name Adomas; died 1965), last anti-Soviet Lithuanian partisan killed in acti ...

became the editor of ''Draugija''. The first issue was published in January 1907. The monthly magazine with circulation of 1,000 copies was printed at the press of

Saliamonas Banaitis Saliamonas Banaitis (; 15 July 1866 – 4 May 1933) was a Lithuanian printer, politician, and businessman. He was one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania in 1918. Early death of his father and brother forced Banai ...

. In February 1911, ''Draugija'' began publishing supplement for Catholic youth ''Ateitis'' (Future) edited by

. It had its own supplement which published samples of Lithuanian folklore (songs, riddles, proverbs, etc.) collected by the students. It gave rise to the Lithuanian Catholic Federation

and became an independent publication in 1913. In 1914, ''Draugija'' also published a supplement for teachers ''Mokytojas'' (Teacher) edited by . The magazine continued to be printed monthly until the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Jakštas and several others, as politically unreliable persons, were deported from Kaunas to

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 ...

by the commandant of the

Kaunas Fortress Kaunas Fortress (, , ) is the remains of a fortress complex in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was constructed and renovated between 1882 and 1915 to protect the Russian Empire's western borders, and was designated a "first-class" fortress in 1887. During W ...

. Therefore, the last four issues of 1914 of ''Draugija'' were published in one booklet in early 1915. The subsequent German occupation interrupted any further attempts to publish the magazine. German authorities allowed to reestablish the publication only in October 1918. The first issue appeared in January 1919. It was a monthly publication, but it would combine two issues into one booklet published every two months. From the beginning of 1923, it became the official publication of the newly established Faculty of Theology and Philosophy of the

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

. However, the faculty dropped the magazine after it published a political article on the

Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party The Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party (, LKDP) was a Christian-democratic political party in Lithuania. History Russian Empire and Republic of Lithuania A Christian Democratic movement was established in Lithuania in 1890 by a group of Ro ...

. ''Draugija'' was discontinued in October 1923 after 153 issues. It was partially replaced by ' published by the

Federation in 1925–1940. ''Draugija'' was revived as a periodical published every two weeks in 1937. Jakštas resumed editorship and after his death was replaced by . The magazine was discontinued after the Soviet occupation in June 1940.

Content

More than 150 authors contributed articles to ''Draugija'' before World War I. Its authors included

Jonas Basanavičius Jonas Basanavičius (, ; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often given the informal hon ...

Pranas Būčys In yoga, Ayurveda, and Indian martial arts, prana (, ; the Sanskrit word for breath, " life force", or "vital principle") permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects. In Hindu literature, prāṇa is sometimes described as origina ...

Kazimieras Būga Kazimieras Būga (; November 6, 1879 – December 2, 1924) was a Lithuanian linguist and philologist. He was a professor of linguistics, who mainly worked on the Lithuanian language. He was born at Pažiegė, near Dusetos, then part of the Russ ...

, Liudas Gira,

Motiejus Gustaitis Motiejus Gustaitis (27 February 1870 – 23 December 1927) was a Lithuanian Symbolist poet, who used numerous pseudonyms (among them Balandis, Bendrakelionis, Embė, G. M., K. M. G.). He was also a translator and educator, as well as a Catholic p ...

Lazdynų Pelėda Lazdynų Pelėda (literally: ''Hazelnut Owl'') was the common pen name of two Lithuanian sisters writers: Sofija Ivanauskaitė-Pšibiliauskienė (1867–1926) and Marija Ivanauskaitė-Lastauskienė (1872–1957), who were individually mostly k ...

Petras Leonas Petras Leonas (1864–1938) was a Lithuanian attorney and politician, the first Minister of Justice of the newly independent Lithuania in 1918. After graduating from Moscow University in 1889, Leonas held a government job at various courts in S ...

Maironis Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian Na ...

Pranas Mašiotas Pranas Mašiotas (1863–1940) was a Lithuanian activist and educator best known as children's writer and translator. Born in Suvalkija to a family of Lithuanian farmers, Mašiotas attended Marijampolė Gymnasium and studied mathematics at Mosc ...

Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius (; 13 April 1871 - 27 January 1927) was a Latin Church Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Vilnius from late 1918 until his resignation in 1925. Matulaitis was also the founder of the Sisters of the Immac ...

Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas Vincas Mykolaitis, known by his pen name Putinas (literally ''Viburnum''); 6 January 1893 – 7 June 1967), was a Lithuanian writer, poet and translator, accorded the honour of being a People's Writer of the Lithuanian SSR in 1963. He was also a ...

, Juozas Purickis,

Justinas Staugaitis Justinas Staugaitis (14 November 1866 near Šakiai – 8 July 1943, Telšiai) was a Lithuanian Roman Catholic bishop, politician, educator, and author. He was one of the twenty signatories to the Act of Independence of Lithuania. Biography ...

Stasys Šalkauskis Stasys Šalkauskis (May 16, 1896 in Ariogala, Lithuania – December 4, 1941 in Šiauliai, Soviet Union) was a Lithuanian philosopher, educator, rector of Vytautas Magnus University. He was married to Julija Šalkauskienė Paltarokaitė. The w ...

Šatrijos Ragana Šatrijos Ragana ("Witch of Šatrija") was the pen name of Marija Pečkauskaitė (; March 8, 1877 – July 24, 1930), a Lithuanian humanist and romantic writer and educator. Her most successful works are (''In the Old Estate'', 1922) and ''Irko ...

Augustinas Voldemaras Augustinas Voldemaras (16 April 1883 – 16 May 1942) was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He briefly served as the country's first prime minister in 1918 and continued serving as the minister of foreign affairs until 1920, representing ...

Vydūnas Wilhelm Storost, artistic name Vilius Storostas-Vydūnas (22 March 1868 – 20 February 1953), mostly known as Vydūnas, was a Prussian-Lithuanian teacher, poet, humanist, philosopher and Lithuanian writer, a leader of the Prussian Lithuani ...

Social issues

The magazine devoted significant attention to issues in education. Russian public schools could accommodate only about a quarter of all children but Lithuanians were allowed to organize their own private schools only after the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

. As new schools were organized by various parishes as well as the

Saulė Society Saulė Society (; "saulė" means ''sun'') was a Catholic educational society active in Lithuania from 1906 to 1940. It organized and maintained Lithuanian-language schools in the Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire, and later interwar Lithuania. Th ...

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

and

Žiburys Society Žiburys Society (''žiburys'' means light, beacon; ) was a society established in 1906 that organized and maintained Lithuanian schools in the Suwałki Governorate of the Congress Poland, Russian Empire (later, Suvalkija region of independent Li ...

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 ...

, ''Draugija'' published numerous articles on the state of education in the country and plans for improving it, discussed school curriculum, teaching methods, child psychology, debated Catholic and secular approaches to education, reported on education practices in other countries (United States, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Ukraine, etc.), popularized new scientific achievements and explained science topics (e.g. about

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

, comets, telepathy). The Russian Revolution also brought

class conflict In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

and other

social issues A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...

to the forefront. As Lithuanians organized the first societies for workers (e.g. Workers' Society of St. Joseph founded by Konstantinas Olšauskas or Society of Saint Zita), the magazine published articles debating the role of the Catholic Church, charities, mutual aid societies in addressing social issues, discussing

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...

as well as broader concepts of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

, addressing more specific issues of Lithuanian emigration to United States or

teetotalism Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to b ...

Literature, language, history

The magazine promoted the preservation of cultural heritage and development of the Lithuanian cultural revival. ''Draugija'' published literary works and their critical reviews. Each issue began with poems by known and newly discovered Lithuanian authors as well as translated poems of foreign authors such as

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

. The magazine also published a few short stories by

, Liudas Gira, , and others. It published four dramas: ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, a comedy by

Roderich Benedix Julius Roderich Benedix (21 January 1811 – 26 September 1873) was a German dramatist and librettist, born in Leipzig, where he was educated there at Thomasschule. He joined the stage in 1831, his first engagement being with the travelling compan ...

, a drama by

Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the '' Tunnel über der Spree'' in Berlin and '' Die Krokodile'' in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry ...

, and historical drama ''Kęstučio mirtis'' (Death of

Kęstutis Kęstutis ( – 3 or 15 August 1382) was sole Duke of Trakai from 1342 to 1382 and List of Lithuanian monarchs, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1342 to 1382, together with his brother Algirdas (until 1377), and with his nephew Jogaila (from 1377 to ...

) by

. Almost every more substantial new literary work in Lithuanian was critically reviewed by ''Draugija'', frequently by its editor Jakštas. These reviews were compiled and published separately in two-volume ''Mūsų naujoji literatūra'' (Our New Literature) in 1923. Other articles were devoted to reviewing works of certain writers, including

Jonas Krikščiūnas Jonas Krikščiūnas, known by his pen name Jovaras ( – 21 January 1967), was a Lithuanian poet. From around 1896 to 1904, he was a book smuggler helping distribute the banned Lithuanian books. A son of poor peasants, he never received any for ...

(Jovaras),

Žemaitė Žemaitė (, , "Samogitian woman") was the pen name of Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė ( – 7 December 1921). She was a Lithuanian/Samogitian writer, democrat and educator. Born to impoverished gentry, she became one of the major partici ...

Jonas Biliūnas Jonas Biliūnas (11 April 1879 – 8 December 1907) was a Lithuanian writer, poet, and a significant contributor to the national awakening of Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Biography Early life Biliūnas was born near A ...

, etc. ''Draugija'' also published historical studies on the

, including on

Dionizas Poška Dionizas Poška (; October 1764 – 12 May 1830) was a Lithuanian poet, historian and lexicographer sometimes described also as Polish-Lithuanian He contributed to the early 19th-century Samogitian Revival, the early stage of the Lithuanian Nati ...

Antanas Baranauskas Antanas Baranauskas (; 17 January 1835 – 26 November 1902) was a Lithuanian poet, mathematician and Catholic bishop of Sejny. Baranauskas is best known as the author of the Lithuanian poem '' Anykščių šilelis''. He used various pen names ...

, , ''

Aušra ''Aušra'' or ''Auszra'' (literally: ''dawn'') was the first national Lithuanian newspaper. The first issue was published in 1883, in Ragnit, East Prussia, Germany (newspaper credited it as ) East Prussia's ethnolinguistic part - Lithuania Mi ...

''.

Juozas Gabrys Juozas Gabrys or Juozas Gabrys-Paršaitis (February 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was a Lithuanian politician and diplomat, best remembered for his efforts to popularize the idea of Lithuania's independence in the West during World War I. Early l ...

published a synthesis that covered not only individual authors, but also

Lithuanian Chronicles The Lithuanian Chronicles (; also called the Belarusian-Lithuanian Chronicles) are three redactions of chronicles compiled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All redactions were written in the Ruthenian language and served the needs of Lithuanian pat ...

and Lithuanian folklore. A few articles were published on foreign authors (

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

). The magazine frequently published articles dealing with the Lithuanian language, its history, standardization,

syntax In linguistics, syntax ( ) is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituenc ...

lexicon A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...

, often written by linguist

. In particular, the magazine dealt with identification of various

loan word A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing (linguistics), borrowing. Borrowing ...

s and barbarisms in Catholic texts and their replacement with Lithuanian equivalents. After the death of linguist

Kazimieras Jaunius Kazimieras Jaunius (1848–1908) was a Lithuanian Catholic priest and linguist. While Jaunius published very little, his major achievements include a well regarded Lithuanian grammar, systematization and classification of the Lithuanian dial ...

, one entire issue was dedicated to him. The magazine also published articles on the

philosophy of language Philosophy of language refers to the philosophical study of the nature of language. It investigates the relationship between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of Meaning (philosophy), me ...

and

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

(translated from a work by

Jan Baudouin de Courtenay Jan Niecisław Ignacy Baudouin de Courtenay, also Ivan Alexandrovich Baudouin de Courtenay (; 13 March 1845 – 3 November 1929), was a Polish linguist and Slavic studies, Slavist, best known for his theory of the phoneme and allophone, phoneti ...

). ''Draugija'' also published articles on topics from the

history of Lithuania History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

, for example about King

Mindaugas Mindaugas (, , , , ; c. 1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known grand duke of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power; he is mentioned in a ...

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

in Lithuania,

. Jakštas wrote numerous obituaries.

References

External links