''Rygos garsas'' (literally: sound of Riga) 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 ...

newspaper published in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

(present-day Latvia, then

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 ...

) from March 1909 to August 1917. While format and publication frequency varied, most of the time ''Rygos garsas'' was a four-page newspaper published twice a week. In total, 716 issues were published. The newspaper published news from abroad and Lithuania as well as articles on issues of Lithuanian education, religion, culture in Latvia. It supported the Catholic values. In the early 20th century, Riga became a center of Lithuanian emigration. The Lithuanian community desired to have its own newspaper and the activists established a publishing company with 32 shareholders. The first issue was published on 19 March 1909. Its first editor and publisher was Jurgis Linartas, a notary. It was published once a week in 1909 and twice a week in January–September 1910. Its circulation was 1500 copies in 1910. Due to financial difficulties, Linartas resigned in May 1910 leaving the newspaper to Antanas Šimoliūnas. The editors changed frequently and included and

Juozas Tūbelis Juozas Tūbelis (9 April 1882 – 30 September 1939) was a Lithuanian politician, Prime Minister, and member and chairman of the Lithuanian Nationalists Union. In 1908, he graduated from Polytechnical Institute in Riga receiving a diploma in agron ...

. In 1911, the publication was taken over 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 ...

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 ...

though the official editor and publisher was J. Bajoras. The society invited priest to become the editor. The newspaper was published twice a week from December 1912 to December 1914. Due to 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 ...

, there was a pent up demand for news and Bikinas wanted to increase the publication frequency to three times a week. He convinced his old acquaintance priest

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 ...

to move from

Laižuva Laižuva ( Samogitian: ''Laižova'') is a town in Telšiai County, Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the ...

to Riga and help him edit ''Rygos garsas''. Bikinas and Tumas bought out the newspaper from Bajoras for 600

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

and increased the publication frequency to three times a week from January to July 1915. Tumas was promised a salary of 30 rubles a month for his editorial work, but due to financial difficulties did not receive it. Bikinas edited news and political articles, while Tumas edited articles on cultural and societal matters. The circulation peaked at 13,000 copies. With the German attack in the

Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes The Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes or Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes, known in Germany as the Winter Battle in Masuria and in Russia as the Battle of Augustowo,Benninghof, p. 5. was the northern part of the Central Powers' offensive on ...

in February 1915, Lithuanian war refugees began arriving to Riga and the newspaper organized a committee for the refugee relief. Tumas left Riga later in 1915 while Bikinas continued to edit the newspaper until 1917. The newspaper was discontinued when Riga was captured by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in early September 1917.

References

External links

Full-text archive of ''Rygos garsas''
{{Authority control Newspapers established in 1909 1909 establishments in the Russian Empire Newspapers disestablished in 1917 1917 disestablishments in Europe Defunct newspapers published in Latvia Mass media in Riga Defunct Lithuanian-language newspapers Newspapers published in the Russian Empire