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The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty, also known as the Moscow Peace Treaty, was signed between Lithuania and Soviet Russia on July 12 1920. In exchange for Lithuania's neutrality and permission to freely move its troops in the recognized territory during its war against Poland, Soviet Russia recognized the sovereignty of Lithuania. The treaty was a major event in Lithuania's struggle for international recognition. It also recognized Lithuania's eastern borders. Interwar Lithuania officially maintained that its de jure borders were as recognized by the treaty despite that a large territory, the so-called Vilnius Region, was in fact controlled by Poland.

Background

Lithuania declared independence from the former Russian Empire on February 16 1918. In March the Bolsheviks signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and renounced any claims to the Baltic states, including Lithuania. The Ober Ost, the German occupying authority, did not allow Lithuanians to establish government institutions, form military or police, or attempt to determine the borders. Lithuanian independence remained largely unrealized political declaration. That changed when Germany surrendered in November 1918. Lithuanians hurriedly adopted a provisional constitution, formed a government, and started organizing an army.

Soviet Russia denounced the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and renewed its interest in the Baltic region. In late December 1918 Lithuanian territory was invaded by the Bolshevik forces, pursuing retreating Germans. That marked the start of the Lithuanian Wars of Independence and the Polish–Soviet War. Within a month Soviet forces controlled large portions of northern and eastern Lithuania. The advance was stopped only with the help from German volunteers. In Vilnius Bolsheviks proclaimed a puppet Soviet government, led by Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas. In February Lithuanian SSR was merged with Byelorussia SSR, to form Litbel. The entity was short-lived as Poland and Lithuania successfully counterattacked. Vilnius, the historic capital of Lithuania, was seized by the Poles in April. Last Bolsheviks were pushed from Lithuanian territory at the end of August. The entire territory of Litbel was taken by September 1919 and it ceased to exist.

Negotiations

As the Bolsheviks were pushed from the Baltic region, Lenin sought to arrange peace treaties to ease some anti-Bolshevik tension in Europe. The first Lithuanian–Russian attempt at negotiations was on September 11 1919, after the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of Soviet Russia Georgy Chicherin sent a note with a proposal for a peace treaty. It was a de facto recognition of the Lithuanian state. Similar proposals were delivered to Latvia and Estonia. On September 14 and September 15 1919 the Baltic states held a trilateral meeting in Tallinn and agreed to begin peace talks with the Soviets simultaneously.

However, Lithuania delayed contacting Moscow and the collective negotiations did not take place. Lithuanians were afraid that negotiations with communists, isolated from the European politics, would spoil relationship with western powers, that had not yet recognized Lithuania. As Lithuania was preparing for the first democratic elections to the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania, the election campaigns urged the government to start the negotiations. On March 31 1920 Augustinas Voldemaras, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, informed Soviet diplomats the Lithuania is ready to open the talks but only if Moscow would recognize Lithuania in its ethnic lands and capital Vilnius. The Soviets agreed to discuss the situation and suggested starting preliminary negotiations on April 15. The talks began in Moscow only n May 7.

The Lithuanian delegation, led by Tomas Naruševičius, demanded that Russia would recognize independent Lithuania as a legal successor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania while Soviet delegation, led by Adolph Joffe, was prepared to recognize Lithuania only based on the self-determination principle. Territorial disputes were the most contentious issue. Lithuania demanded the territories of former Kovno, Vilna, Grodno and Suwałki Governorates. The area, Lithuanians claimed, was ethnic Lithuania. M. Balinsky's census of 1857 was provided as evidence that the territory was inhabited mainly by Lithuanians. Lithuanians alleged that Jews and Belarusians, two other large ethnic groups in the region, wished to be part of Lithuania. They brought a representative of each group, Simon Rosenbaum and Dominyk Semashko, to collaborate with such claims. It was agreed that the territory of Lithuania could be easily identified, as it was inhabited by Litvaks. Second Polish Republic also laid claims to this territory and had actual control over it at the time.

Soviets agreed to recognize the territory to Lithuania if it agreed to form a military alliance against Poland, which started the Kiev Offensive against the Soviet Russia. Lithuanians were tempted by the opportunity to regain Vilnius, but refused. Even though Soviets seemed as a natural ally against Poland, Lithuanians reasoned that keeping good relations with Poland and its allies, France and Great Britain, was a better long-term strategy. Lithuanians informed Britain about Soviet plans. They hoped such a move would prove Lithuania's trustworthiness and would put indirect pressure on Poland to reach an acceptable agreement in regards to Vilnius. Such tactics did not provide much success as Poland was invariably backed by France and indirect British pressure was not enough to change Poland's foreign policy.

The negotiations were long and difficult. As Russians were loosing to the Poles, Lithuanians sought to delay the talks. On May 22 1920 the Lithuanian delegation even threatened to withdraw from the peace talks. However, as the situation changed and Russians successfully counterattacked, the Lithuanians were pressed to sign the treaty on July 12. After some debate over whether the treaty was sincere, and whether the Soviets had assumed any real liability, the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania ratified it on August 8 1920.

The treaty

The treaty had 19 articles. Article 1 stipulated that Russia recognized Lithuania's independence without reservations and voluntarily abandoned any territorial claims. Article 2 described Lithuanian territory. The Soviet Union acknowledged Lithuanian authority over the Vilnius Region, including Brasłaŭ, Hrodna, Lida, Pastavy and Vilnius. The fate of the Suvalkai Region was not determined by the treaty as the line was drawn only to the village of Sztabin. The Bolsheviks also promised to pay war reparations in the amount of three million rubles and 107,000 ha of timber. Lithuania was relieved of any debt obligations.

The treaty allowed refugees and prisoners of war to return to their homeland. At the time Lithuania held about 2,000 Russian prisoners, while Russia held about 150 Lithuanians. Russians in Lithuania could opt for either Lithuanian or Russian citizenship. Russia promised to return any cultural and historical property removed during the wars. A working commission was created which evaluated the damage to Lithuania at about 816 million rubles, and 407 million rubles for the damage to the territory then controlled by Poland. Separate agreements were to decide protection of the frontier, conventions of trade and transit, etc.

The most controversial aspect of the treaty was a secret clause allowing Soviet forces unrestricted movement within Soviet recognized Lithuanian territory in an event of war with Poland and the issue of Lithuanian neutrality in the ongoing Polish-Soviet War. When the treaty was being negotiated and signed, most of the territory disputed between Poland and Lithuania was already controlled by the Bolshevik forces. Lithuanian forces crossed the Foch line on 19 July, to take control over the territories awarded to Lithuania by the Soviet Union, advancing rapidly despite Polish protests, and in several cases fighting skirmishes with retreating Polish forces. Lithuanians provided Soviets with logistical support. In September, when the Poles gained an upper hand and were pursuing Soviets back eastwar, the Soviet forces moved through Lithuanian controlled territory at will, but Polish forces were arrested and interned. The treaty did not create a formal military alliance between the Soviets and Lithuanians but meant that Lithuania was no longer a neutral country. Polish historian Piotr Łossowski and Alfred E. Senn, among others, explicitly noted that Lithuania has violated its neutrality towards Poland so far that Poland would have been quite justified in declaring war against Lithuania at that time, and Lithuanian historian Ceslovas Laurinavicius noted that the Lithuanian-Soviet cooperation created a pretext for the latter Żeligowski's Mutiny, which cost the Lithuania the Vilnius region in the interwar period.

The Lithuania was to stop the activities of the "anti-Soviet organisations and groups" on its territory, including the activities of the exiled bodies of the Belarusian People's Republic.

Aftermath

Immediate aftermath

As Poles were retreating, Lithuanians attempted to secure their borders, prescribed in the treaty. This led to clashes in southern Lithuania over towns of Sejny, Augustów, and Suwałki. The Bolshevik forces were the first to enter Vilnius on July 14 1920, and despite the treaty did not intend to transfer it to the Lithuanians. Soviets installed the puppet government of the former Litbel with intentions to start a socialist revolution. Leon Trotsky and Mikhail Tukhachevsky were making preparations to overthow the Lithuanian government. The plans never came to pass as Poland defeated Soviet forces in the Battle of Warsaw between August 13 and August 25. As Polish Army was approaching southern borders of Lithuania, on August 26 the Red Army retreated from Vilnius and left it under the Lithuanian control.

Lithuania's declared neutrality was challenged by Poland, which accused Lithuania of allowing free Soviet passage through its territory. Lithuania could not deny these facts. In late August Lithuanian and Polish missions met in Kaunas to negotiate the situation. As talks were under way, Polish troops retook Sejny, Augustów, and Suwałki in the south. Lithuanians mounted an offensive operation, and these clashes led to a war on a wide front in September. The fighting was interrupted by the League of Nations and the Suwałki Agreement was concluded on October 7 1920. Before it came into effect, Polish General Lucjan Żeligowski staged a mutiny, invaded Lithuania, and took over Vilnius. The bitter dispute over Vilnius continued until World War II.

Significance in interwar years and later

The treaty was a major breakthrough for international recognition of Lithuanian Republic. It proved functional furthermore, because many people who had lived in Lithuania before World War I returned to their homeland, although the Soviet Union did not pay all its reparations and never seriously considered returning cultural and historical property. Today, Lithuanian politicians and historians are still seeking to regain those items, but the Russian government claims that they are lost.

Modern Belarusian historiography regards the treaty, especially the cession of the ethnic Belarusian teritories (primarily, Hrodna, Shchuchyn, Lida, Ashmyany, Smarhon, Pastavy, Braslaw, but also the contemporary Vilna land with Vilna) to Lithuania, as a unilateral act of the Soviet authorities, aimed at the immediate military and political gain, and disregarding the national interests of the Belarusian people.

See also

• Treaty of Tartu (Russian–Estonian) – similar treaty with Estonia, signed on February 2 1920
• Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty – similar treaty with Latvia, signed on August 11 1920

References

1. ^ Treadgold, Donald W. (1995). Twentieth Century Russia. Westview Press. p. 137. ISBN 0813336724.
2. ^ Gerutis, Algirdas (1984). "Independent Lithuania". In Ed. Albertas Gerutis (ed.). Lithuania: 700 Years. translated by Algirdas Budreckis (6th ed.). New York: Manyland Books. pp. 163–165. ISBN 0-87141-028-1. LCC 75-80057.
3. ^ Template:Lt icon Čepėnas, Pranas (1986). Naujųjų laikų Lietuvos istorija. Vol. II. Chicago: Dr. Griniaus fondas. pp. 355–359. ISBN 5-899570121.
4. ^ Template:Lt icon Skirius, Juozas (2002). "Lietuvos–Rusijos Sovietų Federacinės Socialistinės Respublikos taikos sutartis". Gimtoji istorija. Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės. Vilnius: Elektroninės leidybos namai. ISBN 9986-9216-9-4. Retrieved 2008-03-30. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
5. Debo, Richard K. (1992). Survival and Consolidation: The Foreign Policy of Soviet Russia, 1918-1921. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 206. ISBN 0773508287.
6. ^ Eidintas, Alfonsas (1999). Ed. Edvardas Tuskenis (ed.). Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918-1940 (Paperback ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 67–70. ISBN 0-312-22458-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
7. ^ Simas Sužiedėlis, ed. (1970–1978). "Moscow, Treaty of". Encyclopedia Lituanica. Vol. III. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. pp. 554–555. LCC 74-114275.
8. ^ Template:Pl icon Łossowski, Piotr (2001). Litwa. Warszawa: TRIO. pp. 85–86. ISBN 83-85660-59-3.
9. ^ Template:Pl icon Łossowski, Piotr (1995). Konflikt polsko-litewski 1918-1920. Warszawa: Książka i Wiedza. pp. 126–128. ISBN 8305127699.
10. Гісторыя Беларусі: У 6 т. Т. 5. Беларусь у 1917—1945. — Мн.: Экаперспектыва, 2006. — 613 с.; іл. ISBN 985-469-149-7.
11. ^ Simas Sužiedėlis, ed. (1970–1978). "Independence, Wars of". Encyclopedia Lituanica. Vol. II. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. pp. 448–449. LCC 74-114275.
12. ^ Eidintas, Alfonsas (1999). Ed. Edvardas Tuskenis (ed.). Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918-1940 (Paperback ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 72–74. ISBN 0-312-22458-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
13. Senn, Alfred Erich (Sep. 1962). "The Formation of the Lithuanian Foreign Office, 1918-1921". Slavic Review. 3 (21): 500–507. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. Cf. History of Belarus, 1917-1945...
15. E.g., in У.Ф. Ладысеў. Станаўленне беларускай нацыянальнай дзяржаўнасці ў XX стагоддзі (метадалагічны аспект) // Заходні рэгіён Беларусі вачыма гісторыкаў і краязнаўцаў : зборнік навук. артыкулаў. — Гродна: ГрДУ, 2006. — 422 с. ISBN 985-417-834-Х.

• 1920 in law
• Treaties of Lithuania
• Treaties of Russia
• 1920 in Lithuania