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Front: Julija Zemaite (1845-1921), Lithuanian author

Zemaite was a Lithuanian author of the same reputation as Selma Lagerlöf in Sweden. She has been featured on a large number of stamps, both in her native Lithuania and in Russia.

Back: traditional buildings in the rural districts

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Front: Motiejus Valancius (1801-1875), bishop of Samogitia 1850-1875

Valancius was born into a well-to-do peasant family. He studied to be a priest and was ordained in 1828. He spent many years teaching religion. Valancius was consecrated bishop of Samogitia in 1850, the first peasant to ever head that prestigious diocese. He expanded and improved the Samogitian parochial school network, wrote a great many religious books, and in 1858 inaugurated a temperance movement, which grew to encompass nearly a million members, almost half of the county's population. He strongly opposed the Czarist Government's scheme of Russification. He established Lithuanian schools and published Lithuanian language books that served to stimulate the emergence of the Lithuanian national movement.

Back: Aerial view of the Trakai Castle in Lithuania

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Front: Jonas Jablonskis (1860-1930), Lithuanian practical linguist

Jablonskis was born in Lithuania and studied classical languages at the University of Moscow. He was a teacher, linguist and author. Jablonskis' greatest achievement was his contribution to the formation of the standard Lithuanian language. His Lietuviskos kalbos gramatika was the first ever grammar of the Lithuanian language. For many years, this text remained the only comprehensive manual available to schools and to people wishing to improve their knowledge of the language.

Back: Mother and daughter at spinning wheel

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Front: Steponas Darius (1896-1933) and Stasys Girenas (1893-1933), Lithuanian national heroes

Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas were United States' citizens of Lithuanian descent, who made a significant, albeit fatal, flight in the history of world aviation. On July 15, 1933, they flew from New York over the Atlantic Ocean, covering a distance of 6,411 kilometers without landing in 37 hours and 11 minutes before crashed in Germany. The flight was one of the most precise in aviation history, done without navigational equipment and under unfavorable weather conditions. It equaled, and in some aspects surpassed, Charles Lindbergh's classic flight.

Back: Monaplane Lituanica

Lithuania, located in central Europe was under Russian domination 1795-1917. Declared itself a sovereign republic 1917-40. Occupied by Germany 1940-44. A member republic of the Soviet Union 1940-90. It again became an independent republic in 1990. For a more detailed country profile, see CIA World Factbook on Lithuania.