Knygnešys

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Knygnešiai (singular: knygnešys , German for example: book carriers ) were book smugglers who brought books printed in Latin letters from abroad, mostly from Lithuania Minor, to Lithuania between 1866 and 1904 . Knygnešys is a Lithuanian word with no direct equivalent in other languages, it is made up of knyga ( book ) and nešti (to carry ).

Beginning of Russification

Lithuania in the second half of the 19th century as part of the Russian Empire

After the January uprising of 1863 in Poland and Lithuania, the government of the Russian Empire intensified its efforts to reduce the influence of Polish Catholicism in Lithuania and to Russify the country .

In the summer of 1863 the Tsar issued "Interim Rules for the State Elementary Schools of the Northwestern Krais ", a region that encompassed essential parts of present-day Lithuania and Belarus . 1864 arranged General governor of the -general Vilnius , Count Mikhail Murawjow that the basic textbooks in Cyrillic characters are printed needed. His successor Konstantin von Kaufmann completely banned the printing of Lithuanian books in Latin letters in 1865.

In 1866 the Tsar issued a ban on the manufacture or import of Lithuanian printing works. Although this verbal order was de iure not binding, it was in fact obeyed until 1904. During this time about 55 books were published in Graschdanka, that is, Lithuanian written with Cyrillic letters.

During this time, however, Lithuanian printing works also sprang up in neighboring East Prussia , where a significant Lithuanian-speaking minority lived in the so-called Little Lithuania (roughly the then Gumbinnen administrative district including the Memel district ). They printed books, newspapers and magazines in the Lithuanian language in order to have them smuggled into Lithuania afterwards. The Knygnešiai took on this task , although if they were captured they faced fines, banishment and exile, even to Siberia . Some of them were shot while crossing the border.

Organized smuggling

Motiejus Valančius

In 1867, Motiejus Valančius , the bishop of Samogitia, was the first to organize large-scale printing abroad and the illegal redistribution of the scriptures. Its activities were uncovered in 1870 with the help of the Prussian authorities. Five pastors and two book-bearers were banished to remote areas of Russia. This did not stop other Knygnešiai from continuing. They became a symbol of resistance to the Russification policies of the authorities. During the final years of the publication ban, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 books were smuggled annually, a third of which fell into the hands of the authorities and were confiscated. Slowly the realization took hold that the ban was a failure. In 1904, among other things, the Lithuanian press ban was lifted in order to have the people of the country behind them in view of the Russo-Japanese War .

meaning

This episode of national history was suppressed during the Soviet era. Only after the restoration of independence could the Knygnešiai be commemorated in museums, monuments and street names. A statue was erected in Kaunas in honor of the unknown book-bearer.

The March 16 , the birthday of Jurgis Bielinis (1846-1918), who had built up a network of forbidden Lithuanian books is celebrated in Lithuania as the "Day of Knygnešiai".

swell

  • Ruseckas, Petras (1992–1997) Knygnešys: 1864–1904 (3 vols.) Valstybinis Leidybos centras, Vilnius, ISBN 9986-810-06-X (volumes 1 & 2 as reprint, originally: Spaudos fondas, Kaunas, 1926–1928 ) (Lithuanian);
  • Merkys, Vytautas (1994) Knygnešių laikai: 1864-1904 . Valstybinis Leidybos centras, Vilnius, ISBN 9986-09-018-0 (Lithuanian);
  • Merkys, Vytautas (1994) Draudžiamosios lietuviškos spaudos kelias: 1864–1904: informacinė knyga . Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų Leidykla, Vilnius, ISBN 5-420-01181-6 (Lithuanian);
  • Kaluškevičius, Benjaminas and Žemaitytė-Narkevičienė, Ona (1998) Šimtas knygnešių: knygnešių sienelės vardai . Lietuvos kultūros fondas, Lietuvos Knygnešio draugija, Vilnius, ISBN 9986-9175-0-6 (Lithuanian);
  • Čiplytės, Joana Vigos (2005) Juozas Masiulis: knygnešys ir knygininkas . Žara, Vilnius, ISBN 9986-34-140-X (Lithuanian)

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