The Ukrainian Theme in the Journalistic Legacy of Antanas Smetona (1874–1944)

Abstract

This article focuses on the intellectual legacy of the prominent Lithuanian political and state figure Antanas Smetona. He was the first president of democratic Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and the autocratic leader of the Lithuanian state from 1926 to 1940. Beyond his political activities, Smetona was a key figure in the public and cultural sphere of the Lithuanian national movement during the later stage of the national revival. He actively engaged in publishing and editorial work within the sphere of Lithuanian-language mass media and organized the effective production of educational content for the Lithuanian readership. In addition, the future president left behind a significant journalistic material. The “Ukrainian question” reflected both aspects of Smetona’s public identity – his roles as a politician and as an intellectual. Ukraine, with its past and present, was within his sphere of interest from the early stages of his career at the beginning of the 20th century. His communication with Ukrainian intellectual elites was equally longstanding. The years of revolution and armed liberation struggle transformed these old connections, elevating them to a new platform. Under Smetona’s leadership, Lithuania supported Ukrainian revolutionary-liberation structures throughout the 1920s and 1930s. This support was based on Lithuania’s strategic interests, but it’s also rooted in Smetona’s deep understanding of Ukraine and its people.

In this article, we will explore a little-researched aspect of Smetona’s journalistic legacy: the Ukrainian theme in his intellectual work. The study focuses on a multi-faceted goal – filling gaps in historical Lithuanistic and Baltistic studies in Ukraine, related to the modern era, while also uncovering previously unexamined aspects of Ukrainian-Lithuanian relations in the 20th century. This is achieved through ananalysis of Smetona’s intellectual legacy, with particular attention to his most significant journalistic works centered on Ukrainian question.