Stasys Šilingas
Encyclopedia
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
Stasys Šilingas (11 November 1885 - 13 November 1962) Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
, was a significant figure in the history of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
's independence.
One of the founding fathers of Lithuania's Independence from 1918 to 1938, he was a seminal force in the resultant revival leading to a flowering of Lithuanian art, literature, culture, and nationhood. When the independence of Lithuania was proclaimed on February 16, 1918, Silingas served first as vice-president and, in 1919, as president of the Council of Lithuania
Council of Lithuania
The Council of Lithuania , after July 11, 1918 The State Council of Lithuania , was convened at the Vilnius Conference that took place between September 18 and 23, 1917. The council was granted the executive authority of the Lithuanian people and was entrusted to establish an independent...
. Between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was twice minister of justice, from 1926 to 1928, and from 1934 to 1938.From 1920 to 1926 he was director of the Fine Art association. He also served as vice-chancellor of the Order of Vytautas the Great
Order of Vytautas the Great
The Order of Vytautas the Great is the Lithuanian Presidential Award. It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguished services to the State of Lithuania.-History:...
. After the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, he was deported in 1941 to the Russian Arctic.
Early life and cultural activities
Šilingas was born in VilniusVilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
. He was a Baron through his maternal grandfather, Count Stanislav Šilingas of Paberžė, who was exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and whose property and estate were confiscated by the authorities of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
for his monetary support of the failed but great Uprising of 1863. Šilingas spurned the title using it only when it served to advance his country’s causes in giving him access to the Russian elite. He participated in the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
, manning the barricades and even firing a pistol at the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
.
Because Šilingas grew up in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
which was then claimed by Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
as part of Polish territory, he spoke only Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
until he and Ramūnas Bytautas, his close friend, studied Lithuanian in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1907. Šilingas learned Lithuanian to perfection. For this and for his oratorical skill, he was called "silver-throated" and "Cicero of the North" during his student years. He would go on to translate Lithuanian works into Polish and Russian, and other works into Lithuanian, including works by both Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
and Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
.
He graduated from Moscow University in 1912 with a degree in law. During his student years, he was active in the Student Union serving as its chairman. He published newspapers and journals for students and educators, including "Aušrinė
Aušrine
Aušrinė is a feminine deity of the Morning Star in the Lithuanian mythology. She is the antipode to Vakarinė, the Evening Star. Her cult possibly stems from the Proto-Indo-European religion and is related to Latvian Auseklis, Greek Eos, Roman Aurora, and Vedic Ushas. Aušrinė is the goddess of...
", eventually adding a supplement of Lithuanian folklore which he collected, called "Summer's Work". In 1915 he single-handedly published "Baras" (First Forum) which included works by Kazys Binkis
Kazys Binkis
Kazys Binkis was a Lithuanian poet, journalist, and playwright. He used the pseudonyms K.Alijošius, K. Papilietis, Kazys, Kazys Roviejietis, Nedarbininkas, Neklaipėdietis, Nelatvis, Nepartyvis, Ras Desta, Riza Chanas and others.-Biography:...
, Balys Sruoga
Balys Sruoga
Balys Sruoga was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist.He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth...
, Ingnas Šeinius, Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė, Vincas Krėvė
Vincas Kreve-Mickevicius
Vincas Mickevičius , better known by his pen name Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, was a Lithuanian writer, poet, novelist, playwright and philologist...
and others. Also included was his own poem "Tautos Dainu Genezė" ("Genesis of a Nation's Songs").
While still a student, he began collecting funds to preserve Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis , also known as M. K. Čiurlionis was a Lithuanian painter and composer. Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and art nouveau and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. During his short life he composed about 250 pieces of music and created about 300 paintings...
’ paintings and other Lithuanian works of art. Over 25 years, his private collection grew to over 100 works of Lithuanian art. He was co-founder of the Lithuanian Art Society with Antanas Žmuidzinavičius
Antanas Žmuidzinavicius
Antanas Žmuidzinavičius was a Lithuanian painter and art collector. Sometimes he used Antanas Žemaitis as his pen name....
and formally established the M. K. Čiurlionis collection. He also organized and staged Folk Art exhibits. As Chairman of the Opera Guild in Kaunas, he introduced La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
at the opening of the Opera Theater in Kaunas in 1920.
Russian Empire official
From 1915 to 1917, he worked at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, initially under minister Sergey Sazonov
Sergey Sazonov
Sergei Dmitrievich Sazonov GCB was a Russian statesman who served as Foreign Minister from September 1910 to June 1916...
. During this two year period of service, Šilingas gathered and dispensed funds to aid Lithuanians displaced by war in Saint Petersburg, particularly to writers and artists. He also opened a boys' high school for Lithuanians in Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
with Martynas Yčas, with whom he also participated in the First and Second Lithuanian Conferences in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
to organize Lithuania's government during and after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
On October 25, 1915, he, Balys Sruoga
Balys Sruoga
Balys Sruoga was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist.He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth...
, and Ignas Šeinius met with Maxim Gorki to discuss publishing a book in Russian about Lithuania. He was always an activist for Lithuanian causes, being an able lobbyist with the Russians while serving as Chairman of the State Council of Lithuanian in Russia in 1917 when he also founded the "Santara" ("Unity") party, a democratic organization whose purpose was to restore Lithuania as an independent nation. He was elected its vice-chairman and began publishing weekly issues of "Santara" which he personally funded. The same year he began to organize Lithuania's military scattered throughout the Russian Empire and to publish "Liberty's Officer" for army personnel. He also began to draft the statutes for the election of a Lithuanian Parliament in Russia.
Lithuanian Wars of Independence activities
He returned to Vilnius in 1918 at the end of World War I and was a member of the State Council of Lithuania, creating a National Militia as Minister of Defence. He declared that he was philosophically opposed to dictatorial rule but that he was ready to do whatever was required for Lithuanian solidarity. With President Antanas SmetonaAntanas Smetona
Antanas Smetona was one of the most important Lithuanian political figures between World War I and World War II. He served as the first President of Lithuania from April 4, 1919 to June 19, 1920. He again served as the last President of the country from December 19, 1926 to June 15, 1940, before...
and other government officials abroad in December 1918, they left a political and military vacuum, and Šilingas was able to hold both state and military together.
In 1919, he and Lithuania's government withdrew to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
where he was elected Chairman of the State Council of Lithuania, serving until 1920. He had earlier resigned from Santara to protest the party bickering which he could not tolerate. Politically, he was to the right of the left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
and supported the Lithuanian National Union (Tautininkai) drafting that party's statutes in 1933.
Among his accomplishments, he drafted the Constitution of Lithuania
Constitution of Lithuania
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. It was approved in a referendum on October 25, 1992.-History:...
which was adopted in 1938 and organized the National Guard which successfully repelled an attempted Russian invasion in 1918, during the Lithuanian Wars of Independence. However the Polish-Lithuanian War
Polish-Lithuanian War
The Polish–Lithuanian War was an armed conflict between newly independent Lithuania and Poland in the aftermath of World War I. The conflict primarily concerned territorial control of the Vilnius Region, including Vilnius , and the Suwałki Region, including the towns of Suwałki, Augustów, and Sejny...
(1 September - 7 October 1920) resulted in the fall of Vilnius and its surrounding territory to the forces of the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. The captured area was organized by the Poles as a new regime, the so-called Republic of Central Lithuania
Republic of Central Lithuania
The Republic of Central Lithuania or Middle Lithuania , or simply Central Lithuania , was a short-lived political entity, which did not gain international recognition...
. Due to his previous high-profile activities, Šilingas was arrested in Vilnius by the new Polish-controlled regime in August, 1921, but released in November of the same year in deference to his title of Baron. He returned to Lithuanian territory remaining under the control of the Kaunas government.
Republic of Lithuania Activist
He was co-founder of the M. K. Čiurlionis Art MuseumM. K. Ciurlionis National Art Museum
The M. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum is a group of museums based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is primarily dedicated to exhibiting and publicizing the works of the painter and musician M.K. Čiurlionis ....
in Kaunas. He was twice elected as representative of the Lithuanian Farmers' Union to the Parliament (Seimas
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...
) to accomplish land reforms in making land accessible to the people. He was Chairman of the Foreign Affairs committee. From 1920-1926, he was Chairman of the State Art Council, at which time he also practiced law to support his family.
He supported the dissolution of Parliament in 1926 in order to bring stability to the nascent nation, and he became Minister of Justice, reigning in the Bar Association for which he was duly criticized. He was thrice chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Lithuania (1917, 1918, 1929) and was decorated with the National Guard Star and the Vytautas the Great Star in 1931. In 1933 he completed the statutes for the Judicial System, for National and State Security, and for the Press, all of which were adopted. In 1934 he was named Minister of Justice a second time serving until 1938 at which time he withdrew from public life after delivering his "Testament to Lithuania" speech before a convention of the National Guard, stressing as always the necessity of reclaiming Vilnius.
After the adoption of his drafted Lithuanian State Constitution
Constitution of Lithuania
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania defines the legal foundation for all laws passed in the Republic of Lithuania. It was approved in a referendum on October 25, 1992.-History:...
, he declined the position Chairman of State Council of Lithuania. He did not support acceptance of the Polish ultimatum
1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania
The 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania was an ultimatum delivered to Lithuania by Poland on March 17, 1938. The Lithuanian government had steadfastly refused to have any diplomatic relations with Poland after 1920, protesting the annexation by Poland of the Vilnius Region. As pre-World War II...
in 1938 and thus advised that Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius
Vincas Kreve-Mickevicius
Vincas Mickevičius , better known by his pen name Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius, was a Lithuanian writer, poet, novelist, playwright and philologist...
should assume Chairmanship in 1940. He was awarded with the Italian Cross of the First Order, the National Guard Star Order, and the first class Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this Order. The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke...
.
Retirement and exile
In private life, he was friend to many innovative Lithuanian artists and writers, encouraging and publishing their works, now considered classics, including M. K. Čiurlionis, Balys Sruoga, Vincas Krėvė, Kazys ŠimonisKazys Šimonis
Kazys Šimonis was a famous Lithuanian painter.-Biography:K. Šimonis was born on August 25, 1887 in Starkonys, near Kupiškis, northern Lithuania. He studied organ, was also interested in history and ethnography. In 1909–1911, he went to work for his brother in the United States...
, and Adomas Varnas
Adomas Varnas
Adomas Varnas was a prominent Lithuanian painter, photographer, collector, philanthropist, and educator....
who drew caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
s of Šilingas to Šilingas' amusement.
He married Emilija Bytautaitė who was the sister of his closest friend Ramūnas Bytautas, a philosopher. He and Emilija had nine daughters. When he retired from public life in 1938, he moved with his family to Misiūnai, part of an old estate which he had purchased in 1925. There he designed and built his family home, a gathering place for colleagues and friends as well.
On June 14, 1941, as the forces of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
were retreating from the area of the Lithuanian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Lithuanian SSR, was one of the republics that made up the former Soviet Union...
and the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
was advancing, the Soviets arrested him, his wife Emilija, and daughter Raminta. They were separated before being deported to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Emilija died within 2 years of gangrene
Gangrene
Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
from frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
; Raminta died less than year later of encephalitis
Encephalitis
Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue...
. Šilingas learned of their location only after Emilija's death, and he never saw any of his family again. He spent over 20 years in exile: in camps and prisons of Siberia, the last 7 years of his life incarcerated at an Invalid Home in the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
. At one time he shared a cell with former Lithuanian President Aleksandras Stulginskis
Aleksandras Stulginskis
Aleksandras Stulginskis Aleksandras Stulginskis Aleksandras Stulginskis (born (February 26, 1885 in Kutaliai, in Šilalė district municipality near Tauragė, Lithuania, Russian Empire; died September 22, 1969 in Kaunas) was the second President of Lithuania (1920–1926)...
and other Lithuanian dignitaries such as Juozas Urbšys
Juozas Urbšys
Juozas Urbšys was a prominent interwar Lithuanian diplomat, the last head of foreign affairs in independent interwar Lithuania, and a translator. He served in the military between 1916 and 1922, afterwards joining the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs...
, former Foreign Affairs Minister.
Finally allowed to write letters, in 1956 he was able to communicate for the first time with his surviving daughters who now lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and with former colleagues who had been allowed to return to the Lithuanian SSR. His voluminous letters are philosophical, scholarly, and historical and reveal some details of his life in exile. Allowed to return to the Lithuanian SSR only in 1961, he died at Kelmė
Kelme
Kelmė is a city in central Lithuania. It has a population of around 11,000 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality.-History:Prior to World War II, Kelmė was home to a famous Rabbinical College, the Kelm Talmud Torah....
within a year, on November 13, 1962. He was first buried in Kelmė
Kelme
Kelmė is a city in central Lithuania. It has a population of around 11,000 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė district municipality.-History:Prior to World War II, Kelmė was home to a famous Rabbinical College, the Kelm Talmud Torah....
, but in 1999, his remains, and those of his wife and daughter, were reburied in the family plot at Ilguva near Misiūnai according to his wishes expressed while in exile.
The Stasys Šilingas Society, founded in 1999, documents his achievements and life and commemorates his contributions to Lithuania's existence at yearly events in Vilnius, Kaunas, Šakiai
Šakiai
Šakiai is a city in the Marijampolė County, Lithuania. It is located west of Kaunas. It is presumed that Šakiai first expanded from Šakaičai village. By 1719 a church in Šakiai was built. By the 19th century Šakiai already had city rights; it also had a school, Catholic and Lutheran churches, a...
, and other locations.
Sources
- Dranseikaitė, Ramunė. “Stasio Šilingo Politine ir Visuomenine Veikla.” Vilnius: 2000.
- “Silingas, Stasys.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20. p. 661. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1957.
- Šilingas, Stasys. Encyclopedia Lituanica. Vol. V. pp. 166–167. Boston,: Encyclopedia Lituanica, 1976.
- Skipitis, Rapolas. Nepriklausoma Lietuva: Atsiminimai. Cikaga, 1967.
- Vaičiunas, Albinas. Stasio Šilingo Gyvenimo Kelias: Second Edition Supplemented and Corrected. Vilnius, Stasio Šilingo Draugija.
- Worthington, Svaja Vansauskas. “Sarsaparilla to Sorcery: A Lithuanian Narrative.” Proteus: A Journal of Ideas. Vo. 20, No. 2. Shippensburg, PA.: Shippensburg University, Fall 2003.