Belarus Some Belarusian academics are known for engaging in
historical negationism and trying to
culturally appropriate Lithuanian culture, national identity and history of statehood by arguing that the Belarusian word
litoutsy (літоўцы), meaning ‘Lithuanian’, historically refers to modern
Belarusians instead whereas present-day Lithuanians are pretenders who should actually be identified as
letuvisy (летувicы) and are accused of stealing their
ethnonym as well as the historic name of their homeland. Some Belarusian scholars consider the statehood of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania to be primordially
Slavic, rejecting the notion that its origins come from Baltic Lithuanian tribes. Historian
Mikola Yermalovich claimed that
King Mindaugas was Belarusian whereas the epicentre of historic Lithuania was actually in central and southern Belarusian lands. During the
Belarusian opposition protests in 2021, a Lithuanian woman was arrested and beaten up by Belarusian
OMON forces after they found out she was a Lithuanian citizen.
Belgium In 2023, statistics from the previous year alone indicated that a significant number of Lithuanians were exploited or faced discrimination at work in
Belgium with
Federal Public Service Employment getting around 400 complaints: 168 of cases were from Lithuanians who did not receive their paycheck or it got delayed whereas 234 of them received smaller payments than their coworkers for the same work because of their background. There were also accounts of Lithuanians facing racist or humiliating comments such as being called ‘dirty’, ‘Eastern European’ or noted as coming ‘from the Soviet Union’ in their certificate of employment.
Ireland In 2007, a scandal began to surface as it emerged that some Irish schools forbid Lithuanian children from using their native tongue. There was a reported case of Lithuanian girls suffering physical abuse because they were considered to be more attractive than their Irish peers. Inspector for Children’s Rights
Rimantė Šalaševičiūtė stated that “Lithuanian children are feeling unsafe and face discrimination” and concluded that Lithuanian and Irish children were not being treated as equals. In 2008, three Lithuanian men were beaten up because of their nationality by bouncers who claimed that people like them are not welcomed.
Germany After the creation of the
German Empire in 1871, the population of Prussian Lithuanians in
East Prussia started to decline even further due to
Germanisation. Many Lithuanians who wanted a better life were forced to adopt
German culture and eventually abandoned their native tongue. In Prussian governance and within the clergy, German colonists were regarded as the emissaries of "the chosen people" tasked with the mission of Germanizing the Lithuanians as well as other ethnic groups. Prominent officials consistently underscored national disparities in their writings, characterizing the Lithuanian peasantry as belonging to an inferior human race predestined to serve the Germans as their
slaves. They also believed their culture being superior to
Lithuanian culture whereas the nation itself was considered to be politically inept. In 1916, a German science publication
Der Koloss aut fonernen Fusen in
Munich wrote:[T]he Lithuanian himself has a tendency to superior German culture and by taking this path, he can become a loyal citizen of the
Reich. [...] those who think that a Lithuanian is already mature enough for even the most primitive form of self-governance are deeply mistaken.During
World War II, in accordance with
Generalplan Ost, the
Nazis planned to commit a mass-scale genocide of Lithuanians — 85% were to be physically exterminated, which was the second-highest percentage of planned killings of an ethnic group in
German-occupied Europe only to be surpassed by
Latgalians.
Latvia Historically, Lithuanians in Latvia were called
leiši, which apart from its primary meaning was also used to refer to someone who is negligent, lazy, uneducated and illiterate. Following Latvia’s declaration of independence, this term was soon replaced by a
neologism lietuvieši due to its negative connotations and official complaints from the
Lithuanian Government regarding the designation of the nationality of their compatriots in
Latvian passports.
Philologist Aistė Brusokaitė suggests that Latvians were the first ones to call Lithuanians
zirga galva, meaning 'horse head', which was later adopted as an insult by Lithuanians themselves:Since Latvians were economically more well off than Lithuanians, Latvians that lived by the border used to take young Lithuanian workmen to serve on their farms to do all the dirty work. Latvians were
Lutherans and Lutherans always paid more attention to education. Because of this, Latvians were more educated than Lithuanians, which is why less educated, illiterate Lithuanians were sometimes looked down upon and called ‘zirga galva’.Before World War II, the
Government of Latvia closed Lithuanian organisations and schools, which contributed to many Lithuanians fleeing the country as they could no longer ensure proper education for their children. In the 1950s and 60s, however, economically struggling Lithuanians were once again resettling in Latvia where they faced some degree of discrimination from the locals who did not consider them to be equal or trustworthy. There were reported cases of inciting tensions and insults directed at the Lithuanian people as well as children bullied at school for having Lithuanian parents.
Poland History Middle Ages and Early Modern Period The earliest depiction of Lithuanians, found in the few sources dating back to the 13th century, is decidedly negative. They were portrayed as semi-wild, greedy, and cruel pagans. This stereotype emerged as a result of numerous Lithuanian raids on Polish lands, which continued until the end of the 14th century. It was largely repeated by the chronicler
Jan Długosz in the 15th century, who was also the first to attribute honorable Roman origins to the Lithuanians. During the
Polish–Lithuanian union, interactions primarily took place at the level of the nobility. The Lithuanian nobility gradually adopted the Polish language and cultural elements, yet they were often perceived by the Polish nobility as uncouth and poor. Lithuanians were viewed as stubborn, distrustful, and cunning. Despite this, they were treated as "one of us." The Lithuanian nobility, on the other hand, regarded the Crown nobility as arrogant braggarts prone to megalomania and fond of drunkenness, referring to them as "monkeys." By the 18th century, there was a widespread belief in Lithuania that the Lithuanian nobility spoke Polish better than the
Crown nobility. The common Lithuanian people, as well as the lower nobility, often referred to as Samogitians (), were considered by Poles as barbaric and semi-pagan, speaking an incomprehensible, "bird-like" language.
Long 19th century In the 19th century, ethnographers and researchers became increasingly interested in the simple Lithuanian folk, who, unlike the nobility, did not use the Polish language in their daily lives. This interest was connected with the "mythologization of Lithuania" in Polish literary culture, which portrayed Lithuania as a land of peace and tolerance, where robust, simple folk lived in harmony with the Polish manor. In the Polish language, a term analogous to "
chłopomania" () appeared: "
litwomania" () referring to obsessive fascination with peasant Lithuanian identity. The term took on a pejorative connotation when the
Lithuanian national movement emerged, which generally viewed Polish influence in Lithuania negatively. One of its demands was for Polish-speaking Lithuanians to return to the language of their ancestors and embrace an ethnic Lithuanian identity. In response, a historical theory emerged, claiming that a significant portion of Lithuania's inhabitants had Polish origins, being descendants of thousands of captives brought to Lithuania during the Middle Ages. This theory originated in the early 20th century, primarily in the writings of historians
Władysław Abraham and
Zygmunt Gloger. Although challenged by subsequent generations of historians, it persisted until the second half of the 20th century. In Polish public opinion, there was often a lack of understanding regarding the emerging Lithuanian movement, which was perceived as a harmful division of the Polish-Lithuanian community. Many saw it as a Russian, and later also as a German, conspiracy. Litwomans were often perceived as renegades, deliberately abandoning Polish culture and language. The possibility of Lithuanian culture functioning independently of Polish culture was frequently questioned. These traits were most evident in the writings of Poles living in Lithuania. Among them, it was common to deny the Lithuanian movement the exclusive right to use names like "Lithuania," "Lithuanians," and "Grand Duchy of Lithuania," as they felt themselves to be, at the very least, equal heirs to this legacy. Particularly in conservative and national circles, there was a dominant belief in the artificiality of Lithuanian national aspirations, which were seen as lacking any solid linguistic or historical foundations. The entire matter was often reduced to temporary social tensions between the peasant class and the nobility. For a long time, Lithuanian activists, and later the Lithuanian nation, were regarded as "younger, misguided brothers" who would eventually realize the obvious mistake of rejecting Polish identity. Despite the growing tension and new areas of conflict, a lasting anti-Lithuanian sentiment did not develop during this period. Lithuanians were still seen as a close and friendly group, with all negative traits attributed to a group of Lithuanian activists detached from reality.
After 1918 The conflict over the auxiliary language (in addition to Latin) in churches within parishes inhabited by both Polish- and Lithuanian-speaking populations, which took place between 1904 and 1914, had a significant impact on the formation of mutual stereotypes. Many nationally-minded Lithuanian priests demanded a greater presence of the Lithuanian language, which often met with resistance from the broader clergy, who were attached to the role of the Polish language in the Catholic Church in Lithuania. On 23 June 1944, in response to the
Glinciszki massacre, which was a Lithuanian revenge campaign for killing their auxiliary policemen, the Polish resistance movement Home Army killed up to 100 Lithuanian civilians in the
Dubingiai massacre. The victims included newborns, children, women and the elderly. They also killed 273 Lithuanians in
Molėtai from 1943 to 1945.
Present In 2013, during a football match between
Lech Poznań and
Žalgiris clubs in
Poznań, Lech fans publicly hanged up a banner, saying “Lithuanian boor, kneel before the Polish master” (). Thousands of Poles signed a letter of apology on
Gazeta Wyborcza following the incident claiming that “in Poland, there’s no place for such primitive behaviour that insults the Lithuanian nation.”
Russia and Soviet Union History After the partitions of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, most of
Lithuania proper fell under Russian rule. From the early 19th century, Russian ethnic policies concerning annexed land were different: unlike in
Poland,
Latvia,
Estonia, or
Finland, where Russians imposed more mild integration policies mainly seeking to turn them into loyal subjects of the state, Lithuanians, together with Belarusians and
Ukrainians, faced assimilation. The unsuccessful
January Uprising (1863–64) resulted in
Governor General Mikhail Muravyov initiating the Programme of Restoration of Russian Beginnings that claimed the Lithuanian land had been Russian since ancient times. In 1863, Lithuanian publications in the
Latin script were banned. From 1872, only the
Cyrillic script was allowed and Lithuanian was banned in schools. According to the
Research Centre of Lithuania, “In Lithuania Minor and all of East Prussia, there were almost no settlements where the Soviets wouldn’t have killed and tortured the civilian population, destroyed or pillaged their property. Men were killed and women were
raped.”
NKGB officer Kuzmyn in Klaipėda writes:In
Klaipėda and
Šilutė, there are all-around rapes of women happening, regardless of their nationality, physical stance, or age. The beautiful city of Šilutė that was left by the Germans without a battle now looks repulsive.In 1947, the Council of Lithuania Minor in
Fulda,
Germany, protested against the ethnic crimes and Russian colonisation of their homeland. Some historians deny accusations of genocide against Prussian Lithuanians, claiming it to be the result of soldier brutality. During the Soviet times, the famous slogan “Lithuania shall remain but without Lithuanians” by statesman
Mikhail Suslov was coined. Once Lithuania was
occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, immediate
Russification followed: the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union would give administration positions in the
Lithuanian SSR to Russian representatives who often could not speak Lithuanian, while ethnic Russians were encouraged to resettle in Lithuania. In some governmental institutions of Soviet Lithuania, the Lithuanian language was banned. In 1948, 80% of all communists in Lithuania were Russians, whereas only 18.5% of them were Lithuanians, with the situation slightly improving after
Stalin's death. In 1953, the leadership of the Lithuanian SSR indirectly admitted that there were attempts to Russify Lithuania and plans to eliminate the politics of national character. In the 1980s, Russification intensified in public life as well: it was mandatory for the
Lithuanian Communist Party to report on its progress regarding Russification. From 1972, Lithuanian names were started to be written in accordance with
Eastern Slavic naming customs as
patronyms were introduced.
Present Similarly to the Soviet Union, modern
Russia has also been accused of historical negationism, claiming
Kaliningrad to be “primordially Russian land” despite the region sharing much closer cultural ties with its neighbouring countries and being a historic Baltic land of Prussian Lithuanians and Old Prussians for centuries. Historical book
The Western Part of the Lithuanian Ethnographic Territory, written by Professor , exploring Baltic people’s ties to the region, has been removed from all Kaliningrad libraries and mainland Russia, with possibly only a few copies in archives remaining. Lithuanian authorities have received several reports about the unfounded removal of Lithuanian monuments. In 2003, a bust of
Kristijonas Donelaitis in
Gusev was desecrated with oil paint before its unveiling ceremony — the periodical
Kaliningradskaya Pravda did not investigate the incident. In 2022, a memorial plaque in
Sovetsk dedicated to philosopher
Wilhelm Storost-Vydūnas was removed. Kaliningrad authorities have also removed a stone sculpture commemorating the famous
Prussian resistance leader
Herkus Monte. In the present-day political context, Lithuanians themselves have been regularly insulted by being labeled as "nazis" or "fascists" by the Russian state media and press due to the Lithuanian killing squad
Ypatingasis būrys carrying out atrocities against the
Jewish population during the
Holocaust, and Lithuanian leadership defending partisans of questionable reputation. Russian programmes have also come under scrutiny for using deceitful language when spreading false historical narratives about Lithuania: most notable examples include
insinuating that Lithuanians served in a national
Waffen-SS legion or labelling
Antanas Smetona's regime as "fascist", from which Lithuania was then liberated by the Soviets, even though Moscow originally supported its initiators and even funded press publications owned by
Nationalists. In 2015, Russian politician
Vladimir Zhirinovsky threatened the
territorial integrity of Lithuania by urging Russia to “take back Klaipėda and Vilnius” on national television. In 2022, the
State Duma of Russia registered a bill that proposed repealing Russia's resolution recognising
Lithuania's independence. In 2023, as a reaction to the
President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda's encouragement to send more military aid to Ukraine, Russian television host
Vladimir Solovyov made claims suggesting that Lithuania is not worthy of its independence, threatened the future of its sovereignty, and asked: “Why do we put up with their existence?” In March 2025, the
Moscow State Institute of International Relations’ publishing house published a 400-page monograph titled "History of Lithuania", which was a toll of
Russian propaganda intended to distort Lithuania's history and statehood by denying or questioning
Lithuanian people's history, culture, language, and state symbols, alongside explicitly denying Russia's aggression and occupation of Lithuania throughout history as well as atrocities perpetrated by Russians against Lithuanians. The book was authored by nine individuals, with Maxim Grigoryev, head of the pro-Kremlin Foundation for the Study of Democracy Problems, as its lead author. Additionally, the book's foreword was written by
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and one of its coauthors included Giedrius Grabauskas, a former associate of Lithuanian politician
Algirdas Paleckis (former chairman of Lithuanian political party
Socialist People's Front), who was convicted in July 2021 of spying for Russia. There have been instances of Russian ethnically motivated violence directed against the Lithuanians living in Lithuania. In 2020, a 24-year-old Russian man who received
political asylum physically assaulted a Lithuanian teacher in
Visaginas for teaching Russians Lithuanian in school and called Lithuanians "man-eaters." Lithuanians have also been attacked for addressing Russian speakers in Lithuanian, either as pedestrians or clients.
United Kingdom Lithuanians have reported facing double standards when seeking to come to the
United Kingdom. There have been reports of Lithuanians having to pay £55 more for obtaining a
UK visa than citizens from other EU countries. Despite Britain’s official explanation that the larger price is a result of Lithuania not ratifying the Social Charter of the European Commission of 1961,
Embassy of Lithuania claimed this decision to be discriminatory and “not fully convincing” as the country did ratify the Social Charter of 1986, which “[f]rom a legal stance, is not a more inferior document.”
Post-Brexit amendments affecting labour migration in Britain have also been considered discriminatory against Lithuanian migrant workers, as these amendments resulted in a significant increase in costs for employers to employ
Lithuanian emigrants compared to other nationals. In the words of the representative for
IOM Audra Sipavičienė, additional taxes for employers “may contribute to Lithuanians being discriminated against in the labour market. This means there will be no interest in taking a more expensive Lithuanian instead of a cheaper Latvian.” Additionally, several instances of hostility towards Lithuanian migrants, accompanied by property damage, have been recorded, although motives for such attacks may vary. In 2016, a twelve-year-old Lithuanian boy was beaten up in
Manchester because of his nationality by his British peer, who was ordered to do so by his mother waiting for him in the car. Many Lithuanian families have claimed their children suffered abuse in public schools because of their nationality. == Notes ==