Archaeologia Baltica

Between the First World War and the Second World War, approximately 280 thousand men served in the Lithuanian armed forces. This is a significant figure for a country that only had a population of two to 2.5 million. Even though the Lithuanian armed forces were only involved in active military operations and low-intensity fighting from 1919 to 1923, servicemen died during the entire period up to 1940. The numbers of deaths during the Wars of Independence are well known; however, the causes of death in the Lithuanian armed forces, both from 1919 to 1920 and in later years, have not been investigated in great depth. We understand that one cause of death in an active army is active combat. In the study of war, deaths in action are further classified into deaths caused by artillery fire, machine gun and rifle fire, bayonets, etc. This allows scholars to determine the effectiveness of weapons systems and tactical elements used on the battlefield. However, the focus of this article is the causes of soldiers’ deaths that are not directly combat related. In the first section, I discuss causes of death in the Lithuanian armed forces during periods of war and peace, and provide a host of examples, which include deaths caused by disease, accidents, homicide and suicide. In the last section, I present the results of quantitative analysis. The quantitative analysis is a case study of a single regiment that demonstrates the predominant causes of death from 1919 to 1940, with a separate analysis of causes of death for the period 1919 to 1920.

Many changes took place in the upper echelons of Lithuanian society at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries: a divide began to emerge between the conservative aristocracy and the supporters of Enlightenment ideas. The latter sought reforms, the independence of the state and progress in society. The former did not support the changes, and sought to preserve the former structure of society, often seeking the support of politicians in the Russian Empire. It is important to study not only the actions of the elite of that period in the field of politics, but also their households and lifestyles. The paper explains what can be learnt about factors that may have influenced the health of Ludwik Skumin Tyszkiewicz (1751–1808), one of the most prominent Lithuanian political figures at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The main character in the article is regarded in historiography as a noble with conservative views, who focused on the accumulation of material goods. The paper investigates what is known about the health problems of the count. It also explains what products were used in his kitchen, and what the stresses were in his life that could have affected his health. The circumstances of his death and funeral are also mentioned.

In today’s productivity-oriented culture, topics related to death, illness, and loss are avoided. However, sooner or later people fall ill, die and various losses accompany everyone’s life. These experiences come together with spiritual pain, grief, tension, anxiety, fear and anger. If not addressed properly, these feelings cause physical and mental illnesses, loss of one’s identity, psychological trauma and interfere with fulfilling relationships. Spiritual health is the most important indicator of human health and the quality of life. It is also vital to the overall health of a person and is related to the essence of a human being and to what is valued and truly cherished by a particular person. This article reveals the changes in the state of a person in the presence of a disease from a psychological and theological perspective by analysing scientific literature, interpreting and systematizing information.

The article discusses the main factors which shaped the peculiarities and distinctions of political elites in East Prussia in the first half of the 19th c. Among them, it names the growth of self-sufficiency of provincial nobility during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, the role of political elites in the liberal movement for constitutional reforms in Prussia, as well as the use of historical research and symbols of the past, increased in the first half of the 19th c. for the definition of distinction of both the province and its representatives. In the article, particular attention is paid to the examination of the factors of Russian neighbourhood and East Prussia’s position in the borderland between Prussia and Russia, showing their impact during crucial to Prussia events of 1813 and 1848. Due to the intertwining of all of those factors, in the first half of the 19th c., the consciousness of political elites in East Prussia ranged between regional provincial patriotism, Prussian patriotism (perceived through the relationship between the King and his subjects), and the growing sense of belonging to the German nation.

The article is devoted to the new historical investigations concerning the project of Anti-King Confederacy in Lithuania in 1788. The oligarchs opposing the King Stanisław August Poniatowski attempted to wreck his plan of making an alliance with Russia. Their plan was to establish in coordination with Prussia a confederacy outside the structures of Polish-Lithuanian Parliament. It is known that two Lithuanian oligarchs: Karol Radziwiłł (then the Voivode in Vilnius) and Michał Kazimierz Ogiński (the Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Army) sketched a project of confederacy in Lithuania. Up until autumn 1788 both did not collaborate with the opposition and were very cautious in their political moves.