Book Smugglers – the Illegal Heroes

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Today, smuggling, or the illegal transportation of goods and other items across state borders, is punished. It is an illegal, criminal activity. However, there were a few periods in the history of Lithuania (the second half of the nineteenth and the second half of the twentieth centuries), when illegal books and newspapers were the only way to find out what was happening in the country and in the world. They were also a way of protecting the Lithuanian language, literature and national identity. Therefore, book smugglers who illegally carried books and newspapers were seen as heroes.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Lithuania was part of the Tsarist Russian Empire. Language is the basis of national identity, so the Russian Empire, in order to russify and weaken Lithuania as soon as possible, banned the Lithuanian press in 1864. Mikhail Muravyov, the Governor General of Vilnius, released an order that prohibited printing, importing or distributing publications in Latin letters. Only those Lithuanian publications which were written using the Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet were allowed – writing Lithuanian words in Cyrillic characters is called graždanka [Eng. civil script]. The press ban lasted for forty years, and was officially cancelled only in 1904.

At first, some of the most educated Lithuanians supported graždanka – they thought that it was better than nothing. However, they quickly realised that the foreign alphabet did not allow for fluent and nuanced expression. Therefore, they decided to print publications in Lithuanian abroad and then import them to Lithuania.

Although the Tsarist Russian government hoped that the press ban would destroy Lithuanian identity, Lithuanians united in the fight for their language instead. Intellectuals continued to write in Lithuanian, and their texts were printed in the Lithuanian part of Prussia (Lithuania Minor) and in the USA. Peasants also joined the resistance to the press ban – they became the book smugglers: they smuggled Lithuanian publications from Prussia into Lithuania, despite the risk of imprisonment or deportation to Siberia. Schools have now been named after the most famous book smugglers – Jurgis Bielinis, Juozas Angrabaitis, Juozas Sakalauskas, Kazys Ūdra, and Matas Slančiauskas – and monuments have been built to honour them. 

Many secret rural schools were set up where children and illiterate adults were taught by teachers called daraktoriai. As well as educated people from the countryside, famous Lithuanian writers such as Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė, Povilas Višinskis, and Jonas Biliūnas worked as daraktoriai.

The Lithuanian press played a particularly important role during the press ban. The most famous newspapers of that time were Aušra (‘The Dawn’), edited by Jonas Basanavičius, and Varpas (‘The Bell’), founded by Vincas Kudirka. Newspapers and magazines wrote a lot about Lithuanian identity, the Lithuanian language, and called on people to fight not only for the freedom of the press, but also for other human rights. During the press ban the writers had to use fictitious names (pseudonyms or nicknames) to make it more difficult to trace them if the publications were found by the enemy. Most of the classic Lithuanian writers who wrote during that time used pen names: Žemaitė [Eng. Samogitian woman], Maironis, Vaižgantas, Bitė [Eng. bee], Šatrijos Ragana [Eng. witch of Šatrija], Lazdynų Pelėda [Eng. hazelnut owl]  and others.