Aušrininkai
Aušrininkai was a semi-formal socialist student movement in Lithuania that formed around the Aušrinė (morning star) magazine.
Initially a non-political magazine, established with a long-term aim of developing the new generation of intelligentsia, it soon stated propagating ideas of the Russian Narodniks and Socialist Revolutionary Party.
Members of Aušrininkai participated in a failed anti-government coup in 1927, attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Augustinas Voldemaras in 1929, and joined the Lithuanian section of the Union of Socialists-Revolutionaries-Maximalists in the early 1930s.
During its history, many prominent Lithuanians were members of Aušrininkai, including Stasys Šilingas, Petras Klimas, Julius Janonis, Butkų Juzė, Balys Sruoga, Kazys Boruta, Pranas Čepėnas.
[2] Informal student groups began organizing in various schools across Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire) that followed the ideology of Aušrinė.
[4] Aušrininkai organized social gatherings and meetings to discuss ideas, shared books and periodicals, prepared research papers on Lithuanian or current topics (e.g. What is a Constitution?
Nevertheless, at different times, students groups existed in Panevėžys, Alytus, Biržai, Telšiai, Kupiškis, Šiauliai, Tauragė, Kaunas, Kėdainiai, Rokiškis, and elsewhere.
[13] The groups celebrated May 1, the International Workers' Day, organized lectures, held discussions, performed plays, shared publications, published their own newsletters, etc.
[14] They refined the ideology, adopted new statute, resolved to work not only with school students but youth in general and to develop ties with other socialist-minded organizations both in Lithuania and abroad.
The organization was becoming more radical and some members, including Kazys Jakubėnas and Pranas Čepėnas,[23] supported the Lithuanian section of the Union of Socialists-Revolutionaries-Maximalists which condoned individual terrorist acts such as assassinations of dignitaries.
[25] In May 1921, twenty people, including two members of Aušrininkai, were arrested in Marijampolė for organizing anti-government demonstrations for the International Workers' Day.
Lithuanian police and security agencies closely monitored its activities and considered it more dangerous than the illegal Communist Party of Lithuania.
[28] In spring 1926, Lithuanian police shot Kostas Batisas, chairman of the Aušrininkai group in Pilviškiai, when he ran away from the officers.
[18] In May 1926, the election to the Third Seimas of Lithuania was won by opposition parties that lifted martial law, restored democratic freedoms, and declared a broad amnesty to political prisoners.
[18] However, in December 1926, Lithuanian military, under the official pretext of preventing an imminent Bolshevik revolt, organized the coup d'état that brought Antanas Smetona to power.
[36] Its initial goal was to encourage students to become more active in public life with a long-term aim of developing the new generation of intelligentsia.
[36] Writers contributing their works included Julius Janonis, Kazys Binkis, Balys Sruoga, Antanas Vienuolis.
Its five-member editorial board included Balys Sruoga, Juozas Žiugžda [lt], and Valerija Čiurlionytė (sister of Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis).
[41] Books included non-fiction works on Benoît Malon and Peter Kropotkin (both in 1928) and the tensions that later led to the Spanish Civil War (1933); translations of works by authors like Oscar Wilde (The Soul of Man under Socialism in 1928), Panait Istrati (The Thistles of the Bărăgan in 1932), Isadora Duncan (My Life in 1932–1933); fiction works by such Lithuanian authors as Vincas Kudirka (satire Cenzūros klausimas in 1927), Kazys Jakubėnas (collection of poems Tegyvuoja gyvas gyvenimas in 1931), Vytautas Montvila (collection of poems Naktys be nakvynės in 1933).
Thus, the magazine advocated freethought and individualism,[2] and relationship between Aušrininkai and Catholic organizations were tense or adversarial for its entire existence.
[43] Albinas Iešmanta [lt] raised the fundamental question: should the youth follow the examples of Western capitalism or of Russian socialist revolution.
[45] The magazine also promoted personal abstinence from alcoholic beverages and tobacco products as well as encouraged sports and physical activities.
[48] Aušrininkai were initially lukewarm and then increasingly critical towards the Lithuanian Popular Peasants' Union and the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania.
[54] A more theoretical study was prepared by Petras Klimas in 1913 based on works of Clara Zetkin, Alexandra Kollontai, and Ellen Key.
