Great Seimas of Vilnius

After the unsuccessful uprising of 1863, Lithuania was subjected to Russification policies: the Lithuanian press ban was initiated, schools were required to teach in the Russian language, Roman Catholics could not hold positions in government institutions and could own only limited amounts of land, and political rights were restricted.

[3] After the events of Bloody Sunday in January 1905 sparked a revolution in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to make concessions.

In April 1905 a decree guaranteed complete freedom of religion, and even allowed religious studies to be conducted in native languages.

[6] The organizational activities were largely taken on by the Lithuanian Christian Democrats and by Vilniaus žinios, a moderate newspaper owned by Petras Vileišis.

[4] Vilniaus žinios was the first legal Lithuanian-language daily newspaper to appear after the Lithuanian press ban was lifted on May 7, 1904; it was quite popular and its circulation soon reached 6,000 copies.

Invitations were extended to all persons who would be elected as representatives by their communities at volosts, and to all other educated people interested in the future of the Lithuanian state.

It was signed by only four people: Jonas Basanavičius, who was the primary author, Donatas Malinauskas, Juozapas Ambraziejus, and Mečislovas Davainis-Silvestraitis.

As a result, a wide variety of communities, political groups, government layers, social classes, and organizations were represented.

Jonas Basanavičius, officially nonpartisan, was elected as the chairman and Steponas Kairys, leader of the Social Democrats, was chosen as vice-chairman.

There were rumors that some Russian politicians were seriously considering granting autonomy to Poland, and that Polish activists wished to incorporate Lithuanian lands into their autonomous region, calling on the historic tradition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

[13] The Seimas' resolution, adopted on the second day, explicitly stated that Lithuanians from Suwałki Governorate had decided to join the fight for autonomous Lithuania.

This was largely an attempt to prevent the potential Polish autonomous region from claiming Suwałki, then part of Congress Poland, for itself.

[5] The election to seimas was to be universal, equal, direct and secret; all persons were to be granted suffrage without regard to sex, religion, or nationality.

[12] This demand was far-reaching and required transformation of the empire into a federal state, placing Lithuania on a par with the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian constitutional system.

[3] However, no conclusions in that area were reached as there was a perception that any resolution on land reform would encourage the peasants to rise against their landlords as it was happening in other parts of the Russian Empire.

[8] The Seimas, unlike the 1917 Vilnius Conference, did not attempt to elect an institution that could carry out these resolutions and act as a Lithuanian government.

After the resolution was adopted by the Seimas, near midnight, Jonas Basanavičius read aloud his proposal to include an attachment condemning Polish ecclesiastical authorities for suppressing the use of the Lithuanian language in churches within the diocese of Vilnius.

[10] After the assembly, notorious for its loud, lengthy and intense debates, the delegates returned to their communities and started to carry out its resolutions.

[14] While the first Russian responses were disorganized and confused, the authorities soon marshaled their armed forces and returned the situation back to normal.

It consolidated efforts, spearheaded the organization of political parties, strengthened national conscience, and energized the rural populace.