Lithuania

Abstract

Lithuania is one of the smallest member states of the European Union (EU)having a population of 3 million, with a territory of 65,200 km, and a GDP of USD 61.3 billion (2011 estimate). Lithuania shares borders with Latvia, Belarus, Poland and the Kaliningrad oblast of the Russian Federation. Throughout the ages, size, geographical position and historical experience have shaped the Lithuanian understanding of world order, its main threats and the best strategies to fight those threats. Very varied elements such as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the painful periods of occupation (partition of the Lithuanian - Polish Commonwealth from 1975 and Soviet occupation in 1940) join together in the narrative of Lithuania’s strategic experience.