Country Pages

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Lithuania, the largest of the Baltic states, lies on the beautiful amber coast of the Baltic Sea in northeastern Europe. The Lithuanians, like their Baltic neighbors to the north, revere the natural beauty of their country - from its pristine landscape of rolling hills and many rivers, to its blue lakes that reflect the sky. Lithuania is also known for the charm of its cities and towns. Vilnius has the largest intact European medieval "Old Town," while the interwar capital of Kaunas and the port city of Klaipeda possess more modern buildings while still retaining their historical charm. All the cities represent a mixture of the classic old world and a more developed, modern one.

Photo courtesy of www. infocentereurope .net

Lithuania has had a turbulent history at the edges of Europe. It has been occupied by more powerful neighbors and has existed as a sovereign state. In the 20th century, Lithuania became a modern nation-state only to be occupied by the Soviets, then the Nazis, and then finally incorporated into the USSR a mere two decades after winning its independence. In 1990 Lithuania became the first Baltic nation to declare its independence from the USSR and soon after regained its place among the international community

Lithuania's majestic capital, Vilnius, serves as a center for the country's political, economic, and cultural life. Even as the city races into the 21st century, an old world feel still permeates. To walk its winding and cobbled streets, lined with pastel gems of Baroque and neoclassical architecture, is to be transported centuries back to a quieter time. Kaunas, the country's second largest city, is a hub for industry and culture that lies at the junction of the Nemunas and Neris rivers. The historic seaport of Klaipeda is the third largest city in country and serves as the most important port city of the Lithuanian economy.

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Since the Fulbright Program in Lithuania began in the early 1990s, American grantees have taught and conducted research across the country at a variety of institutions, including universities in Vilnius, Siauliai and Kaunas. Grantees have been specialists in law, American studies, political science, music and medicine, among other fields. In addition to teaching, grantees have conducted joint research projects with Lithuanian colleagues, helped to reform curricula and worked to forge long-lasting links between Lithuanian and American institutions of higher education.

The links below have been organized to give applicants more in-depth knowledge of Lithuania. CIES encourages interested applicants to make use of the following links to complement their research on potential opportunities available in Lithuania. If you have additional questions about the country or the program, please contact CIES staff.

Embassy of Lithuania
www.ltembassyus.org/
Information about the embassy and consulates, the Lithuanian government, politics and economics, news and media, links to sites providing general country and tourist information. Also provides information about higher education, Baltic Studies Centers in the U.S. and Lithuania, Lithuanian-American organizations, and educational exchanges.

U.S. Embassy in Vilnius
www.usembassy.lt/
General information about the U.S. Mission to Lithuania and other U.S. government programs. Excellent links to other sites.

CIA World Factbook Page on Lithuania
www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/lh.html
Geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military and transnational issues.

LITNET
www.litnet.lt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id
=34&Itemid=62
The Academic and Research Network in Lithuania (LITNET) is an association of academic research and other nonprofit organizations. Contains links to sites providing general information about Lithuania.

The Baltics Worldwide
www.balticsww.com/
The site has articles, news and business information.

Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies
www.balticstudies-aabs.lanet.lv
www.lanet.lv/members/aabs/
An international educational and scholarly nonprofit organization. Its purpose is to promote research and education in Baltic Studies. Its activities include sponsorship of meetings and conferences for the exchange of scholarly views, promotion, evaluation, and dissemination of news of current interest in the area of Baltic Studies. The Web site includes a directory of higher education institutions in the Baltic states. For links to Baltic Studies Centers in the U.S. and Lithuania, visit the Lithuanian embassy's "Information Guide for Cross-cultural Educational Experience"
www.ltembassyus.org/

American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
www.fas.harvard.edu/~aaass/
The AAASS is the preeminent professional association for Slavic Studies in the United States. This site includes Web resources of interest to scholars working on the Baltic states.

University of Washington, Baltic Studies Program
http://depts.washington.edu/baltic
Site contains links to many valuable internet resources on Baltic countries/Baltic studies.

REESWeb
www.ucis.pitt.edu/reesweb
This site provides a comprehensive index of electronic resources on Central and East Europe and the NIS sponsored by the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.

School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London
www.ssees.ac.uk/
An excellent list of internet resources for Lithuania

The Baltic Times
www.baltictimes.com/
The Baltic Times is an independent English-language weekly that covers events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It provides comprehensive, timely and in-depth coverage - with a slight analytical bent - about politics, economic development, banking, finance, and culture.

Baltic News Service
www.bns.ee/
The Baltic News Service (BNS) is the largest news agency in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a staff of 160. It distributes daily around 1,000 news items in five languages.

The Baltic Review
www.tbr.ee
The only English-language magazine covering business, law and economics in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Ministry of Finance
www.finmin.lt/finmin/lang.do?language=en
Information about financial markets, state debt, the national budget, government securities, statistics, insurance companies and more.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
www.urm.lt/
Information about Lithuania's foreign policy. For additional sites to other government institutions, visit the Web site of the Lithuanian Embassy in Washington.

Braintrack University Index
www.braintrack.com
Links to Higher Education Institutions in 192 countries.

Yahoo University search
http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Higher_Education/Colleges_and
_Universities/
You can search for international universities by country on Yahoo's search engine.

Central and East European Education Directory
www.ceebd.co.uk/ceeed/educatio htm
Provides an overview of the structure of Lithuanian education at all levels and degrees.

The list below contains links to individual institutions with English-language Web sites that have hosted Fulbright scholars in the past or have expressed an interest in hosting a Fulbright scholar.

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Kaunas University of Technology
www.ktu.lt/en/

Klaipeda University
www.ku.lt/

Lithuania Christian College, Klaipeda
www.lcc.lt

Lithuanian Academy of Music
www.lma.lt/

Lithuanian Academy of Physical Education
www.lkka.lt/

Mykolas Romeris University, formerly Law University of Lithuania
www.mruni.lt

Siauliai University
www.su.lt/

Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts
www.vda.lt/en/

Vilnius Pedagogical University
www.vpu.lt/

Vilnius University
www.vu.lt/

Kaunas Faculty of Humanities, Vilnius University, Kaunas Campus
www.vukhf.lt

Vytautas Magnus University
www.vdu.lt/

See also Web site of the Lithuanian Embassy
www.ltembassyus.org/

Cheap Flights
www.cheapflights.com

Lithuanian Airlines
www.lal.lt/en/

Lithuanian-Learning the Language
www.omniglot.com/writing/lithuanian.htm ; text under should read: Overview of Lithuanian language, including helpful links for online lessons and recommended books on the language.

Lithuania Tourism Information
www.tourism.lt/default.htm
Site provides general information about travel, tourism, agencies, cultural events and specific links to guides and transportation services, including Vilnius International Airport.

Lithuania in Your Pocket
www.inyourpocket.com/Lithuania/index.html
Provides country and city information.

Litinterp
www.litinterp.com
Provides information on bed and breakfasts, car and minibus rentals, and translators and interpreters

Leisure in Lithuania
www.on.lt/leisure.htm

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